[More than you wanted to know and not 100% accurate.]

 

A nun is a woman who has taken special vows committing her to a religious life.  She may be an ascetic who chooses to voluntarily leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent. The term "nun" is applicable to Roman Catholics, Eastern Christians, Anglicans, Jains, Lutherans, Buddhists, and Taoist, for example. The male equivalent of a nun is a monk.

Roman Catholic

In Roman Catholicism a nun is an enclosed female monastic,  - the male equivalent is "monk."

In the Roman Catholic tradition, there are a number of different orders of nuns each with its own charism or special character.  There are cloistered nuns who denounce contact with the outside world and devote their lives to prayer and work.  There are communities of nuns whose members embrace a primary focus such as teaching, ministering to the sick, or missionary work.  Some post-Vatican II nuns do not live in convents and may work in other than the traditional professions of their orders.

 

In general, when a person enters a convent she first undergoes an initial period of testing the life, known as postulancy, for a period of six months to a year. If she, and the order, determine that she may have a vocation to the life, she receives the habit of the order and undertakes novitiate, a period of living the life of a nun without yet taking vows that lasts one to two years. Upon completion of this period she may take her initial, temporary vows. Temporary vows last one to three years, typically, and will be professed for not less than three years and not more than six years.

 

Finally, she will petition to make her "perpetual profession," taking permanent, lifelong vows.

In the various branches of the Benedictine tradition (Benedictines, Cistercians, Camaldolese, and Trappists among others) nuns take vows of stability (that is, to remain a member of a single monastic community), obedience (to an abbess or prioress), and "conversion of life" (which includes the ideas of poverty and chastity). The "Poor Clares" (a Franciscan order) and those Dominican nuns who lived a cloistered life take the three-fold vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Most orders of nuns not listed here follow one of these two patterns, with some orders taking an additional vow related to the specific work or character of their order (e.g., to undertake a certain style of devotion, praying for a specific intention or purpose).

 

Cloistered nuns observe "papal enclosure"  rules and their monasteries typically have walls and grilles separating the nuns from the outside world. The nuns rarely leave (except for medical necessity, or occasionally for purposes related to their contemplative life) though they may have visitors in specially built parlors that allow them to meet with outsiders. They are usually self-sufficient, earning money by selling products produced by the order, such as jams or candies or baked goods by mail order, or by making liturgical items (vestments, candles, bread for Holy Communion). They sometimes undertake contemplative ministries – that is, a monastery of nuns is often associated with prayer for some particular good or supporting the missions of another order by prayer (for instance, the Maryknoll order includes a monastery of cloistered nuns who pray for the work of the missionary priests, brothers and religious sisters; the Sister Disciples of the Divine Master are cloistered nuns who pray in support of the religious sisters of the Daughters of Saint Paul in their media ministry; the Dominican nuns of Corpus Christi Monastery in the Bronx, N.Y., pray in support of the priests of the Archdiocese of New York).

 

A nun who is elected to head her monastery is termed an abbess if the monastery is an abbey, a prioress if it is a priory, or more generically may be referred to as the Mother Superior and styled "Reverend Mother." The distinction between abbey and priory has to do with the terms used by a particular order or by the level of independence of the monastery. Technically, a convent is any home of a community of sisters – or, indeed, of priests and brothers, though this term is rarely used in the U.S. The term "monastery" is often used by communities within the Benedictine family, and "convent" (when referring to a cloister) is often used of the monasteries of certain other orders.

Distinction between nun and religious sister

In the Roman Catholic Church, "nun" and "religious sister" have distinct meanings. Women belonging to orders like the Sisters of Charity, or rd order Franciscans or Dominicans are religious sisters, not nuns. Nuns and sisters are distinguished by the type of vows they take (solemn vow vs. simple vow) and the focus of their good works. The type of vows that are taken are dependent on the Constitutions and/or rule of each community, which are submitted for approval to the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and for Societies of Apostolic Life, a body of the Roman Curia. The religious community of a nun is referred to as a "religious order" while the religious community of a sister is referred to as an "institute" or "congregation". Hence, all nuns are religious sisters, but not all religious sisters are, properly speaking, nuns.

To be a nun, one must

• Live in a cloister, community, or monastery
• belong to an order the members of which eventually take the solemn vows and
• Recite the Liturgy of the Hours or other prayers together with her community.

Cloistered nuns are restricted from leaving the cloister, though some may engage in limited teaching or other vocational work depending on the strictness of enforcement. Visitors are not allowed into the monastery to freely associate with nuns. In essence, the work of a nun is within the confines of her monastery, while the work of a sister is in the greater world. Both sisters and nuns are addressed as "Sister".

 

There may be both nuns and sisters within a religious order. For instance, the Poor Clares (sometimes known as "Second Order Franciscans") are cloistered nuns following the Franciscan tradition, while the Sisters of St. Francis are among the many groups of "Third Order Franciscan Regulars" who exist to teach, work in hospitals or with the poor or perform other ministries; there are also groups of cloistered Dominican nuns, and groups of Dominican sisters who are dedicated to teaching or working with the sick.

 Eastern Orthodox Christian

In the Eastern Orthodox Church there is no distinction between a monastery for men and a monastery for women. In the Greek language both domiciles are called monasteries and the ascetics who live there are Monastics. In English, however, it is acceptable to use the terms "nun," "convent," and "abbess" simply for clarity and convenience. Orthodox monastics do not have "orders" as in the Roman Catholic Church.

Orthodox monks and nuns lead identical spiritual lives. There may be slight differences in the way a monastery functions internally but these are simply style differences (Gr. Typica) dependent on the Abbess or Abbot. The Abbess is the spiritual leader of the convent and her authority is absolute (no priest, bishop, or even patriarch can override an abbess within the walls of her monastery). There has always been fair equality between men and women in the Orthodox Church. Abbots and Abbesses rank in authority equal to bishops in many ways and were included in ecumenical councils. Abbesses hear confessions (but do not absolve) and dispense blessings on their charges though they still require the services of a presbyter (i.e., a priest) in order to celebrate the Divine Liturgy and other priestly functions, such as absolution of a penitent.

 

Orthodox monastics, in general have little or no contact with the outside world. The pious family whose child decides to enter the monastic profession understands that their child will become "dead to the world" and therefore be unavailable.

 

There are a number of different levels that the nun passes through in her profession. When one enters a monastery the first three to five years are spent as a novice. Novices may or may not (depending on the abbess's wishes) dress in the black inner robe (Isorassa); those who do will also usually wear the apostolnik or a black scarf tied over the head (see photo). The isorassa is the first part of the monastic "habit" of which there is only one style for Orthodox monastics (this is true in general, there have been a few slight regional variations over the centuries). If a novice chooses to leave during the novitiate period no penalty is incurred. When the abbess deems the novice ready, the novice is asked to join the monastery. If she accepts, she is tonsured in a formal service, given the outer robe (Exorassa) and veil (Epanokamelavkion) to wear, and (because she is now dead to the world) receives a new name. Nuns consider themselves part of a sisterhood, however, tonsured nuns are usually called "Mother". The next level for monastics takes place some years after the first tonsure when the abbess feels the nun has reached a level of discipline, dedication, and humility. Once again, in a formal service the nun is elevated to the "Schema" which is signified by additions to her "habit" of certain symbolic pieces. In addition, the abbess increases the nun’s prayer rule, she is allowed a more strict personal ascetic practice, and she is given more responsibility. The final stage, called "Megaloschemos" or "Great Schema" is reached by nuns whose Abbess feels they have reached a high level of excellence. In some monastic traditions the Great Schema is only given to monks and nuns on their death bed, while in others they may be elevated after as little as  years of service.

 Other Christian

Some churches that are directly descended from the Reformation, such as the Anglicans, and Lutherans, and even Calvinists continue to have small monastic communities, though these generally play a much smaller role in religious practice than in Roman Catholic or Orthodox churches. Outside the churches belonging to the Anglican Communion, most Protestant monastic communities are not organized into formal orders. In some Anglican orders, there are nuns who have been ordained as priests.

 Buddhist

Nuns also appear in Buddhist traditions. The ordination of Monks and nuns in Buddhism distinguishes three stages (rabjung(ma), getshül(ma), and gelong(ma)), but the number of vows to be taken is different (women have more vows). This is due to a greater need of protection of women in a patriarchal environment, in which ordination of women by the Buddha in historical times must be seen as almost revolutionary. The important vows are the same, however.

 

The clothes of the nuns in Tibet are basically the same with those of monks, but there are differences between novice and gelong robes, and there is of course a lot of variation between different Buddhist cultures in Asia.

Both nuns and monks are highly respected in Buddhist countries. Both groups sometimes perform rituals for lay people in order to earn money. Similarly, the monastery can perform rituals if lay persons donate money with such intentions. Nuns and monks alike can advance spiritually on the path and then become a Buddhist teacher -- e.g. a 'lama'.

Tibet

The August 007 International Congress on Buddhist Women's Role in the Sangha, with the support of H. H. XIVth Dalai Lama, is expected to reinstate the Gelongma (skt. Bikshuni, tib. Gelongma) lineage, having been lost, in India and Tibet, for centuries. It is currently only possible for women to take Rabjungma ('entering') and Getshülma ('novice') ordinations in Tibetan tradition. Gelongma ordination requires the presence of ten fully ordained people keeping the exact same vows (men's and women's vows differ slightly). Because 10 Gelongmas are required in order to ordain a new Gelongma, the effort to reinstate the Gelongma tradition has taken a long time.

 

It is permissible for a Tibetan nun to receive Bikshuni ordination from another living tradition, e.g. in Vietnam. Based on this, Western nuns ordained in Tibetan tradition, like Venerable Thubten Chodron, took full ordination in another tradtion, in order to revive 'Gelongma' ordination. The same socio-cultural reasons that make it difficult for women to be nuns will still present challenges to the first Tibetan Gelongmas.

 Thailand

In Thailand, a country which never had a tradition of fully-ordained nuns (bhikkhuni), there developed a separate order of non-ordained female renunciates called Mae Ji. At the beginning of the 1st century some Buddhist women in Thailand have started to introduce the bhikkhuni sangha in their country as well, even if public acceptance is still lacking. Bhikkhuni Dhammananda, the former successful academic scholar Dr. Chatsumarn Kabilsingh, established a controversial monastery for the training of Buddhist nuns in Thailand.

 Movies, plays & TV shows featuring nuns

Nuns play an important role in our imaginations. The following list, of works with Wikipedia articles where nuns play a major part, ranges from A Time for Miracles which is literally hagiography to the blatant nunsploitation of Sacred Flesh. All the works use Catholic nuns save Black Narcissus (Anglicans). All are outsiders' views with the exceptions of Dead Man Walking based on an autobiography by Sister Helen Prejean, and The Nun's Story, based on the book by Kathryn Hulme relating the experiences of lapsed nun Marie-Louise Habets.

• Agnes of God
• The Nun's Story
• The Bells of St. Mary's
• Black Narcissus
• Brides of Christ
• Change of Habit
• Come to the Stable
• Dark Waters
• Dead Man Walking
• The Devils
• Doubt
• Entre tinieblas
• Father Dowling Mysteries
• Faustina
• The Flying Nun
• Girls Town
• Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison
• Killer Nun

• Lilies of the Field         Madeline
• The Magdalene Sisters
• Mother Joan of the Angels
• Mother Teresa
• Nunsense
• Nuns on the Run
• The Nun's Story
• Quiet as a Nun
• La Religieuse
• Sacred Flesh
• Saving Silverman
• Silent Night, Deadly Night
• Sister Act
• Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You
• The Song of Bernadette
• The Sound of Music
• A Time for Miracles
• Two Mules for Sister Sara
• The Trouble with Angels