Rosary with beads and knitted cross – Mount Athos

Description

The rosaries are woven according to a tradition lost in the depths of the centuries. Perhaps one of the earliest forms of a prayer aid was the gathering of small stones or seeds and moving them from one place or container to another during the “rule” of prayer or the “rule” of minor or major penances . There is also the story of a monk who thought of making simple knots in a rope and using it in his daily “rule” of prayer. But the devil untied the knots from the rope and thwarted the efforts of the poor monk.
An Angel then appeared and taught the monk a special knot, as it is now formed on rosaries, consisting of successive Crosses. These knots the devil could not untie because of the presence of the Crosses.

With the help of the rosary, short prayers can be said, such as the publican’s prayer: God, have mercy on me, the prayer to the Mother of God: Most Holy Theotokos, save us, or other short prayers to the Guardian Angel, to individual Saints or to the Saints Everyone. The usual form of such a prayer is: Holy Angel – or Holy (deina) intercede for me.
By changing the words of these short prayers to “have mercy on us” or “intercede for us” or by including the name or names of people for whom we wish to pray, we can additionally use the rosary to pray for others. The same applies to a prayer for the sleeping: Rest, Lord, the soul of your servant.