How to Pray with an Orthodox Prayer Rope (Chotki, Komboskini)

To pray with an Orthodox prayer rope, hold it in your left hand, cross yourself with your right, and say the Jesus Prayer once on each knot: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Then move your thumb to the next knot and say it again. Go slowly and keep your mind on the words. The rope does not do the praying. It only keeps your count so you can stop counting and pay attention to God.

What an Orthodox prayer rope is

A prayer rope is a loop of knots, traditionally black wool, with a woven cross at the end and often a tassel. Russians call it chotki. Greeks call it komboskini. It is the Orthodox Christian’s tool for the Jesus Prayer, used by monks and nuns and by many laypeople.

The chotki knot is not a simple knot. Each one is woven from several little crosses: seven or nine, depending on how it is tied. The black wool speaks of sorrow for sin, and the tassel, one parish booklet notes, was meant to wipe away the tears shed in prayer.

Where the knots came from

The making of the rope is traditionally attributed to St Pachomius in the fourth century. He gave his monks a way to keep a steady count of prayers and prostrations.

There is also an old story told on the Holy Mountain. A monk tried to tie a rope to count his prayers, but the devil kept untying his knots. An angel then taught him a knot woven of crosses, and the devil could not undo it, for the devil is vanquished by the sign of the Cross. Orthodox writers tell it as a story handed down through the centuries, not a dated record. Its point is plain: every knot you touch is a cross.

The Jesus Prayer: the words and where they come from

The Jesus Prayer is short on purpose. The Orthodox Church in America gives it as “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.” Every phrase comes from the Gospels.

• The publican in the Temple “smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13, KJV).
• The blind man at Jericho “cried, saying, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me” (Luke 18:38, KJV).
• St Paul told every Christian to “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17, KJV). The rope exists to help with that.

A shorter form, “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me,” is just as traditional. St Cosmas of Aitolia told all the faithful, young and old, to make a komboskini, hold it in the left hand, cross themselves with the right and say exactly that.

How to use an Orthodox prayer rope, step by step

1. Stand or sit before your icons. Take a moment to quiet down. If you have an icon corner, pray there.
2. Take the cross of the rope in your left hand. Hold the rope between your thumb and index finger. Your right hand stays open for the sign of the cross.
3. Cross yourself and begin. Say the prayer once, softly or in your mind, on the first knot.
4. Move one knot with your thumb. Say the prayer again. One prayer, one knot.
5. Cross yourself as you go. The Athonite guide crosses at each knot. Beads or markers divide the rope into sections of 10, 25 or 50 knots. St Theophan the Recluse describes bows between prayers and a prostration at the larger beads; follow what your priest gives you.
6. Go slowly. When your mind wanders, and it will, bring it back to the words. Speed adds nothing.
7. Finish at the cross. Cross yourself and thank God.

Ask your priest for a rule

Orthodox teachers are united on one point: the “first and the last word” on your prayer rule belongs to your spiritual father. Ask your priest how many prayers to say each day, and keep to it. Russian pastoral advice on azbyka.ru says the same: a layperson should first ask his confessor.

Be careful with techniques. The OCA writes that the hesychast method, with set posture and breathing, “requires always and without exception the guidance of a spiritual guide.” Without such a guide, keep it simple. Say the words with attention and leave the methods alone. The same OCA page notes that anyone can say the Jesus Prayer during the day, at work or on the road, whatever their life.

How many knots: 33, 50, 100 or more

The number of knots is only about counting. Choose what suits your rule.

• 33 knots. The 33 knots recall the 33 years of Christ’s life on earth. These short ropes are often kept around the hand.
• 50 knots. One of the two most common sizes. Twice around makes a hundred.
• 100 knots. The classic length, usually with a bead after every 25 knots. A prayer rope of 100 knots is good for a longer daily rule.
• 200, 300 and more. Longer ropes of 200 or 300 knots exist, and monks’ ropes for prayer in the cell may hold 500 or even 1,000.

Our black wool 50-knot prayer rope ($24) is a good first rope: long enough for a real rule, small enough for a pocket.

Praying for others on the rope

The Athonite guide gives a simple way to pray for the people you love: put their names into the prayer. “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on Maria.” You can go around the rope for your children, a sick friend or the departed. The same guide adds a prayer to the Mother of God: “Most Holy Theotokos, save us.”

Carrying and keeping your prayer rope

The rope is for prayer, not for show. A Greek Orthodox parish puts it plainly: it is not meant “just as decoration” or to show others you are Orthodox. Russian pastoral advice is stricter. It asks laypeople to keep the chotki in a pocket or to use it at home, and it calls ropes worn as fashion on the neck or wrist a foolish trend. A monk of Athos adds that a prayer rope is not an amulet.

So keep it close, but quietly. Put it in your pocket, where you can find a knot with your fingers at work or on the bus. If your parish custom is a short rope around the hand, ask your priest, and wear it for prayer, not for looks. At home, hang it in your icon corner.

Caring for a wool rope. This is plain practical advice. Keep it dry. If it gets dirty, wash it by hand in cool water with a little mild soap, press out the water in a towel, and let it dry flat. A rope that wears out from use has done its work well.

Giving a prayer rope

A prayer rope is a gift that asks the receiver to pray. It suits a godchild, a convert at Chrismation, or a friend going through a hard season. A godparent might give one together with a cross; see our godparent gift guide.

Every one of our gift sets below includes a 50-knot prayer rope:

• Name-Day Gift Set, $149: a patron saint’s diptych, a crucifix and a prayer rope.
• Godparent Set, $149: a diptych, a crucifix to keep for the godchild, a prayer rope and a holy-water vial.
• Protector Set, $169: St John the Warrior and the Guardian Angel, a St Michael medallion, a crucifix and a prayer rope.
• Icon Corner Set, $199: everything to begin a prayer corner, rope included.
• Travel Set, $99: a travel diptych, a small wooden cross for the car and a prayer rope.

For someone who already prays the Jesus Prayer, the Jesus Prayer crucifix ($49) is a fitting companion. More is in our prayer collection.

Consecrating your prayer rope

You can add Consecration to a prayer rope for $49. Our Orthodox priest consecrates it with holy water and the prayers of the Church before it ships, commemorating the person you name. It comes with a signed certificate and a vial of holy water, and orders with Consecration ship in 3–8 business days. Consecrated items are final sale. Read more in what Consecration is.