Anglican Prayer Beads.

[Diane Radell]

How do you use your Anglican Prayer Beads? I bought myself a set, waiting for the mail on them.

 

[Albion]

A perfect answer to your question would be a bit complicated. However, there are a number of good sites online that explain it. Google Anglican Prayer Beads, Christian Prayer Beads, or Anglican Rosary and you'll probably have no trouble finding what you want. Remember, though, that some sites reflect the preferences of certain kinds of Anglicans--Anglo-Catholics, for example. There really is no absolutely "must do" arrangement of prayers and the user can pray whatever he chooses.

Here's a quick overview: pray around the loop either one or three times, starting with the Creed on the cross (optional) and moving counterclockwise when you first get to the "junction." On the beads called the "weeks" beads (because they're in groups of seven) the most common way is to pray the "Jesus Prayer." On the ones that separate the weeks, pray something else, such as the Lord's Prayer or a part of a psalm, again as you choose.

 

[Diane Radell]

I would not mind a complicated answer!

 

[Albion]

I would not mind a complicated answer!

OK, Diane. Here's a site I'd call a good one. It describes how to use the beads in the most standard way. I think the "Christian Prayer Beads Central" link at the bottom is also pretty good and is basically compatible with what this Wikipedia page has to say.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglican_prayer_beads

 

[Diane Radell]

Thank you!!

 

[Maid Marie]

I recite some bible passages based on the theme of the prayer. For example, I am praying for a friend's deliverance from physical cancer as well as spiritual cancer. So, I pick bible verses that go along with that theme. For the first week, I will say "I can do all these through Christ who gives me strength" as a way to pray for my friend to have strength for chemo 2 weeks out of 3. Then at the cruciform, I will say "my friend will not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord. Psalm 118:17" The next "week" or set of beeds, I say "If we confess our sins, he is gracious and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9" to pray for his need to be spiritually clean in his heart. I go around 3 times.

 

[SteveCaruso]

I carry mine wherever I go in my left hand, with the cross in my palm so it's not obvious what they are at first glance. It's a good reminder and devotional practice as well as an occasional conversation starter.

I utilize them in a variety of ways, from doing the traditional recitations of prayers, to simply counting my blessings after Compline.

 

[CanadianAnglican]

I've found some of these models useful at times: http://www.kingofpeace.org/prayerbeads.htm

Personally, I usually begin with the Apostle's Creed, venerate the cross and pray the Lord's Prayer on the cross, then pray the Collect for Purity on the Invitatory, the Gloria Patri on the first Cruciform bead and then pray in order to the Father, to the Son and to the Holy Ghost on the remaining cruciform beads. For the weeks I pray the Jesus Prayer.

For those three cruciform prayers, I pray extemporaneously. I find the Jesus Prayers during the weeks help me to clear my mind, as I pray for God to help me with in the Collect for Purity, and it makes it a more meaningful time of prayer and helps me to avoid simply praying the same petitions over and over. I often surprise myself in terms of what comes to mind to pray in this fashion, and I also find it helpful to shift my focus by specifically praying to the Father at one point, and then to the son, and then to the Holy Ghost. When I'm finished and going out, the Invitatory becomes the general Confession and the Cross remains the Lord's Prayer, although at times I've also prayed the Collect for Grace or the Collect for Grace or the Collect for Aid Against All Perils if it is the morning or evening when I am praying.

Just a note on the kiss, for those curious, is veneration of the cross as an icon of God's sovereignty and my submission to his will. Definitely a lot of elements of my use of the Anglican Rosary are influenced by the East and by personal displays of piety. Definitely not for everyone.

In terms of how many times to pray, I don't get too caught up on sacred numbers (ie praying the loop three times) but try to simply pray as often as I feel I need. Sometimes once. Sometimes more than once. I definitely try to avoid too much legalism, and if I screw up one of the collects I don't scramble to double check in my BCP, I'll just continue praying the sentiments of those collects. I prefer to pray with my eyes closed and simply allow it to be a time of prayer in which I am shut out to the word aside from the tactile sensation of the rosary in my hand and internally remain focused on God.

I hope some of that might be helpful!

 

[Soma Seer]

How do you use your Anglican Prayer Beads? I bought myself a set, waiting for the mail on them.

I can't answer your question, as I am not Anglican/Episcopalian; however, I'd like to share a link to the business of a woman who makes lovely Anglican prayer beads: http://fullcirclebeads.com/. (I have about 8 sets of her prayer beads.)

 

[Albion]

I can't answer your question, as I am not Anglican/Episcopalian; however, I'd like to share a link to the business of a woman who makes lovely Anglican prayer beads: http://fullcirclebeads.com/. (I have about 8 sets of her prayer beads.)

Yes, the actual instructions on how to pray the beads is the usual (and correct) one. However, the list of prayers that's given -- reprints from another maker of Anglican Prayer Beads, www.kingofpeace.org -- shows an elaborate set of prayers that are not standard but which no doubt appeal to certain Anglo-Catholic users.

 

[Truthseeker1971]

How do you use your Anglican Prayer Beads? I bought myself a set, waiting for the mail on them.

You don't nee any kind of prayer beads. Prayer beads are pagan in origin (originating from the Hindu/Buddhist tradition) and we as Christians are called to avoid anything pagan.

 

[Albion]

You don't nee any kind of prayer beads. Prayer beads are pagan in origin (originating from the Hindu/Buddhist tradition) and we as Christians are called to avoid anything pagan.

No one has said that we "need" prayer beads, just that they may serve a purpose for those who want to use them. And the purpose is to focus one's attention and enable counting. No prayers or meditations are assigned to the beads and no special spiritual benefits are promised by any church merely because it's these beads that were used.

As for the alleged "pagan origin," there is no evidence that rosary-type beads in Christian history had any such origin. You can rest assured.

 

[Soma Seer]

As for the alleged "pagan origin," there is no evidence that rosary-type beads in Christian history had any such origin. You can rest assured.

I believe that the use of prayer beads began with the Hindu faith; then again, I don't label Hindus as pagan, so I don't consider prayer beads as being pagan in origin.

 

[Albion]

I believe that the use of prayer beads began with the Hindu faith; then again, I don't label Hindus as pagan, so I don't consider prayer beads as being pagan in origin.

That's a good point. SS.

But there is no evidence that the use of some kind of prayer beads--much different in shape and use from the ones that we have today--came from Hindu or Buddhist sources. Prayer beads began to be used in Western Europe for a particular reason and that was during the Dark Ages when contact with Hindu and Buddhist lands was all but non-existent, so the likelihood of there being a direct connection is almost nil. Those who cry "pagan" at any opportunity also don't account for the fact that almost all faiths use houses of worship, light candles, use books, etc. so if we are to say "don't do anything that some pagan does," there'd be little that any Christian could do.

 

[Soma Seer]

But there is no evidence that the use of some kind of prayer beads--much different in shape and use from the ones that we have today--came from Hindu or Buddhist sources. Prayer beads began to be used in Western Europe for a particular reason and that was during the Dark Ages when contact with Hindu and Buddhist lands was all but non-existent, so the likelihood of there being a direct connection is almost nil.

I've read that it's believed the use of prayer beads in Hinduism and Buddhism influenced their use in Islam. As far as how they began to be used in Western Europe, true, that detail remains dark; still, I think there's a good chance that word--or possibly even direct observation--of another faith influenced its use in Christianity. But who knows? Perhaps there's a spiritual influence that inspired the first person in each faith group who "devised" the idea to use prayer beads--well, except for Islam, according to experts.

Those who cry "pagan" at any opportunity also don't account for the fact that almost all faiths use houses of worship, light candles, use books, etc. so if we are to say "don't do anything that some pagan does," there'd be little that any Christian could do.

 

[Albion]

I've read that it's believed the use of prayer beads in Hinduism and Buddhism influenced their use in Islam.

That's possible--for several reasons. Islam came much later than Christianity. Its center was much closer to the Hindu and Buddhist lands (Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Indonesia are Muslim strongholds even today). And Islam is a very synthetic religion that consciously picked and choose among existing religions for what it wanted to believe or reject.

As far as how they began to be used in Western Europe, true, that detail remains dark

I didn't say the origin was dark; I said they started during the Dark Ages, i.e. the Early Middle Ages.

still, I think there's a good chance that word--or possibly even direct observation--of another faith influenced its use in Christianity.

Not really.

 

[Wgw]

Out of curiosity, have any of you tried an Orthodox prayer rope or lestovka? The lestovka in particular is quite nice, in that it has different counters for different functions in the Old Rite Russian variant of the liturgy, which can be adapted to serve other purposes. In general I favor these devices over beads, as they are quiter and less conspicuous.

 

[Soma Seer]

I didn't say the origin was dark; I said they started during the Dark Ages, i.e. the Early Middle Ages.

LOL I know that you were talking about the Dark Ages. And I by dark, I meant that we have no clear proof of how/when prayer beads came to be used in Christianity; in short, our knowledge on this issue is dark, unclear, etc.

Not really.

Okay, so you disagree with that theory; that doesn't make it wrong--and I'm not contending that it's right. I don't really have a dog in this fight, either way. What I am saying, though, is that if we were to learn (prove) that the Christian rosary was influenced by another faith group's use of prayer beads, it would not diminish their usefulness in Christianity one bit.

And what about the possibility that people of various faiths were influenced (inspired) by the spirit world, for lack of a better term, to construct and use prayer beads? It is possible; I'll leave it at that, since we'll never have proof of that theory.

 

[Soma Seer]

Out of curiosity, have any of you tried an Orthodox prayer rope or lestovka? The lestovka in particular is quite nice, in that it has different counters for different functions in the Old Rite Russian variant of the liturgy, which can be adapted to serve other purposes. In general I favor these devices over beads, as they are quiter and less conspicuous.

I am unfamiliar with the lestovka but will do a Google search right...now....

 

[Wgw]

I have a fifty knot conventional prayer rope in addition to a Lestovka. The main downside with lestovkas is there are few suppliers and they are a bit expensive.