Eastern Orthodox prayer rope

A prayer rope (Greek: komboskini, Russian: vervitsa, Romanian: mătănii, South Slavic: Brojanica, "Бројаница") is a loop made up of complex knots, usually out of wool, that is used by Eastern Orthodox Christians and Eastern Catholics to count the number of times they have prayed the Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages Romanian or Daco-Romanian ( dated: Rumanian or Roumanian; self designation limba română, ˈlimba roˈmɨnə is a Romance South Slavic languages comprise one of the three geographical groups of Slavic languages (besides West and East Slavic) The word " loop " has two different senses when used in reference to knots. KNOT (1450 AM) is a commercial Classic Country music Radio station in Prescott Arizona, broadcasting to the Flagstaff - Prescott Wool is the fiber derived from the specialized skin cells called follicles of animals in the Caprinae family principally sheep, but the hair of certain species The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings This article refers to Eastern Churches in full communion with the Holy See Prayer is the act of attempting to communicate with a Deity or spirit The Jesus Prayer, also called the Prayer of the Heart, is a short formulaic prayer often uttered repeatedly "^[1]

Description

Historically, the prayer rope would typically have 100 knots, although prayer ropes with 50 or 33 knots can also be found in use today. There are even small, 10-knot prayer ropes intended to be worn on the finger. Hermits in their cells may have prayer ropes with as many as 500 knots in them.

There is typically a knotted cross where the prayer rope is joined together to form a loop, and a few beads at certain intervals between the knots (usually every 10 or 25 knots) for ease in counting. The Christian cross is the best-known Religious symbol of Christianity. A bead is a small decorative object that is pierced for threading or stringing Longer prayer ropes frequently have a tassel at the end of the cross; its purpose is to dry the tears shed due to heartfelt compunction for one's sins. Repentance is a change of thought and action to correct a wrong and gain Forgiveness from the one wronged The tassel can also be said to represent the glory of the Heavenly Kingdom, which one can only enter through the Cross.

The prayer rope is commonly made out of wool, symbolizing the flock of Christ; though in modern times other materials are used also. The traditional color of the rope is black (symbolizing mourning for one's sins), with either black or colored beads. The beads (if they are colored) and at least a portion of the tassel are traditionally red, symbolizing the blood of Christ and the blood of the martyrs. In recent times, however, prayer ropes have been made in a wide variety of colors.

Though prayer ropes are often tied by monastics, lay persons are permitted to tie them also. In proper practice, the person tying a prayer rope should be of true faith and pious life and should be praying the Jesus Prayer the whole time.

Use

When praying, the prayer rope is normally held in the left hand (leaving the right hand free to make the Sign of the Cross). The Sign of the Cross, or Signum crucis in Latin is a ritual hand motion made by members of many but not all branches of Christianity. When not in use, the prayer rope should be wrapped around the left wrist so that it continues to remind one to pray without ceasing. If this is impractical, it may be placed in the (left) pocket, but should not be hung around the neck or suspended from the belt. The reason for this is humility: one should not be ostentatious or conspicuous in displaying the prayer rope for others to see.

During their Tonsure (religious profession), Orthodox Monks and Nuns are given a prayer rope, with the words:

Accept, O brother/sister (name), the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:17) in the everlasting Jesus prayer by which you should have the name of the Lord in your soul, your thoughts, and your heart, saying always: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner. Tonsure is the practice of some Christian churches mystics Buddhist novices and Monks and some Hindu temples of cutting the Hair from the MONK is a Monte Carlo software package for simulating nuclear processes particularly for the purpose of determining the neutron multiplication factor or k-effective A Nun is a Woman who has taken special vows committing her to a religious life "

The prayer rope is considered to be the sword of the Spirit, because prayer which is heartfelt and inspired by the grace of the Holy Spirit is a weapon that defeats the Devil. In mainstream Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is one of the three entities of the Holy Trinity which make up the single substance mainstream Christianity, the Devil is named Satan, sometimes Lucifer.

In some Russian Orthodox service books, certain services can be replaced when necessary by praying the Jesus Prayer a specified number of times, anywhere from 300 to 1,500 times depending on the service being replaced. See also Eastern Orthodox Church Structure and organization The Slavic Orthodox Church is organized in a hierarchical structure A liturgy is the customary public worship done by a specific religious group according to their particular traditions In this way prayers can still be said even if the service books are for some reason unavailable. The use of a prayer rope is a very practical tool in such cases, simply for keeping count of the prayers said. A broader definition of a tool is an entity used to interface between two or more domains that facilitates more effective action of one domain upon the other

One schema for replacing the Divine Services with the Jesus Prayer is as follows:

Instead of the entire Psalter: 6000 Jesus Prayers

One kathisma of the Psalter: 300 prayers (100 for each stasis)

Midnight Office: 600

Matins: 1500

The Hours without the Inter-Hours: 1000;

The Hours with the Inter-Hours: 1500

Vespers: 600

Great Compline: 700

Small Compline: 400

A Canon or Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos (Mother of God): 500

Over the centuries, various cell rules have developed to help the individual in the daily use of the prayer rope. Canonical hours are divisions of time developed by the Christian Church, serving as increments between the prescribed Prayers of the daily round A Kathisma (Greek καθισμα Slavonic каѳисма kafisma) literally "seat" is a division of the Psalter, used by Eastern Orthodox The Midnight Office ( Greek: Μεσονύκτικον, Mesonýtikon; Slavonic: Полуношница, Polúnoshnitsa; ~The Little Hours are the fixed daytime hours of prayer in the Divine Office of Chrisitians both Western Christianity and the Eastern Orthodox Church The Inter-Hours (Greek Mesoria) are brief services in the Daily Office of the Eastern Orthodox and Greek Catholic Churches Vespers is the evening Prayer service in the Roman Catholic, Eastern (Byzantine Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox, liturgies of the Compline (ˈkɒmplɪn also Complin, Night Prayer, Prayers at the End of the Day) is the final church service (or Office) of the day in the A canon is a structured Hymn used in a number of Eastern Orthodox services The Akathist Hymn (Ἀκάθιστος Ύμνος unseated hymn) is an Eastern Orthodox Christian Hymn dedicated to a Saint, holy Theotokos (Θεοτόκος translit Theotókos) is a title of Mary the mother of Jesus used especially in the Eastern Orthodox, However, there is no single, standardized method that is used universally throughout the Church. There may be prostrations after each prayer or after a certain number of prayers, depending upon the particular rule being followed. Poyasny ("little bow" and zemnoy poklon ("great bow" are different kinds of bows used in an Eastern Orthodox worship service

Not only is the Jesus Prayer used, but Orthodox Christians also have many "Breath Prayers". Contrary to thought, they are not to be said using spiritual breathing, that can only be determined by a spirtual father. Some breath Prayers that are continuously repeated on the Prayer Rope are: Lord Have Mercy, Come Lord Jesus, Lord I Believe. . . Help My Unbelief, Lord Save Me, etc.

History

The history of the prayer rope goes back to the origins of Christian monasticism itself. When monks began going into the deserts of Egypt, it was their custom to pray the entire 150 Psalms every day. Psalms ( Hebrew: Tehilim, תהילים, or "praises" is a book of the Hebrew Bible (the Christian Old Testament) included However, because some of the monks were unable to read, they would either have to memorize the psalms or perform other prayers and prostrations in their stead. Thus the tradition of saying 150 (or more) Jesus Prayers every day began.

The invention of the prayer rope is attributed to Saint Pachomius in the fourth century as an aid for illiterate monks to accomplish a consistent number of prayers and prostrations in their cells. A saint (from the Latin sanctus) is a human being to whom has been attributed (and who has generally demonstrated a high level of Holiness and Sanctity Saint Pachomius (ca 292-348 also known as Abba Pachomius and Pakhom in Arabic الأنبا باخوميوس, is generally recognized as the founder of Monasticism (from Greek μοναχός, monachos, derived from Greek monos, alone is the religious practice in which one Prostration is the placement of the body in a Reverentially or Submissively Prone position Previously, monks would count their prayers by casting pebbles into a bowl, but this was cumbersome, and could not be easily carried about when outside the cell. The use of the rope made it possible to pray the Jesus Prayer unceasingly, whether inside the cell or out, in accordance with Saint Paul's injunction to "Pray without ceasing" (I Thessalonians 5:17). Paul the apostle (שאול התרסי Šaʾul HaTarsi, meaning " Saul of Tarsus " Σαούλ Saul and Σαῦλος Saulos and

It is said that the method of tying the prayer rope had its origins from the Father of Orthodox Monasticism, Saint Anthony the Great. Monasticism (from Greek μοναχός, monachos, derived from Greek monos, alone is the religious practice in which one Saint Anthony the Great (c 251–356 also known as Anthony the Abbot, Anthony of Egypt, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony the Anchorite, He started by tying a leather rope with a simple knot for every time he prayed Kyrie Eleison ("Lord have Mercy"), but the Devil would come and untie the knots to throw off his count. Kýrie is from the Greek word κύριε (kyrie the Vocative case of κύριος (kyrios meaning O Lord. The Devil is the He then devised a way--inspired by a vision he had of the Theotokos--of tying the knots so that the knots themselves would constantly make the sign of the cross. This is why prayer ropes today are still tied using knots that each contain seven little crosses being tied over and over. The Devil could not untie it because the Devil is vanquished by the Sign of the Cross.

In the West, the prayer rope evolved into the Rosary. The Rosary (from Latin rosarium, meaning "rose garden" or "garland of roses" is a popular traditional Roman Catholic devotion.

Notes

1. ^ Other prayers may be said using the prayer rope also, most notably the Angelic Salutation: "Rejoice, O Virgin Theotokos, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, for thou hast borne the Saviour of our souls. " - similar to the Western Hail Mary. The Hail Mary or Ave Maria ( Latin) is a traditional Christian Prayer asking for the Intercession of the Virgin Mary, the

See also

• Hesychasm
• Jesus Prayer
• Lestovka
• Prayer beads
• Rosary

External links

• How to tie an Orthodox Prayer Rope knot
• How To Make an Orthodox Prayer Rope
• The Prayer Rope: Meditations of a Monk of the Holy Mountain Athos
• The Cell Rule of Five Hundred of the Optina Monastery