Rosary in Eastern Catholicism

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Hello,

I have a question. Do Eastern Catholics pray the Rosary?

I just recently started looking into the Catholic Church and started praying the Rosary, but I find the meditation of the Mysteries difficult. How can I imagine something that I have not witnessed?

The iconography of the Eastern tradition is beautiful, and for me, I find them more comfortable to meditate upon because they’re not so “real” looking, and I can focus on the events more. It feels uncomfortable to imagine Jesus or the Blessed Virgin Mary as just random people I think in my mind.

Are there icons of the Rosary available like in a set?
 
Most likely, you’d not find them in a set, but you could buy icons of the individual events depicted in the mysteries. Check out Holy Transfiguration Monastery’s website or St. Isaac of Syria Skete; they both produce affordable, well-made icons.

-ACEGC
 
EIF5A said:
Hello,

I have a question. Do Eastern Catholics pray the Rosary?

I just recently started looking into the Catholic Church and started praying the Rosary, but I find the meditation of the Mysteries difficult. How can I imagine something that I have not witnessed?

The iconography of the Eastern tradition is beautiful, and for me, I find them more comfortable to meditate upon because they’re not so “real” looking, and I can focus on the events more. It feels uncomfortable to imagine Jesus or the Blessed Virgin Mary as just random people I think in my mind.

Are there icons of the Rosary available like in a set?
Click to expand...
Not only do some Eastern Catholics pray the rosary, some Eastern Orthodox did (do?) too.

taylormarshall.com/2013/08/does-the-rosary-predate-saint-dominic.html
 
If by “rosary” you mean the Dominican rosary prayed by most Catholics, then traditionally Eastern Catholics do not pray the rosary (although it has been adopted by many Eastern Catholics and is often classified under the many “latinizations” that Eastern Catholicism has undergone).

There are, however, a number of Marian devotions that are traditional to Eastern Catholicism (primarily in the Byzantine tradition). The Akathist to the Mother of God and “Paraklesis” are both Marian para-liturgical hymns that are very popular among Eastern (Byzantine) Catholics and even enjoy a place within the cycle of liturgical seasons.

The closest equivalent that Eastern (Byzantine) Catholics have to the Dominican rosary is the “Prayer Rule of the Theotokos.” It is said to have originated in the 8th Century and consists of 150 “Angelic Salutations” (roughly equivalent to the first half of the “Hail Mary”). These “Salutations” can be divided into decades and may or may not be accompanied by “mystery” upon which to meditate. The “mysteries” may also vary.

I’ve compiled a good deal of information on this “Rule” on my blog: www.themasterbeadsman.blogspot.com. Check it out some time.

As for Eastern Catholics of the non-Byzantine traditions, many do pray the Dominican rosary due to Latin influence. Most don’t really have an equivalent that is suitable for private devotion. The Ethiopian Catholics have a large number of Marian hymns that are frequently sung, and the Mequtaria commonly prayed by Ethiopian and Coptic Christians have a number of prayers to the Blessed Mother as well.
 
There is a Byzantine equivalent to the rosary. It is a prayer rope with knots instead of beads. There are different sizes some have 33 knots and some have 100 knots. A person praying a prayer rope says the Jesus Prayer on each knot, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.” There are also beads, usually between each set of 10 knots. One says the “Our Father…” on each bead. Monastics and devout Orthodox Christians wear a prayer rope wrapped around their wrist or they wear a 33 knot prayer rope that does not have to be wrapped around the wrist.

Archpriest John W. Morris
 
I am not exactly sure what “para-liturical” means, but both the Akathist Hymn and the Paraklesis are a regular part of Orthodox worship. There are also many other hymns and prayers to Mary in the Byzantine Rite. We always sing a hymn to Mary called a Megalynarion after the consecration during the Divine Liturgy. There are special Meglnaria for the great fests.
The Akathist Hymn, also called the Salutations to the Theotokos and ever virgin Mary, is sung during Little Compline on Friday evenings during Great Lent. It is divided into 4 sections, one is sung during the first 4 Friday evenings and the entire Akathist Hymn is sung on the 5th Friday. The name literally means “not sitting” because the congregation stands as the Priest chants the Hymn. It is sung during Great Lent (the Lent before Pascha) but is really a hymn commemorating the Annunciation, which, of course, always falls during Great Lent. It has 24 sections or Stasis, each beginning with a different letter from the Greek alphabet. The first 12 commemorate the events of the Annunciation and Birth of Christ, and the second 12 are meditations on the theological meaning of the events described ruing the first 12.
There are two forms of the Paraklesis which is a canon Great Paraklesis and Little Paraklesis, although both are the same length. A canon is a long hymn consisting of 8 odes or sections, each based on one of the Biblical Canticles. For example, the 9th Ode is always a meditation on the Magnificat. The Great Paraklesis is sung alternatively with the Little Paraklesis during the week days of the Lent of the Theotokos, which Orthodox observe during the first 14 days of August in preparation for the celebration of the Assumption of Mary on August 15. It may also be sung as a special service of supplication to Mary.
The above represents Greek Orthodox tradition. The Melkite Eastern Catholics would follow Greek traditions because they come from the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch.

Archpriest John W. Morris
 
frjohnmorris said:
There is a Byzantine equivalent to the rosary. It is a prayer rope with knots instead of beads. There are different sizes some have 33 knots and some have 100 knots. A person praying a prayer rope says the Jesus Prayer on each knot, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.” There are also beads, usually between each set of 10 knots. One says the “Our Father…” on each bead. Monastics and devout Orthodox Christians wear a prayer rope wrapped around their wrist or they wear a 33 knot prayer rope that does not have to be wrapped around the wrist.

Archpriest John W. Morris
Click to expand...
Reverend Father, Bless!

Hi Fr. John 👋

Just to further elaborate on what you had to say here, the prayer rope and the recitation of the Jesus Prayer is equivalent to the rosary only insofar as it has a liturgical connection. In the Roman tradition one can pray the rosary when it is not possible for one to pray the Hours. Similarly in the Byzantine tradition one can pray a certain number of repetitions of the Jesus Prayer when it is not possible for one to participate in the canonical Hours at a parish or monastery. The Russians tend to be much more strict about this than the Greeks and Melkites/Antiochians, and the number of repetitions required to “replace” one’s participation in the Hours varies from one Church to another.

But in terms of devotion to the Theotokos and meditation on the life of Christ “through the eyes of Mary,” so to speak, the Jesus Prayer is not the equivalent to the Dominican rosary. Either the Akathist or the Prayer Rule of the Theotokos would be the closest thing. In terms of sheer similarity, the Prayer Rule of the Theotokos is by far the closest, and there are some Russians and Ukrainians who use a version of this Rule that is virtually identical to the Dominican rosary. If memory serves me correctly, St. Dmitri Rostov’s version of this Rule was identical to the Dominican rosary, except he used the Byzantine form of the Angelic Salutation. St. Seraphim of Sarov’s version of this Rule was a little simpler, and we know it through the nuns of the Divyev monastery, to whom St. Seraphim gave this Rule as an obedience. St. Seraphim Zvesdinsky’s version of the Rule had a great deal more meditation on the “mysteries” than did St. Seraphim of Sarov’s.

From what I understand, the monks of Mt. Athos - the Holy Mountain - have been praying a version of this Rule daily since the 8th Century. Their version consists of simply 150 repetitions of the Angelic Salutation (“Rejoice, Virgin Theotokos, Mary full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, for you have borne the Savior of our souls”).

Also in terms of meditation on the mysteries of Christ through the eyes of the Theotokos, the Byzantine tradition has the Akathist to the Mother of God. In my Melkite parish back in Virginia we prayed this Akathist at the usual time during the Great Fast. It is a beautiful hymn.

So as I’m sure we can all see, there is no exact Byzantine equivalent to the Dominican rosary, nor need there be. The Byzantine tradition is what it is, and the Roman tradition is what it is. There need be no exact equivalents to anything between the two, even though there are some things that may be very similar. 😛
 
With all due respect to the OP and posters, this has got to be at least the third “Rosary in EC” thread in a very recent amount of time. Not for the sake of reprimanding like an old curmudgeon, but a search will show the already fruitful discussion on it and like EC devotions.
 
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