Language and Chant
What should I do if I do not know the responses?
What The Prayers Teach About The Responses
Listen, pray quietly, and learn the repeated responses one at a time. You do not need to keep up with every deaconal response in order to be present reverently.
The First Responses To Learn
Begin with Amen, Lord have mercy, Alleluia, and the sign of the cross when the people make it. These responses appear often and give you natural places to participate.
A Practical Rule
When you are unsure, listen. When a response repeats and you know the meaning, join softly. When the service moves too quickly, return to prayer in your heart. The point is attentive presence before God.
- Language Balance in Deacon Responses and Hymns, Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States Q&A. Pastoral answer encouraging English for participation while keeping a balanced use of Coptic and other languages in parish worship.
- The Divine Liturgy of St. Basil, CopticChurch.net. Service text and introduction for the most commonly used Coptic Divine Liturgy.
- Coptic Liturgies, Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. Overview of the Divine Liturgy, the three Coptic liturgies, and the principal parts of the Eucharistic service.
- Visiting an Orthodox Church, Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles. Diocesan visitor guide welcoming non-Orthodox guests and directing questions to the parish priest.
Amen: A word of assent meaning truly or let it be so, by which the faithful receive and affirm the prayer being offered.
Alleluia: A biblical word of praise meaning praise the Lord, sung often in worship as the Church responds to God's presence and works.
Sign of the Cross: The Christian gesture of tracing the Cross on the body while confessing the Holy Trinity and Christ's saving Cross.