The main
Eucharistic liturgy used by the Coptic Churches is known as the
Liturgy of Saint Basil. 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. The term
Liturgy of Saint Basil may refer also to the whole Eucharistic Liturgy which in the Coptic Churches has the following structure: The
Liturgy of St Cyril in the
Coptic language is the Liturgy of Saint Mark that has been translated from
Koine Greek.
Offertory Offertory (or
Prothesis) is the part of the liturgy in which the
Sacramental bread (
qurbān) and
wine (
abarkah) are chosen and placed on the altar. All these rites are
medieval developments. 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. 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. The paten and the ark with inside the chalice are here covered with a veil.
Liturgy of the Catechumens 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 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, 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 The
Anaphora is conducted. The Coptic
anaphora of Saint Basil, even if related and using the same
Antiochene (or
"West Syrian") structure, 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, 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 ), 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 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.
After the Anaphora After the anaphora takes place the consignation, 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), 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. ==References==