Byzantine Rosary!

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Phillip_Rolfes

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Hello All,

I just wanted to provide some links to a few variations of the “Byzantine Rosary,” more commonly known as the “Prayer Rule of the Theotokos.” This work has been in large part due to our old friend, Alex Roman, who is sadly no longer on the forums. But he provided the translation of the Encyclopedia of Orthodoxy that made the reconstruction of the Rule in one of its forms possible. 👍 I miss Alex. 😦

Anyhow, here is the Rule in three forms:

themasterbeadsman.blogspot.com/2012/05/prayer-rule-of-theotokos-ii-st-seraphim.html

themasterbeadsman.blogspot.com/2012/05/prayer-rule-of-theotokos-iii-st.html

themasterbeadsman.blogspot.com/2012/05/prayer-rule-of-theotokos-iv.html

What do y’all think?
 
O thats kool, I <3 Eastern Spirituality 👍 thanks for sharing, God bless and the holy Theotokos guide you
 
Awesome, I love Eastern traditions, the only thing is that if I became an Eastern Catholic, I would have to give up the Latin Rosary (which I love so much!)
 
BListon said:
Awesome, I love Eastern traditions, the only thing is that if I became an Eastern Catholic, I would have to give up the Latin Rosary (which I love so much!)
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What makes you think that? :confused:
 
BListon said:
Aren’t Eastern Catholics/ Orthodox forbidden to pray the rosary, because its too “Latinized”?
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There is no prohibition. We just do not like organized, public prayer of the Rosary because that is not Eastern Spirituality. If you wish to pray the Rosary at home, it is up to you.
 
BListon said:
Aren’t Eastern Catholics/ Orthodox forbidden to pray the rosary, because its too “Latinized”?
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In another post on my blog I mentioned how during the Baroque period the Latin (or, more properly, Dominican) rosary was actually quite popular among both Eastern Catholics and Orthodox in Ukraine, as well as Orthodox in Greece. They are certainly not forbidden to pray the rosary as a private devotion. The primary Latinization, in this case, isn’t so much the recitation of the rosary (even publicly), but its recitation before the Divine Liturgy instead of the celebration of Orthros/Matins or Third Hour.

St. Seraphim of Sarov had the nuns of the Diveyevo convent recite the Prayer Rule of the Theotokos together as they walked three times around their convent property. So it would seem that there is some precedence for a group recitation of the Rule, just not in place of the celebration of the Hours.
 
One other thing I should mention. According to the Encyclopedia of Orthodoxy the Virgin Theotokos revealed that this Prayer Rule is more important even than the singing of Akathists, and that those who fulfill this Rule will receive her special protection.
 
BListon said:
Awesome, I love Eastern traditions, the only thing is that if I became an Eastern Catholic, I would have to give up the Latin Rosary (which I love so much!)
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No you don’t. You can do whatever you want.

I am of the belief that the Rosary is for the WHOLE Church, not just the Latin Church. Our Lady at Fatima made no qualifications saying that only Romans should pray the Rosary. Now, whether or not the Easterns would like to focus on their Marian devotions rather than the Rosary in their public services is a different thing altogether, but I can’t imagine ANY Eastern Catholic priest telling people NOT to pray the Rosary.

One problem at the Eastern parish I go to is that ladies used to pray the Rosary together before the English liturgy. Somehow that got abolished, but it wasn’t replaced by ANYTHING. So now everyone just sits there when they used to pray the Rosary.
 
  1. O Most Holy Sovereign Theotokos, grant me an untroubled and peaceful end and lead my soul through the terrible toll-houses.
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I think a Catholic would have to omit the “toll-house” thing. It’s not a Catholic belief. There are even many Orthodox who say that this is a gnostic teaching (I agree).

How about this?

14) O Most Holy Sovereign Theotokos, grant me an untroubled and peaceful end and lead my soul through the terrible pains of purgatory.

Hey Phillip, you have a pretty slick-looking blog by the way!
 
Tradycja said:
One problem at the Eastern parish I go to is that ladies used to pray the Rosary together before the English liturgy. Somehow that got abolished, but it wasn’t replaced by ANYTHING. So now everyone just sits there when they used to pray the Rosary.
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That is indeed problematic. Matins/Orthros or the Third Hour should’ve replaced the public recitation of the rosary. I’ve known priests who have put a strong emphasis on replacing “Latinizations” with our own proper Eastern customs, instead of just abolishing the Latinization. Folks have to have something to “fill the void” (for lack of a better term). You can’t just take away one spiritual devotion saying, “This isn’t our tradition,” without then supplying or supplementing that newly created spiritual vacuum with a suitable replacement from our tradition.
 
Tradycja said:
I think a Catholic would have to omit the “toll-house” thing. It’s not a Catholic belief. There are even many Orthodox who say that this is a gnostic teaching (I agree).

How about this?

14) O Most Holy Sovereign Theotokos, grant me an untroubled and peaceful end and lead my soul through the terrible pains of purgatory.

Hey Phillip, you have a pretty slick-looking blog by the way!
Click to expand...
Referencing “the terrible pains” of purgatory may also prove problematic within the Eastern tradition as the emphasis would not be one the pains, but on the process of theosis. That being said, however, I don’t know how one would suitably change the prayer. But I do note that the original says simply “Tole House” and not “Tole Houses.” The problematic theology is when one refers to “Houses” that one passes through in the after life on the journey to God’s eternal Kingdom. If there is only one “House” through which we must travel, could we not think of that house as purgatory and then leave the prayer alone?

It’s just a thought. Ultimately I don’t like to speculate too much on purification in the afterlife. Both East and West recognize that such a purification exists, but the nature of that purification is all speculation as none of us has first hand experience. 😛
 
There is one more thing I’d like to mention. I agree with Tradycja that the rosary is for everyone, if by rosary he is not limiting it to the Dominican rosary with which most Catholics (and even Orthodox) are familiar. Our own Byzantine tradition supplies us with an equivalent to the Dominican rosary in the Prayer Rule of the Theotokos, and the Virgin Theotokos herself has revealed to us that this is the most important devotion to her, even above Akathists.

In encouraging Christians of the Byzantine tradition (be they Catholic or Orthodox) to pray the rosary daily, I would encourage them to (re)adopt the rosary as our tradition has supplied it to us, and as it has been handed down since the 8th Century. I encourage this in no way to denigrate the Dominican rosary. Heaven forbid. My own spiritual father is a Dominican priest. I think he’d have my head if I started bashing the Dominican rosary. He had a hard enough time containing himself when I told him I’d sold my copy of the Summa. 😃 But I encourage Byzantines to pray their own authentic version of the rosary in an effort to restore Eastern tradition, which includes restoring this more ancient form of the rosary. 👍

Incidentally, there are other forms of the rosary in the Latin West. The so-called “Franciscan Crown” and the “Brigittine Rosary” are both rosaries also associated with religious orders. I would wonder if the Franciscans and the Carmelites are under any “obligation” (for lack of a better word) to also pray the Dominican rosary, in light of the visions at Fatima; or if their rosaries are sufficient to fulfill Our Lady’s request. If their rosaries are sufficient, does that mean that anyone could pray either the Dominican rosary, the Franciscan Crown, or the Brigittine rosary - to say nothing of the Prayer Rule of the Theotokos - and still be fulfilling Our Lady’s wishes? Personally I’d prefer to interpret Our Lady’s request in this broader sense.
 
Phillip_Rolfes said:
Incidentally, there are other forms of the rosary in the Latin West. The so-called “Franciscan Crown” and the “Brigittine Rosary” are both rosaries also associated with religious orders. I would wonder if the Franciscans and the Carmelites are under any “obligation” (for lack of a better word) to also pray the Dominican rosary, in light of the visions at Fatima; or if their rosaries are sufficient to fulfill Our Lady’s request. If their rosaries are sufficient, does that mean that anyone could pray either the Dominican rosary, the Franciscan Crown, or the Brigittine rosary - to say nothing of the Prayer Rule of the Theotokos - and still be fulfilling Our Lady’s wishes? Personally I’d prefer to interpret Our Lady’s request in this broader sense.
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I have two Franciscan Crowns. 👍
I know the Franciscans of the Immaculate carry regular Dominican Rosaries, I think.
I too like to see Our Lady’s request as a broader, more encompassing way.
Phillip, it would be interesting if you could make a San Damiano cross out of knots. I bet you could do it…
Code: 
                                                        XXX
                                                          X
                                                     XXXXXXX
                                                       XXXXX
                                                         XXX
                                                         XXX
🤷
 
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