Coptica 15, 2016

Towards a History of Liturgical Vestments in the Coptic Rite: I - Minor Orders, Deacons, and Presbyters

Ramez Mikhail

The edition of the euchologion prepared by Hegumen c Abd al-Masīḥ Ṣalīb (1902), considered the official edition by the Holy Synod of the Coptic Church, 1 begins the section on the Eucharistic liturgy with the following rubric on vesting:

And the priest puts on the priestly vestment [ badlat al- kahanūt ], while he says the twenty-ninth psalm, “I will extol you, O Lord,” and after it the ninety-second psalm, “The Lord reigns, he is robed in majesty.”

ثم يلبس الكاهن بدلة الكهنوت وهو يقول المزمور التاسع والعشرين أعظمك يارب. وبعده المزمور ا لثاني والتسعين الرب قد ملك والجمال لبس. 2

Contrary to what may be understood from the brevity of the rubric, the historical development of Coptic liturgical vestments is far from clear. There have been attempts by many scholars to list and describe the various vestments worn by each rank of the clergy. However, the topic still remains in need of a coherent and updated analysis that takes into account the historical development of the vestments, and not just provides a list of all known items detached from their historical evolution. This article analyzes the historical development of Coptic liturgical vestments for the minor orders – i.e. readers and subdeacons – as well as deacons and presbyters. A future contribution will complete this analysis by addressing the vestments for bishops and patriarchs, followed by an overview of current usage in the Coptic Orthodox Church. Throughout this and the next part, vestments will be referenced using their Greek names. This is done in order to establish a certain consistency in describing the 1 The status of this euchologion as an official standard was confirmed by the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church in its session in 1997, decreeing that Coptic Orthodox clergy in Egypt are to abide by the liturgical texts in the ‘Abd al- Masīḥ edition unless otherwise corrected by the Synod itself. Cf. Bishop Mettaūs, Al-Qarārāt al-Majma‘iyah al-Khaṣsah bi al-Ṭiqūs al-Kanasiyah [The Synodal Decisions Concerned with Ecclesiastical Rites] (Dayr Al-Suryān, 2001), 24. 2 ‘Abd Al-Masīḥ Ṣalīb, Ⲡⲓϫⲱⲙ ·ⲛⲧⲉ Ⲡⲓⲉⲩⲭⲟⲗⲟⲅⲓⲟⲛ ·ⲉⲑⲟⲩⲁⲃ ·ⲉⲧⲉ ⲫⲁⲓ ⲡⲉ Ⲡⲓϫⲱⲙ ·ⲛⲧⲉ ϮϣⲟⲙϮ ·ⲛⲀⲛⲁⲫⲟⲣⲁ·ⲛⲧⲉ Ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ Ⲃⲁⲥⲓⲗⲓⲟⲥ ⲛⲉⲙ Ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ Ⲅⲣⲏⲅⲟⲣⲓⲟⲥ ⲛⲉⲙ Ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ Ⲕⲩⲣⲓⲗⲗⲟⲥ ⲛⲉⲙ Ϩⲁⲛⲕⲉⲉⲩⲭⲏ ⲉⲩⲟⲩⲁⲃ [ The Book of the Holy Euchologion, which is the Book of the Three Anaphoras of Saint Basil and Saint Gregory and Saint Cyril, and Other Holy Prayers ] (Cairo, 1902), 195-196.

Coptica 15 (2016), 55 – 70.