Liturgy - Sacraments/Rites

Liturgy - means the “Work of the People” Greek: Liaw = People, Ergia = Work

 

Liturgy is the celebration and remembrance of Christ’s propitiary sacrifice of His Body and Blood - The Eucharist. “And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.'” [Luke 22:19-20]  

 

It is comprised of a sequence of rites and rituals, including prayers, supplications, chants, and scriptural readings. At the height of the Divine Liturgy is the consecration of bread and wine into the true Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. The faithful partake of the Holy Communion to unite with Jesus Christ and with one another. In a spiritual manner, praying the Divine Liturgy connects the earthly beings with the heavenly beings and allows us to experience heaven on earth. Furthermore, the liturgy helps us to connect with God on a deeper, more personal level and to feel His love and presence through praises and prayers.

The Liturgy is broken into these sections:

1. Vespers and Matins

2. Offering of the Lamb

3. Liturgy of the Word

4. Liturgy of the Faithful

5. Distribution of the Holy Mysteries

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Censer and Incense

Incense is an offering to God dating back

to the Old Testament. The smoke symbolizes

our prayers going up to heaven. The sweet

smell links our memory of smell to the House

of God. The priest puts different amounts of

incense into the censer depending on the time

of the Liturgy. The Censer's shape and design

have many deep symbols, as can be seen in

the visualization to the right.

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The Holy Bread (Orban)

Orban is the Holy Bread offered in the Liturgy that becomes the Body of Christ. Its shape is a circle, as God is infinite with no beginning and no end. The Coptic words are inscribed, meaning, "Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal". There are 12 small crosses as well as 1 big cross, representing Jesus and His 12 Apostles. There are 5 holes representing the 5 wounds Christ experienced on the cross. The Orban is baked with yeast, representing our sins, which Christ bore for our sake.

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Vespers and Matins

Also known as the Evening and Morning offering of Incense, vespers begins in the evening before the Liturgy, dating back to the Jewish calendar. These prayers are an opportunity for preparation and repentance before the Liturgy in the morning. The priest, humbly, stands outside with the congregation for the majority of these prayers as he also prepares himself.

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The Offering of the Lamb

This part of the Liturgy is when the priest chooses the Holy Bread (Orban) that will be prayed upon for the rest of the Liturgy to become the Body of Jesus Christ. An odd number of loaves is presented to the priest (3, 5, 7, or rarely 9). The priest examines the bread and wine. The priest looks for the purest loaf as Christ is the Pure Lamb, symbolizing the Priests in the Old Testament that would examine the lamb before sacrificing it. An odd number of loaves is presented because when one is chosen there is no equal. After the Orban is chosen, the priest pulls out a veil, symbolizing the knife of Abraham. The Priest then enters the altar and sprinkles water on the Orban, symbolizing the baptism Jesus partook. A series of prayers are prayed and then the altar with the Bread and Wine are covered, symbolizing Christ in the tomb.

 

The Liturgy of the Word 

There are five readings read during this Liturgy: The Pauline Epistle, The Catholic Epistle, The Acts, The Synaxarion, and the Psalm and Gospel. The Pauline Epistle is a reading from one of the epistles written by our Teacher, Saint Paul. The Catholic Epistle is a reading from one of the epistles of our teachers, Saint James, Saint Peter, Saint John, or Saint Jude. The Acts is a reading from the Book of Acts. The Synaxarion, also known as the book of Saints, is a reading commemorating the Saints of our church who had an important event on the day of the reading. The Psalm and Gospel are readings from the Book of Psalms and from one of the Gospels. This reading is read with two candles held, and the congregation stands. Each month, the Coptic Church has a spiritual theme. The readings of each Sunday Liturgy contribute and teach us about the theme. The readings of weekday liturgies are decided based on the saint of the day, from the Synaxarion. During this part of the Liturgy, the priest offers incense with the censer. In the Pauline Epistle, the priest goes around the whole church with the censer, as Saint Paul preached to the entire known world. During the reading of the Acts, the priest stays near the altar with the censer, as the rest of the Apostles did not go far away from Jerusalem. As mentioned before, the altar represents Jerusalem.

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The Liturgy of the Faithful

The Coptic Church has three liturgies that can be prayed: the Liturgy of Saint Basil, Saint Gregory, and Saint Cyril. These three Liturgies differ in this part only. While the order and words of these three liturgies are different, they have the same overall components. First, there is the Prayer of Reconciliation. This prayer replays the story of our salvation and how we are reconciled with God. At the end of this prayer, the altar is uncovered, symbolizing the tearing of the Veil and our reconciliation with God. Then there is the Anaphora and Institution Narrative prayer. These prayers lift the congregation's heart to heaven and prayers on how the Communion was established and reenact the Communion Supper with Jesus and His Apostles. During this prayer, the priest prays many silent prayers, asking the Holy Spirit to come down upon the Bread and Wine to perform the Holy Mystery of the transformation into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. Then the Liturgy of the Faithful is concluded with the 7 short litanies, asking the Lord to remember and bless many things, the Commemoration of the Saints, commemorating the hundreds of saints of the Lord, and the Fraction and Confession in which the Body is broken into pieces to prepare to distribute to the congregation.

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Distribution

This is what all the prayers of the Liturgy amount to. The congregation sings Psalm 150, praising God. The Priest now takes the Body and Blood of the Lord and very carefully distributes the Communion to the congregation. After all the congregation has partaken, the Priest finishes the Communion and carefully cleans the Paten and Chalice, the materials that held the Body and Blood, with water. The deacons fold the cloths and silk veils used during the Liturgy. Finally, the priest dismisses the congregation through the sprinkling of water and the Liturgy concludes.

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Sacraments

The Coptic Church has 7 sacraments which are mysteries by which we receive the graces and the blessings of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit works in the church through the Sacraments, giving us His gifts, blessings and comfort, and teaches us and guides us to the way of truth. "But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you"  (John 14:26). All instituted by the Lord Christ with details in the BIble:

 

• Baptism - John 3 and Matthew 28:19. Unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of heaven. Baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

• Confirmation - receiving of the Holy Spirit by the laying of hands. However, as number of believers increased, a specific oil was made out of certain spices and oils, as used in the burial of Christ, called Myron which is now used by the priest after Baptism for the receiving of the Holy Spirit, so that they made be made into temples of the Holy Spirit.

• Confession - If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them, if you retain the sins of any, they are retained" (John 20: 21-22).

• Eucharist - "Take eat, this is My Body.  Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it and He said to them "This is My Blood of the new covenant which is shed for many"  (Mark 14: 22-24).

• Unction of Sick - Our teacher St. James the Apostle advised believers to practice it, by saying, "Is anyone among you sick?  Let him call for the elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.  And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven" (James 5:14-15).

• Matrimony (Marriage) -  Instituted by the Lord Jesus who blessed the Sacrament of Matrimony by attending the wedding of Cana of Galilee, where, "He manifested His glory and His disciples believed in Him" (John 2: 1-11). Also, teacher St. Paul says, "This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the Churches" (Ephesians 5:32). This means that the physical union between a man and his wife is a sign and symbol of a greater spiritual matter, that is, of the unity of heart and soul, resembling the unity of Christ and the Church.

• Priesthood - Instituted by the Lord Christ when He chose twelve of His disciples to become Apostles and gave them the authority saying, "Assuredly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" (Matthew 18:18). After the resurrection, Jesus breathed onto them giving them the Holy Spirit commanding them only to preach to all nations with baptism. He also gave the mystery of His Holy Body and Precious Blood, saying, “Do this in Remembrance of Me.” Luke 22:19

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In the Coptic Orthodox Church, Baptism, Confirmation, Confession and Repentance, and Communion are required for salvation.

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To learn more follow these links:

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https://www.copticchurch.net/introduction-to-the-coptic-church/sacraments/index

​https://accot.stcyrils.edu.au/bmet-rites/