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Articles Evenements Coptes Les Prières de Khiak - 4ème Partie
Articles Evenements Coptes Les Prières de Khiak - 4ème Partie | Les Prières de Khiak - 4ème Partie |
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| Écrit par Tifou | |
| 03-01-2004 | |
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Praises EPSALIAS Connected with the four Canticles and the seven Theotokias are seven Epsalias. The word "epsalia" means a hymn. The hymn in our Coptic Church is distinguishable in that the reply in each verse ends with the name of Jesus. An example of this: The Epsalia for Monday: "My Lord Jesus" The Epsalia for Tuesday: "Your Holy Name My Lord Jesus is..." is in its phrasing. The Epsalia for Wednesday: "The sweet name full of glory is that of our Lord Jesus Christ..." is in its phrasing. The Epsalia for Thursday: It begins with the clause, "O Lord Jesus Christ who..." The Epsalia for Friday: It begins with the clause, "Our Lord Jesus Christ, give a sign (the Cross)." The Epsalia for Saturday: Every verse ends saying, "My Lord Jesus Christ, my Good Savior." The Epsalia for Sunday: Every verse ends saying, "My Lord Jesus Christ, help me." With this we discover that the Coptic hymn is a dialogue with the Name of Salvation, the Name of Jesus Christ. It is not just a regular song. The Coptic fathers truly brought out the value of repeating the name of Jesus for the salvation of the person. It even became the center of their worship, and they breathed it since there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. This is a brief summary about the daily Church praises, especially the Eve of Sunday. During the month of Kiahk, hymns (epsalias) and beautiful praises for every canticle and Theotokia are interposed in. And with this the evening gathering is transformed into a night we spend in heaven pertaining to the topic of the divine incarnation by way of the Virgin Mary. In this doctrine, the saintly fathers discuss in their worship with all depth: - "Whoever does not believe that Saint Mary is the Mother of God is foreign to God." (St. Gregory of Nazianzus) - "I am Your sister from the house of David our father. I am Your mother since I carried You within me, and I am Your daughter from water and blood with which You bought me and baptized me." (Mar Ephraim) - "Mother and throne and virgin" (Glorification) - "Her Embryo is her Creator and she was made by His hands." (Glorification) - "Hail to the saint, the mother of all living." (Theotokia of Tuesday) - "Rejoice, O Mary the mother and servant" (The Liturgy) - "The honor of the virgin is not from her being created a queen but from her sitting on the right of the Father." - "She is the rational net that catches Christians." (Lobsh of Friday) HOW DO WE PRAISE IN THE CHURCH? Besides the marvelousness of this inheritance, yet how much we distort it whenever the worship is changed to just a ritual and this appears a lot in: - The competition of many for learning the hymns so that they may reply them before the people in church. They cannot even bear staying in church unless their voices are apparent to the people. The truth is that the hymns are a delight and a personal pleasure as a means for worship and the spiritual highness resembling the angels. - The loud voices in the praises are not from the character of the angels. But it is a means by which the enemy misleads us so that by it we lose the tranquility of the hymn and its magnificence. - Chanting and praising -- it is prayer -- then how do we stand for prayer? Possibly we stand for prayer with submission, but at the moment of chanting the submission escapes. Indeed, worship uses the senses from the raising of hands and heart and thoughts and tunes that express the depth of the soul more than it expresses the words. And above all of this, we ought not forget that "My house shall be called a house of prayer." We should say again, "Arise, O you sons of light to praise the Lord of powers..." We ought to say, "Let us praise with the angels.." We should say, "My heart and my tongue praise the Trinity." Let us praise the praise of the four incorporeal beasts, "Holy, holy, holy," and with the twenty-four priests cast our crowns before the throne and chant the new hymn, "For He redeemed us out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation," and also say with them, "We thank You, O Lord God Almighty...Amen. Alleluia." Truly, the successful Kiahk evening gathering is that which the church is transformed to a part of heaven. May God have mercy on us for the worthless evening gatherings which is not credited to us, but on the contrary is reckoned as judgment on us. |
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