Today, I would like to share a few points on the rank of the chanter in the Coptic tradition: Contrary to a widely circulated misconception, the order of chanter is NOT new to the Coptic Rite. Both, the Coptic anaphora of Mark/Cyril as well as that of Gregory the Theologian refer to the chanters among …
This past week, while studying the Coptic hymns of the Anaphora of St. Gregory Nazianzus with a newly ordained priest in our family, I stumbled upon a few significant issues in translation—from Greek to Coptic (Bohairic)/Greek to Arabic as well as the derivative English translation used currently by the Coptic Church). While there are a …
These videos discuss the hymn which is currently known as the “Verses of Cymbals/Bells” in its original form. English Arabic
Please see the video below for an in-depth discussion on the ⲯⲁⲗⲓ of Lent ⲡⲓⲙⲁⲓⲣⲱⲙⲓ and the tunes of Psalm 150 when chanted during Communion in Lent.
Amidst the loud voices and tempestuous opinions hurling towards me in these last 48 hours, a hint of tranquil clarity is necessary. I will begin with an elaboration on my jarring personal reflection, followed by a peaceful response to musings in the air surrounding either my person or my intentions. My first post was a …
While I am delayed in sharing my experience visiting the land of our forefathers for the first time (for which I apologize), on the feast of the Great, Saint Macarius the Spirit-bearer, I do want to draw your attention to a beautiful connection I made between the doxology texts in the Coptic Psalmody and the …
Coptic Gospel Responses (chanted after the selected pericope of the day) allow the members of the Church to engage with the passage of the gospel that was read over them. In many cases, the responses vary from one parish or monastery to another; in compiling them, we find a number of stanzas for each pericope—forming …
In the Coptic Rite, specifically in the current Bohairic tradition, the time of the synaxis of the eucharistic liturgy (commonly called “Liturgy of the Word”) includes five pericopes (excerpts) from certain books/genres in the Scriptures: (1) Pauline Epistle (an excerpt from the 14 epistles of Paul including Hebrews), (2) Catholic Epistle (an excerpt from an …
The Gloria, among other names supplied in the comparison below, is often called a liturgical hymn, but I feel this discounts both its being imbued in the Scriptures and how ancient of a prayer it is. Orthodox prayers are infused with the spirit (or should I say Spirit) of the Scriptures and beautifully interweaves the …
For the feast of our great father, ⲁⲃⲃⲁ ⲁⲛⲧⲱⲛⲓ, I would like to share this beautiful ⲁⲇⲁⲙ doxology from our work on the Bohairic Coptic Psalmody! The ⲁⲇⲁⲙ doxologies can be chanted in Matins during the Matins doxology, ⲡⲓⲟⲩⲱⲓⲛⲓ ⲛ̀ⲧⲁⲫⲙⲏⲓ (before the conclusion: ⲭⲉⲣⲉ ⲏⲗⲓⲁⲥ) or in the veneration service (concluded by ⲡⲟⲩⲣⲟ ⲛ̀ⲧⲉ ϯϩⲓⲣⲏⲛⲏ). …