This work is a prayer rope designed for the Jesus Prayer. It is comprised of ten 15mm wood beads, one brass cruciform bead, and thirteen chotki knots. The latter are used here as spacers, but in traditional Orthodox prayer ropes they would function as the “beads.” A chotki is a complex knot of seven repeating cross patterns, so the sign of the cross is a feature of the knot’s very design. They have been used for prayer ropes for centuries.
The creation of this work was originally practical, not “artistic.” I wanted an instrument that was both more durable and more conducive to ceaseless prayer (1 Thess. 5:17) than the usual prayer rope or rosary. It is designed to be worn on the wrist like a watch, and the beads are significantly larger than what is found on most rosaries. It is intentionally material and “inconvenient” so as to alert me to its presence, which I ought to interpret as an invitation to pray.
Paul’s exhortation to pray ceaselessly is a companion verse to Romans 12:12. Prayer is to the soul what breathing is to the body: to speak the name of Christ is to welcome life back into the heart. His name is his greatest gift, for it brings the reality of Christ along with it. For this reason, I call this prayer rope design a “corona,” which in Latin has the double meaning of “circle” and “crown.”
Every design element attempts to speak the name of Jesus. When unhooked, the rope resembles a cross with the T-bar on top. The number of chotki knots represents the numerical value of the abbreviation for Jesus Christ in the English alphabet (J is the tenth letter; C is the third; together, they make thirteen).
