by HG Abba Moussa
Bishop of the youth
| Ritual: The Arabic word for ritual is derived from Greek and means a system or order. The word ‘ritual’ in the Church means the order of the holy service and its organization, that is, the prayers that are said whether verbally, through worshipful actions, or symbolically. Included in this is the shape of the church, its administration, the ranks of the priests and their clothes. Every action in the ritual of holy mass in our holy church, which has a solid and apostolic faith, has a sublime spiritual meaning that is the ultimate in sublimeness and spirituality even though many do not see this. The rituals are molds within which are poured spiritual meanings to be experienced by the faithful during group worship. The Importance God Gives to Ritual:
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We also read about the altar in the life of Abraham, the friend of
God. He used to build an altar to the Lord, and call on His Name, making sacrifices
and burnt offerings to the Lord in every place he went to (Gen. 12: 7,8; 13: 18).
When God commanded him to offer his son as a sacrifice, he went to the appointed
place, built an altar, piled the wood on it, and tied his son Isaac and placed him on the
wood (Gen. 22: 9) in accordance to the ritual he followed whenever he offered animal
sacrifices.
The same is true of Jacob and of Moses, for whom the Lord organized the way
to be followed in
worship with its rituals and which Moses recorded in the books of Exodus and Leviticus.
The Lord Jesus and Ritual:
The Lord Jesus respected (when He took the form of our humanity and came as a man) the
Mosaic ritual greatly in spite of the fact that He gave the law and ordered the rituals.
In this, He is like the director of traffic who puts the rules and regulations,
issues them and requires people to carry them out, but is the first to comply with and
submit to them.
We see the Lord Jesus submitting to the law of circumcision by being circumcised on the eighth day.
He observed the feasts and shared in celebrating them. He also observed the rituals of worship and meetings; we read of Him that: "Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did."(Jn.2: 13, 23).
The Apostles and Ritual:
The apostles determined the organization of the churches as they saw fit and as it had
been entrusted to them by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. St. Paul received the
rituals and the doctrine from the Lord Himself, for he says: ‘For I
received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you"( 1 Cor. 11: 23). He
reassures the believers about the rituals and traditions saying; "And the rest, I
will set in order when I come." (1Cor.11:34). He advises his disciple, Bishop
Timothy, about the necessity of passing on the traditions and
rituals: "And the things you have heard from me among many
witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (2
Tim.2: 2). He also advises his disciple Titus, Bishop of Crete, saying: "For this
reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and
appoint elders in every city as I commanded you" (Ti. 1:5). He advises the believers
in general saying: "Let all things be done decently and in order." (1 Cor. 14:
40) "For God is not the author of confusion but of peace" (1 Cor. 14: 33), and
He is also the God of order, beauty, and organization.
Ritual and the Holy Bible:
The Coptic Church is a Biblical church that lives by the spirit of the Gospel at the
highest level. Its ritual prayers are organized through the guidance of the Holy Spirit
and its texts are taken from the Bible so that you find that every word is taken from some
Biblical text. One glance at the big missal with references is enough to prove this;
you see under each prayer a profuse number of Biblical references as evidence of this.
The Coptic Church a Prayerful Church:
The ritual of Holy Mass in our Church is a long, very satisfying and nourishing one.
If the ceremonies are done thoroughly and meticulously, they will take six whole
hours. For instance, in Sunday mass, the preparation begins on the previous day when the
raising of incense is performed with its beautiful ritual and its worshipful chants.
It is preceded by the psalms and Saturday praise. In the dawn of the
following day, the worshippers begin with all
three services of the midnight prayers in the quiet and beauty of dawn; then they begin
the midnight praise with its beautiful chords and its approximately fifteen lovely tunes.
Then as the sun begins to rise and send its golden rays on the world reminding us
of the Sun of Righteousness, our Lord, the new day is greeted with matins, and we pray:
"When the light of day came to us O Christ." This is followed by the
Doxology of matins in which we greet the Virgin, the angels, the martyrs, and the
victorious saints, feeling their presence with us in Church. Next we go in to raise
incense with beautiful prayers which
we will expound later. All these prayers are to prepare us for Holy Mass and for partaking
of the Sacrifice for our salvation.
From the moment the priest enters church, he does not stop praying, even during Holy
Communion. The congregation only hears the prayers that are said aloud whereas there
are many other silent prayers that the priest says during the tour of incense and during
the reading of the epistles and the gospel.
The Church tries to occupy all the mind and time of the priest with prayer, so that he is
not distracted by other matters. For example, during the tour of incense, there are
a number of short utterances that the priest repeats constantly without stopping until he
ends the tour and enters the sanctuary.
| During the incense of evensong and matins, he repeats: "The blessing of the incense of evensong, its holy blessings be with us, Amen." |
| During the incense of matins, he repeats: "The blessing of the incense of matins, its holy blessing be with us, Amen." |
| During the incense of the epistle of St. Paul, he repeats, "The blessing of the incense of the epistle of St. Paul, the Apostle of Jesus Christ, its holy blessing be with us, Amen." |
| During the incense of the Acts of the Apostles, he repeats: "The blessing of my lords, the apostolic fathers, that is, our father Peter and our teacher Paul and the rest of the disciples, their holy blessing be with us, Amen." |
After the priest has finished the beautiful chant, and the congregation begins to say the Kyrie Eleyson, the priest is not silent. At that time, he raises the cross and has the candles lighted while he says St. Gregory’s second petition for the healing of the sick and for rest for those in need.
If we contemplate the midnight absolution for priests, we will find that it is inclusive and does not omit any great or small detail.
How great and profound is our Church in its ritual
and spirituality; she still preserves these characteristics and therefore grows in beauty
and spirituality.