archdeacon - Coptic Wiki

Consecration Of Church

CONSECRATION OF CHURCH After a new church has been equipped with the necessary vessels, curtains, books, and icons, it has to be consecrated, that is, set apart for divine service and dedicated to a saint. The consecration of a Coptic church is a colorful, elaborate service, carried out on a Saturday evening, and is enriched […]

Consecration Of The Chrism

CONSECRATION OF THE CHRISM The infrequent occasions on which the preparation and consecration of the chrism is performed are events of considerable spiritual joy. After concocting the prerequisite ingredients of the chrism and also of the kallielaion (oil of the CATECHUMENS) that is usually consecrated on the same day but in a separate service, they […]

Ordination Of Deacon, Archdeacon

ORDINATION OF DEACON, ARCHDEACON The ordination of the deacon in the Coptic Church is performed after the Prayer of Reconciliation and before the Kiss of Peace, that is, immediately before the beginning of the anaphora, and is based on the ordination prayer from the Apostolic Constitutions. It provides an explicit description of the ministry as […]

History Of The Patriarchs

HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS Major source for Coptic Church history. The History of the Patriarchs is the principal source for the history of the Coptic Orthodox Church during the first six centuries of Islamic rule. The work came into existence toward the end of the 11th century through the labor of a team led by […]

Holy Week

HOLY WEEK Holy Week falls between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. The first description of the rite of the Holy Week is given by Egeria, a European woman from France who visited the Holy Lands between 381and 384. She provided a detailed description of the places she visited and the ceremonies that she attended. It […]

Good Friday

GOOD FRIDAY The Friday before Easter and the anniversary of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Ibn Kabar’s description of the rites of Good Friday is as follows: the prayer of the first hour is performed according to the rite of the Passover with readings from the four gospels and the prophecies, followed by sermons that […]

Second Council Of Constantinople

SECOND COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE Known as the fifth general council and convoked by Emperor Justinian I in May 553. It was presided over by Patriarch Eutychius of Constantinople, and attended by 165 bishops, nearly all from the eastern and Greek-speaking provinces of Justinian’s empire. The main object of the council was to modify (without appearing […]

Saint Cyril I Or Cyril Of Alexandria

SAINT CYRIL I or Cyril of Alexandria The twenty-fourth patriarch of the See of Saint Mark (412-444), who is reckoned one of the greatest prelates of Christian antiquity (feast day: 3 Abib). Cyril spent his early years at Dayr Anba Maqar in the Nitrian Valley, which had become noted as a center of theological studies. […]

CYRIL II

CYRIL II The sixty-seventh patriarch of the See of Saint Mark (1078-1092). Cyril was a monk of the Monastery of Saint Macarius (DAYR ANBA MAQAR), and his original name was George (Jirja). Nothing is known about his secular life or his date of birth beyond the fact that he was a native of the province […]

Scriptorium

SCRIPTORIUM The room in which copyists transcribed manuscripts (later, also the writing school that developed around it). An archdeacon instructed the scribes, who carried out their work in the scriptorium. The alphabet was taught both in the business hand (cursive) and in the book script (uncial). On the evidence of literary reports (Athanasius Apology to […]