Resurrection - Page 16 of 17

Coptic Music

COPTIC MUSIC Description of the Corpus and Present Musical Practice The following remarks pertain only to the music of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Other Christian churches in Egypt (Greek Orthodox, Coptic Catholic, Protestant, etc.) have their own musical practices. Coptic music, an expression of a proud and constant faith, still lives today among the Copts …

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John Chrysostom, Saint (C. 347-407)

Eminent / By Armia FAYEZ

JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, SAINT (c. 347-407) Patriarch of Constantinople and doctor of the church (feast day: 13 November in the East, 13 September in the West). John Chrysostom was born in Antioch, where he studied law and theology. For some years he devoted himself to monastic life, part of the time as a hermit. He was …

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Eudoxia

Eminent / By Armia FAYEZ

EUDOXIA The name given to a fictitious sister of Constantine in a Sahidic Coptic legend, which credits her with the discovery of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. The legend is preserved almost intact in a single papyrus codex in the Egyptian Museum of Turin (Cat. 63,000, codex Ib, fols. 10v-41r, seventh to eighth century). A …

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Eucharistic Veils

Liturgy / By Armia FAYEZ

EUCHARISTIC VEILS There are five types of eucharistic veils used in the Coptic church: altar veils, chalice veils, mats, paten and chalice veils, and paten veils. Altar Veil: The altar veil is a set of cloth coverings and curtains on and around the altar to provide the right protection and veneration during the liturgy. After …

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Eucharistic Bread

Liturgy / By Armia FAYEZ

EUCHARISTIC BREAD One of the two visible elements constituting the eucharistic sacrament, the other element being the eucharistic wine. The bread is leavened, unsalted bread made of the finest wheat flour. It is circular in shape and has a diameter ranging from 3 to about 5 inches, as required. On its upper surface, it is …

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Eucharist

Liturgy / By Armia FAYEZ

EUCHARIST One of seven sacraments in the Coptic church. Although all sacraments contain and impart grace, the Eucharist carries the most sublime grace of all. In BAPTISM, for example, water remains water, as does the holy chrism in confirmation, the visible element of the sacrament thus undergoing no change. In the Eucharist, however, the bread …

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Ethiopian Orthodox Church

History / By Armia FAYEZ

ETHIOPIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH The Ethiopian church was the only state church in the Orient that remained intact from early times into the late twentieth century, when it was separated from the secular state by a revolutionary decree of 1974. With a membership of at least 12 million, it is still the largest single autocephalous Christian …

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Ethiopian Heresies And Theological Controversies

History / By Armia FAYEZ

ETHIOPIAN HERESIES AND THEOLOGICAL CONTROVERSIES Although isolated from the Christian world until the twentieth century, Ethiopia has had knowledge, and even followers, of the major heresies that caused schism and created ecclesiastical minorities in the early history of the Christian church. A letter from the emperor Constantius II (337-361) (Athanasius,1857, cols. 636-37) shows a reasonable …

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Eschatology

Theology / By Armia FAYEZ

ESCHATOLOGY The study of the last things, of the destiny of individual persons, and, more broadly, of society, of the world, and of the universe. In the culture of the pagan Greco-Roman world, concern with the destiny of the individual after death received comparatively little attention outside the mystery religions, but Hellenistic speculation on successive …

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Immersion

Theology / By Armia FAYEZ

IMMERSION It was ordained by Jesus Christ that water represents the visible sign of baptism: “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (Jn. 3:5). In conformity with Christ’s teachings, the apostles used water in administering the sacrament through complete immersion. This practice has since been followed …

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