Novice

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For the city in Texas, see Novice, Texas.

1 Buddhism
2 Catholicism
3 Other meanings
4 Equivalents
5 See also

[edit] Buddhism

In many Buddhist orders, a man or woman who intends to take ordination must first become a novice, adopting part of the monastic code indicated in the vinaya and studying in preparation for full ordination. The name for this level of ordination varies from one tradition to another. In Pali, the word is samanera, which means 'small monk' or 'boy monk'.

[edit] Catholicism

A novice in Catholic law and tradition, is a prospective member of a religious order who is being tried and being proven for suitability of admission to a religious order of brothers, sisters or monks. Novices are not admitted to vows until they have successfully completed the prescribed period of training and proving, called the novitiate. In the Middle Ages novices typically would have dormitories in separate areas within a monastery; an early Cistercian monastery, Royal Monastery of Our Lady of the Wheel, founded in the year 1202 AD has this chamber clearly visible today.

Earlier, different orders followed their own rules governing the length and conditions of the novitiate. However, in response to the Protestant Reformation, the Council of Trent legislated the length and conditions by which anyone aspiring to become a monk is obliged to be a novice; the usual period is for at least one year, depending on the aptitude of the candidate.

[edit] Other meanings

A novice is any person that is new to any science or field of study or activity or social cause and who is undergoing training in order to meet normal requirements of being regarded a mature and equal participant. (See newbie)

The term "novice" has also been recently used to replace the word "n00b" by a slowly increasing section of the internet population.