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==Novice==
'''Novice''' ([[Church Slavonic|Slavonic]]: послушник, ''poslushnik''), lit. "one under obedience"— Those wishing to join a monastery begin their lives as novices. After coming to the monastery and living as a guest for not less than three days, the abbot or abbess may bless the candidate to become a novice. There is no formal ceremony for the clothing of a novice, he or she simply receives permission to wear the clothing of a novice. In the Eastern monastic tradition, novices may or may not dress in the black inner cassock (Greek: ''Anterion'', ''Eisorasson''; Slavonic: ''Podriasnik'') and wear the soft monastic hat (Greek: ''[[SkoufosSkouphos]]'', Slavonic: ''Skufia''), depending on the tradition of the local community, and in accordance to the abbot’s directives. The inner-cassock and the skoufos are the first part of the Orthodox monastic habit. In some communities, the novice also wears the leather belt. He is also given a [[prayer rope]] and instructed in the use of the [[Jesus Prayer]].
If a novice chooses to leave during the period of the novitiate, no penalty is incurred. He may also be asked to leave at any time if his behavior does not conform to the monastic life, or if the superior discerns that he is not called to monasticism. When the abbot or abbess deems the novice ready, he is asked if he wishes to join the monastery. Some, out of humility, will choose to remain novices all their lives. Every stage of the monastic life must be entered into voluntarily.
