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Nun vs. Priest — What's the Difference?

By Tayyaba Rehman & Fiza Rafique — Updated on March 8, 2024
Nuns dedicate their lives to religious and humanitarian services within a convent, while priests perform sacramental duties and lead congregations.
Nun vs. Priest — What's the Difference?

Difference Between Nun and Priest

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Key Differences

Nuns are women who have taken sacred vows to dedicate their lives to the service of the church and its community, often living in convents or monasteries under a communal rule. They engage in various forms of service, including education, healthcare, and charity work, emphasizing a life of prayer and contemplation. On the other hand, priests are ordained ministers in the Christian church who have the authority to lead congregations, perform sacraments such as the Eucharist, and offer guidance and spiritual counseling to their community members. While nuns commit to a life of poverty, chastity, and obedience within their orders, priests may take similar vows but their primary role is to administer church sacraments and lead parish life.
While nuns can belong to various religious orders with specific missions and ways of living their spirituality, such as the Benedictines, Franciscans, or Dominicans, each with its own rules and charisms, priests are often associated with dioceses (secular priests) or religious orders (regular priests), where their service is more community and sacramentally oriented. This distinction emphasizes the difference in the primary focus of their vocations—nuns on communal and often contemplative life, and priests on sacramental and pastoral duties.
Nuns do not have the authority to perform sacraments, with their roles being more supportive and educational within the church and its community. Priests, however, hold a position that allows them to administer most sacraments and hold liturgical roles. This hierarchical distinction underlines the varied ways in which each contributes to the life and function of the church.
The process of becoming a nun versus a priest also involves distinct paths and requirements. Women entering a convent typically undergo a period of candidacy, novitiate, and then take temporary vows before making their final profession. In contrast, becoming a priest involves completing a seminary education, undergoing ordination by a bishop, and taking vows specific to their priesthood. These processes reflect the different commitments and roles each plays within the church.
While both nuns and priests live lives of service to the church and its teachings, the nature of their vocations and daily lives can be quite different. Nuns may spend a significant portion of their day in prayer, work within their community, and live in a convent setting, whereas priests are often more visible in the public ministry, conducting mass, providing the sacraments, and engaging in pastoral care.
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Comparison Chart

Role

Dedicated to service, education, and prayer within a religious community.
Administers sacraments, leads congregation, and provides spiritual guidance.

Lifestyle

Live in convents or monasteries, often under a communal rule.
May live in a rectory or religious community; lifestyle varies between diocesan and religious priests.

Vows

Take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience within their order.
Take vows, including celibacy for Catholic priests; vows vary for religious priests according to their order.

Authority

Do not administer sacraments.
Can perform sacraments and hold significant liturgical roles.

Path to Vocation

Involves candidacy, novitiate, temporary, then final vows.
Requires seminary education, ordination, and specific vows for priesthood.

Compare with Definitions

Nun

Reflects a commitment to a spiritual life within the framework of a religious order.
She joined the Franciscan nuns to live a life of poverty and service.

Priest

An ordained minister of the Catholic, Orthodox, or Anglican Church authorized to perform sacraments.
Father John, the parish priest, celebrated Mass every morning.

Nun

A woman who has taken vows committing her life to religious service within a convent.
Sister Maria became a nun to serve the underprivileged in her city.

Priest

Holds a role within the church that involves administering sacraments and guiding the faithful.
The priest administered the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion to the faithful.

Nun

Member of a religious community of women living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
The nuns at the local convent run a free school for children.

Priest

Can belong to a religious order or be a secular clergyman, with duties varying accordingly.
As a Jesuit priest, he focused on education and missionary work.

Nun

A female religious who dedicates her life to prayer and work within her community.
Nuns in the monastery spend hours in prayer and contemplation daily.

Priest

Someone who serves as a spiritual leader and a mediator between people and the divine.
The priest offered counsel and guidance to members of his congregation.

Nun

Women who engage in teaching, healthcare, and other humanitarian services as part of their religious commitment.
Nuns often provide essential healthcare services in rural areas.

Priest

A clergyman in charge of a parish or congregation, leading worship services and providing pastoral care.
The community relied on their priest for spiritual support during tough times.

Nun

The fourteenth letter of many Semitic alphabets/abjads (Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic and others).

Priest

A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities.

Nun

A nun is a member of a religious community of women, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery. Communities of nuns exist in numerous religious traditions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Jainism, and Taoism.

Priest

An ordained minister of the Catholic, Orthodox, or Anglican Church, authorized to perform certain rites and administer certain sacraments
The priest celebrated mass at a small altar off the north transept

Nun

A member of a religious community of women, typically one living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.

Priest

A mallet used to kill fish caught when angling.

Nun

Any of a number of birds whose plumage resembles a nun's habit, especially an Asian mannikin.

Priest

Ordain to the priesthood
He was made deacon in 1990 and priested in 1994

Nun

A woman who belongs to a religious order or congregation devoted to active service or meditation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.

Priest

In many Christian churches, a member of the second grade of clergy ranking below a bishop but above a deacon and having authority to administer the sacraments.

Nun

The 14th letter of the Hebrew alphabet. See Table at alphabet.

Priest

A person having the authority to perform and administer religious rites.

Nun

A member of a Christian religious community of women who live by certain vows and usually wear a habit, those living together in a cloister.

Priest

To ordain or admit to the priesthood.

Nun

(by extension) A member of a similar female community in other confessions.
A Buddhist nun

Priest

A religious clergyman (clergywoman, clergyperson) who is trained to perform services or sacrifices at a church or temple
The priest at the Catholic church heard his confession.
The Shinto priest burnt incense for his ancestors.
The Israelite priests were descended from Moses' brother Aaron.

Nun

A prostitute.

Priest

A blunt tool, used for quickly stunning and killing fish

Nun

A kind of pigeon with the feathers on its head like the hood of a nun.

Priest

(Mormonism) the highest office in the Aaronic priesthood

Nun

A woman devoted to a religious life, who lives in a convent, under the three vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
They holy time is quiet as a nunBreathless with adoration.

Priest

(transitive) To ordain as a priest.

Nun

A white variety of domestic pigeons having a veil of feathers covering the head.

Priest

A presbyter elder; a minister

Nun

The 14th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, corresponding in pronunciation to n.

Priest

One who officiates at the altar, or performs the rites of sacrifice; one who acts as a mediator between men and the divinity or the gods in any form of religion; as, Buddhist priests.
Then the priest of Jupiter . . . brought oxen and garlands . . . and would have done sacrifice with the people.
Every priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.

Nun

The 25th letter of the Arabic alphabet, corresponding in pronunciation to n.

Priest

To ordain as priest.

Nun

A woman religious

Priest

A clergyman in Christian churches who has the authority to perform or administer various religious rites; one of the Holy Orders

Nun

A buoy resembling a cone

Priest

A spiritual leader in a non-Christian religion

Nun

The 14th letter of the Hebrew alphabet

Common Curiosities

What is the main difference between a nun and a priest?

The main difference lies in their roles and duties; nuns dedicate their lives to prayer, service, and community life, while priests focus on sacramental ministry and leading congregations.

Can nuns become priests?

In the Catholic Church, nuns cannot become priests as ordination is reserved for men. However, both nuns and priests serve the church in different capacities.

Do nuns and priests live in the same community?

Nuns live in convents or monasteries, often in female-only communities, whereas priests may live in rectories, seminaries, or religious communities that could be male-only or mixed, depending on their order.

What vows do nuns and priests take?

Nuns take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience within their religious community. Priests take vows of celibacy (in the Catholic Church) and obedience, and if they are religious priests, they may also take a vow of poverty.

Can nuns and priests marry?

Nuns and priests in the Catholic Church take vows of celibacy, meaning they do not marry. In some branches of Christianity, such as certain Orthodox and Anglican traditions, priests may marry before ordination.

What is the role of a nun in the church?

A nun's role is primarily one of prayer, service, and living in community, including teaching, healthcare, and other forms of ministry within and outside their convent or monastery.

Do priests always live in churches?

Priests do not necessarily live in churches; they may live in rectories, religious communities, or other accommodations provided by their diocese or religious order.

How does one become a nun or a priest?

To become a nun, a woman must undergo a period of candidacy, novitiate, and then take temporary followed by final vows. To become a priest, a man must complete seminary education and be ordained by a bishop.

Are all nuns cloistered?

Not all nuns are cloistered; some live in active communities where they engage in various forms of ministry outside the convent, while cloistered nuns live in seclusion, focusing on prayer and contemplation.

What sacraments can priests administer that nuns cannot?

Priests can administer most sacraments, including the Eucharist, Baptism, and Marriage. Nuns do not administer sacraments, though they may assist in the church's educational and charitable activities.

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Author Spotlight

Written by
Tayyaba Rehman
Tayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
Co-written by
Fiza Rafique
Fiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.

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