A dependency, among

monastic orders Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic life plays an important role ...

, denotes the relation of a monastic community with a newer community which it has founded elsewhere. The relationship is that of the founding

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

or conventual priory, termed the

motherhouse A motherhouse is the principal house or community for a religious institute. It would normally be where the residence and offices of the religious superior In a hierarchy or tree structure of any kind, a superior is an individual or position at ...

, with a monastery composed of the monks or nuns of the new community, which is called the daughter house. In that situation, the

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...

abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic ...

(or

prior Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be l ...

or prioress in those monastic congregations which do not have abbots or abbesses) remains the ultimate authority for the affairs of the dependent

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of mon ...

, which is considered an extension of the founding house. This relationship will end at such time as the new community becomes fully autonomous in its own right.

Bonds

Monasteries of nuns can make a bond with a monastery of monks or friars, preferably within the same congregation or order, whereby the two are affiliated, and the fathers guarantee

pastoral care Pastoral care is an ancient model of emotional, social and spiritual support that can be found in all cultures and traditions. The term is considered inclusive of distinctly non-religious forms of support, as well as support for people from rel ...

to the nuns. In this sense, the women's house is considered a dependency on that of the men for

spiritual direction Spiritual direction is the practice of being with people as they attempt to deepen their relationship with the divine, or to learn and grow in their personal spirituality. The person seeking direction shares stories of their encounters of the div ...

. For all other matters, however, the nuns of the daughter monastery remain dependencies of the founding monastery of nuns which established them, until they become autonomous.

Relationships of responsibilities

An extension of this is the relationship of responsibility for providing

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

es in the surrounding region which is assumed by an abbey or priory. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, many parishes would be given to Benedictine monasteries by local lords and bishops, to provide the income of the parish as a means of support for the monastery. In turn, the monks would take on this responsibility for their dependent churches, either with their own monks or by providing the salary for a

secular priest In Christianity, the term secular clergy refers to deacons and priests who are not monastics or otherwise members of religious life. A secular priest (sometimes known as a diocesan priest) is a priest who commits themselves to a certain geogr ...

who served as their

vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

for the parish. Unlike the monks, who gradually took on the practice, this relationship has been a distinguishing feature of houses of

canons regular Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by a ...

, as part of the primacy of the priesthood in their way of life. In

Eastern Christianity Eastern Christianity comprises Christian traditions and church families that originally developed during classical and late antiquity in Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Northeast Africa, the Fertile Crescent and ...

, this relationship is called the ''

metochion A ''metochion'' or ''metochi'' ( gr, μετόχιον, metóchion or gr, μετόχι, metóchi; russian: подворье, podvorie) is an ecclesiastical embassy church within Eastern Orthodox tradition. It is usually from one autocephalous or ...

''.

References

{{reflist Monasticism