Meaning of two red beads on 33-knot prayer rope
 

A friend of mine purchased for me a 33-knot prayer rope at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. It is different from others that I've seen and used. It is round. A small cross forms the 33rd knot; on either side of it there are regular knots; next to each of those is a red bead. So there are two red beads, and each one is two "spaces" away from the little woolen cross.

I am wondering whether these red beads have a special meaning. Do they stand for the Theotokos and for St. John the Theologian (or St. John the Baptist)? Do they call for a certain prayer?

Thank you!

These two read beads are simply red beads and mark the start/end point of the count by forming a cross. If you want to assign special meaning to them or special prayers, I suppose there's no harm, but neither is there any formal commandment to do so.

Fr David