The Jesus Prayer
The Jesus Prayer is rope ladder woven from Eastern Orthodox Prayer ropes.
A prayer rope (Greek: komboskini, Russian: Tchotki, Romanian: mãtãnii) is a loop made up of complex knots, usually out of wool, that is used by Eastern Orthodox Christians and Eastern Catholics to count the number of times they have prayed The Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner."
The history of the prayer rope goes back to the origins of Christian monasticism itself. When monks began going into the deserts of Egypt, it was their custom to pray the entire 150 Psalms every day. However, because some of the monks were illiterate, they would either have to memorize the psalms or perform other prayers and prostrations in their stead. Thus the tradition of saying 150 (or more) Jesus Prayers every day began. The invention of the prayer rope is attributed to Saint Pachomius in the fourth century as an aid for illiterate monks to accomplish a consistent number of prayers and prostrations in their cells. Previously, monks would count their prayers by casting pebbles into a bowl, but this was cumbersome, and could not be easily carried about when outside the cell. The use of the rope made it possible to pray the Jesus Prayer unceasingly, whether inside the cell or out, in accordance with Saint Paul's injunction to "Pray without ceasing" (I Thessalonians 5:17). In the West, the prayer rope evolved into the Rosary.
The Jesus Prayer is rope ladder woven from Eastern Orthodox Prayer ropes.
A prayer rope (Greek: komboskini, Russian: Tchotki, Romanian: mãtãnii) is a loop made up of complex knots, usually out of wool, that is used by Eastern Orthodox Christians and Eastern Catholics to count the number of times they have prayed The Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner."
The history of the prayer rope goes back to the origins of Christian monasticism itself. When monks began going into the deserts of Egypt, it was their custom to pray the entire 150 Psalms every day. However, because some of the monks were illiterate, they would either have to memorize the psalms or perform other prayers and prostrations in their stead. Thus the tradition of saying 150 (or more) Jesus Prayers every day began. The invention of the prayer rope is attributed to Saint Pachomius in the fourth century as an aid for illiterate monks to accomplish a consistent number of prayers and prostrations in their cells. Previously, monks would count their prayers by casting pebbles into a bowl, but this was cumbersome, and could not be easily carried about when outside the cell. The use of the rope made it possible to pray the Jesus Prayer unceasingly, whether inside the cell or out, in accordance with Saint Paul's injunction to "Pray without ceasing" (I Thessalonians 5:17). In the West, the prayer rope evolved into the Rosary.
The Jesus Prayer is rope ladder woven from Eastern Orthodox Prayer ropes.
A prayer rope (Greek: komboskini, Russian: Tchotki, Romanian: mãtãnii) is a loop made up of complex knots, usually out of wool, that is used by Eastern Orthodox Christians and Eastern Catholics to count the number of times they have prayed The Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner."
The history of the prayer rope goes back to the origins of Christian monasticism itself. When monks began going into the deserts of Egypt, it was their custom to pray the entire 150 Psalms every day. However, because some of the monks were illiterate, they would either have to memorize the psalms or perform other prayers and prostrations in their stead. Thus the tradition of saying 150 (or more) Jesus Prayers every day began. The invention of the prayer rope is attributed to Saint Pachomius in the fourth century as an aid for illiterate monks to accomplish a consistent number of prayers and prostrations in their cells. Previously, monks would count their prayers by casting pebbles into a bowl, but this was cumbersome, and could not be easily carried about when outside the cell. The use of the rope made it possible to pray the Jesus Prayer unceasingly, whether inside the cell or out, in accordance with Saint Paul's injunction to "Pray without ceasing" (I Thessalonians 5:17). In the West, the prayer rope evolved into the Rosary.