Coptic rite

The Coptic rite originated in the ancient Church of Alexandria, which in the first centuries of Christianity was predominantly Greek in ethnic composition. Then the rite spread among the indigenous inhabitants of Egypt - the Copts , in their midst it has survived to the present day.

The Coptic Orthodox Church, being one of the historical successors of the ancient Church of Alexandria, did not take decisions of the Council of Chalcedon , and like the rest of the Ancient Oriental churches from the second half of the 5th century, is in schism with the Orthodox Church of the Byzantine Rite. The church split and conflict with Byzantium led to the creation in Egypt of an alternative, Greek in ethnic composition, the Chalcedonian Alexandrian chair with the Greek rite. After the conquest of Egypt by the Arabs, the Coptic Church was persecuted. All of the above led to significant changes in the liturgical rite of the Coptic Church.

The oldest Coptic liturgy, the liturgy of the Apostle Mark , was the main liturgy of the Coptic church until the VIII - IX century . The Church of Constantinople actively fought against the liturgy of the Apostle Mark and the Coptic rite as such, trying to achieve unification of worship in the East ^[1] . By the XII century, in the Coptic rite, everywhere except for the Coptic monasteries, defiantly ignoring Constantinople, liturgies close to the Byzantine ones were served.

After the formation of the Coptic Catholic Church in 1741, she also began to use the Coptic rite in worship. Coptic Catholics managed to defend their ritual from romanization in all aspects, with the exception of the monastic tradition, which they organized according to the Roman Catholic model ^[2] . In the ancient Eastern Coptic Church, the historical Coptic monastic tradition is preserved.

A characteristic feature of the Coptic rite is a wide variety of liturgies. The historical liturgy of the Copts, the liturgy of the Apostle Mark, almost disappeared from use in the XII century, supplanted by the liturgies of the Byzantine type . Currently, three liturgies are served in the Coptic rite:

• Liturgy of St. Basil the Great . Served on ordinary days. The liturgy contains an anaphora of the Byzantine type, but differs from the liturgy of the same name of the Byzantine rite ^[3] .
• Gregory the Theologian Liturgy. Served on holidays. The anaphora of the liturgy also belongs to the Byzantine type.
• Liturgy of Cyril of Jerusalem . Served during the Great and Christmas Lent. The only of the Coptic liturgies, which includes the anaphora of the Alexandrian-Roman type. Anaphora reveals similarities with the Roman canon, the historical rite of the Latin Mass . In many aspects, this liturgy can be considered the heir to the liturgy of the Apostle Mark.

The general structure of all three chaplains of the Coptic liturgy is similar:

• proskomide ;
• Liturgy of the word (the name of the Liturgy read out in Coptic terminology);
• Liturgy of the faithful: reading the Symbol of Faith , anaphora , the presentation of the Holy Gifts , the breaking of the Bread, the reading of the Lord’s Prayer , the giving of gifts , communion , thanksgiving prayers and blessings. In general, the Coptic worship is close to the Byzantine, although it was influenced by the Western Syrian rite . In the Coptic rite there are a number of features characteristic of the Old Testament Judaic church worship. Arab dominion brought a number of ritual features similar to Islamic .

Among the characteristic features of the Coptic liturgies is the rite of presentation of Gifts, during which the priest teaches the faithful the blessing with his right hand, touching the Gifts with the left hand, and the rite of the cross: the priest dips his index finger into the bowl with the consecrated Vin and draws a cross on the Bread ^[4] . Other differences from the Byzantine rite are the absence of the Cherubic Hymn at the beginning of the Liturgy of faithful and 4 New Testament readings on the Liturgy of the word (from the epistles of Paul, the Conciliar Epistles, the Acts of the Apostles and the Gospel ).

The Eucharistic bread of the Coptic rite is a leaven of prosphora with 12 crosses imprinted on it and the text of the Trisagion prayer. Communion is carried out under two types ^[5] .

The liturgical language of the Coptic rite was originally Greek . After the split caused by the Council of Chalcedon, it was completely supplanted by the Coptic language , more precisely, the northern (Boherai) dialect. In Greek, in the Coptic rite at present, only a few proclamations of the liturgy are made. The Coptic language served as the only liturgical language until the 17th century , then gradually began to supplant the Arabic language . Currently, most divine services are performed in Arabic, the most famous prayers are read in Coptic, the reading of the Holy Scripture is held in two languages, and chants, as a rule, in one Arabic. The liturgical books are printed in two languages ​​by parallel texts, the ritual part is only in Arabic ^[5] .

Liturgical garments are close to those of the Byzantine rite, a characteristic feature of which is laid on the head and shoulders of the “ephod” boards. There are a number of different covers that emphasize reverence when touched sacred objects. The most common type of chants is “psalms”, a kind of short stanzas or hymns, arranged in Greek alphabet ^[5] . A number of chants borrowed from the Orthodox already in the post-split period. Church singing is based on osmoglasii. Intensive and rhythmic singing is inherent in the Coptic rite, percussion and brass musical instruments are used, including sistra and timpana.

The service of the daily circle in the Coptic rite is most developed among all Christian rites and consists of 7 liturgical hours ^[4] . The continuation of the ordinance of baptism is also very difficult and long. It includes repeated anointing with oil and reading confessions of faith. The sacrament of anointing is always carried out immediately after baptism and includes 36 anointings of the holy world . Wedding and anointing are similar to the corresponding Byzantine rites.

The Coptic rite uses its ancient calendar. The church year begins on August 29 (1 tota). The liturgical calendar highlights seven great holidays: the Annunciation , the Nativity of Christ , the Epiphany , the Entry into Jerusalem , the Resurrection of Christ , the Ascension, and Pentecost . A large number of other holidays are also celebrated. The Assumption of the Virgin Mary ( January 16 ) and Her capture into the Heavenly glory ( August 22 ) are noted separately. A specific holiday exclusively for the Coptic rite is the Day of the Arrival of the Holy Family in Egypt ( May 19 ) ^[4] .

In the Coptic calendar 5 posts . The kiak month preceding Christmas is specifically dedicated to the Virgin Mary . The 21st of each month is also dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

The device of the Coptic temples is similar to the Orthodox. The altar part is separated from the main part of the temple by a carved barrier. The role of the royal gates , as a rule, is played by the veil, which is opened at certain moments of the divine service. Men and women are located in the temple separately, sometimes the male part of the temple from the female also separates the partition. The altar wall, unlike the Orthodox tradition, does not necessarily serve as an iconostasis - icons can be placed on it, but icons on it can be completely absent and located in other parts of the temple. The parishioners during the service are sitting on benches or special chairs arranged in rows.

The Coptic rite is known for its ancient and original icon-painting tradition, significantly different from the Byzantine canons.

• Copts
• Coptic art

• Catholic Encyclopedia . Ed. Franciscans. T.2 M.: 2005. Article "Coptic rite"
• Alymov V.A. Lectures on historical liturgics // Yakov Krotov Library
• Rite of the Coptic Church
• Cyprian (Kern) , Archimandrite. Eucharist