A postulant (from la, postulare, to ask) was originally one who makes a request or demand; hence, a candidate. The use of the term is now generally restricted to those asking for admission into a Christian

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

or a

religious order A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious pract ...

for the period of time preceding their admission into the

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

. The term is most commonly used in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

Lutheran Church Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

es, and the

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...

(which includes the Episcopal Church, which uses the term to designate those who are seeking ordination to the diaconate or priesthood. In this respect, postulancy is generally considered the first formal step leading to

candidacy Candidacy is a rite which takes place during Roman Catholic seminary formation, by which the Church recognizes the seminarian as worthy of being ordained (hence, they become a "candidate" for ordination to the priesthood). With the liturgical ref ...

and ordination). The

Eastern Orthodox Churches The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

uses this term less frequently.

Purpose, duration and formation

Nuns at a procession in 1915. The postulants in their garbs are walking in front of the professed nuns. The length of time that a prospective candidate remains a postulant may vary depending on the institution, or the postulant's individual situation. Among active religious institutions, it typically lasted 4–6 months. At present, many monasteries have a candidate spend 1–2 years in this stage. In the

Catholic church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

the implementing instruction '' Cor orans'' determines that a postulancy in a contemplative community has a minimum duration of twelve months but it must not exceed two years. During this time, the postulant generally participates as fully as possible in the life of the community, joining the novices and professed members and living with the community. Usually, the postulant joins the formal education that is given to the novices. Some communities prefer the postulants to wear a specific garb (as this was rather common until the release of the Decree on the Adaptation and Renewal of Religious Life) in 1963, in other communities they wear own plain clothes until the formal investiture ceremony. Since postulants, as novices, are not members of the institution at this stage, it is easier for a man or woman not fully certain about religious life to re-examine his or her intentions and commitment before making any vows. Likewise, should the person be determined to be unsuited to the life, he or she can be dismissed by an institution without the need for a formal procedure. The term is also sometimes used to describe the ecclesiastical status of a person who has discerned a call to the priesthood or to the diaconate and has received parish and diocesan endorsement. The candidate retains postulant status throughout

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

, until

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

to the transitional

diaconate A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chu ...

takes place. The postulant who will not pursue ordination into the priesthood is ordained into the vocational diaconate.

College fraternities

In college fraternities, the term ''postulant'' is also used to describe those who have yet to be initiated into the fraternity, while they are going through the process of becoming a brother or a sister.

Notes

References

* {{Orders Beginners and newcomers Ecclesiastical titles Organisation of Catholic religious orders