Prayer Rope

[Newfie_Catholic]

Good day,my Catholic and Orthodox brethren. I am a Traditionalist Catholic with a great love for the traditions and liturgy of the Orthodox (Russian, Greek, Coptic , those in Communion with Rome etc…). In my opinion they have beautiful prayers and wish to start using a prayer rope in particular. My question is which prayers are used and in which order.

 

[Shiranui117]

As far as I’m aware, a prayer rope is traditionally 100 knots around (but some shorter ropes are 33 knots around), and for each knot, you say, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

I will most likely require correction on this, so please, feel free to correct me.

 

[jtodisco]

I won’t pretend to be an expert by any means, but the prayer rope (aka: chotki), is a rope with varying numbers of knots in it. Traditionally there would be 100 knots, but more and more one finds prayer ropes with only 50 or 33 knots.

On each knot you pray the “Jesus Prayer” which is simply, “Lord Jesus Christ; Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” There are some variations of this prayer, which in most cases are shorter, but this version is meant to line up with one’s breathing. So, you would say “Lord Jesus Christ; Son of God” as you breathe in and “have mercy on me, a sinner” as you breathe out.

With the regular repetition of this short prayer while also regulating your breathing to line up with the prayer one can go into a deeply meditative state, similar to such states as Hindus and Buddhists enter into, the main difference being in this case one is meditating on the Lord Jesus Christ instead of meditating on nothingness.

It is a wonderful devotion, and though I prefer praying the Rosary, I also enjoy the chotki as well. I hope I was able to help clarify things for you a bit.

 

[dcointin]

jtodisco gave an excellent explanation of the practice I keep a prayer rope in my car and pray it occasionally when I’m in traffic, and it instantly reduces my stress and annoyance.

 

[Vico]

Good day,my Catholic and Orthodox brethren. I am a Traditionalist Catholic with a great love for the traditions and liturgy of the Orthodox (Russian, Greek, Coptic , those in Communion with Rome etc…). In my opinion they have beautiful prayers and wish to start using a prayer rope in particular. My question is which prayers are used and in which order.

Prayers are counted on 100 knots of woolen yarn (Russian: Chotki). The Prayer of the Publican: “Lord, have mercy on me a sinner.”

I use the Jesus Prayer: “Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”

Other Languages (Greek and Church Slavonic):

Κύριε Ἰησοῦ Χριστέ, Υἱέ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἐλέησόν με τὸν ἁμαρτωλόν (m) / τὴν ἁμαρτωλόν (f)
KyrieIsou Christe, Ie tou Theou eleison, me ton amartolo (m) / tes amartolo (f)

Господи Ісусе Христе Сыне Божїй помилѹй мѧ грѣшнаго (m) / грѣшнѹю (f)
Hospodi Isuse Christe Syne Bozhij pomiluj mja hrishnaho (m) / hrishnuju (f)

If you want a complete ritual, this is the one published by the Byzantine Nuns of Saint Clare:

• = sign of the cross

O God be merciful to me a sinner . + (three times)

Heavenly King, Comforter, spirit of truth, Who are everywhere present and fill all things, treasury of blessings, and give of life, come and dwell within us, cleanse us of all stain, and save our souls, O gracious One.

Holy God, + holy and mighty, holy and immortal have mercy on us. (three times)
Glory be to the Father, + and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen

Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us; Lord, cleanse us of our sins; Master, forgive our transgressions; come to us, Holy One, and heal our infirmities for Your Name’s sake.
Lord have mercy. (three times) Glory be to the Father, + and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and forever. Amen.

Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory. Father, + Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever, and forever. Amen.

• Come, let us adore our King and God.
• Come, let us adore Christ, our King and our God.
• Come, let us adore and bow down to Christ our King and our God.

Say Psalm 50, Prayer of Repentance

Say the Nicene Creed.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner. (100 times)

It is truly proper to glorify you, O Theotokos,
the Ever-blessed, Immaculate, and the Mother of our God.
More honorable than the Cherubim,
and beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim,
who, a virgin, gave birth to God the Word,
you, truly the Mother of God, we magnify.

Glory be to the Father, + and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
now and ever and forever. Amen.

Lord, have mercy. (three times)

Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Amen.

If you want to chant it, you can use the music from the Divine Liturgy or Vespers, which you should be able to find here: metropolitancantorinstitute.org/

 

[5Loaves]

I too have one in my car.
There is a sung version of the Jesus Prayer on the Theosis CD which I like to use sometimes. Skip to the second selection.

I bought my favorite chotki from the sisters at Holy Myrrhbearers Monastery. It’s made with wool from the sheep on their farm. (They’re hand made so it can take months to get one.)

 

[Nowhere_Man]

Since you’re a traditional Catholic, the Jesus Prayer in Latin is:

Domine Iesu Christe, Fili Dei, miserere mei, peccatoris. (peccatricis if prayed by a female)

 

[SonCatcher]

I won’t pretend to be an expert by any means, but the prayer rope (aka: chotki), is a rope with varying numbers of knots in it. Traditionally there would be 100 knots, but more and more one finds prayer ropes with only 50 or 33 knots.

I suppose in a pinch one could use only the Hail Mary beads on a Rosary.

Fascinating tradition. I’ll have to try it out.

 

[Aramis]

The version I’ve been using, I’ve found on several parish sites.
Make the sign of the cross upon yourself. Then say each of the following prayers accompanied by a prostration to the ground:

O God, be merciful to me, a sinner!
O God, cleanse me of my sins, and have mercy on me!
O Lord, You are my Creator, have mercy on me!
O Lord, forgive me, for I have sinned without number.
And then:O Virgin Lady, Mother of God, save me!
My holy guardian angel, protect me from all harm!

Holy (your patron saint), pray to God for me. Now we pray the Jesus Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
(Om! hundred times)

Some believers use a rope rosary of one hundred knots with larger knots dividing them.
This aid is called a chotki. On the larger knots, we pray:O most holy Mother of God, save us!
+​

stanne-byzcath.org/eastern_jesus_prayer__chotki.htm

 

[Vico]

There is also a way of saying the prayer with the breath, remaining motionless, and considered advanced. The devotion must be foremost, and it leads to a very calm state.

 

[Newfie_Catholic]

Thankyou for your insight and help in this matter and God Bless!

Also thankyou nowhere Man for the Latin translation. As a traditionalist I shall use it quite frequently.

 

[Kokomoka]

Thank you for this post and replies. As a Roman Catholic exploring Orthodoxy and discovering our gift of our Easter Catholic Churches (how ignorant was I?) I’m ever so thankful for this information too.

I don’t have a prayer rope, but instead use my rosary. The Jesus Prayer has proved, for me, to be a soothing and spiritual way to wind down before my evening slumber.

Peace to you!

 

[Phillip_Rolfes]

As I’m sure you’ve noticed by now, there are many ways to use the prayer rope and many rules of prayer attached to the rope. One of the most common ways is simply to make the Sign of the Cross and then begin repeating the Jesus Prayer (or a variation of it) until one’s alloted time for prayer is up. Many of the Church Fathers (both those of the Philokalia and some of the Russian Fathers) recommend repeating the prayer anywhere from 100 to 300 times. It is really up to the recommendation of one’s spiritual father, but if one has no spiritual father (director) the most common recommendation that I’ve found is to say the prayer 100 times.

There are also some minor differences between the Greek and Slavic usage of the prayer rope. The Greeks traditionally just recite the Jesus Prayer over and over. According to Metropolitan Jonah of the OCA it is the recommendation of the Greek Fathers that the prayer be recited as many times as possible, pretty much as fast as possible in order to block all other thoughts out of the mind. The Russian Fathers, on the other hand, recommend that one recite the prayer slowly and with great attention. However, the end of both usages is the same, the elimination of “thoughts” and the focusing of the mind and heart on God (to use the words of St. Theophan the Recluse, one must “stand before God with the mind in the heart.”) The Slavic usage of the prayer has one other slight difference. On the divider beads (which traditionally come every 10 knots for the Slavs instead of half-way or every 25 knots, as in the Greek usage) one recites the prayer, “Most holy Theotokos (or Mother of God), save us.”

As far as the physical methods of the prayer are concerned, the Russian Fathers are all in agreement that one should NOT use the physical methods of prayer unless one has an experienced spiritual father to guide them through the various psychological and psycho-spiritual stages that often accompany such methods. It has been noted by many people (including Metropolitan Jonah of the OCA in a talk that he gave at the Orientale Lumen Conference last year) that without a spiritual guide these physical methods of the prayer have frequently led to insanity. The Russian Fathers all recommend simply focusing on the Jesus Prayer, or whatever prayer one is praying, and trying to pray it with the mind in the heart. This is very much akin to the practice of the presence of God recommended by the mystics of the West (c.f. Francis de Sales “Introduction to the Devout Life”, or any of the writings of John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, or Therese of Liseaux).

All this being said, it is not absolutely necessary that one uses the Jesus Prayer on the prayer rope. As St. Theophan the Recluse points out, the Jesus Prayer is not communion with God, nor is it hesychasm or inner stillness. Rather, the Jesus Prayer is a tool/method of attaining inner stillness and communion with God. One could achieve the same goal by using any short prayer that best aids you to “stand before God with the mind in the heart.” For example, I often find it helpful to recite “Incline my heart according to your will, o God” instead of the Jesus Prayer. The Jesus Prayer, however, is recognized to be the most effective and time-tested method for attaining inner stillness, but the two are not equivalent.

I hope this helps some. I feel stupid offering my voice when so many have already given such great responses.

 

[SonCatcher]

O most holy Mother of God, save us

Can someone explain this prayer, please? My Western upbringing is making it difficult for me to understand its intent.

Thanks.

 

[5Loaves]

Thank you for this post and replies. As a Roman Catholic exploring Orthodoxy and discovering our gift of our Easter Catholic Churches (how ignorant was I?) I’m ever so thankful for this information too.

I don’t have a prayer rope, but instead use my rosary. The Jesus Prayer has proved, for me, to be a soothing and spiritual way to wind down before my evening slumber.

Peace to you!

Our parish book group is currently reading Metropolitan Anthony Bloom’s wonderful book Living Prayer. The book has much to commend it including his chapter on the Jesus Prayer. (The other chapters are The Lord’s Prayer, Meditation and worship, Unanswered prayer and petition, and Silence.) It may be the shortest book we’ve read, and the one we are spending the most time with.

 

[5Loaves]

O most holy Mother of God, save us

1 Corinthians 9:22 (New King James Version)… to the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.

As St. Paul sought to help others to salvation, we pray to the Mother of God by her prayers to aid our salvation.

 

[Aramis]

Can someone explain this prayer, please? My Western upbringing is making it difficult for me to understand its intent.

Thanks.

It’s probably a contraction from a longer prayer.

The Theotokos saves us by her prayers for us, not by direct action of her own.

It probably should be though of as “O Theotokos, Save us by your prayers!”

 

[trophybearer]

It’s probably a contraction from a longer prayer.

The Theotokos saves us by her prayers for us, not by direct action of her own.

It probably should be though of as “O Theotokos, Save us by your prayers!”

Nope!

 

[Tradycja]

Can someone explain this prayer, please? My Western upbringing is making it difficult for me to understand its intent.

Thanks.

What are you talking about?

We have the invocation “Sweet Heart of Mary, be our salvation!”

You should read St. Louis DeMontfort.

 

[trophybearer]

What are you talking about?

We have the invocation “Sweet Heart of Mary, be our salvation!”

You should read St. Louis DeMontfort.

I would say you most definitely should not read him. Nevertheless, the prayer is “Most Holy Theotokos save us!” It’s not meant to be confused with The way in which Christ God has and is saving us, but there’s more to it than just asking for her prayers. If that was all that was meant we would just say “Most holy Theotokos pray for us!”.