Prayer rope

Simple black Eastern Christian prayer rope without tassel
Part of a series on the
Eastern Orthodox Church
Christ Pantocrator (Deesis mosaic detail)
Mosaic of Christ Pantocrator, Hagia Sophia
Overview
Background
Organization
Autocephalous jurisdictions
Autocephalous Churches who are officially part of the communion:

Autocephaly recognized by some autocephalous Churches de jure:

Autocephaly and canonicity recognized by Constantinople and 3 other autocephalous Churches:

Spiritual independence recognized by Georgian Orthodox Church:


Autonomous jurisdictions

Semi-Autonomous:

Episcopal assemblies
Noncanonical jurisdictions
Ecumenical councils
  • Other possible ecumenical councils:
  • Other important councils:
History
Theology
Liturgy and worship
Liturgical calendar
  • The four fasting periods:
Major figures
Other topics

A prayer rope[note 1] is a loop made up of complex woven knots formed in a cross pattern, usually out of wool or silk. The typical prayer rope has thirty-three knots, representing the thirty-three years of Christ's life.[1][2] It is employed by monastics, and sometimes by others, to count the number of times one has prayed the Jesus Prayer (or occasionally other prayers).

Prayer ropes are part of the practice of Eastern Christian monks and nuns,[3] particularly within Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Catholicism, and Oriental Orthodoxy. Among the Coptic, Ethiopian, and Eritrean Orthodox Churches, a prayer rope is known by its Coptic or Ge'ez name (mequetaria).


Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ "Using a Prayer Rope in Prayer". www.orthodoxprayer.org. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  2. ^ Lepavina Monastery, Duhovni razgovor o.Gavrila sa bratom Mladenom (in Serbian)
  3. ^ Robinson, N.F. (1916). Monasticism in the Orthodox Churches. Milwaukee, WI: Young churchman Company. ISBN 0-404-05375-0.