religious order

Cultural  

1. In Christianity, a group of men or women who live under religious vows. The three vows commonly taken are to relinquish all possessions and personal authority (vows of poverty and obedience) and not to engage in sexual relations (a vow of chastity). Religious orders are found in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church, and, although rarely, in Protestant churches. The Franciscans, Jesuits, and Trappists are religious orders.

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Example Sentences

Algeria carries a special significance for Leo: He will pay homage to St. Augustine, the fifth-century saint after whom the pope’s religious order is named.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026

The farm was inaugurated by the first ever Augustinian pope and, according to historian Dr. Krisztina Ilko, mirrors the early values and practices of his religious order.

From Science Daily • Feb. 2, 2026

Wealthy and powerful men used it as a sign of their status, the glittering accessories often signalling membership of a noble family or a religious order, or military rank.

From Barron's • Jan. 20, 2026

A religious order ran the institution, at a time of moral taboos when there was a social stigma around pregnancies outside of marriage.

From BBC • Jul. 12, 2025

She was a member of a religious order that prohibited autopsies, but the doctors very much wanted to know what was replicating inside her.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston