An Anglican Rosary: Why Would You Use Prayer Beads?

My Anglican Prayer Beads; Czech Republic Glass Beads

Part two of a promised group of blogs that explore my religious practices and education. The first being the post from yesterday on why I read the Apocrypha. Today, I am exploring and explaining my usage of Anglican prayer beads--something that is new to protestants. 

Earlier in the week, I posted the following picture and was told by someone that I should write a study on the pagan usage of Prayer beads. 

A Bit More History of Rachel:

By the time I was in my early 30s I had fully left the church and was attending Synagogue and considering everything I had ever learned about God to be false and wanting to be a Jew—so much so that I was considering conversion. At 34, God brought a lady into my life, who loved Jesus so much that she would play Christian music out loud at work (in a public school). This teacher didn’t mind that I was considering a faith change, instead she loved me and was patient with me; inviting me to her home and showing me grace and mercy to the point that I started a paradigm change back to my Christian roots. However, by the time I was 36 this woman would also walk out of my life not caring what destruction she wrought on me.  

Part of the destruction this lady would bring to my life is the loss of my church. So deep would the rift become that I would again decide that “the church” was evil and a vile place to be. My friends at the church begged me to not think that way, “just because one person treats you bad doesn’t mean the whole orchard is bad.” But for me, in my black and white world, it’s all or nothing and for me at that point the church was bad! Within 6 months God had brought a young lady into my life, named MG. She would (thankfully) ask me to attend church with her one Sunday. Scared out of my mind, I drove the 20 +/- miles to the church and have been making that drive every weekend since.

The History of Prayer Beads: 

According to T.V. Anthony Raj, “In many major religions and cultures, the device most used to help devotees to pray and meditate is the strand of prayer beads. Nearly two-thirds of the world’s population meditate or pray with beads.

We need to remember that visual reminders were developed by God—in the form of telling to Israelites to create fringes on their garments. Numbers 15:37-41 states The Lord said to Moses, 38 “Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. 39 And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after. 40 So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God. 41 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the Lord your God.”

• Pre-Christianity

A fresco picture dating from 1600 B.C., recently discovered shows women fingering beads in prayer. As with everything, there are pagan religions, Islam, Hinduism, Ba’Hai, Skih that use prayer beads—T.V. Anthony Raj states “Many scholars admit that the use of prayer beads originated with the Hindus in ancient India, and the Hindu or Buddhist mala is the great mother of rosaries. From India and the Himalayan kingdoms, the prayer beads traveled east to China and Japan, and to the west to Africa and Europe, where it evolved into the Islamic Subha, the Christian rosary, the Eastern Orthodox prayer rope, and the secular worry beads used throughout Greece and the Middle East.” However, Buddhism and Islam weren’t founded until the 6th and 7th centuries respectively. So that would mean the usage of prayer beads would have been prior to these two “religions” using prayer beads. 

• Christianity

The Desert Fathers of the 3rd to 5th centuries, used pebbles or knotted ropes to count prayers, typically the Jesus Prayer ("Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner"). The invention is attributed to Anthony the Great or his associate Pachomius the Great in the 4th century.

The Catholic Encyclopedia mentions strings of beads, presumably for prayer, found in the tombs of Saint Gertrude of Nivelles (7th century) and Saint Norbert and Saint Rosalia (12th century). A more explicit reference is that in 1125 William of Malmesbury mentioned a string of gems that Lady Godiva used to count prayers.

These strings of beads were known as "paternosters" and were presumably used to count repetitions of the Lord's Prayer. Later, Roman Catholics and eventually Anglicans prayed the rosary with strings of 59 beads. The term rosary comes from the Latin rosarium "rose garden" and is an important and traditional devotion of the Catholic Church, combining prayer and meditation in sequences (called "decades") of the Lord's Prayer, 10 Hail Marys, and a Gloria Patri as well as a number of other prayers (such as the Apostles' Creed and the Salve Regina) at the beginning and end. The prayers are accompanied by meditation on the Mysteries, events in the life and ministry of Jesus. This traditional Catholic form of the rosary is attributed to Saint Dominic, though some Catholic writers have doubted this claim.

Catholic rosary beads are composed of crucifix and center which can be made of sterling silver and/or gold, and beads which are usually made of glass, amethyst, rose quartz stone, crystal, black onyx, lavender glass or pearl. Catholics also use prayer beads to pray chaplets.

The Eastern Orthodox Church uses prayer ropes that usually come with 33, 50 or 100 knots. The loops of knotted wool (or occasionally of beads), called chotki or komboskini to pray the Jesus Prayer. Although among the Orthodox, their use is mainly restricted to monks and bishops, being less common among laity or secular clergy. Among Russian Old Believers, a prayer rope made of leather, called 'lestovka', is more common, although this type is no longer commonly used now by the Russian Orthodox Church. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "The rosary is conferred upon the Greek Orthodox monk as a part of his investiture with the mandyas or full monastic habit, as the second step in monastic life, and is called his 'spiritual sword’." Ethiopian and Coptic prayer rope (called mequetaria/mequteria) employ numbers such as 41, 64, and 100 as their length and is primarily used for reciting the Kyrie Eleison. In regards to the first two numbers, the former represent the number of wounds inflicted on Jesus from lashing, the nails, and the lance while the latter represents Mary's age upon her Assumption.

In the mid-1980s, Anglican prayer beads were developed in the Episcopal Church of the United States by Episcopalians participating in a study group dealing with methods of prayer. The set consists of 33 beads (representing the 33 years of the life of Christ) arranged in four groupings of symbolic significance. These "Anglican Rosaries" continue to be promoted via internet websites but it is not known whether they have been adopted by any Protestant group in any formal sense. Many Anglo-Catholics use the Catholic rosary and may also be using Anglican prayer beads.

The contemporary Wreath of Christ, invented by Martin Lönnebo, Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Linköping of the Swedish Lutheran Church, is a set of 18 beads, some round and some elongated, arranged in an irregular pattern. Each one has its own significance as a stimulus and reminder for meditation, although they can also be used for repetitive prayer.

While there are liturgical churches using prayer beads in prayer, non-liturgical Christian churches do not use them.

Symbolism in Jewish Prayer Shawls and Rosaries: 

Anglican Rosary Diagram

By the way, these are not average knots, each set contains 5 knots made from eight strands of thread. There is an art—filled with ritual and meaning—to tying them. Just like my prayer beads there is great symbolism attached to the number of knots. The number paired with the Hebrew word for tzotzil is 600, when you add that to the 5 knots and 8 threads you get 613, the number of commandments in the Old Testament. The Anglican Rosary is designed using a cross and 33 beads to signify the traditional number of years of earthly life of Jesus. There is one ‘Invitatory’ bead followed by four sets of seven beads each called a ‘week.’ In the Judeo-Christian tradition the number seven is deemed to be spiritually perfect and complete. A single bead called the ‘Cruciform’ bead is positioned between each week. When the rosary is placed on a flat surface, the four Cruciform beads form a Cross.  

Why Prayer Beads: 

Everyone seems to think that prayer is such a simple thing; whether we are kneeling, standing, sitting or dancing; whether we are praying out loud or silently, whether we read scripture (Lectio Divinia) use a book of prayers (Celtic Daily Prayer, Siddur, or Book of Common Prayer) or prayer in our own words, prayer is simple. Right? If only things were that easy—then everyone could “pray without ceasing.”

Personally I struggle with prayer. When I would hear of the struggles of others, I would immediately pray “God help _____________.” (Fill in the blank). I struggle with what to say, don’t believe me? Attend one of my services sometime—you’ll see what I mean. But seriously, I struggle with prayer. For me it’s such a sacred time to speak to an Almighty God that I don’t want to fill up all my time and space with emptiness. I want my prayers to have meaning or at least to flow in a coherent way. Believe it or not, I know I am not the only person who struggles with prayer. How do I know? I attend church. I attend two prayer meetings every week. We an recite The Lord’s Prayer or prayers from the Hymnal with ease. However, we are uncomfortable with prayer. 

Luckily, the Israelites struggled too. God tried to meet them in the midst of their rebellion and confusion. So in Numbers 15:37, He instructs Moses to “Make fringes on the corners of their garments.” Seriously? What would that help?!? Fringes wouldn’t have been odd in ancient times, in Egypt and Assyria fringe on clothing was commonplace. Yet these people did so and in doing so they began adding them to all their garments. Following directives in Deuteronomy 22:12 they tie the fringes into knots called Tzitzits. By wearing and fingering the knots the Jews stay closely connected to God. For Jews the fringe (Tzitzit) provides a tangible way to reach across the chasm and reconnecting with God. 

However, this isn’t the only reason why prayer beads…For centuries long before Christ, the faithful said prayers in a repetitive manner and found different methods of keeping count, often by using rocks or pebbles. By at least the ninth century, monks were reciting all 150 psalms, at first every day, but later every week as part of their prayers and devotions. One way they kept track was to count out 150 pebbles and then place one pebble in a container or pouch as they said each psalm. People living near the monks wanted to mimic this devotion, but due to lack of education couldn’t memorize all the psalms. Printed copies, even if individuals could read, were not available as the printing press was centuries away. So Christians began to pray 50 or 150 Our Fathers (or Paternosters) each week instead of the psalms. In order to keep count of the Our Fathers, they often used string with knots in it instead of counting on rocks. Later the knots gave way to small pieces of wood and eventually to the use of beads.

Since the beads are fingered in an automatic manner, they allow the user to keep track of how many prayers have been said with a minimal amount of conscious effort, which in turn allows greater attention to be paid to the prayers themselves.

The Right Tool for the Job:

Have you started to fix something and the project just didn’t go as planned?  Maybe that bolt wouldn’t turn, or the nail was having a hard time going in.  During this situation, whatever it was for you, did the thought ever occur that you might just have the wrong tool? Rev. Todd Vick states “The same can be said for prayer: the right tool can make all the difference.  There are many tools that are used in prayer such as scripture, journals, prayer lists and notebooks, clinging cross, etc.  One prayer tool that I have found very useful is prayer beads, specifically Protestant prayer beads or Anglican Rosaries.” Rev. Vick struggles with ADD and often lost focus when praying. Prayer beads provided him a tool to fidget with and he “was able to maintain focus” and in doing so his “prayer life reached a whole new level.”

Rev. Vick went on to say “This tool serves as a visual cue to remind me to spend time in prayer, then while using it I am able to remove distractions, focus on God and move my prayers beyond simple petitions to fostering my relationship with my creator.” In the book A Bead and a Prayer  Kristen E. Vincent states “Like the fringe on a Tallit (Jewish Prayer Shawl) beads serve as a visual cue on many levels. On one hand, they can remind us to pray.” She goes on to say “I have heard many people attest to this fact. in the middle of a busy day or at bed time they will look down and see their prayer beads, thus being reminded to pray.” 

For me, I have a tallit, and in those times when I need a “hug from God” I will don my prayer shawl and pray. However, I often times just need a chance to sit back and pray; and like many people I struggle and fidget, for me, the prayer beads, my anglican rosary allows me to sit there and focus in a way that I can reach across that chasm and enter into a deeper time of prayer with God. Yes, it may be the repetitive praying of “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have mercy on me a sinner.” Or it may go deeper; I never know where I am going to end up; but prayer tools have given me a greater understanding of prayer and deeper value to my relationship with God. 

In the end, the use of prayer beads almost universally is to allow the person to keep track of the number of prayers that have been said, while at the same time focusing on the deeper meaning of the prayers themselves and for me, this makes all the difference. 

Two Prayers I pray: 

Trisagion* and Jesus Prayer

The Cross

In the Name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Invitatory
O God make speed to save me (us),
O Lord make haste to help me (us),
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

The Cruciforms
Holy God,
Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon me (us).

The Weeks
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,
Have mercy on me, a sinner.

The Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.

The Cross
I bless the Lord.
(Let us bless the Lord
Thanks be to God.)

*Trisagion means thrice--which means that you repeat this prayer three times to signify the Holy Trinity.

The Celtic Prayer: 

The Cross
In the Name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Invitatory
O God make speed to save me (us),
O Lord make haste to help me (us),
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

The Cruciforms
Be the eye of God dwelling with me,
The foot of Christ in guidance with me,
The shower of the Spirit pouring on me,
Richly and generously

The Weeks
Pray each phrase on a separate bead.
I bow before the Father who made me,
I bow before the Son who saved me,
I bow before the Spirit who guides me,
In love and adoration.
I praise the Name of the one on high.
I bow before thee Sacred Three,
The ever One, the Trinity.

On the Invitatory BeadThe Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.

The Cross
I bless the Lord.
(Let us bless the Lord
Thanks be to God.)