Divine Liturgy
How has the Coptic Orthodox Church chosen the Scripture readings, and what does their order mean?
The Coptic Orthodox Church reads Scripture according to the Katameros, her book of readings, which assigns passages to each day of the Church year, including Sundays, feasts, fasts, and seasons. The order of the readings moves toward Christ. The Church first hears the apostles in the Epistles and the Acts of the Apostles, then the witness of the saints in the Synaxarium, and then the Psalm and the Gospel. The Gospel comes last because in it Christ Himself speaks.
What The Church Is Doing Through The Scripture Readings
The readings surround the Eucharist with the word of God. Before the Church approaches the altar for Communion, she listens. The readings teach the faithful, announce Christ, and place the local parish inside the apostolic faith of the whole Church.
They continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
What Is Usually Read
The Coptic order of readings commonly includes:
- The Pauline Epistle
- The Catholic Epistle
- The Praxis, or Acts of the Apostles
- The Synaxarium, which recounts the saints and feasts of the day
- The Psalm and Gospel
The Synaxarium is not a Bible reading in the same way as the Epistles or Gospel. It belongs in the sequence because the saints show what the Gospel looks like when it is lived.
Why The Gospel Is Treated Differently
All Scripture is honored, but the Gospel receives special attention because it contains the words and saving acts of Christ. This is why the Gospel reading is surrounded by prayer, candles, incense, and reverence.
The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.
How The Readings Anchor The Service
If you lose track of the responses, pay attention to the readings. They are a natural anchor in the service. You can ask afterward which reading was being used, what feast or saint was remembered, and how that reading connects to the Gospel of the day.
- Coptic Rites (3): Liturgy of the Word, Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. Teaching slides on the Pauline, Catholic Epistle, Praxis, Synaxarium, Gospel litany, Creed, and related rites.
- Why are there multiple readings during the Liturgy?, Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States Q&A. Pastoral answer naming the Pauline Epistle, Catholic Epistle, Praxis, Synaxarium, and Holy Gospel as the five readings.
- The Divine Liturgy of St. Basil, CopticChurch.net. Service text and introduction for the most commonly used Coptic Divine Liturgy.
Orthodox: Right worship and right belief, naming the Church's received apostolic faith and the life of worship that preserves it.
Synaxarium: The liturgical book of saints' lives and commemorations read in church so the faithful remember the witnesses who lived the Gospel before them.
Eucharist: A Greek word meaning thanksgiving. In Orthodox worship it names the sacrament in which bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ.
Altar: The holy table in the sanctuary where the Eucharistic gifts are offered and consecrated, treated with reverence as the center of liturgical worship.
Holy Communion: The faithful receiving the true Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist, after baptismal life, repentance, confession, fasting, reconciliation, and pastoral preparation.
Praxis: The Acts reading in the Coptic Liturgy, showing the life and witness of the apostolic Church after the Resurrection and Pentecost.
Incense: Fragrant offering used in worship as a biblical sign of prayer rising before God, especially around the altar, Gospel, icons, clergy, and faithful.