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Prayer Beads |
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Question: I am interested in finding out more about the Vervitsa or Lestovka that Old Believers use as prayer beads. I would really appreciate any information that might be available on how to construct one. Any information that you can supply would be very much appreciated. |
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Answer: Dr. Alexander Roman alex@unicorne.org
The "Lestovka" is a uniquely developed
prayer-counter that uses leather "steps" or "babotchki" to count the
Jesus Prayer or any other prayer.
The word means "ladder" as the steps
resemble a ladder calling to mind Jacob's ladder to heaven. In
Ukrainian, it is called a "Listvytsia." It is also called a "Vervytsia"
coming from the word "Verv" or knot/step.
Already in the time of St Basil the Great,
monastics developed a knotted cord or "Prayer rope" on which to count
the Jesus Prayer in fulfillment of their particular rules. One hundred
woolen knots were punctuated with three larger knots or beads as a base
number.
The Psalter in the Eastern Orthodox Church
is divided into twenty groupings called "Kathismata" or "Kathisma" in
the singular. Each of these is subdivided into three sections or
"stases" ending with a doxology.
St Basil devised the prayer rope to allow
monastics who could not read the option of saying 300 Jesus Prayers for
each "Kathisma." The Jesus Prayer recited 6,000 times could replace the
entire Psalter.
The Divine Office or Praises (Horologion)
could likewise be replaced by the saying of the Jesus Prayer. The
regular rule prescribed the Jesus Prayer 300 times for Matins, 150 times
for Vespers, 100 times for Compline and the Nocturn Hour, 80 times for
the Typika and 50 times each for the four day hours. The longer,
monastic rules included many more recitations of the Jesus Prayer.
The woolen material from which the prayer
rope or, in Greek, "Komvoschinion" is made reminds one of the Lamb of
God Who is OLGS Jesus Christ. The tassel at the end represents the flow
of the Divine Mercy and was also used to wipe one's tears of
compunction. Orthodox hierarchs' great prayer ropes have big tassels at
the end and these are sometimes used to dip in Holy Water in order to
sprinkle the faithful!
In 17th century Russia, the Orthodox
faithful developed the leather "Lestovka" which is based on St Basil's
division but goes beyond it.
Beginning with four sided triangles at the
bottom, these represent the four Gospel writers and the embroidery on
them is the actual teaching of OLGS Jesus Christ.
Immediately above it are three steps on
both sides which, together with the three steps used as dividers in the
body of the Lestovka proper, represent the nine choirs of Angels.
As we go along the Lestovka, we come to
twelve smaller steps which represent the twelve Apostles, and then a
larger divider step. Then there are 38 steps which represent the 36
weeks and two days in which Christ was in the Womb of the Most Holy
Mother of God - and then another divider step. After this are 33 steps
representing the years in which our Lord lived on earth. And then there
are 17 steps representing the 16 OT Prophets and John the Baptist, the
fulfillment of the Prophets.
The Jesus Prayer is said on all the
smaller steps and the "Rejoice, Mary" or "Hail Mary" is said on the
three divider steps.
Or else the Old Believers say the
following three prayers on each of the three divider steps:
"Remember me, O Lord, when You come into
Your Kingdom"
"Remember me, O Master, when You come into
Your Kingdom"
"Remember me, O Holy One, when You come
into Your Kingdom"
And then one may end with "Rejoice, Mary"
three times and the prayer "It is truly meet."
The Psalmic Doxology is used at the end of
each 100 Jesus Prayers (on the three steps above the triangles) which
is: Glory be . . . (once) Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Glory to You,
O God (three times) Lord have mercy (three times) and Glory be . . .
(once).
Not only the Old Believers, but the entire
Russian Orthodox Church used and continue to use the Lestovka. St
Seraphim of Sarov himself only used Lestovka in his prayers and his
Lestovka is on display at his shrine. A recently published
encyclopaedia of Orthodoxy in Moscow included drawings of both the
prayer rope and the Lestovka as equally legitimate Orthodox monastic and
lay aids to prayer. But this is the only prayer-counter used by the
Old Believers and their bishops today often wear the Lestovka, with the
triangles cut off, around their necks with their pectoral Crosses/Panahias.
The prayer rope is wrapped around the left
wrist of monastics and clerics (lay people should always ask for a
blessing from their priest if they wish to wear a prayer rope in this
way). The Lestovka is carried on one's elbow.
As an aside, the earliest form of the
rosary in the West was ALWAYS the knotted cord. Roman Catholic
monastics likewise wore large knotted cords wrapped on their wrists as
Orthodox clergy and monastics do today. The knotted cord rosary
continues to be popular in the West.
There is also what is called the "Lestovka
of the Mother of God" which is a Lestovka comprised of 150 smaller
steps, divided every ten by a larger one. Similar ones for prayer ropes
also exist and these are used by the Orthodox faithful to pray the "Rule
of the Mother of God" or 150 "Hail Mary's" (in reality, "Rejoice" is the
correct translation!) with the "Our Father" on the 15 larger ones.
(It is NOT true that the Rosary comes from
the West - this prayer rule was a monastic exercise in the East long
before it became popular in the West.)
Practically, the Lestovka is used by the
faithful during the Church services to help them count the "Kyrie
Eleison" or "Lord have mercy" 12 or 40 times.
The bows of the prayer of St Ephrem for
Lent/the Great Fast are also counted on the 17 step section of the
Lestovka (beginning with a bow from the waist for the beginning "Through
the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy
on us" which amounts altogether to 17 bows).
Here is an excellent Orthodox company that
sells the Lestovka:
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Ukrainian Orthodoxy |
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