Postulant

As a postulant (from Latin: postulare = " solicit, demand " ) is referred to in various religious communities, such as Christian religious communities or individual Buddhist orders, a creditor who has requested inclusion in the community and must complete a postulate, a usually period of several months in which he learns about life in the community and his vocation is tested to the religious life.

On the postulate follows the novitiate, at the beginning of most formal approval for the investiture is ( according to Catholic law: can 597 § 2. ). Alternative names for the postulants are candidate or aspirant. In some religious denominations, however, the aspirant or candidate but are needed for those who seek the monastery to be admitted as a postulant.

The candidates for admission into a Masonic lodge are sometimes called postulants.