www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life The Christian East & West Byzantine Prayer Rope

An interesting page

http://www.grigaitis.net/?doc=articles/chotki/index.html

Thanks Pani Rose!

I just saved a copy of the PDF.

In IC XC,
Father Anthony+

Dear Pani Rose,

An excellent article - I did not know that there is the tradition of the 33 beads x 3 - this is how the Muslims divide their beads and I know they got this tradition from the Christians.

St Basil the Great prescribed the 100 knots divided every 25 and his was the original "Jesus Psalter" as 300 Jesus Prayers substitute for one Kathisma of the Psalter (thus the variation of 300 knots on a single prayer rope) and 6000 can replace all 20 Kathismata. The three divider beads, as envisioned by the Great Father, refer to the three-fold Doxology in the Kathisma itself.

Alex

Dear Pani,

The prayers on the dividers is an interesting issue that was finally settled for me by the Old Believer tradition.

Many Old Believers say the "Hail Mary" on the divider beads and some begin the 100 with an "Our Father" as well. One always says the Psalmic Doxology at the end of each 100 Jesus Prayers (Glory be . . .Alleluia, Alleluia, Glory to you O Lord, Lord have mercy 3X and Glory be . . .).

The prayer rope with a divider every ten beads or knots is used with the brief invocation to the Mother of God: Most Holy Theotokos save us (or me a sinner). St Seraphim of Sarov used it to say the rule of the Theotokos with an Our Father dividing every decade.

I recently obtained a blessing from a priest to wear my prayer rope on my wrist - but I usually don't since this upsets my wife . . . I guess she thinks I'm mulling over escaping to Mt Athos some day . . .

Alex

Aren't we all mulling over that.... I know I have dreamed about it before...

Chris

I'd have to be re-plumbed

M.

You know, this guy has a pretty interesting site in general...

The Celtic monks, from Patrick (and before?), prayed hundreds of Our Fathers, in lieu of all 150 psalms a day - an early form of the Office. They often used strings of beads or rocks, or just counted rocks out on the ground - this was particularly for the illiterate who could not read the psalms.

I'm intrigued with the Coptic Orthodox, and claims and apparent parallels with Celtic monasticism. Certainly Pachomian monasticism was the rule of the day in the East, and with Martin & Hilary from the east, going to the west, and influencing Patrick and the Gallic and Gaelic monks, eastern monasticism making early inroads in Ireland and Europe seems likely.

Do the Copts use the Jesus Prayer? I've seen icons of their saints with beads, but is it the same or similar tradition?

Did the early Celtic monks use the Jesus Prayer?

Patrick's rule, calling for the use of the so many Our Fathers, seems to have made an evolution to Irish laity with the constant use of the Marian Rosary, particularly at Lough Derg and Lochan Ora.

How much of an impact has "The Way of the Pilgrim" and the Jesus Prayer made on Europe? on America?

On the American scene, I only became aware of it in 1977/78, due to Trappist monk & abbot Basil Pennington, and his many month stay on Mount Athos. Centering prayer, and the Jesus Prayer, became much better known to American Catholics after that.

Certainly the komboskinion is used monastically. How well is it used by laity? Do any of you know of its incorporation as an ersatz breviary - a substitute for the Divine Office - particularly for the ill or elderly? What about the young? Do any of you know of it being prayed communally?

There are good chotkis (prayer ropes) available through Light and Life Publishers. They are black wool, and they are in 33, 50 and 100 knots.

http://www.light-n-life.com/shoppin...op&SearchIn=TopicId&TopicNum=109
(toward the bottom of the page)

-- John

Dear AthoniteMichael,

Thank you for posing so many interesting questions! Here's my shot at some albeit incomplete answers.

We do know that the Celtic Christian tradition took its inspiration from Egypt and the Thebaid, thanks to St John Cassian who brought his comprehensive description of the Coptic monastic traditions to Europe.

For example, the Celtic Christians prayed the psalms in groups of 12 psalms, as does the Coptic Church. On feast-days, depending on their rank, the Celts would pray 12, 24, 36 or more psalms, simply multiplying the 12 standard unit.

St Maelruain divided his psalter into 12 groups of 12 and 13 psalm units, beginning and ending each unit with an Our Father. At the end of each psalm, the Celtic monks prayed "O God come to my assistance, O Lord make haste to help me" from psalm 69.

Celtic monks divided the psalter into three 'fifties' and would often say all 150 psalms daily or even twice in one day - the Coptic traditon of St Pachomios, revealed by an Angel, prescribed the praying of a 12 psalm unit at the beginning of each hour of the day and night, starting at 6:00 am. Ethiopian monks pray this way i.e. twelve times in the day and twelve at night. Ethiopian and Coptic laity are expected to pray seven times a day re: the Agbeya or the Coptic Horologion.

It was St Paul of Thebes who imitated the practice of the desert Fathers to have so many pebbles or else knots on a cord to count his Our Fathers or the prayer above, "O God come to my assistance." This latter prayer was the "Jesus Prayer" of the Thebaid and monks prayed this or another short prayer throughout the day and constantly.

The practice of substituting Our Fathers for the Hours is an Eastern one, and on Mt Athos to this day, novices are expected to pray 150 Our Fathers and 150 Hail Mary's daily, with a prostration to the ground after each prayer.

It was St Seraphim of Sarov who taught a prayer rule of 150 Our Father's and 150 Hail Mary's to be said for one's relatives and friends, living or dead - and then one was to ask for a singular favour, something one really needed, and it would be granted.

Coptic monks did and do today use a form of the Jesus Prayer but their Church has not "standardized" a set formula as the Orthodox East has (which is "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner").

The Celtic monks used the intro to Psalm 69 and also had prayer ropes with 33 or more knots on which they would also say "Jesus, Saviour, Son of God, have mercy on me!" and other versions.

Alex