Anglican prayer beads, also known as the Anglican rosary or Anglican chaplet, are a loop of strung Christian prayer beads used chiefly by

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

s in the

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...

, as well as by communicants in the Anglican Continuum. This Anglican devotion has spread to other

Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct Religion, religious body within Christianity that comprises all Church (congregation), church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadersh ...

s, including Methodists and the Reformed.

Description

Anglican prayer bead sets consist of a cross and thirty-three beads.

Beads

The loop is formed of thirty-two beads. Twenty-eight of the beads are divided into four groups consisting of seven beads, each which are called "weeks". The four larger beads separating the four groups are called "cruciform" beads. When the loop of an Anglican prayer bead set is opened into a circular shape, the "cruciform" beads form the points of a cross within the circle of the set, hence the term. Next after the cross on Anglican prayer bead sets is a single bead called the "invitatory" bead, which brings the total of beads to thirty-three.

Materials

The beads used can be made of a variety of materials, such as precious stones, wood, coloured glass, or even dried and painted seeds.

Symbolism

The number thirty-three signifies the number of years that

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

lived on the Earth, while the number seven signifies wholeness or completion in the faith, the days of creation, and the seasons of the

Church year The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year, ecclesiastical calendar, or kalendar, consists of the cycle of Christian liturgy, liturgical days and seasons that determines when feast days, including Calendar of saints, c ...

Cross

Anglican prayer bead sets are made with a variety of crosses or, occasionally, crucifixes.

Christian cross The Christian cross, seen as representing the crucifixion of Jesus, is a religious symbol, symbol of Christianity. It is related to the crucifix, a cross that includes a ''corpus'' (a representation of Jesus' body, usually three-dimensional) a ...

es such as the

Celtic cross upright 0.75 , A Celtic cross symbol The Celtic cross is a form of ringed cross, a Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring, that emerged in the British Isles and Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages. It became widespread through its u ...

and the San Damiano cross are two which are often used, though other styles are used too.

Prayer

Anglican prayer beads are most often used as a tactile aid to prayer and as a counting device. The standard Anglican set consists of the following pattern, starting with the

cross A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...

, followed by the Invitatory Bead, and subsequently, the first

Cruciform A cruciform is a physical manifestation resembling a common cross or Christian cross. These include architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described as having a cruciform ...

bead, moving to the right, through the first set of seven beads to the next Cruciform bead, continuing around the circle. He or she may conclude by saying the

Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also known by its incipit Our Father (, ), is a central Christian prayer attributed to Jesus. It contains petitions to God focused on God’s holiness, will, and kingdom, as well as human needs, with variations across manusc ...

on the invitatory bead or a final prayer on the cross as in the examples below. The entire circle may be done thrice, which signifies the lifetime of Jesus Christ and the

Holy Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, three ...

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

Christian Prayer Beads Central

History of Prayer Beads
{{Anglicanism (footer), collapsed Christian prayer Prayer beads Rosary Anglican Mariology Anglican liturgy Anglo-Catholicism Personal ordinariates