www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall No Cross on the Rosary?

Hi Folks:

In the RC tradition praying the Rosary with its 5 decades of beads is a well regarded tradition. Its also does not take a rocket scientist to note that reverence for the Holy Mother is a pillar of the Orthodox practices as well. One difference I have noticed is the absence of a cross on the prayer ropes and beads of the Orthodox rosaries. Since the RC rosaries have a cross or crucifix on the end of its short length I guess I anticipated an Orthodox cross on the Byzantine Catholic item. Am I off base. Does the Ruthenian tradition favor one item over another? Thoughts? Comments?

Best Wishes,

Bruce

The prayer rope of Eastern tradition is really not a Rosary. It is used primarily by monastics as an aid to continual prayer. For each "bead", the Jesus Prayer is recited ("Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.").

I personally use one (called a "Chotki" in my circles, a "Komboskini" by others) during Great Lent on a daily basis, and in times of personal trial or weakness.

There are other posters on this Forum who can give a better explanation, I'm sure, but hope this helps in the meantime.

Also, there was a recent thread that provided a vendor for such, in case you are interested. I ordered one and was quite pleased with it. Here's a link to the previous thread: Prayer Rope

Bruce:

Christ is in our midst!! He is and always will be!!

I don't understand what you are referring to here. I have had two chotki and they have both had a a cross at the juncture of the knots. Is it that you are referring ot a crucifix rather than a cross? There is always a cross on the end of a prayer cord/chotki as you can see if you follow the link above.

Bob

Thank you so very much for the information....and the link. Very much appreciated.

I must be confusing items....or maybe I am underestimating how much variance there is. But, yes, Joe, the "CHOTKI" was the item I was thinking of. Its not that I meant that there is NO cross at all as the items for sale by the monastery obviously have a cross knotted into the prayer rope. Rather, I think I expected to see an Orthodox cross at the end in the manner that the RC rosary has a crucifix.

And now I understand that the prayer rope can have as many as 100 knots AND can also use beads which I was surprised to learn. There was also a site that I stumble across that identified a number of prayers which can be used including 3 different versions of the Jesus Prayer each done 33 times. Again this is a bit surprising as the RC rosary is very strictly limited as to the prayers and the order in which the prayers are organized.

Would it be fair to say that the use of the CHOTKI is more of a tool for organizing one's practice, much like the mala used by Buddhists? The RC rosary, I think would be much more of a standard recitation of prayer. Might this be how Byzantine Catholics view it as compared to their own practice? Thoughts?

Best Wishes,

Bruce

I don't think I've ever seen a prayer rope without a Cross on it. The Lestovka doesn't normally have a Cross (although the ones I make do), but even then they have the lapotski, which carry a great deal of Trinitarian significance.

Perhaps you could post a picture of a prayer rope without a Cross?

All of my chotkis have crosses on them. I'm not sure it is a good idea to equate the two devotional articles - kind of like apples and oranges - both are round and fruit but that about ends the similarities.

Prayer ropes are many centuries older than the Rosary, in fact Tradition teaches that they were developed by St. Pachomius in the 4th century.

Wonderful prayer ropes by Phillip can be seen in our photo gallery

Thanks for posting that. ;D

Those are gorgeous!! I would think that anyone would be proud to have their minds turned towards God in such a beautiful way. Thanks for posting.

Best Wishes,

Bruce