Catholic Dictionary
Find accurate definitions of over 5,000 Catholic terms and phrases (including abbreviations). Based on Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.
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RELIGIOUS STATE
According to ecclesiastical tradition, a fixed or stable manner of life that people of the same sex live in common, and in which rthey observe the evangelical counsels by means of the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.