Prayer Rope (Paperback)

High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! A prayer rope (Greek:, Russian:, Romanian: m t nii, Macedonian and Serbian: / brojanica, Bulgarian: ) is a loop made up of complex knots, usually out of wool or silk, 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, a sinner." Historically, the prayer rope would typically have 100 knots, although prayer ropes with 50 or 33 knots can also be found in use today. There are even small, 10-knot prayer ropes intended to be worn on the finger. Hermits in their cells may have prayer ropes with as many as 500 knots in them. There is typically a knotted cross where the prayer rope is joined together to form a loop, and a few beads at certain intervals between the knots (usually every 10 or 25 knots) for ease in counting.