Lestovki (prayer rope)

Vinyl or LeatherThe Lestovka or Ladder is a type of prayer rope, used in Russia before the arrival of the Greek knotted prayer rope in the 18th century. It is still used today by pious Old Ritualist Orthodox Christians.Commonly made of leather, it is sometimes made of other materials, such as cloth or even beads.The Lestovka has four lapostki (leaves or flaps), symbolizing the four Evangelists. The stitching around the leaves symbolizes the teaching of the Gospel. Sealed between the leaves are seven movable pieces, as tokens of the seven Great Mysteries of the Church. Where the Lestovka is joined together there are three steps at each end, and on the Lestovka itself are three more steps, for a total of nine, which stands for the nine orders of angels, and for the nine months during which the most pure Mother of God carried in her womb the Infant Who is before all ages. The empty space after the juncture represents the earth. Then there are twelve counters (babochki, rungs, steps, beads