The chotki, also called komboskini, is a tradition from our Eastern Catholic brothers and sisters. Eastern Catholics are part of the universal Catholic Church, which means that many of their devotions can be used by Roman Catholics to deepen their Faith.
What is a Chotki?
The Chotki is a prayer rope that would typically have 100 knots. There are also versions with 33 or 150 knots. These knots are in a loop joined with a knotted cross. This cross could also have a tassel at the end, or it may not.
Traditionally this prayer rope is made of wool, however there are versions where instead of knots there are beads.
Short History of the Chotki
The Chotki is attributed to St Pachomius the Great. The story goes that as he was given this prayer rule from an angel, and this included the need for a prayer rope.
A different monk was following this prayer rule, but as he prayed and tied a knot, the devil would untie it. This made it impossible to keep track of his prayers. So an angel appeared and taught him a knot that the devil could not untie and tied a cross at the end.
Since then, the chotki has been an important part of all religious communities in both the Eastern Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.
The Jesus Prayer
The traditional prayer said on each knot in the chotki is the Jesus Prayer. This prayer can have slight differences but the most common form of this is:
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,
Have mercy on me, a sinner.
One important thing to know about this prayer is the breathing. The traditional way to pray this prayer is to breath in while praying the first line, and breath out while praying the second line.
The breathing technique allows you to use your body while praying. This is important because prayer is more powerful when we use our entire being. Since we are body and soul, this breathing technique allows us to use the body while also using our soul to praise God.
Another great benefit of the breathing is that it trains you to say this prayer often, even when you don’t have a chotki on you. When you find yourself in a stressful situation, just focus on breathing and saying this prayer. You might even find yourself saying it without thinking.
This prayer is very powerful, because you’re repeatedly saying the name of Jesus. Names are important, and the name of Our Savior is of the utmost importance! By repeatedly saying this prayer, we are focusing on the power of that name, which has saved us from eternal death. This can be very calming, and many people report feeling less anxious and more trusting toward God through this prayer.
Developing a Devotion
The first step to developing this devotion is to get a chotki. It’s difficult to find a Catholic maker of these, since this is typically more popular in the Eastern Orthodox Church. So you may have to get a chotki from an Orthodox craftsman. You may be able to find a Catholic craftsman, and I would suggest looking on Etsy for these.
Next you need to come up with a scheduled time. The good news is that it doesn’t take long to pray this, although that could vary depending on the size of the actual prayer rope. It usually takes me about 15 minutes to pray it. I like to schedule this before work every morning, although I also find myself reaching for it before bed. Once you have a scheduled time, stick with it!
After finding a scheduled time, you should also bring your chotki with you so you can pray it as needed. You may find an extra 15 minutes throughout the day, or you may have a stressful event coming up. Any time you need to pray can be capitalized when you have it on your person.
So Get Started!
This type of devotion has many benefits, and is very easy to start. The prayer is short and easy to remember, and through frequent recitation you may even start to say it as you breath throughout the day or immediately think of it when in a stressful situation.
All this is good reason to pick up your own chotki and get started! So try it out, and see how much closer you become to Christ.