Prior

A Prior ( from Latin prior, earlier ',' front ',' previous ') or in convents, a prioress, is a monastic office.

In the Order, who have no abbot, the prior is the superior of the monastery. His representative is the vicar or the sub-prior, such as the Dominicans, Carmelites and Carthusians.

In communities who have an abbot as head, the Prior is his representative, such as the Benedictines, Cistercians or Trappists. In this order, there is also beyond the Monasteries which have the status of an abbey and be headed by a prior or prioress one. They are therefore referred to the Priory or Priory and may be dependent or independent of an abbey. In the Middle Ages, the prioress of a dependent convent was also called Magistra.

The Head of a Franciscan Capuchin monastery or is referred to as Guardian.

Some orders of knighthood are divided into Priories, which is headed by a Grand Prior.

Even in evangelical and ecumenical communities there are the Office of the Prior or the Prioress, for example, when Communität Christ Selbitz, the Jesus brotherhood ( community Gnadenthal ), the Christ-bearers Brotherhood ( monastery Triefenstein ), the Jesus community in Marburg and the Taizé Community.

The female head of a lady's pen, which usually came from the knighthood and no clergyman was, was entitled Priörin, such as in the Schleswig-Holstein Ladies monasteries of St. John's Abbey in front of Schleswig, convent and monastery Uetersen Preetz.