ⲑⲱⲕ ⲧⲉ ϯϫⲟⲙ

Throughout Holy Week in the Coptic Rite, the Paschal Doxology ⲑⲱⲕ ⲧⲉ ϯϫⲟⲙ (Thine is the Power) is chanted in full 636 times (give or take depending on who’s counting ). Due to its depth and beauty, books have been written contemplating upon every word in this chant. By the end of ⲡⲁⲥⲭⲁ (Passover) Week, every man, woman and child has engraved this praise in their heart. For this reason, I’d like to dive a little deeper into what this praise actually is and clarify some of the Coptic grammar that goes along with it as well.

The Coptic Rite consistently concludes the ϫⲉ ⲡⲉⲛⲓⲱⲧ (Our Father/Lord’s Prayer) with the Christological formula ϧⲉⲛ ⲡⲓⲭⲣⲓⲥⲧⲟⲥ ⲓⲏⲥⲟⲩⲥ ⲡⲉⲛϭⲟⲓⲥ (In Christ is Jesus our Lord) as opposed to the Trinitarian formula used in the Eastern Orthodox Rite “for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit…” Though it is nowhere to be found in most early Coptic texts, we also find that the current Coptic practice includes “for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.” after the Christological conclusion. It is most likely, that this latter addition is not intrinsic to the Coptic rite as all liturgical services which include the ϫⲉ ⲡⲉⲛⲓⲱⲧ typically use the Christological formula musically to begin the next section of the service. For example, beginning any service, the congregation chants ϧⲉⲛ ⲡⲭⲥ ⲓⲏⲥ ⲡⲉⲛⲟ︦ⲥ︦ aloud before the thanksgiving prayer. Again, in the Anaphora ϧⲉⲛ ⲡⲭⲥ is chanted prior to the deacon’s command to bow our heads to the Lord. In Matins and Vespers, ϧⲉⲛ ⲡⲭⲥ is used as the introduction to the ⲃⲁⲧⲟⲥ doxologies. And so on…

The practice of the Muharraq monastery clues us into the true purpose of the paschal doxology ⲑⲱⲕ ⲧⲉ ϯϫⲟⲙ (See here: https://www.facebook.com/2047597008656462/videos/975964556545534) Though this practice is rare, and is not the standard, the monks begin each verse of the paschal doxology with ϧⲉⲛ ⲡⲭⲥ ⲓⲏⲥ ⲡⲉⲛⲟ︦ⲥ︦, followed by ⲕⲩⲣⲓⲉ ⲉⲗⲉⲏⲥⲟⲛ. Please note that neither ϧⲉⲛ ⲡⲭⲥ or ⲕⲩⲣⲓⲉ ⲉⲗⲉⲏⲥⲟⲛ are intrinstic to ⲑⲱⲕ ⲧⲉ ϯϫⲟⲙ and they are used usually to adjust the pace and allow for the laity to join in at the beginning of each repetition. (For this please see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZYkl2IVkcQ&t=13s… & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJAqI1-ag0Y&t=51s… His Holiness Pope Shenouda of blessed memory begins the doxology right away) Now then, it becomes clear from a comparison of these two local traditions that the paschal doxology is an extension of the Christological formula which concludes the ϫⲉ ⲡⲉⲛⲓⲱⲧ. Hence, the Our Father is to be prayed silently as the opposite of the choir/laity chants the doxology.

Now then, let us take a look at the text of the hymn:

Ϧⲉⲛ ⲡⲓⲭⲣⲓⲥⲧⲟⲥ ⲓⲏⲥⲟⲩⲥ ⲡⲉⲛϭⲟⲓⲥ

ⲑⲱⲕ ⲧⲉ ϯϫⲟⲙ ⲛⲉⲙ ⲡⲓⲱⲟⲩ ⲛⲉⲙ ⲡⲓⲥⲙⲟⲩ ⲛⲉⲙ ⲡⲓⲁⲙⲁϩⲓ ϣⲁ ⲉⲛⲉϩ ⲁⲙⲏⲛ ⳾ ⲉⲙⲙⲁⲛⲟⲩⲏⲗ ⲡⲉⲛⲛⲟⲩϯ ⲡⲉⲛⲟⲩⲣⲟ ⳾

ⲑⲱⲕ ⲧⲉ ϯϫⲟⲙ ⲛⲉⲙ ⲡⲓⲱⲟⲩ ⲛⲉⲙ ⲡⲓⲥⲙⲟⲩ ⲛⲉⲙ ⲡⲓⲁⲙⲁϩⲓ ϣⲁ ⲉⲛⲉϩ ⲁⲙⲏⲛ ⳾ ⲡⲁ/ⲡⲉⲛϭⲟⲓⲥ ⲓⲏⲥⲟⲩⲥ ⲡⲓⲭⲣⲓⲥⲧⲟⲥ ⳾ ⲡⲁ/ⲡⲉⲛⲥⲱⲧⲏⲣ ⲛⲁⲅⲁⲑⲟⲥ ⳾ ⲧⲁϫⲟⲙ ⲛⲉⲙ ⲡⲁⲥⲙⲟⲩ ⲡⲉ ⲡϭⲟⲓⲥ ⲁϥϣⲱⲡⲓ ⲛⲏⲓ ⲉⲟⲩⲥⲱⲧⲏⲣⲓⲁ/ⲛⲟⲩⲥⲱⲧⲏⲣⲓⲁ ⲉϥⲟⲩⲁⲃ ⳾

ⲑⲱⲕ ⲧⲉ ϯϫⲟⲙ ⲛⲉⲙ ⲡⲓⲱⲟⲩ ⲛⲉⲙ ⲡⲓⲥⲙⲟⲩ ⲛⲉⲙ ⲡⲓⲁⲙⲁϩⲓ ϣⲁ ⲉⲛⲉϩ ⲁⲙⲏⲛ ⳾

In Christ Jesus our Lord

Thine is the power, the glory, the blessing and the majesty forever, amen, [O] Emmanuel our God and our king.

Thine is the power, the glory, the blessing and the majesty forever, amen, [O] my/our Lord Jesus Christ, my/our good savior. My strength and my praise is the Lord [and] he has become to me a holy salvation. (The current standard translation reads: The Lord is my strength and my praise; he has become my holy salvation. I’ve just written it above based on the order of the Coptic text.)

Thine is the power, the glory, the blessing and the majesty forever, amen.

A few important notes about this text:

1. The text is directly addressing Christ. In Coptic, the vocative case is not always clearly expressed by using the Greek ⲱ and so in many cases it has to be inferred based on the sentence structure. You will notice in the recordings that I will link below that most of the Arabic translations say, “يا عمانوئيل or يا ربي/يا ربنا”

2. The second verse can be either ⲡⲁϭⲟⲓⲥ or ⲡⲉⲛϭⲟⲓⲥ, ⲡⲁⲥⲱⲧⲏⲣ or ⲡⲉⲛⲥⲱⲧⲏⲣ. The tradition of the Old Cathedral in Cairo is to sing the latter for each: https://app.box.com/s/3wigo1o8ii8jkx1sv6z6ww3fsb38d4pu and https://app.box.com/s/5ae3k3l3jt8rhba44ca8u1u7jpjxdzlj and again https://app.box.com/s/zpae5srbu7qlcnt0ztmubczvtlo0sf14

3. From these three recordings, you can also see that ArchDn. Cantor Fahim Girgis Rizk, Dr. Youssef Mansour and the rest of the choir and laity of the cathedral say ⲉⲟⲩⲥⲱⲧⲏⲣⲓⲁ and not “evsotiria” as the large majority of the Copts do now. This is critical and needs to be addressed. The letter ⲩ (hu, now known by its Greek name upsilon) is used in a number of ways in Coptic. In Sahidic Coptic (and in early Bohairic texts) when the letter ⲩ is written alone it is implied that an ⲟ (o ⲕⲟⲩϫⲓ or omicron or little o) precedes it, making it in many cases the Coptic indefinite article ⲟⲩ which translates to the English “a”. This occurs in several Bohairic texts, one of which is this one at hand, and another is the refrain of the Sunday Tadakia ⲁⲛⲟⲛ ϩⲱⲛ ⲧⲉⲛⲧⲱⲃϩ or ⲧⲉⲛϯϩⲟ ⲧⲉⲛⲧⲱⲃϩ ⳾ ⲉⲑⲣⲉⲛϣⲁϣⲛⲓ ⲉⲩⲛⲁⲓ ⳾ ϩⲓⲧⲉⲛ ⲛⲉⲡⲣⲉⲥⲃⲓⲁ ⳾ ⲛⲧⲟⲧϥ ⲙⲡⲓⲙⲁⲓⲣⲱⲙⲓ. In both of these scenarios, because of improper pronunciation and lack of proper Coptic grammar, they are pronounced now “evsotiria” and “evnai”, whereas they were pronounced “e(ou)sotiria/eusotiria” and “e(ou)nai/eunai), respectively. The images below should shed some more light on this in addition to the aforementioned recordings. Furthermore, the verse “the Lord is my strength…” is found in Psalm 117 (Peter Attia thank you!) and in the MT of the Canticle of Moses in Exodus 15 which also has the variation ⲛⲟⲩⲥⲱⲧⲏⲣⲓⲁ where the ⲛ is the preposition and the ⲟⲩ is the indefinite article (only the latter half of the verse ⲁϥϣⲱⲡⲓ ⲛⲏⲓ… is found in the Coptic/LXX in Exodus 15). Because these are now incorrectly pronounced “evsotiria” and “evnai” rather than e[o]usotiria or e[o]unai, a conflation has occurred between the construction of the noun with the indefinite article and preposition ⲉⲟⲩ or ⲉⲩ, and the third person present verbal conjugation ⲉⲩ which means “they are” (eg. ⲉⲩⲱϣ they are crying, ⲉⲩϩⲱⲥ they are singing, ⲉⲩϩⲉⲙⲥⲓ they are sitting, ⲉⲩⲟϩⲓ they are standing etc.) This confusion is exacerbated by the fact that, in typical Coptic phonetics, these would be pronounced similarly as eu.

4. It is also CRUCIAL to note that the Alexandrian tradition chanted ⲧⲁϫⲟⲙ ⲛⲉⲙ ⲡⲁⲥⲙⲟⲩ… after the third ⲑⲱⲕ ⲧⲉ ϯϫⲟⲙ making the text look like this:

ⲑⲱⲕ ⲧⲉ ϯϫⲟⲙ ⲛⲉⲙ ⲡⲓⲱⲟⲩ ⲛⲉⲙ ⲡⲓⲥⲙⲟⲩ ⲛⲉⲙ ⲡⲓⲁⲙⲁϩⲓ ϣⲁ ⲉⲛⲉϩ ⲁⲙⲏⲛ ⳾ ⲉⲙⲙⲁⲛⲟⲩⲏⲗ ⲡⲉⲛⲛⲟⲩϯ ⲡⲉⲛⲟⲩⲣⲟ ⳾

ⲑⲱⲕ ⲧⲉ ϯϫⲟⲙ ⲛⲉⲙ ⲡⲓⲱⲟⲩ ⲛⲉⲙ ⲡⲓⲥⲙⲟⲩ ⲛⲉⲙ ⲡⲓⲁⲙⲁϩⲓ ϣⲁ ⲉⲛⲉϩ ⲁⲙⲏⲛ ⳾ ⲡⲁ/ⲡⲉⲛϭⲟⲓⲥ ⲓⲏⲥⲟⲩⲥ ⲡⲓⲭⲣⲓⲥⲧⲟⲥ ⳾ ⲡⲁ/ⲡⲉⲛⲥⲱⲧⲏⲣ ⲛⲁⲅⲁⲑⲟⲥ ⳾

ⲑⲱⲕ ⲧⲉ ϯϫⲟⲙ ⲛⲉⲙ ⲡⲓⲱⲟⲩ ⲛⲉⲙ ⲡⲓⲥⲙⲟⲩ ⲛⲉⲙ ⲡⲓⲁⲙⲁϩⲓ ϣⲁ ⲉⲛⲉϩ ⲁⲙⲏⲛ ⳾ ⲧⲁϫⲟⲙ ⲛⲉⲙ ⲡⲁⲥⲙⲟⲩ ⲡⲉ ⲡϭⲟⲓⲥ ⲁϥϣⲱⲡⲓ ⲛⲏⲓ ⲉⲟⲩⲥⲱⲧⲏⲣⲓⲁ/ⲛⲟⲩⲥⲱⲧⲏⲣⲓⲁ ⲉϥⲟⲩⲁⲃ ⳾

5. A question arises with regards to the word ⲉϥⲟⲩⲁⲃ at the end of the ⲧⲁϫⲟⲙ verse since the word ⲥⲱⲧⲏⲣⲓⲁ is feminine in Greek and Coptic, many consider the proper form of ⲟⲩⲁⲃ to be ⲉⲥⲟⲩⲁⲃ. This is a possibility, however, I’d like to point out that the common ⲉϥⲟⲩⲁⲃ is also considered accurate seeing as we do find this masculinization of feminine words in other rites and hymns. For example, Bodl.Hunt.256 (1388AD) writes … ϯⲧⲣⲓⲁⲥ ⲉⲧϫⲏⲕ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲧⲉⲛⲟⲩⲱϣⲧ ⲙⲙⲟϥ ⲧⲉⲛϯⲱⲟⲩ ⲛⲁϥ though the common ⲙⲙⲟⲥ and ⲛⲁⲥ are also valid because the word ⲧⲣⲓⲁⲥ is feminine.

6. Last but not least, the earliest rendition of this hymn actually has some variation in the tune. Listen to Cantor Mikhail and the choir which recorded for the Higher Institute of Coptic Studies: https://app.box.com/s/59k7j9rxfprzaa1i46z56k48ht9mr0xu

In summary:

A. The Paschal Doxology ⲑⲱⲕ ⲧⲉ ϯϫⲟⲙ is an expansion upon the Coptic Christological formula (ϧⲉⲛ ⲡⲭⲥ ⲓⲏⲥ ⲡⲉⲛⲟ︦ⲥ︦) which concludes the Lord’s Prayer. This is why it follows the recitation of the Our Father and why each side should be praying ϫⲉ ⲡⲉⲛⲓⲱⲧ inaudibly while the opposite side chants the doxology. It is a sort of ascetic practice in which the entire church maintains hesychia and strengthens the inner man.

B. The current additional conclusion “thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever” is not found in the earliest Coptic resources and is still not part of any musical chant. It is more similar to the Eastern Formula and may have been borrowed from there at some point in our history.

C. There are several variations to the tune and structure of ⲑⲱⲕ ⲧⲉ ϯϫⲟⲙ depending on the region of Egypt is taken into consideration. Most importantly, we must realize that the word ⲉⲩⲥⲱⲧⲏⲣⲓⲁ is actually a grammatical abbreviation of ⲉⲟⲩⲥⲱⲧⲏⲣⲓⲁ and should be pronounced “eusotiria” and not “evsotiria”.

Finally, enjoy these awesome recordings!