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The
Forty-Day Fast carries the meaning of redemption and participation in the
sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Its hymns are characterized by
reverence and depth. Its total duration is 55 days, as follows:
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The Preparation Week, which is the first week.
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The 40 days that Our Savior fasted (Matthew 4:2).
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The Holy Week (the Week of the Passion), which is the final week.
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In the first century, The Church fasted the Holy Forty Days after the
Feast of Theophany (Epiphany). Later, it was added to The Holy Week
during the time of Pope Demetrius El Karam.
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The catechumens
used to fast for 40 days before receiving the Sacrament of Baptism.
During this period, which ended on Palm Sunday (Baptism), they were
preached to daily. After Baptism they continue the fasting for another
15 days with the faithful until the glorious Feast of the Resurrection
(Easter).
Raising of Incense at Matins:
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The Matins incense is offered in the morning separate from the Divine
Liturgy.
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After the Prayer of Thanksgiving, the chanters say the Lenten “Kyrie
Eleison” instead of the Verses of the Cymbals.
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After the litanies for the sick and travelers, the doxologies of the
Holy Fast are said before the Doxology of the Virgin.
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The priest prays “Efnoti nai nan,” and the people respond with “Kyrie
Eleison” three merged times.
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The candles and lights are extinguished; then the Altar curtain is
closed and the prophecies are read.
After reading the prophecies, the candles and lights are lit
again. The priest prays the supplication with prostrations, and the people
respond with “Kyrie Eleison,” as in the Supplication
of The Holy Pascha. Then the priest prays the Litany of the Gospel, the
Psalm and the Gospel are read in Coptic and Arabic, followed by the
conclusion.
The
Divine Liturgy:
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The Liturgy must begin at noon. The Psalms of the Third, Sixth, Ninth,
Eleventh (Vespers), and twelves (Compline) Hours are prayed. In
monasteries the Veil prayer is added. It ends at sunset (the eleventh
hour).
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The Lamb is offered, and the hymn “Alleluia Eh Ei Ekhon” is said instead
of “Alleluia Fay Pe Pi,” followed by “Sotīs Amen” (merged), then “Nev
senti.”
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The priest says “Eklinomen ta gonata” three times and makes three
prostrations before the altar. The people respond, then say “Kyrie
Eleison.” The priest then reads the Absolution of the Servants.
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The deacons chant “Entho te ti shori” Then “Ten oh osht” (instead of “Ti
shori”) before The Pauline Reading. The Praxis response is “Shari Efnoti,”
followed by the Litany of the Gospel, the Gospel reading, and the
response “Ti hirini.” There is an Adam Aspasmos and a Watos Aspasmos for
Great Lent.
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The Fraction prayer of the Holy Forty-Day Fast is said. Communion is
distributed in the Lenten manner, followed by the quarters “Pi mai romi.”
At the conclusion, the final canon “Soma tos ke Ema tos” is said.
Katameros (Lectionary):
A
Greek word meaning “the Gospel of the day.” It is an ecclesiastical term
from the Greek language meaning the appointed portion of readings for each
day throughout the Church’s liturgical year. These readings are based on
Christian doctrine and its foundation in the Lord Jesus Christ—through the
proclamation of the Holy Gospel, the Acts of the Apostles and their
writings, and through the fore shadowing of the Old Testament such as the
Psalms and prophecies—while also considering the lives of the saints and the
righteous as testimony and application of this teaching.
Rite:
A
Greek word meaning order or arrangement. Here it refers to the order of the
Church’s prayers - Liturgies, Feasts, Fasts, hymns, the Agpeya (Book of the
Hours), and the readings. Rites are generally external practices, but they
have internal effectiveness because they help a person worship God with
spirit, mind, and body. If the rite is the outward form, the doctrine is the
essence. |