wine in a cruet; they veil the offerings and process with them round the altar, while the choir sing an anthem. A little water is mixed with the wine, the offerings are placed on the altar and blessed. All this corresponds to the Byzantine Great Entrance, but takes place before the Liturgy of the Catechumens. Then follows the Enarxis, offertory prayers and a prayer for forgiveness of sins.[1] Here begins the Liturgy of the Catechumens. The celebrant incenses the offerings, the altar, the church and the people. The deacon says a short litany, praying for the whole Church, the Patriarch and the people. The lessons follow. There should be four: one from St. Paul, one from the Catholic Epistle, one from Acts (or a saint's life from the Synaxar), and a Gospel. But the second is often left out. The deacon should read all. When there is no deacon the celebrant reads them. But sometimes he cannot read (he knows the Coptic prayers by heart, often not understanding them, unless he has studied the parallel Arabic version in his book); in this case, any educated layman reads. Often no one knows what should be read, so they squabble over it in vociferous Arabic. A prayer is said after the first two lessons; before the Gospel the Trisagion is sung.[2] Each lesson is followed at once by a short verse sung ((
Greek characters), gradual), and is then read in Arabic. During the lessons the thurible is swung all the time. While the Trisagion is sung a procession is formed with the sealed Gospel-book[3] (Little Entrance); while the deacon reads everyone takes off his tarbūsh (which all Easterns wear in church), and the celebrant waves the thurible towards the book continuously. A prayer follows, then sometimes a sermon or the proclamation of notices. The catechumens are no longer dismissed by a formula.[4] Here follows the Liturgy of the Faithful. There is a "Prayer of the Veil,"[5] the deacon sings a litany, the Nicene Creed (in a plural form:
- ↑ Brightman: Eastern Liturgies, 144-149.
- ↑ In Greek, with the famous alleged Monophysite clause: "who wast crucified for us" (p. 190). Throughout the liturgy many portions are in Greek (p. 274).
- ↑ P. 271. The procession goes with lights to the lectern outside the haikal (all lessons are read here).
- ↑ Brightman: op. cit. 150-158.
- ↑ While the bread and wine are unveiled.
