Q. What’s the difference between a monk and a friar?
A. Though the term monk is commonly used to designate all male religious, it more properly refers to a member of a community of men that leads a more or less contemplative life apart from the world, under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, according to a formal rule. Monks tend to remain living in one place (Benedictines actually take a fourth vow of “stability”), and they chant in choir the Divine Office of daily prayer. The English word monk comes ultimately from the Greek monos, meaning “solitary” or “alone.” Some examples