Vow of obedience

The Vow of Obedience in Catholicism concerns one of the three counsels of perfection. It forms part of the vows that Christian monks and nuns must make to enter the consecrated life, whether as a member of a religious institute living in community or as consecrated hermit.

Description

This is stipulated in

• the candidate's respective Church law, for example in the Roman Catholic Church the Code of Canon Law (see canons 573, 601), and
• the candidate's respective rule, for example for those that are to be received into a Benedictine monastic community the Rule of St Benedict (ch. 58.17).

The Code of Canon Law (canon 601) defines it as follows:

"The evangelical counsel of obedience, undertaken in a spirit of faith and love in the following of Christ who was obedient even unto death requires a submission of the will to legitimate superiors, who stand in the place of God when they command according to the proper constitutions."

It is made of Poverty, Chastity, and Service. The vows are also taken in Lutheran and Anglican monasteries, convents, and other religious communities.

External links

• Catholic Encyclopedia "Religious Obedience"

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton.