A prayer rope, which can also be called Chotki or Komboskini, is a Byzantine prayer tool which dates back to the fourth century. St. Pachomius the Great (born in the 3rd Century) started the prayer rope as a way to keep track of prayers and prostrations. The most popular prayers that the prayer rope is used for is the Jesus Prayer and a prayer to the Theotokos that goes “O most holy Theotokos, save us.” There are several more ways to pray with prayer ropes. St. Pachomis’ prayer rule for the prayer rope can be found here.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner
The Tradition of St. Anthony’s Knots
Tradition is that the knot used to make a prayer rope began after St. Anthony would tie knots for his prayer rope, then a demon would undo them as he slept. Then one day an angel came to St. Anthony and taught him how to tie a knot with seven crosses. The demon could not touch the crosses and therefore could no longer untie the knots or approach St. Anthony.
Making a Prayer Rope
We don’t know a lot about the original prayer ropes made by St. Pachomius. However, consensus is that he probably made his with leather. Wool is now the most traditional material to use because it comes from sheep, and symbolizes that we come from Christ’s flock. Prayer ropes come in several sizes, including 33, 50, and 100 knots. Thirty-three is for Christ’s age at his crucifixion, but once prayed three times plus one prayer makes it still easy to count to 100.
Sometimes we have beads on our prayer ropes. Red beads represent the blood of Christ, purple Christ’s kingship, and blue as His divinity. White represents Christ’s holiness, and black our sinfulness. Not all prayer ropes use beads, and do not use all the colours if they do.
When a prayer rope is new, the knots are tight and close together. This can make it difficult to keep track of individual knots. Some people “stretch” their prayer rope by pinching parallel knots and gently pulling them apart. Others allow their prayer rope to stretch on its own through repeated use.
The Byzantine Life
Thank you for checking out this week’s article. If you haven’t already, you can read our article about how to develop a relationship with a saint. Or our article on praying with icons. Other prayers to say on your prayer rope can be found in this article.
Do you use a prayer rope? If so let me know in the comments, including what colour it is, and if it has any beads. The BadgerDad has several, but my favourite is a green one. He also got me a green prayer bracelet which I love.
Don’t forget to follow us on social media. On our Pinterest we have boards full icons and faith activities! New posts are always shared to Facebook, and my husband runs our Twitter (@TheByzLife) and Instagram accounts (username: thebyzantinelife)! And if you want to support our work at TheByzantineLife.com, consider joining us on Patreon. For as little as $5 a month you can get exclusive access to special posts, photos, and updates from our family! https://www.patreon.com/thebyzantinelife
I have a 50 and 100 knot chotki. After each 10 knots is a large knot. They are black wool. I also use a leather lestovka, of Russian origin.
I have made two prayer ropes (33 and 50 knot) and the complexity of those knots is amazing! Praying the Jesus Prayer with my prayer rope has for some time now been a regular part of my devotional life, even as a Benedictine monk. Thank you for this post. 🙂
Great to hear! Ora et Labora!
what is the purpose of the tassel on the prayer rope and is this prayer rope blessed????
Hello,
The traditional reason for the tassel is for use to dry tears shed while praying, caused by contrition for ones sins. According to an Athonite monk, the tassel also represents the glory of the heavenly kingdom, which is entered through the cross.
What do you mean by blessed? The Church approves of the use of the prayer rope. And prayer ropes may be blessed like other sacramentals by following the proper rubrics authorized by the Church.
Other than the lestovka, do you know of anyone that makes a chotki with leather? ☦️📿
No, we don’t!
Hello and thank you for your blog, what does a prayer rope of 27 knots represent ? Thank you
Glory to Jesus Christ!
Hello Mary, thank you for commenting on our blog!
27 knots or beads does not appear to be a traditional number for Byzantine Catholic Jesus Prayer ropes, however other religious traditions also make use of ropes. The number 27 appears to be connected to the Hindu tradition for a standard “Mala” mantra prayer rope. We would recommend buying a traditionally made Byzantine Catholic or Orthodox prayer rope, or learning how to make one yourself! Here is a tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLk1Hh7jwlTmG4J4ZqC5ua1QkOZVTadG_n
God bless,
Kyleshka and TheBadgerDad
Hi! I watched a video where the guy crosses himself whenever he passes by a bead on his prayer rope. Is it correct? Do you do this as well?
This comes down to personal devotion. In our article on the sign of the cross we mention various practices of this sort. Ours is to try to remember to cross ourselves every time we walk by/see a cross on the wall.
I have truthfully have enjoyed my journey with prayer 🙏, specifically with The Jesus prayer 🙏. THE is essential, it has been for me especially. Jesus, I TRUST YOU.
A m e n 😇