On the Interpretations of the Sunday Tadakia (1)

Have you ever wondered why there are interpretations for the Sunday Tadakia chanted during the month of Kiahk? Why are only six interpretations chanted regularly though there are seven sections of the tadakia? How about the portions from the Gospel of Luke — why do we read only one throughout the year but six during kiahk?

Answers to these questions lie in the older standard (annual) psalmody manuscripts!

It turns out that the practice preserved now only during the month of Kiahk was in fact the standard practice throughout the entire liturgical year. The structure of the Sunday Tadakia is written as follows:

1) Part A (ends with a 2 verse refrain: ⲉⲑⲃⲉ ⲫⲁⲓ ⲟⲩⲟⲛ ⲛⲓⲃⲉⲛ and ⲁⲛⲟⲛ ϩⲱⲛ ⲧⲉⲛⲧⲱⲃϩ)

2) Part B (ends with a 3 verse refrain : ⲉⲑⲃⲉ ⲫⲁⲓ ⲧⲉⲛϭⲓⲥⲓ ⳾ ϫⲉ ⲁⲩⲥⲁϫⲓ ⲉⲑⲃⲏϯ ⳾ ⲧⲉⲛϯϩⲟ ⲧⲉⲛⲧⲱⲃϩ)

3) Interpretation or Ⲉⲣⲙⲏⲛⲓⲁ (ends with a 1 verse refrain: ⲉⲑⲃⲉ ⲫⲁⲓ ⲧⲉⲛϯⲱⲟⲩ ⲛⲉ) There are other sets of interpretations that have been recorded as well, though they are referenced in some manuscripts as being specifically for the month of Kiahk.

4) Pericopes of the Gospel of St. Luke (Chapters 1 & 2) which are the Canticles of the New Testament: The Praise of the Virgin Mary (Magnificat), the Praise of Zacharias the Priest, and the Praise of Simeon the Elder.

Again, these were all chanted throughout the year with no specificity towards the month of Kiahk. It seems that the current state of hymns and rites in the Coptic church continues to prove Baumstark’s liturgical laws in that an older rite is preserved on more solemn occasions. In this case, the older practice is preserved now during the vigils of the month of Kiahk. Please also notice that ⲁⲩⲙⲟⲩϯ ⲉⲣⲟ (commonly seen now as section 9 of the Sunday Tadakia) is actually the interpretation of section 7, following ⲭⲉⲣⲉ ⲛⲉ ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ ⳾ ⲥⲉⲙⲟⲩϯ ⲉⲣⲟ ⲇⲓⲕⲉⲱⲥ directly.

The following manuscripts of the standard (annual) psalmody depict this overall structure (some with [I] and others without interpretations):

Bodl.Hunt.256 (1388 AD) I, BnF Copte 69 (14th c.?), CVP.COPT.3 HMML 24999 (14th cent.), Vat. Copt. 38 (1378 AD), BnF Copte 22 (14th c.) [I],BnF Copte 11 (1537 AD), BnF Copte 76 (1564 AD) I, BnF Copte 35 (1669 AD) I, BnF Copte 34 (Undated). There are several others as well but these are included in this post just for reference – the BnF collection can be found online.

Images are taken from Bodl.Hunt.256

The playlist (attached in the comments) includes the standard interpretations of the Sunday Tadakia in the Kiahk tune as they were recorded by Cantor Asaad Mousa of the Old Cathedral in Cairo. These may and should be chanted as well during standard days in their regular tune, as is attested to by the fact that this is included in standard psalmodies. In addition, we still chant ⲁⲩⲙⲟⲩϯ ⲉⲣⲟ every Sunday regardless of the season and as a matter of fact, it is chanted daily in the monasteries as a part of section 7 of the Sunday Tadakia after the first canticle.