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The design of the rosary brims with symbolism. It’s a combination of Catholic rosaries and the Orthodox Jesus rope, according to Web sites. There are 33 beads, made of anything from wood to precious stones, plus a cross or crucifix.

Twenty-eight of the beads are arranged in four groups of seven called “weeks.” Seven represents perfection in Jewish and Christian tradition. Between each week is a single bead, called a cruciform because the four beads form a cross. There’s also an “invitory” bead between the attached cross and circle of beads, bringing the total to 33, the number of years Jesus Christ lived on earth.

Praying the beads three times around, plus adding the cross at beginning and end, represents the Trinity and adds up to 100 stops, which is the total Orthodox rosary.