Liturgical rites used by Coptic and Orthodox Tewahedo Church
The
Alexandrian rites
are a collection of
ritual families
and
uses
of
Christian liturgy
employed by three
Oriental Orthodox
churches (the
Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria
, the
Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church
, and the
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
), and by three
Eastern Catholic Churches
(the
Coptic Catholic Church
, the
Eritrean Catholic Church
, and
Ethiopian Catholic Church
).
[
citation needed
]
The Alexandrian rite's
Divine Liturgy
contains elements from the liturgies of Saints
Mark the Evangelist
(who is traditionally regarded as the first bishop of
Alexandria
),
Basil the Great
,
Cyril of Alexandria
, and
Gregory Nazianzus
. The
Liturgy of St Cyril
in the
Coptic language
is
the Liturgy of Saint Mark that has been translated from
Koine Greek
.
[
citation needed
]
The Alexandrian rites are sub-grouped into two rites: the
Coptic Rite
and
the Ge'ez Rite
[
citation needed
]
.
Sub-groups
[
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]
Coptic
[
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]
The Coptic Rite is native to
Egypt
and traditionally uses the
Coptic language
with a few phrases in Greek. It is used in the Coptic Orthodox Church and the
Coptic Catholic Church
.
Arabic
and a number of other modern languages (including English) are also used.
[1]
Ge'ez
[
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]
The Ge'ez Rite is native to
Ethiopia
and
Eritrea
and uses the
Ge'ez language
. It is used in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo churches, and the
Ethiopian
and
Eritrean Catholic
Churches.
[
citation needed
]
Divine Liturgy
[
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]
The main
Eucharistic
liturgy used by the Coptic Churches is known as the
Liturgy of Saint Basil
.
[2]
The term
Liturgies of Saint Basil
in a Coptic context means not only the sole anaphora with or without the related prayers, but also the general order of the Divine Liturgy in this rite.
[3]
The term
Liturgy of Saint Basil
may refer also to the whole Eucharistic Liturgy which in the Coptic Churches has the following structure:
[4]
[5]
Offertory
[
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]
Offertory
(or
Prothesis
) is the part of the liturgy in which the
Sacramental bread
(
?????
qurb?n
) and
wine
(
?????
abarkah
) are chosen and placed on the altar. All these rites are
medieval
developments.
[6]
It begins with the dressing of the priest with
vestments
and the preparation of the altar, along with prayers of worthiness for the celebrant. At this point is chanted the appropriate hour of the
Canonical hours
, followed by the washing of the hands with its prayer of worthiness, and by the proclamation of the
Nicene Creed
.
Then takes place the elaborate rite of the choosing of the Lamb: while the congregation sing 41 times the
Kyrie eleison
, the priest checks the wine and chooses among the bread one loaf which will be consecrated (the
Lamb
). The Lamb is cleaned with a napkin and blessed with the priest's thumb wet of wine. Afterwards the priest takes the Lamb in procession around the altar and the deacon follows with the wine and a candle.
[2]
At the altar, the priest, with appropriate prayers, blesses the Lamb and the wine, places the Lamb on the
Paten
and pours wine and a few drops of water in the
chalice
(the chalice is stowed into a wooden box named
ark
on the altar).
The last part of the offertory resembles an
anaphora
: after a dialogue, the priest blesses the congregation and proclaims a prayer of thanksgiving, giving thanks to God for his support to humanity, and asking him for a worthy participation to the liturgy. Then comes the prayer of covering, said inaudibly by the priest, which has the form of an
epiclesis
, asking God to show his face on the gifts, and to change them in order that the bread and wine may became the
Body
and
Blood of Christ
. This text might come from an ancient anaphora or simply be a later
High Middle Ages
creation.
[6]
The paten and the ark with inside the chalice are here covered with a veil.
Liturgy of the Catechumens
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]
In the
Liturgy of the Catechumens
the readings from the
New Testament
are proclaimed. This portion of the Divine Liturgy was in the ancient times the beginning of the
liturgy
, and the only part which could be attended by the
catechumens
. This part is roughly equivalent to the
Liturgy of the Word
in the Western Rites.
It begins with a
Penitential Rite
in which first the priest prays inaudibly Christ for the forgiveness of sins (
The Absolution to the Son
) and then all the participants kneel in front of the altar and the celebrant, or the bishop if present, recites a prayer of
absolution
(
The Absolution to the Ministers
).
The reading from the
Pauline epistles
is preceded by the offering of
incense
at the four sides of the altar, at the
iconostasis
, at the book of the
Gospel
and at the faithful in the
nave
; in the meantime the faithful sing a hymn to
Mary
and a hymn of intercession. The Pauline epistle is followed by a reading from the
Catholic epistles
, and by one from the
Acts of the Apostles
. Another offering of incense is conducted (the
Praxis Incense
), similar to the Pauline incense except that only the first row of the faithful is incensed. A reading from the Coptic
Synaxarium
can follow.
After these readings, the
Trisagion
is sung three times, each time with a different reference to the
Incarnation
,
Passion
,
Resurrection
, thus addressing the Trisagion to Christ only. After the Trisagion follows a
litany
, the recital of a
Psalm
and the singing of the
Alleluia
, and finally the proclamation of the
Gospel
from the doors of the sanctuary. The
sermon
may follow.
Liturgy of the Faithful
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]
The Liturgy of the Faithful is the core of the Divine Liturgy, where are placed the proper
Eucharistic
rites.
It begins with the prayer of the Veil,
[6]
in which the priest offers the liturgical sacrifice to God. The Long
Litanies
follows, where all pray for the peace, for the ecclesiastic hierarchy and for the congregation. The
Nicean Creed
is proclaimed, the priest washes his hands three times and sprinkles water on the congregation reciting the Prayer of Reconciliation which is a prayer of worthiness for all who attend the liturgy. Next is the
Kiss of peace
during which the faithful sing the
Aspasmos Adam
hymn, according to the season of the liturgical calendar.
Anaphora
[
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]
The
Anaphora
is conducted.
The Coptic
anaphora
of Saint Basil, even if related and using the same
Antiochene
(or
"West Syrian"
) structure,
[7]
represents a different group from the
Byzantine
, West Syrian and
Armenian
grouping of anaphoras of Saint Basil. The Coptic version does not derive directly from the latter and has its own peculiarities: its text is more brief, with less
Scriptural
and allusive enhancements, and it lacks well defined
Trinitarian
references,
[8]
: 113
which are typical of other versions and reflect the theology of the
First Council of Constantinople
of 381.
The structure of the
Bohairic Coptic
version used today in the Coptic Churches can be summarized as follow:
- Anaphora:
- the
Opening Dialogue
- the
Preface
, praising
Father
as Lord and everlasting king, as creator of heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them (quoting
Psalm 146:6
), and as Father of
Christ
by whom all things were made.
- the
Pre-Sanctus
, praising the Father on his throne of glory and worshiped by the
Angelic
hosts
, so introducing ?
- the
Sanctus
, conducted without the
Benedictus
,
- the
Post-Sanctus
, recalling the whole history of
Salvation
, from the
Original Sin
to the
Incarnation
,
Passion
,
Resurrection
of Christ up to the
Last Judgment
,
- the
Institution narrative
,
- the
Anamnesis
, referring to the
Passion
,
Resurrection
and
Second Coming
of Christ,
- the
Oblation
, offering to the Father the
Eucharistic
gifts,
- the
Epiclesis
, asking the
Holy Spirit
to come and to sanctify and manifest the gifts as the Most Holy. The Holy Spirit is then asked to make the bread the
Body
and the chalice the
Blood of Christ
,
- the
Intercessions
, praying for the participants to become one single body, for the Church, for the
Pope of Alexandria
and for all the ecclesiastic hierarchy, for the town and the harvest, for the
floodings
, for the living, for who have offered the Eucharistic gifts, for the saints - naming
Mary
,
John the Baptist
,
Saint Stephen
,
Saint Mark
and
Saint Basil
. Then the
diptychs
are read, followed by the prayers for the dead,
- a prayer for the fruit of the
Communion
and the final
doxology
.
The 7th-century
Sahidic Coptic
version found in 1960
[9]
shows an earlier and more sober form of the Bohairic text: the manuscript, incomplete in its first part, begins with the
Post Sanctus
, and is followed by a terse
Institution narrative
, by a pithy
Anamnesis
which simply lists the themes and ends with the
oblation
. The next
Epiclesis
consists only of the prayer to the
Holy Spirit
to come and manifest the gifts, without any explicit request to change the gifts in the Body and Blood of Christ. The intercessions are shorter and only Mary is named among the saints.
[8]
: 112
After the Anaphora
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]
After the anaphora takes place the consignation,
[6]
i.e. the moistening of the Lamb with some drops of the consecrated Wine, which is show to the worship of the faithful. The
Fraction
of the consecrated Lamb ensues, during which the priest says a prayer which varies according to the
Coptic calendar
. All of the congregation stands and prays with open hands the
Lord's Prayer
.
To be prepared for partaking of the Eucharist, the faithful bow while the celebrant says in low voice the prayer of submission, then the priest and the participants offer each other a wish of peace and the priest inaudibly prays the
Father
for the forgiveness of sins (
The Absolution to the Father
).
The
Elevation
is similar to that in the
Byzantine Rite
, with the celebrant who raises the portion of the Lamb engraved with a cross (the
ispadikon
) crying: "
The holy things for the holy ones
". The priest makes a second consignation and puts gently the ispakidon in the chalice (the commixture),
[10]
then he recites aloud a Confession of faith. The partaking of the Eucharist follows, first the Body of Christ given to the celebrants, to the deacons and to the faithful who approach the sanctuary without shoes and then the Blood of Christ in the same order.
Psalm 150
is sung in the meantime. The distribution of the Eucharist ends with a blessing with the
Paten
.
The dismissal rites include The Prayer of Laying the Hands and the final blessing.
Notes
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]
References
[
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]
- ^
"Eastern and Oriental Catholic Directory: Alexandrian Rite"
. Archived from
the original
on 2017-10-14
. Retrieved
2017-01-31
.
- ^
a
b
Chaillot, Christine (2006). "The Ancient Oriental Churches". In
Wainwright, Geoffrey
; Westerfield Tucker, Karen B. (eds.).
The Oxford History of Christian Worship
. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 137?9.
ISBN
9780195138863
.
- ^
Cody, Aelred (1991).
"Anaphora of Saint Basil"
.
The Coptic encyclopedia
. Vol. 1. Macmillan. 121b-123b.
ISBN
002897025X
.
- ^
Sleman, Abraam (ed.).
"St. Basil Liturgy Reference Book"
(PDF)
. CopticChurch.net. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 5 March 2012
. Retrieved
27 May
2012
.
- ^
Malaty, Tadrous Y. (1973).
Christ in the Eucharist
. OrthodoxEbooks. p. 119.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
Spinks, Bryan (2010). "Oriental Orthodox Liturgical Traditions". In Parry, Ken (ed.).
The Blackwell Companion to Eastern Christianity
. Malden, Mass: Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 361?2.
ISBN
9781444333619
.
- ^
Mazza, Enrico (1995).
The origins of the Eucharistic prayer
. Collegeville, Minn: Liturgical Press. p. 612.
ISBN
9780814661192
.
- ^
a
b
Stuckwish, D. Richard (1997). "The Basilian anaphoras". In Bradshaw, Paul F. (ed.).
Essays on early Eastern eucharistic prayers
. Collegeville, Minn: Liturgical Press.
ISBN
978-0814661536
.
- ^
J.Doresse and E. Lanne,
Un temoin archaique de la liturgie copte de S.Basile
, Louvain, 1960
- ^
"The Fraction in The Coptic Orthodox Liturgy"
. britishorthodox.org. Archived from
the original
on 9 March 2012
. Retrieved
9 June
2012
.
Bibliography
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]
External links
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]