Orthodox view on the Rosary?

[Dylan Michael]

i'd rather do this:

it's a lestovka & you do the Jesus prayer on it. the focus is Jesus & not the Theotokos.

I have a lestovka, but it's in in a box in Miami waiting until I return to school.
I also own that book, but it is also waiting for my return.

 

[Eastern Drifter]

well the lestovka is a russian version of the greek prayer rope. the prayer book is from the old believers rocor in erie, penn. its an awesome prayer book that i would recommend even over the much beloved jordanville prayer book.

as for the lestovka, its fairly simple. this will explain it better than i can.

Lestovka - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

i dont do the prostrations when doing the jesus prayer though. i do a lot of things that arent strictly by the book like i do the akathist sitting down even though your suppose to stand in front of an icon. but thats at home. i would NEVER sit down during an akathist at church like during lent.

I'd like one for my birthday. Take note.

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

Well I'm

a) not saying the Orthodox devotions aren't Marian (that would be totally insane)!

and

b) not saying the Rosary is older than Orthodox prayer devotions. Obviously is it medievel. I still find it lovely and very powerful. I'm merely saying that if the OP wishes to keep his rosary when he converts to Orthodoxy and still pray it, he is more than welcome to because it is 100% acceptable by our standards.

thres nothing wrong with doing the rosary in itself. but it is a roman church practice so its not orthodox. the doxology, the hail mary, ect... its not orthodox.

we have our own versions of the catholic hail mary & doxology. it's not like we dont revere the theotokos, we actually do. we mention her often during divine liturgy as you very well know. but when it comes to repetitive prayer, the orthodox Jesus prayer is WAY older. the rosary only happened during saint dominics time like in the 12th century, i think.

 

[Anhelyna]

There's a huge difference between the Rosary as said by RCs, and the Jesus prayer said using a chotki said by ECs and EOs

One is meditative and the other is repetitive.

Physically, when used properly, both will reduce blood pressure

Zoebliss - I have two of the three things you showed in that pic - the lestovka and the OB Prayer book - the only snag I find with the lestovka is that I can't carry it easily in my pocket Now a 33 bead chotki sits in a pocket nicely and is not easily seen by other folk - and travelling on buses and trains etc can easily be used [ also during Father's sermons since he preaches in Ukie and a goodly few of us are non Ukie speakers ]

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

Repetition doesn't mean something isn't meditative and contemplative. Not sure why this is being said? We say Lord Have Mercy 3 times and 4 times, even 12 times in Orthodox in a row. We say things over and over in the liturgy. We mention the Trinity over and over and the Jesus Prayer is prayed on the chotki over and over. Anything is repetitive if not meditated upon and internalized.

 

[Gxg (G²)]

I prayed the rosary in my early days of being a catechumen. It brought me peace in times of emotional turbulence, wherein I had trouble with anger, sadness, confusion. You can probably find a thread I made months ago about how "Hail Mary" pulled me from the depths of depression. That was only a single instance of many.

I kinda drifted away from it (Eastern Drifter indeed, 'eh?), but my rosary still hangs on the doorknob of my closet. My method of prayer is different these days.

Just got done talking with my Great-Grandfather (103yrs old and still going strong, Praise the Lord )...who was from the West Indies and a strong Catholic. And he was just noting to me how much he enjoyed praying the rosary daily, alongside praying Psalm 90, and saying how much it has truly kept him strong throughout his young adult years.

 

[-Kyriaki-]

Meditation vs repetition: the rosary is repetitive in prayers, but has meditations to focus on - the Mysteries, as you go. The Jesus Prayer/Orthodox prayer rope devotions (there are other prayers you can pray on a prayer rope) are simply repetitive, as deep a meditation as they might be, with no other focus than the prayer being said.

Nothing's wrong with either, and I don't think anyone is saying so

 

[Anhelyna]

Gurney - there's quite a difference between meditation and contemplation .

BTW I'm used to the frequent repetitions in the Liturgy , and hours etc and saying 40 X "Lord have mercy ! "

As we quietly say/sing these phrases we do internalize them - but we don't meditate on them the way an RC is meant to meditate on the differing mysteries of the Rosary or indeed the Stations of the Cross .

 

[Anhelyna]

Meditation vs repetition: the rosary is repetitive in prayers, but has meditations to focus on - the Mysteries, as you go. The Jesus Prayer/Orthodox prayer rope devotions (there are other prayers you can pray on a prayer rope) are simply repetitive, as deep a meditation as they might be, with no other focus than the prayer being said.

Quoted for truth - and expressed far better than it seems I was able to do.

Thanks Kyriaki

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

Whatever. I'm a fan of the rosary, always will be. I don't arbitrarily reject something because it's not "ours." There are mysteries all over the rosary to meditate upon deeply and I always have. And as I pray the "repetitive" prayers, I meditate on each word. I know what I pray and will stick to it.

 

[-Kyriaki-]

Again, you're reading something that isn't there. Neither of us have said anything against the rosary, we've just said that the two devotions are different...which they are. I've prayed the Rosary (I used to before I was Orthodox), and I've spent five years with a prayer rope on my wrist, in my bag and in my fingers, and I'm used to the prayer rope but have nothing against the Rosary which I think is a beautiful devotion. Just not mine

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

I was never replying to you, Kyriaki, so I'm not sure why you say this, but God bless.

 

[zoebliss]

I'd like one for my birthday. Take note.

note taken and only because i am a viggo mortensen fan lol.

 

[zoebliss]

There's a huge difference between the Rosary as said by RCs, and the Jesus prayer said using a chotki said by ECs and EOs

One is meditative and the other is repetitive.

Physically, when used properly, both will reduce blood pressure

Zoebliss - I have two of the three things you showed in that pic - the lestovka and the OB Prayer book - the only snag I find with the lestovka is that I can't carry it easily in my pocket Now a 33 bead chotki sits in a pocket nicely and is not easily seen by other folk - and travelling on buses and trains etc can easily be used [ also during Father's sermons since he preaches in Ukie and a goodly few of us are non Ukie speakers ]

rosary beads are indeed convenient & beautiful. my mom was gifted a gorgeous pink rose quartz rosary once & she had it on a china tray in her bedroom icon corner.

but i think the mini choktis are even more compact. plus i think the tassel looks so cool.

 

[ArmyMatt]

I have two sets of rosary-esque prayer beads, one from a priest and another made by a lady at my mission, both have been blessed, and I use them both, particularly when I go to the field.

 

[Lady Bug]

anyway I asked before but anyway. what do you guys think about novenas, since we are talking about rosaries?

 

[ArmyMatt]

anyway I asked before but anyway. what do you guys think about novenas, since we are talking about rosaries?

what are they again?

 

[Lady Bug]

LOL I thought people knew

they are typically 9-day prayers said by Catholics. there are many different novenas out there, depending on what situation you are praying for.

 

[ArmyMatt]

I would assume that provided they don't clash with Orthodox theology, they would be fine if you work it out with your priest.

 

[Joseph Hazen]

anyway I asked before but anyway. what do you guys think about novenas, since we are talking about rosaries?

Nine days of consecutive prayers for an intention would be fine (depending what's in the prayers and the intention). The practice comes from the nine days the apostles spent in prayer from Ascension to Pentecost.

What would not be ok is the things that I see so often attached to novenas: "This novena never fails!" "Pray this and you're guaranteed to get what you ask for!" "Mary has promised that anyone who prays this novena will get their intention!"

For that matter, the 15 promises of the rosary are probably verboten in Orthodoxy as well.