How Do Monks Pray in Mount Athos?
Prayer with a prayer rope is an important practice in the Orthodox Christian tradition. The knots help people to focus and support mental prayer. Monks in Mount Athos often create prayer ropes as part of their daily handiwork, using thread or beads. They use them in their daily spiritual struggles, keeping their minds and souls concentrated on the Lord.
These prayer ropes come in various sizes and colors. Some are very small and can be worn on the fingers, while others are larger, designed for the wrist or neck, with 33, 50, 100, or even 500 knots. A distinctive feature is the cross that joins the two ends, marking both the beginning and the end of the prayer rope.
Here you can find prayer ropes handmade by Athonite monks, as well as bracelets made with the “Tears of the Virgin Mary.”
How To Pray on Prayer Rope?
By touching the knots or beads of the prayer rope, believers repeat a short prayer. This method can be practiced both during morning prayer and before sleep.
In addition to the prayer “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner,” there are 33 more intercessions that one may repeat while practicing with a 33-knot prayer rope.
According to the Athonite tradition, these are the following:
1) Be mindful, O Lord, for the peace of the world!
2) O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on our Church and our Orthodoxy.
3) O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on our Bishop and his clergy.
4) O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on all Orthodox clergy and laity in every land.
5) O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on our spiritual father and his community.
6) O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on our country and on our armed forces.
7) O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on the civil authorities.
8) O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on those who hate us, on those who love us, and those who pray for us.
9) O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on our parents, our sponsors, and our teachers.
10) O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on our brethren and relatives, according to the flesh and spiritual.
11) O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on the elderly and the monastics.
12) O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on infants, the defenseless, and the powerless.
13) O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on the youth in schools.
14) O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on the adolescent and our youth.
15) O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on the drug-addicted, alcoholics, and smokers.
16) O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on the marriages of Orthodox families.
17) O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on our sisters who are pregnant.
18) O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on the widows and orphans.
19) O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on our brothers and sisters who are martially separated and tempted.
20) O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on the weak in soul and body.
21) O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on those who do works of mercy and labor in the holy monasteries and parishes.
22) O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on the pious pilgrims of monasteries and churches.
23) O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on those who journey by sea, by land, or by air, those who are imprisoned and the despairing.
24) O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on the poor and our brethren who are afflicted.
25) O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on our judges and elected representatives.
26) O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on those who are deceived and blaspheme our Orthodoxy.
27) O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and grant peaceful seasons.
28) O Lord Jesus Christ, guard us from sickness, wrath, and danger, and enlighten our physicians and nurses.
29) O Lord Jesus Christ, guard us from poverty, danger, and misfortune.
30) O Lord Jesus Christ, guard us from heat, fire, and earthquake.
31) O Lord Jesus Christ, guard us from flood, drowning, and frost.
32) O Lord Jesus Christ, grant rest also to the souls of our fathers, mothers, brethren, relatives, grandfathers and great-grandfathers.
33) O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, the sinner!
Along with the above prayers, every Christian may also perform prostrations to God, venerating and glorifying Jesus Christ through the beads of the prayer rope.
As the Apostle Paul teaches us:
“Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
