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TheCoptic Rite is anAlexandrian liturgical rite. It is practiced in theCoptic Orthodox Church and theCoptic Catholic Church.[1]
The termCoptic derives from Arabicqubṭ / qibṭقبط, a corruption of GreekAígyptos (Ancient Greek:Αἴγυπτος, "Egyptian").
The Coptic Rite traditionally uses theCoptic language and Greek.Arabic and a number of other modern languages (including English) are also used.[2]
Along with the Geʽez Rite, it belongs to theAlexandrian liturgical tradition.
The Coptic Rite originated in the ancientPatriarchate of Alexandria which, in the first centuries of Christianity, was mainly composed of ethnic Greeks. The rite then spread among the indigenous inhabitants of Egypt, amongst whom it has survived to this day.
TheCoptic Orthodox Church, being one of the historical successors of the ancient Alexandrian Church, did not accept the decision of theCouncil of Chalcedon, and, like the rest of theOriental Orthodox Churches, from the second half of the 5th century, it is in schism with theEastern Orthodox Church of theByzantine Rite and with theCatholic Church. Church schism and conflict with Byzantium led to the creation in Egypt of an alternative, ethnically Greek,Chalcedonian See of Alexandria with the Greek Rite. After the Arab conquest of Egypt, theCoptic Church was persecuted. All of the above led to significant changes in the liturgical rite of the Coptic Church.
The oldest Coptic liturgy, theliturgy of Saint Mark, was the main liturgy of the Coptic church until the 8th-9th centuries. The Church of Constantinople actively fought against the liturgy of the Apostle Mark and the Coptic Rite as such, trying to achieve the unification of worshipin the East. By the 12th century, in the Coptic churches, everywhere except for the Coptic monasteries, demonstratively ignoring Constantinople, liturgies were close to the ones in Byzantine Rite.
After the formation of theCoptic Catholic Church in 1741, she also began to use the Coptic Rite in worship. Copts-Catholics managed to defend their rite from Latinization in all aspects, with the exception of the monastic tradition, which they have organized according to the Roman Catholic model. In the ancient Coptic Orthodox Church, the historical Coptic monastic tradition is preserved.
A characteristic feature of the Coptic Rite is the wide variety of liturgies. The historical liturgy of the Copts, theliturgy of Saint Mark, practically disappeared from use in the 12th century, supplanted by the Byzantine type liturgies. Currently, three liturgies are served in the Coptic Rite:
The cycle of canonical hours is largely monastic, primarily composed of psalm readings. The Coptic equivalent of the ByzantineHorologion is theAgpeya.
Seven canonical hours exist, corresponding largely to the Byzantine order, with an additional "Prayer of the Veil" which is said by bishops, priests, and monks (something like the ByzantineMidnight Office).
The hours are chronologically laid out, each containing a theme corresponding to events in the life of Jesus Christ:
Every one of the Hours follows the same basic outline:
Eastern Christiancommunion ofautocephalouschurches fromArmenia,Egypt,Eritrea,Ethiopia,Sudan and parts of theMiddle East, andIndia | ||
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