The Rosary Shop

Chotki

Eastern Orthodox rosary. This Oriental form of rosary is known in the Hellenic Greek Church as Chaplet or String of Knots of Beads, in the Russian Church as Vervitza (string), chotki (chaplet), or liestovka (ladder), and the the Rumanian Church as matanie (reverence). Our everyday name of "beads" for it is simply the Old Saxon word "bede" (a prayer) which has been transferred to the instrument used in reciting the prayer, while the word rosary is an equally modern term.

The Rosary prayed by the Eastern Orthodox is a string of 33, 100, or 300 beads on a string or knots made of wool; they are not divided into decades. On each bead or knot is prayed the following mantra: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, a sinner." The modern Chotki, as it is known, calls for a slightly different mantra: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." Both this mantra and the Glorious mantra above are derived from the Gospel story of the Pharisee and the tax collector. (The Hail Mary, of course, comes from the Angelic Salutation coupled with a later additional prayer.)

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