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"Tradition is the living faith of the dead; Traditionalism is the dead faith of the living."


- Jaroslav Pelikan
CTS is a member of the Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Synod of the ELCA
CTS is a Reconciling in Christ Congregation
CTS is a ONE Lutheran Congregation

Prayer Beads

Prayer beads are a time-honored way of keeping track of a series of prayers offered to God.  The tactile nature of beads also helps the person praying to focus attention, stay grounded, or help the person stay connected.  Used in nearly all religious traditions, the Hindu mala is perhaps the oldest known form of prayer beads.  Roman Catholics use a set of beads called the Rosary, Eastern Orthodox use prayer ropes that are a series of intricate knots, while Islam uses a set of beads called Misbaha or Tasbih.  Each tradition has different counts of beads or knots that correspond to the sacred numbers and theology of that particular tradition.

Protestants have a relatively new form of prayer beads created in the mid-1980s by an Episcopal priest.  Anglican prayer beads consist of 33 beads  – the number of years of Jesus’ life.  The strand begins with an Invitation bead and is then divided into four groups of seven.  The seven beads are called a Week.  Seven, in the Judeo-Christian tradition, is a spiritually complete number: seven days of creation, the seven sacraments recognized in Roman and Anglican traditions, and one (lunar) month is seven times four, or twenty-eight.

Four Cruciform beads, so named because when laid out the beads form the shape of a cross, separate the Weeks beads.  The number four reminds us that God is everywhere and in every time as four symbolizes the four seasons, the four elements (earth, wind, fire, rain), and the four compass points which also remind us of the Great Commission (Jesus’ instruction to his disciples that they spread his teachings to all the nations of the world).

Starting September 12th, join us Mondays at 7:30 and/or Wednesdays at 7:00 for evening prayer as we explore this ancient form of prayer.  Each session will begin with a short introduction to Anglican prayer beads for those who are new to this way of praying.
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