which the Theotokos carried Christ in her womb. Next, thirty-three small counters for the number of years Christ lived on earth, followed by seventeen small counters for the seventeen Old Testament prophets plus St John the Baptist who prophesied about the coming of Christ. Usage If one is unable to attend services in church for whatever reasons, it is considered commendable to pray on the lestovka, using a number of repetitions of the Jesus prayer combined with specific bows and prostrations. When using the lestovka as part of a rule of prayer, the three counters at either end are used for the following prayers (accompanied by bows) at the end and beginning of the prayer session: Боже, милостивъ бѹди мне грѣшномѹ. (грѣшнѣй if one is female) Создави мѧ, Господи, помилѹй мѧ. Безъ числа согрѣшихъ, Господи, прости мѧ. God be merciful to me a sinner. (bow) Thou hast created me; Lord, have mercy on me. (bow) I have sinned immeasurably; Lord, forgive me. (bow) Some say, at the last line, "помилѹй и прости мѧ грѣшнаго/грѣшнѹю" (have mercy and forgive me a sinner) instead of "прости мѧ" (forgive me). The remaining one hundred small counters are used for the repetition of the Jesus prayer, with bows and prostrations. Other uses of the lestovka include counting the twelve or forty repetitions of Lord have mercy used as responses at the Divine Liturgy and Canonical hours. The seventeen counters are also used to count the number of bows during the Prayer of Saint Ephrem. Lestovka with 150 steps is used to read prayers to the Virgin Mary. Outside of Old Belief Lestovka is often found outside communities that adhere to the liturgical practices of the Old Believers. Eastern Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christians who are knowledgeable about Slavic traditions of the Byzantine rite love to own and use them. Members of the Russian Orthodox Church today are increasingly using lestovka. Examples of Russian Orthodox saints depicted with a staircase are Seraphim of Sarov, Sergius of Radonezh, Kiev Pechersk Saints and many other saints of the Russian Orthodox Church. Sources and references Вургафт С.Г., Ушаков И.А. Старообрядчество. Лица, события, предметы и символы. Опыт энциклопедического словаря, Москва 1996 (Vurgaft S.G., Ušakov I.A. Old Believers. Persons, Events, Objects and Symbols. Attempt to an Encyclopedian Dictionary. Moscow, 1996) See also Russian Orthodox Oldritualist Church Old Believers Hesychasm External links About lestovka Virtual Museum of Religious Artifacts Old Believer