In Eastern Orthodoxy the traditional number of beads in Chotki is 100 pieces in a round plus 3 additional beads that run down from a tying knot, crowned with a tassel. 100 beads are considered the most comfortable amount of beads that provide for a prayer with full concentration. Such a large number as opposite to the Catholic Chotkis where 11 or 33 are far more common can be explained that in Slavonic Christianity Chotkis are primarily a praying device used by monks and priest and laymen usually resort to Chotkis only when extreme levels of concentrations are needed. 100 beads seems like a very reasonable number since the batch prayers are usually said 100, 300, 600 or even up to 1000 times in a row – this helps to reach the state where nothing worldly bothers the praying person any more.
Still such an ample number of beads and quantity of prayers is not an obligatory thing for civil people who are simply used to praying with Chotki in hands – hence the Slavonic Chotkis with lower number of beads. And these numbers can reveal a lot about the origin and the initial purpose of Chotkis – you may find some curious things about your Chotki right now.
-10 beads Chotki symbolizes Jesus Christ, the messiah who is simultaneously a human and a son of God;
-20 beads Chotki stands for baptising and confirmation, such Chotkis are usually given to a child by his or her Godparents;
-30 beads in Chotki is the symbol of the Holy Trinity and is dedicated to the Trinity Day, such Chotki is a reminder about the triple nature of God combining the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit;
-40 beads in Chotki stand for the Quadragesima – the 40 days prior to Easter during which Jesus had been in the wilderness, alone after his baptizing by John the Baptist, the 40th day is also known to be the day when the soul of a deceased person leaves the realm of Earth and heads to Heaven or Hell;
-50 beads – just a the Orthodox Christians worship the Trinity, in Catholic religion more attention is paid to the number 5;
-100 beads Chotki grant 10 beads for every 10 Commandments of the God's Law;
-150 beads symbolize 150 psalm and 150 great events in the life of Jesus Christ.
Hope you have been pleasantly surprised with the meaning of the number of beads on your Chotki.
So you can see that the number of beads is significant with regards to the Chotki and its meaning. Every number has its own purpose
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