Refers to strings of beads or knotted cord used for a religious exercise in which prayers are recited and counted on the beads or knots. In Christianity, the practice was adopted in the 3rd century by Eastern Christian monks, and various forms of the rosary were developed. In Roman Catholicism, the rosary became a popular method of public and private prayer. The most common rosary is the rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, comprising beads arranged in five decades (sets of 10), each decade separated from the next by a larger bead. The two ends of the string are joined by a smaller string holding a crucifix, two large beads, and three small beads. The devotions consist of the recitation or chanting of fifteen decades of Aves, each decade being preceded by a Paternoster and followed by a Gloria. The term is most often used to refer to strings of beads used in Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, although it may also be used to refer to prayer beads employed in Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism.