Lay Brothers

Lay Brothers a name for a class of Romish illiterate persons who in convents devote themselves to the service of the monks. They wear a different habit from the monks, but never enter the choir, nor are present at the chapters. The only vow they make is of obedience and constancy. They were first employed in the 11th century. In the nunneries there are also lay sisters, or sisters converse, who hold a similar relation in the service of the nuns. See Farrar, Eccles. Dict. s.v.