Conventuals
(1.) Monks or clerical knights who are members of a convent, and have the right of voting at the meetings (conventus). SEE CONVENT.
(2.) Monks in general, in opposition to hermits.
(3.) In several orders, especially the mendicant, Conventuals is a name for those congregations which follow a mitigated rule, SEE FRANCISCANS, SEE CARMELITES, in opposition to the Observants (q.v.), who demand the observance of the rigorous primitive rule, and who sometimes even pass beyond it. The name is especially applied to the Franciscan conventuals, SEE FRANCISCANS.
(4.) Sometimes, also, a community of candidates for the priesthood, who, in a monastic manner, lived in common under a provost, were designated by this name.
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More