Inserting shameless plug for John's new book : Reflecting God
Without any ado:
HSA:
In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. One God. Amen. +
John, thanks for taking the time to speak to us about the Coptic Church.
Let's begin by asking a few questions about praxis...
You've mentioned before to me that the Coptic Orthodox practice the feast after Lent slightly differently than the Eastern Orthodox. Can you please tell us about that?
JA: Germanus,thank you very much for your time. I pray that God guides us in our discussions.
The Coptic Church celebrates the Holy Fifty days as a time of joy, no fasting and no prostration, even on Wednesday and Fridays. The tradition of the fifty days is found in the writings of early Church Fathers, such as St. Athanasius and Tertullian. Eusebius of Caesarea notes that "these fifty days bear the likeness of the kingdom of heaven." (On the Paschal Solemnity) St. Basil the Great likens these fifty days with eternity. "The entire season of Pentecost is likewise a reminder of the Resurrection we expect in the age to come. If we count that one day, the first of days, and then multiply it seven times seven, we will have completed the seven weeks of the Holy Pentecost, and the season ends on the same day it began (Sunday) with fifty days having lapsed. Therefore, this season is an image of eternity, since it begins and ends at the same point, like a circle." By the end of the fourteenth century, the Eastern Orthodox Church has its Pentacostarion for this season.
HSA: Is the fasting practice the same? ie: no meat or dairy, shellfish is acceptable at certain times, no wine or oil with variations.
JA: Fasting is essentially the same. During lent it is very strict, as well as wednesdays and fridays. During the apostles fast fish is allowed. So there really is not too much difference in what is allowed, of course there are exceptions for some who may have a medical condition.
HSA: How about morning and evening prayers? Are there common ones as well as variations on this?
JA: The Coptic Church uses the book of hours, each hour relating to a particular part in the life of Christ. The Coptic Book of Hours contains the seven canonical hours used by the Coptic Orthodox Church. It contains psalms, Gospel readings, and prayers to be said at specific hours by day and night, arranged in accordance with the analogous events in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. David the Prophet says, "Seven times a day I praise You because of Your righteous judgments" (Ps. 119:164); and the Lord commands, "Men ought always to pray, and not to faint" (Lk. 18:1) The late HH Pope Shenouda teaches us why we use the book of hours or "agbeya":
+ "We use the agbeya when we pray due to the spirituality and idealism of its contents."
+ "By the assistance of the agbeya we learn how to say our prayers and the appropriate way to speak to God."
+ " The agbeya teaches us to pray and to examine everything carefully. Such a way allows us to involve God in the details of our whole life since we leave nothing out in our dialogue with Him."
+ "A worshipper who constantly has access to the agbeya during his prayer time gets to know so many Biblical passages which assist him in his daily life and have a profound influence over his feelings and behavior."
This is not to say that the agbeya or book of hours is the only acceptable form of prayer but more of a guide book that is highly recommended in the Orthodox spiritual life.
HSA: I realize these are outward expressions we are talking about, but I want our readers to hear about it all, a little at a time.
Within the Slavic and Greek traditions we have certain breads and cheeses that are made around certain feasts. Can you tell us about the Coptic counterpart to this?
JA: I do know that there are certain things the Copts eat and or prepare during certain fasts (most of which I cannot pronounce), however, my wife is Ethiopian so we tend to follow more Ethiopian traditions at home. For instance, to commemorate certain saints, generally the patron saint of the family or the head of the household, a traditional bread is made. For my household my wife may bake bread for St John The Forerunner and I have convinced her to make some honoring Blessed Seraphim Rose of Platina.
HSA: Can you speak to us a little about hymnography and liturgical use in the church?
You've told me before that certain Oriental Orthodox Churches have many liturgies and are used appropriately throughout the year. How many and when do they change?
JA:The hymnology of the Coptic Church has been around since before the time of St. Athanasius. It is not historically clear when the Psalmody was first used but many early fathers, including St. Hippolytus, make mention of it. The Coptic Church uses three liturgies, St. Basil, St. Gregory, and St. Cyril's (which was originally started by St. Mark, the founder of the Alexandrian church). The Ethiopian Church is unique in that they have 13 liturgies for specific feasts and fasts. I am not well read enough on them to give a good account of them and their usage.
There are many Coptic hymns which stem from before the time of St. Mark and the foundation of the church. For instance the song "Ep Ouro" (O King of Peace) was originally a Pharaonic song sang in the ancient Pharaonic tune. The words were changed but the tune was kept, so the tunes to many of the Coptic songs are originally Pharaonic. The Ethiopian church, while a sort of sister church to the Coptic church is surprisingly quite different in this respect. Ethiopia was predominately Christian with a substantial pagan minority. When St. Athanasius sent missionaries to convert her they adapted many of these jewish and pagan rites by fusing them together. So in some church songs you have a drum, of pagan origin, and a cistern, of jewish origin. It is quite a sight to see an Ethiopian Liturgical service in the holy city of Lalibela. One fond memory I have is watching the "tabot" (contents of the ark) being paraded through the holy city of Axum.
HSA: Thanks for your time John. I hope we get to do this again soon. Maybe after the decision is made on your new Patriarch?
JA: Thank you very much for your time Germanus, it is always a pleasure. May God bless you in all that you do and keep your family safe.
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