Lestovka

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Nektarios
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Lestovka

Post by Nektarios »

What is a Lestovka and how do you use it and why are they so expensive?

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TomS
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Post by TomS »

http://www.easternchristian.com/lestovka.html

Russian Lestovka or Vervitsa

The Lestovka or Ladder is a prayer rope most commonly made of leather (although vinyl is now often used), which was in general use in old Russia and is still used by pious Old Ritualist Orthodox Christians.


Question:

I am interested in finding out more about the Vervitsa or Lestovka that Old Believers use as prayer beads. I would really appreciate any information that might be available on how to construct one. Any information that you can supply would be very much appreciated.

Answer:
Dr. Alexander Roman alex@unicorne.org

The "Lestovka" is a uniquely developed prayer-counter that uses leather "steps" or "babotchki" to count the Jesus Prayer or any other prayer.

The word means "ladder" as the steps resemble a ladder calling to mind Jacob's ladder to heaven. In Ukrainian, it is called a "Listvytsia." It is also called a "Vervytsia" coming from the word "Verv" or knot/step.

Already in the time of St Basil the Great, monastics developed a knotted cord or "Prayer rope" on which to count the Jesus Prayer in fulfillment of their particular rules. One hundred woolen knots were punctuated with three larger knots or beads as a base number.

The Psalter in the Eastern Orthodox Church is divided into twenty groupings called "Kathismata" or "Kathisma" in the singular. Each of these is subdivided into three sections or "stases" ending with a doxology.

St Basil devised the prayer rope to allow monastics who could not read the option of saying 300 Jesus Prayers for each "Kathisma." The Jesus Prayer recited 6,000 times could replace the entire Psalter.

The Divine Office or Praises (Horologion) could likewise be replaced by the saying of the Jesus Prayer. The regular rule prescribed the Jesus Prayer 300 times for Matins, 150 times for Vespers, 100 times for Compline and the Nocturn Hour, 80 times for the Typika and 50 times each for the four day hours. The longer, monastic rules included many more recitations of the Jesus Prayer.

The woolen material from which the prayer rope or, in Greek, "Komvoschinion" is made reminds one of the Lamb of God Who is OLGS Jesus Christ. The tassel at the end represents the flow of the Divine Mercy and was also used to wipe one's tears of compunction. Orthodox hierarchs' great prayer ropes have big tassels at the end and these are sometimes used to dip in Holy Water in order to sprinkle the faithful!

In 17th century Russia, the Orthodox faithful developed the leather "Lestovka" which is based on St Basil's division but goes beyond it.

Beginning with four sided triangles at the bottom, these represent the four Gospel writers and the embroidery on them is the actual teaching of OLGS Jesus Christ.

Immediately above it are three steps on both sides which, together with the three steps used as dividers in the body of the Lestovka proper, represent the nine choirs of Angels.

As we go along the Lestovka, we come to twelve smaller steps which represent the twelve Apostles, and then a larger divider step. Then there are 38 steps which represent the 36 weeks and two days in which Christ was in the Womb of the Most Holy Mother of God - and then another divider step. After this are 33 steps representing the years in which our Lord lived on earth. And then there are 17 steps representing the 16 OT Prophets and John the Baptist, the fulfillment of the Prophets.

The Jesus Prayer is said on all the smaller steps and the "Rejoice, Mary" or "Hail Mary" is said on the three divider steps.

Or else the Old Believers say the following three prayers on each of the three divider steps:

"Remember me, O Lord, when You come into Your Kingdom"

"Remember me, O Master, when You come into Your Kingdom"

"Remember me, O Holy One, when You come into Your Kingdom"

And then one may end with "Rejoice, Mary" three times and the prayer "It is truly meet."

The Psalmic Doxology is used at the end of each 100 Jesus Prayers (on the three steps above the triangles) which is: Glory be . . . (once) Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Glory to You, O God (three times) Lord have mercy (three times) and Glory be . . . (once).

Not only the Old Believers, but the entire Russian Orthodox Church used and continue to use the Lestovka. St Seraphim of Sarov himself only used Lestovka in his prayers and his Lestovka is on display at his shrine. A recently published encyclopaedia of Orthodoxy in Moscow included drawings of both the prayer rope and the Lestovka as equally legitimate Orthodox monastic and lay aids to prayer. But this is the only prayer-counter used by the Old Believers and their bishops today often wear the Lestovka, with the triangles cut off, around their necks with their pectoral Crosses/Panahias.

The prayer rope is wrapped around the left wrist of monastics and clerics (lay people should always ask for a blessing from their priest if they wish to wear a prayer rope in this way). The Lestovka is carried on one's elbow.

As an aside, the earliest form of the rosary in the West was ALWAYS the knotted cord. Roman Catholic monastics likewise wore large knotted cords wrapped on their wrists as Orthodox clergy and monastics do today. The knotted cord rosary continues to be popular in the West.

There is also what is called the "Lestovka of the Mother of God" which is a Lestovka comprised of 150 smaller steps, divided every ten by a larger one. Similar ones for prayer ropes also exist and these are used by the Orthodox faithful to pray the "Rule of the Mother of God" or 150 "Hail Mary's" (in reality, "Rejoice" is the correct translation!) with the "Our Father" on the 15 larger ones.

(It is NOT true that the Rosary comes from the West - this prayer rule was a monastic exercise in the East long before it became popular in the West.)

Practically, the Lestovka is used by the faithful during the Church services to help them count the "Kyrie Eleison" or "Lord have mercy" 12 or 40 times.

The bows of the prayer of St Ephrem for Lent/the Great Fast are also counted on the 17 step section of the Lestovka (beginning with a bow from the waist for the beginning "Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us" which amounts altogether to 17 bows).

http://www.unicorne.org/orthodoxy/hiver ... stovkr.htm

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