What exactly is the Jesus Prayer? Do Byzantines typically use prayer beads? Do Byzantines pray the Rosary?

Gus,
Glory to Jesus Christ!
Typically, the "Jesus Prayer" also called "Prayer of the Heart" is "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner." The rope used to pray it is called a "chotki" or simply a "prayer rope." Many Eastern Christians, Catholic and Orthodox wear one that has thirty four knoted "beads" on it. It is worn on the wrist like a bracelet but never as a decoration, always as a reminder to pray. One of the knots on the wrist rope is a different color or material. (usually the ropes are knotted by monks or nuns and done with a special knot that forms a cross, they pray for those who will be using the rope while they are making it) On that knot we add a prayer to the Mother of God (ie "Through the Prayers of the Mother of God, O Saviour, save us." or "Mother of God, intercede for us.") Some prayer ropes have 100 knots. You carry those with you. The idea of the Jesus Prayer comes from St. Paul's admonition to "pray always." Many people who pray this prayer sychronize the phrases with their breathing and with practice it becomes a constant prayer while awake. The knots aren't so much to keep count like in the Western rosary and there are no "mysteries." The rope is simply a tangible tool to help one pray and a "sacramental". The Jesus Prayer is really a summation of the whole Gospel and the words are taken almost directly from the Gospels. We need to call on the Holy Name of Jesus, we have access to the Father through Him, we acknowledge Him as Lord, and we need His mercy and love for us to live lives worthy of our calling. This prayer allow one to enter into a constant union with God through Christ. It is a very ancient form of prayer and predates the rosary. To learn more about it read "The Way of the Pilgrim and the Pilgrim Continues his Journey" these books were anonymouly written by a Russian in the 19th century. It is a story of a man on a physical and spiritual journey trying to answer the question, "How can we pray always?" There is an excellent edition published by Image Books in 1992, translated by Helen Bacovin, (ISBN 0-385-46814-8) Try ordering through <Amazon.com>.
Many Byzantine Catholics pray the rosary and that is a fine thing as a private devotion. Byzantines have our their spiritual traditions and should be aware of those as well.
God bless.

[This message has been edited by Batushka (edited 02-13-99).]

[This message has been edited by Batushka (edited 02-13-99).]

Great post!

Dear Gus,

One may use any counting device to recite the Jesus Prayer on - early monks had staffs with notches on them and they would count their prayers as they stood by using their thumb, going over the knotches.

I have just such a "prayer stick" or "Miquamia" from Ethiopia with such knotches.

The "rosary" has been prayed in the East since the 8th century, according to St Seraphim of Sarov.

Many Eastern Christians seem to be confused that since this devotion is so popular in the West - then it must be a Latin devotion.

And this is simply based on misinformation - and certainly not on the lives of Orthodox saints!

The nuns at Diveyevo monastery in Russia pray this rule, 150 Hail Mary's, out loud and together as they walk around the perimeter of their monastery.

On special feast-days, they sing the Hail Mary troparion 150 times.

Alex

Alex,

Gus unregistered long ago (see below his name). It was "daily monk" who resurrected this post from 1999 (years before you came into our midst). I'm sure Gus would have enjoyed your post.

Dear Father Deacon,

My apologies - it was early in the morning when I read that!

And I was already on the forum in that year.

I guess I should have remembered, no?

Alex

That is too funny. I was wondering how someone unregistered was able to post! That just shows how caught up we get in the topics.

Posters who show up as "unregistered" are those whose membership data was lost when we had a server crash in 2001. If they re-registered using the identical name it picked up their old posts under the new registration.

Thanks for the info, here's what I found.

http://www.unicorne.org/orthodoxy/hiver2004/stseraphim.htm

The Prayer Rule of St Seraphim of Sarov:
A Rosary By Any Other Name . . .

What a simply charming coincidence!

Dear daily monk,

Thank you for posting that brilliant article that so succinctly and lucidly explains this entire point!

You have excellent taste in URL's and are obviously someone of deep personal, spiritual culture and intelligence!

( )

Alex

Yes, that was a great article!

Some people have an incredible talent for explaining things!

I am grateful to Daily Monk and the author.

Michael

Alex

Tsk tsk

Dear Friends,

While we are on the topic of the Jesus Prayer.

I want to make the prayer inclusive.

Is it OK to pray, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on US sinners?"

Paul

I am pretty sure that would be an acceptable traditional form of prayer, but something makes me think it would be better for public recitation, as in a group aloud.

But that would be a lot like the chaplet of Divine Mercy, wouldn't it?

Somehow I think these devotions have a connection.

I wonder what the "experts" would say. We might have to refer back to that website!

Michael

Dear Paul,

You've touched on a fascinating aside!

Traditionally, we are NOT permitted to pray "us sinners" because we may only accuse ourselves, each individually, of being "a sinner."

When the Jesus Prayer is used in the plural, it is always "have mercy on us. Amen."

And some monasteries may say "us sinners" but that is because of the monastics' intimate spiritual connection with one another.

While we're at it, here is how we can make the Sign of the Cross using the Jesus Prayer.

The Old Believers, of course, bunch up the thumb and last two fingers of the hand (the Holy Trinity) and extend the index finger with the middle finger that is slightly bent (the Divine Son of God "bent the heavens" and came down to earth to become Man by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary).

Those two fingers represent Christ, of course. But we may also use the three fingers as well.

We say "Lord" while touching our forehead to signify Christ's eternal procession from the Father as True Light from True Light.

Then we place our hand on our belly to signify Christ coming down from heaven to assume Flesh in the womb of the Most Holy Virgin Mary and we say "Jesus Christ."

Then we go to the right shoulder to say "Son of God" to indicate that when He completed His work on earth, He was crucified, died, was buried, arose on the third day and ascended to heaven where He sits at the Right Hand of God the Father.

Then we move to the left shoulder and say, "have mercy on us" or "have mercy on me a sinner" to ask the Lord to save us from the Left and to forgive us our sins and number us among those who will stand on His Right at the Final Judgement.

Then we release our arm and then bow our heads as we say "Amen."

Alex

Paromer,

It is not, to my knowledge, acceptable. The Jesus Prayer is to be prayed until it is internalized, and patterned to the very breaths a person takes. In Orthodox tradition, the Prayer itself is supposed to be taught by one's Spiritual Father, so that proper breathing patterns, etc are established. It is the simplist of prayers, yet whole books have been written around it. I would not alter it.

As to corporate use, yes, in classes where the use of the prayer has been taught, under the direction of the clergy teaching the class, A class I was in was once directed in a corporate prayer in the chapel to use "us" as each took it in turn to pray one rope before passing it to the next person. As this was evening and the chapel was lit only by candlelight, it was a very moving experience...All in the chapel, kneeling...and one voice in darkness, with the prayer...as it ran through your own heart...until someone passed you a prayer rope and you continued the prayer yourself.

Occassionally these classes in the Jesus Prayer are offered by various Orthodox Churches...and open to all denominations. The class I attended had a Roman Catholic priest, a female Methodist (?)minister, and many other laity of all denominations... and was taught by an Orthodox Deacon. All were most welcome, and shared an interest in the prayer itself.

Dear Gaudior,

And the New Age movement has also appropriated the Jesus Prayer and one may pay to attend classes in how to say it given by those who are not Christians!

However, sometimes those who use the Prayer for "psychosomatic" satisfaction or whatever are brought to its true meaning . . .

Once, when sitting in a dentist's chair, a woman stood by me talking about her Buddish mantra. She belonged a sect "Nicheren" or something like that.

I suggested she take up the Jesus Prayer!

"But I"m Jewish!" she said.

"I didn't know the Buddha figured as one of the Old Testament prophets!" I replied - tongue in cheek (actually the dentist's hand had my tongue in my cheek at the time).

In any event, I got her a copy of the "Way of the Pilgrim."

She's doing well . . .

Alex

Alex....

You will notice I very carefully said...under direction of spiritual father...taught by Orthodox Deacon...

Yes. it is sad that most who use these prayers use them as New-Age mantras.

I applaud your choice, though.

It is more appalling that several people make choices that do not understand them: Yoga, some martial arts repetitions, and other "relaxation techniques contain affirmations to other gods than Christ, and because the simple-minded never ask the meaning of the words they are asked to repeat, they repeat them.

But that is doubtless a topic for another thread.

My point is that no rule of prayer, or alteration to one's rule of prayer, however valid, should be made without consultation with one's Spiritual Father. He may feel it is not best or wisest for you to undertake such at the moment. As hard as it is in our daily culture, our Church needs to be our ruling guide in matters spiritual.

Friends,

Perhaps I am being influenced by the Fatima prayer:

"Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins. Save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of thy mercy."

The plural is used is used extensively in the Fatima prayer. It is a pious intention to pray for all sinners in the world.

However, I believe the Jesus prayer has some root in the prayer in the parable of the publican. He pleads for mercy for himself. This is not unlike our contrition for our personal sins when we receive the mystery of confession.

I can see there is a place for both kinds of prayers in our prayer life.

Paul

This should win a prize as the oldest active thread on the board!

Dear Paul,

Yes, but the East will continue to insist on the "I" even in corporate prayer, whereas the West would tend to override the "I" and more frequently substitute with "us."

For example, the Nicene Creed that we Easterners recite always begins with "I believe" and this in the midst of large congregations.

Faith is always a personal event. It is made within the context of the Church, yes, but it always refers to "me" and "my" response to Christ.

There is nothing wrong with the Fatima decade prayer.

It was, after all, approved for public and private use in 1956, the year I was born . . .



Alex

Alex,

I hear there is a proposal in the Latin Church to replace the "We" in the Nicene Creed with "I". I don't know if it will happen.

I believe the Apostles' Creed still uses "I believe..."

Paul

Dear Paul,

I hope that you guys will return to the Apostolic faith one day . . .

I'm still not over the whole issue regarding your use of azymes . . .

Alex

At Niciea it was "we".

Then the words were changed. Instead of a statement of the deposit of faith, guarded by the church, to which we adhere, it became a statement of personal belief. Yadayadayada ... private judgement, Protestant Reformation, ... secularization, ...

I think it all began when the Creed was altered.

DEar djs,

Actually, the form used in the Divine Liturgy is the baptismal version, the one used by catechumens where the "I" is used.

Certainly, at Nicea the "we" would have been used as it was the expression of the Council Fathers - ie. all the Fathers would have subscribed to it.

There are other examples in our Liturgy where the "I's" have it, such as the prayer of the Thief prior to Communion.

Alex

I just finished rereading the Way of the Pilgrim and it strikes me that the use of the Jesus Prayer by the Pilgrim and that done by the Hesychasts was directed at related but differing goals by degree. The goal of both was communion with Christ but at the Pilgrim's level was to make the prayer self-activating lofty in itself, while that of the Hesychasts was to see the Light of Tabor, something granted to but a few.

The reason I mention this is, and I am not accusing anyone here of this, many speak of the Jesus Prayer as if everyone's goal should be Tabor, when in fact noone chooses this but is gifted this by Christ, even though the gift is preceded by an intensive preparation. Remember even only three of the Apostles were chosen not all twelve.

So while everyone needs a spiritual director, I don't think the practice of the Jesus Prayer as done by the Pilgrim could be spiritually harmful. On the otherhand practice of the advanced techniques required for the Tabor experience could only be undertaken in our society by a monastic and even then one of many years whose has been tested and judged by his/her superior. To undertake these techniques without adequate prepartion and training could indeed be spiritually disasterous.

Fr. Deacon Lance

For me the Jesus prayer is a way to ask forgiveness and pray without ceaseing, I never thought of it in anyother way. Tell me more about Tabor, if you will?

Simply put it is the direct experience of the Uncreated Light (Energy) of the Trinity like SS. Peter, John and James experienced on Mt. Tabor.

Hmmmmmm.

The experience of Tabor would be a lovely thing, but it's one of those "grace" things - not entirely under our control.

To me, the Jesus Prayer is about relationship - it very succinctly defines where I stand, what I am, who HE is, and which way things flow.

Making it into that self-sustaining prayer of the heart - well, it's like unto having an internet connection that's "always up." Oh - and it's potentially bidirectional.

Un-theologically yours,

Sharon

Grace is given freely we just have to access it. It's given to all...

Dear daily monk,

Too true!

But the experience of Tabor, while grace-filled, is not something that is given to all to experience, nor should it be something that we should all aspire to.

St Paul himself describes the various gifts given to the various members of the Body of Christ.

The Jesus Prayer does indeed transfigure us in Christ by the Spirit. It is a long and arduous process of Theosis.

And some of us may be drawn up to the Mount to see the Lord, experience the Light and the Cloud and hear the Voice.

For most of us, however, we are called to listen to the stillness of the Voice within our hearts as they beat out the words of the Prayer.

(Am I good or what? )

Alex

I have read St. Paul many times and have never read of the Tabour light, nor do I believe God is a 'respecter of persons.' We should all aspire to know God and what will be will be...

Dear Daily Monk,

Yes, the point is that we shouldn't be too, too upset if we all don't become like St Seraphim of Sarov.

It is possible and we should be open to it, but our business is in humility and continual prayer.

What will be - will truly be, by God's Will, and not ours.

Alex