the coptic liturgy a short note

8/6/2019 The Coptic Liturgy A Short Note

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SHARING IN THE COPTIC LITURGY: SOME SPECIALIST TERMS

1. The Synaxis is the gathering together for worship, especially for the first part of theEucharist, i.e. the Liturgy of the Catechumens. The Synaxis derives from the worshipof the synagogue (from Greek or place of assembly ). It consists of readings, psalms, prayer and a sermon. Both words Synaxis and synagogue derivefrom the Greek verb , to assemble. Normally the faithful should first receive

Our Lord into their hearts as he speaks to them through the reading of the Gospel, if they are then to receive Him through the communion of His Body and Blood. Thewords that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life (John 6:63).

2. During the Synaxis, the Coptic Church reads from the Synaxarion (another relatedword). The Synaxarion is a compilation of stories mainly of the saints ordered by theCoptic Calendar. It is read after the Acts to show that the Holy Spirits work continuesin the Church until now.

3. The second part of the Eucharist, i.e. the Liturgy of the Faithful, is called theAnaphora . The Greek word means lifting up or offering. [A similar word isprosphora , which also means offering (compare prospharine).] The Anaphoraextends from Lift up your hearts to the dismissal at the end of the service.

4. The Liturgy has a basic fourfold shape. He took ; he blest ; he broke ; He gave . Thetaking is the Offertory, the selection of the Lamb. [This differs significantly in theEastern Orthodox Liturgy, where there is a pre-service rite known as the Prothesis .Copts do not have this.] The blessing consists of thanking God for his saving acts andthe consecration through invocation of the Holy Spirit. The breaking consists of theFraction Prayer, which often varies according to the church season. Some of theseCoptic prayers are profound in meaning, for example the Fraction Prayer that recallsAbrahams sacrifice of Isaac. Finally the giving is communion.

5. Prior to the Consecration, the priest says a prayer re-calling or remembering thesaving acts of Our Lord Jesus Christ, including the institution narrative. Thus thesepast events become operative in the present by their effects. This prayer is called theAnamnsis (). Compare the English words amnesia (forgetfulness) andmnemonic (something to help you remember). On the night of his betrayal, Our Lordsaid, Do this in remembrance of me. Or Do this as my anamnsis. In the Eucharist,one is not just looking back passively on a lifeless past. Rather one is recalling that theevent of the cross is now effective in heaven for salvation, as the worshippers ask theFather to look on them with favour, despite their sins, and to find them in Christ

crucified by virtue of their baptism into His death.6. However, the Anamnesis is not itself the consecration. In the old Roman Mass, the

words Hoc est meum Corpus (This is my Body), transubstantiated or transformedthe bread into the Body of Christ. The Christian East understands the consecrationdifferently. In particular, the Epiklsis () is the calling down of the Holy Spiritto change (for example) the Lamb into the Body of Christ. This bread he makes intoHis Holy Body. In St Johns Gospel, Our Lord says, Whoever eats my flesh anddrinks my blood has eternal life.(John 6:54). It is the Spirit who gives life. (John6:63). The Lord Himself is the Bread of Life. We feed on Him. For the bread of God isHe who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.

7. The people receive Our Lord in communion. The Greek word for communion isKoinnia . In Modern Greek means society. It concerns what we have incommon (koin). St Augustine said that in the communion, through receiving the

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Body of Christ, the Church becomes aware that she is the Body of Christ. Therefore, itis very important for the faithful both to attend the Liturgy and to receive communionregularly, although this usually also means regular Confession. Before the peoplereceive communion, the priest says, Holy gifts for Holy People. The congregationreplies, Only God is Holy, the Holy Trinity.

8. As St Paul says, The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the

blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of thatone bread (or loaf). (I Corinthians 10:17). This One Loaf idea is lost in some Westernchurches that use unleavened individual wafers for communion.

9. However, the Liturgy is not just communion. One may receive communion only

because Our Lord died for us on the cross. Whether or not one receives communion,all present may bring before God the sacrifice of Our Lord and plead its merits for their salvation. All remember or re-call the saving acts of Our Lord. The Eucharist is asacrifice of praise . In the Messianic Age, all the Old Testament sacrifices areabolished, except for the unbloody sacrifice of praise. The word Eucharist meansthanksgiving.

10. The Liturgy does not repeat the sacrifice of the cross. Neither was the cross an altar .A more correct view is in the Letter to the Hebrews. The death of the victim was notenough on its own. The point of the death was to re-establish relationship with God.Sacrifice meant offering the victim at the altar and re-establishing communion by acommunal meal, applying the benefit of the victims death to the individualworshippers.

11. The Letter to the Hebrews teaches that Christs death was effective for salvation once

for all. It did not need to be repeated. However, Christ is the great High Priest whobrings his death on the cross continually before God on the heavenly altar. He makesthere an expiation or propitiation (Greek hilastrion) for our sins. Christ can savethose who come to God through Him because he always lives to make intercessionfor them. (Hebrews 7:25). In the Eucharist the priest offers the living Christ in the formof Christs death (broken body and blood poured out). His death is for our life. But thisNew Covenant involves not only the Lords death on the cross but also the pouring outof the Holy Spirit following the Resurrection and Ascension (Hebrews 8:8-12). With Hisown blood, Christ entered the Holy Place (Hebrews 9:12). In the Eucharist individualsreceive the Body and Blood of Christ for the remission of sins. The Holy Spirittransforms both them and the holy gifts. Yet, at the end of the Liturgy, the priest asks

the angel of the offering to take all the prayers of the Liturgy to the heavenly altar.12. Therefore too, the Eucharist looks forward to the Parousia or Second Coming of

Christ. As St Paul says, As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, youproclaim the Lords death until he comes. (I Corinthians 11:26).

13. Although the priest has a special role in the Liturgy, it is also important to be awarethat the offering of the Liturgy involves everyone. A priest, a deacon and a laypersonmust be present before anyone can celebrate the Liturgy. The priest cannot go aheadwith no one else present. In the Liturgy, the whole Christ offers the whole Christ, as aWestern theologian has said.

14. As well, to symbolise the wholeness of the Incarnation, the Church adds a little water to the wine before consecration. The water symbolises Christs humanity which is

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inseparable after the Incarnation from his divinity. Christs humanity is itself theintercession for us at the heavenly altar.

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the coptic liturgy a short note

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