Editing Friar

{{About|members of religious and great orders|the surname|Fryer (surname)|and|Fryar|other uses|Friar (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect|Frays|other uses|Fray (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect|Fra|other uses|FRA (disambiguation)}}
{{more citations needed|date=October 2010}} 
{{short description|Member of a mendicant Christian order}}
[[File: Agustinos Recoletos.jpg|thumb|upright|A group of friars; novices of the Order of [[Augustinian Recollects]] at the Monastery of [[Monteagudo, Navarre|Monteagudo]] in 2006]]
A '''friar''' is a member of one of the [[mendicant orders]] in the [[Catholic Church]]. There are also friars outside of the Catholic Church, such as within the [[Anglican Communion]]. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a [[superior general]], from the older [[monastic orders]]' allegiance to a single [[monastery]] formalized by their vow of stability. A friar may be in [[holy orders]] or be a non-ordained [[Brother (Christian)|brother]]. The most significant orders of friars are the [[Dominican Order|Dominicans]], [[Franciscans]], [[Augustinians]], and [[Carmelites]].<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Stravinskas |editor-first=Peter M.J. |title=Catholic Dictionary, Revised |publisher=Our Friday Visitor |date=2002 |location=Huntington, IN |isbn=978-0879733902}}</ref>

==Definition==
Friars are different from [[monk]]s in that they are called to the great [[evangelical counsels]] (vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience) in service to society, rather than through [[cloister]]ed [[asceticism]] and devotion. Whereas monks live in a self-sufficient community, friars work among laypeople and are supported by donations or other charitable support.<ref>[[s: Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Friar|Catholic encyclopedia entry for "friar"]]</ref> Monks or nuns make their vows and commit to a particular community in a particular place. Friars commit to a community spread across a wider geographical area known as a [[Ecclesiastical province#Religious order organization|province]] and so they will typically move around, spending time in different houses of the community within their province.

==Etymology==
The English term ''friar'' is derived from the [[Anglo-Norman language|Norman French]] word ''frere'' (brother), from the [[Latin language|Latin]] ''frater'' (brother), which was widely used in the Latin [[New Testament]] to refer to members of the Christian community. Fray is sometimes used in Spain and former Spanish colonies such as the [[Philippines]] or the [[American Southwest]] as a title, such as in [[Fray Juan de Torquemada]].

==Orders==
{{Catholic Church hierarchy sidebar|Consecrated and professed titles}}
In the Catholic church, there are two classes of orders known as friars, or mendicant orders: the four great orders and the so-called lesser orders.

===Major orders===
The four great orders were mentioned by the [[Second Council of Lyons]] (1274):

* The [[Carmelites]], founded {{circa}} 1155.<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03354a.htm The Carmelite Order]</ref> They are also known as the White Friars because of the white cloak which covers their brown habit. They received papal approval from [[Honorius III]] in 1226 and later by [[Innocent IV]] in 1247. The Carmelites were founded as a purely contemplative order, but became mendicants in 1245. There are two types of Carmelites, those of the Ancient Observance (OCarm) and those of the [[Discalced Carmelites]] (OCD), founded by St. [[Teresa of Ávila]] in the 16th century. 
[[File:Friars.jpg|thumb|Conventual Franciscans in their variant grey habits]]
* The [[Franciscans]], founded in 1209. They are also known as the Friars Minor. The Franciscans were founded by [[St. Francis of Assisi]] and received oral papal approval by [[Innocent III]] in 1209 and formal papal confirmation by Honorius III in 1223. Today the Friars Minor is composed of three branches: the Order of Friars Minor (Brown Franciscans), [[Order of Friars Minor Capuchin]] (Brown Friars with long pointed hoods) and the [[Conventual Franciscans|Order of Friars Minor Conventual]] wearing grey or black habits (thus known as Grey Friars). In the Franciscan order, a friar may be an ordained priest or a religious brother.<ref>[https://sbfranciscans.org/be-a-friar/discernment/brother-or-friar/ "Is a Friar a Priest or a Brother?", Franciscan Friars, Province of Saint Barbara]</ref>
* The [[Dominican Order|Dominicans]], founded {{circa}} 1216. They are also known as the Friar Preachers or the Black Friars from the black mantle (cappa) worn over their white habit. The Dominicans were founded by [[St. Dominic]] and received papal approval from Honorius III in 1216 as the Ordo Praedicatorum under the [[Rule of St. Augustine]]. They became a [[mendicant]] order in 1221. There are also Dominican Orders within the Anglican Communion, such as the [[Order of Christ the Saviour]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Communities |url=https://www.naecc.net/communities |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=naecc |language=en}}</ref>
* The [[Augustinians]], founded in 1244 (the "Little Union") and enlarged in 1256 (the Grand Union). They are also known as the Hermits of St. Augustine or the Austin Friars. Their rule is based on the writings of [[Augustine of Hippo]]. The Augustinians were assembled from various groups of hermits as a mendicant order by Pope Innocent IV in 1244 (Little Union). Additional groups were added by [[Pope Alexander IV|Alexander IV]] in 1256 (Grand Union).

===Lesser orders===
Some of the lesser orders are: 
* The [[Trinitarian Order|Trinitarians]], established in 1198
* The [[Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy|Mercedarians]], established in 1218
* The [[Servites]], established in 1240
* The [[Minim (religious order)|Minims]], established in 1474
* The Third Order Regular of St. Francis, a branch of the [[Third Order of St. Francis]], part of the Franciscan Order established in 1447
* The [[Discalced Carmelites]], established in 1568 
* The [[Order of Augustinian Recollects]], established in 1598 through the [[Chapter of Toledo]]
* The [[Trinitarian Order|Discalced Trinitarians]], established in 1599
* The [[Order of Penance]], established in 1781.

===Order of Malta===
In the [[Sovereign Military Order of Malta]] the term Fra' (an abbreviation for the Latin word "frater" meaning "brother") is used when addressing the professed [[Knight of Justice|Knights of Justice]] who have taken vows.

==Other Christian traditions==
Orders of friars (and sisters) exist in other Christian traditions, including the [[Order of Lutheran Franciscans]], the [[Order of Ecumenical Franciscans]] and the Order of Lesser Sisters and Brothers.<ref>[http://orderoflessersistersandbrothers.weebly.com/ Order of Lesser Sisters and Brothers]</ref> In the Anglican Communion there are also a number of mendicant groups such as the [[Anglican Order of Preachers|Anglican Friars Preachers]], the [[Society of Saint Francis]] and the Order of St Francis.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://osffranciscans.com/ |title=Order of St Francis |access-date=2017-07-02 |archive-date=2020-09-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922161859/https://www.osffranciscans.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Other usage of the term==
Several [[high school]]s, as well as [[Providence College]], founded by the Dominicans, use friars as their [[school mascot]].

The [[Major League Baseball]] team [[San Diego Padres]] have the [[List of Major League Baseball mascots#Swinging Friar (San Diego Padres)|Swinging Friar]] ("padre" is also a Spanish word for the priestly title "father"; in 1769 [[San Diego]] was founded by Spanish [[Franciscan]] friars under [[Junípero Serra]]).

The [[University of Michigan]]'s oldest [[a cappella]] group is a male octet known as The Friars.<ref>{{cite web |title=The University of Michigan Friars :: History |url=http://www.ummgc.org/friars/history.html |url-status=dead |publisher=University of Michigan Friars |access-date=1 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100831110950/http://www.ummgc.org/friars/history.html |archive-date=31 August 2010}}</ref> The [[University of Pennsylvania]] has a senior [[honor society]] known as Friars. Sports teams at [[Father Dueñas Memorial School]] on the island of [[Guam]] are known as the Friars.

==References==
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{{RC consecrated life}}
{{Catholic Church}}
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[[Category:12th-century neologisms]]
[[Category:Christian religious occupations]]
[[Category:Catholicism in the Middle Ages]]