Complex of buildings in which members of a religious orderOrganisation of unmarried women or men who want to live in community to devote themselves to religious life. They follow the rule of their founder: e.g., Augustine, Benedict, Norbert, Francis, Dominic, Ignatius, ... When joining the Order, members take three vows: obedience (to the superior), poverty (no personal possessions) and purity (no physical relationship). live together. They follow the rule of their founder. The oldest monastic orders are the Carthusians, Dominicans, Franciscans, and Augustinians [and their female counterparts].
Note: Benedictines, Premonstratensians, and CisterciansMembers of a religious order founded by Robert of Molesme in the Burgundian village of Citeaux in 1168 to adhere more strictly to the monastic rule of Benedict. In the 17^th century, an even stricter observance of the Benedictine monastic rule developed within the Cistercians at the Abbey of Notre Dame de la Grande Trappe. Cistercians who follow this rule are commonly called Trappists. Pieter Pot’s Abbey in Antwerp and Saint Bernard’s Abbey in Hemiksem were Cistercian abbeys. [and their female counterparts] live in abbeys; Jesuits in houses.