Psalms and Agpeya
Which Psalm is the longest?
(Psalm 119)
what does the word "liturgy" means?
Origin of the term Liturgy: The word "Liturgy" in classic Greek means "a public service undertaken on behalf of the people", it comes from
"Liaw," meaning "People" and "Ergia" meaning "work".
what is the name of the book that the Coptic orthodox church uses and it contains readings for Sundays, the Weekdays, the Great Lent, Holy Week, and the Pentecost.
The Lectionary (Katamaros)
Why do we use candles?
Liturgical Use of Candles: Candles are used during the liturgy, particularly during the prayer out of the altar.
Candles in Prayer: Candles are used in prayer as a representation of the individual before God.
what is the meaning of the word priest? who is the priest?????!!!!!
In Coptic: The word ogHb (Ooab) in Coptic, meaning "priest", is derived from the Coptic word “ethowab”, meaning saintly or righteous. Hence "Ooab'' is given to the priest to signify that he is a righteous man, adorned by holiness and purity.
The Jewish people referred to the person who offered sacrifices and oblations as a priest.
What does the word “psalm” mean?
According to the Oxford dictionary, a “psalm” is a song, poem or prayer that praises God.
what is the first and most important source of Liturgy.
The Holy Bible in regard to Liturgy, is the first and most important source of Liturgy.
Kiahk is the ???th month in the Coptic year calendar?
the fourth month of the coptic year
what does the candle symbolize.
who were the priests on the old testament????
The priests of the tabernacle were to be the Levites, the men from the tribe of Levi, Ex 28.1
are all the psalms were written by only David the Prophet and the King?
No, some were written also by Solomon the king, David's son
how many liturgies do we have and what is there names?
we have 3 liturgies:
1. The Liturgy according to St Basil, bishop of Caesarea
2. The Liturgy according to St Gregory of Nazianzus, bishop of Constantinople
3. The Liturgy according to St Cyril I, the 24th Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church
how does the church begin her preparations for the great feast of nativity?????!!!!!
- The Church begins Her preparation for the great feast of Nativity by fasting 43-day.
what is incense?
Incense is a mix of spices and gums that we burn during services to produce fragrant smoke.
upon who was our lord Jesus Christ ordained a priest, and also the highest priest and chief of priests????
Jesus Christ is the “priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” As the “priest forever,” Jesus is also the completion and fulfillment of the Old Testament priesthood of the Levites.
What does the word “Agpya” mean?
The Origin of the word Agpeya: The word, Agpeya ajpia, is a Coptic (ancient Egyptian) word meaning “Book of Hours.” It is based on the Coptic
root word, ti agp, which means “hour.”
the first liturgy recorded that was made before the other 3 liturgies was made by whom?
it was made by St. Mark. Also The Divine Liturgy of St. Mark is the ancient, traditional main Liturgy of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
with the discovery of a papyrus from the end of the fourth century in 1928, it also has the most ancient documentation of any Orthodox Liturgy still in use.
for how many weeks do the great lent divided among? can you name them?
The Great Lent is divided into 8 weeks: The Preparation Week; The Holy Forty Days during which Christ our Lord fasted in the wilderness and it contains six Sundays: Treasure, Temptation, Prodigal Son, Samaritan Woman, The Paralytic, The Man Born Blind the last being Palm Sunday; and The Holy Week.
how do we use incense?
we put first a cool and fire it in the shoria, then we bring the shoria to abouna so he can pour some incense in it.
what is the priesthood????
The Sacrament of Priesthood is a holy sacrament through which the bishop lays his hands on the head of the elected candidate, so that the Holy Spirit will descend on him and grant him one of the priestly ranks. He is then given the authority to officiate the Sacraments of the church, doctrines, and others.
So why we have the Pslams in the agpya and why do we use them?
In acts 3:1, 10:9, you find the timing of these psalms. They both prayed the sixth at nine hours because in the Jewish tradition, the prayers are from the psalms because these are the works and words of the Holy Spirit through the men of God.
In Ephesians 5, St. Paul says that when we sing a melody from our heart to the Lord, we should be using psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. By this, it is implied that we are filled with the Holy Spirit by praying the psalms.
how many books do we read during the liturgy? Which one we don't read during the great lent and why?
we read 7 books:
the Pauline epistle
the catholic epistle
book of acts
the Synaxarium
the book of pslams (before The Gospel)
The Gospel
The Synaxarium is not read during Great Lent to focus on God and the significant event. (because we usually read it so we can remember the saints who passed away in the same day from different years)
do we have vespers during the lent?
no we don't have vespers;
During this Fast, the Church has no Vespers except on Sundays and on the weekdays of the seven weeks of Lent, we read the prophecies before the prime Gospel. However, we do not read prophecies on Saturdays and Sundays, they are considered holidays.
why do we use incense?
Incense symbolizes Jesus Christ’s priesthood and His fragrant life on earth. Prayer, like incense, becomes more fragrant when offered with a fervent soul.
who gave the priests on our days to have the authority to give absolutions and blinding???
This sacrament was instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ when He chose the twelve of his followers, and consecrated them for ministry, (Luke 6:13) and He gave them the authority of absolution and binding, Matthew 18:18