SSCN Voumes 1-10, 1994-2004

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter

day. May God benefit us by this book, its readers and its listeners. Amen" It is worthy to mention that the current editions of both the Arabic and Coptic Pascha books combine many of the previous editions of this book. So the above order may not be very evident. Ordo (Dallal): This book is primarily for the use of the Priests during this week, however it does contain diaconal sections (deacon responses). In its current printed form it contains the following unique sections: 1. Lazarus Saturday's Psalmodia and diaconal hymns. 2. Order of Palm Sunday, including the extra psalis of the occasion that are recited at the Midnight Psalmodia. 3. Order of the General Funeral at the end of Palm Sunday Service 4. Order of the Pascha service, including the concluding prayers or litanies. 5. Order of Maundy Thursday, including some of the hymns recited. 6. Order of the 6th, 9th, 11th, and 12th hours of Good Friday, excluding the lectionary readings. 7. Readings of Bright Saturday, including the Deutrocanonical Psalm 151. 8. Order of Resurrection Sunday, including the extra psalis of the occasion that are recited at the Midnight Psalmodia. Book of the Pascha Turuhat: This book contains all the Turhats, recited after the Gospel readings during the Holy Week. They are arranged in poetic Coptic compositions, sung in the same fashion as the turuhat introduction. The first, second and fourth part of each strophe (verse) has the same melody, while the third has a higher shorter tune. The printed book of these hymns has Coptic, arranged in 4-parts strophes in parallel with Arabic which lacks any notation. The manuscript tradition had multiple arrangement. In addition to the parallel Coptic-Arabic format, it included the first two strophes in Coptic and the rest in Arabic or all in Arabic. This meant that at certain times and/or

locations, the first two strophes were the only ones sung with the rest recited in Arabic without a tune, or the whole text was recited only in Arabic. The Arabic text however loses all the original poetic quality of these hymns and thus much of its contribution to the grandeur of this week. Book of Psalms and Odes: This book contains the Coptic-Arabic or just Arabic texts of the Psalms, including Psalm 151 and it is followed by the text of the Old and New Testament readings that are used in the beginning part of Bright Saturday Service. The book was originally used after the conclusion of the Good Friday Service for the recitation of the 150 Psalms, concluding in the singing of Psalm 151 to start the Bright Saturday service. That meant that there was no break between those two services. It is later used in a procession in the Church, concluding with the reading of the Old and New Testament selections, included at the end of the book. These selections are also in the Dallal, explained above. Book of Revelation: This last book of the New Testament is read in full during the Bright Saturday Service. It is the only time that any part of it is recited in a Coptic Church Service. Many manuscripts has come down to us, containing only this book and primarily were used during that service. On rare occasions, it forms part of the Pascha Lectionary, introduced above. The responses, recited during the reading, are usually included in the Diaconal (Deacon's hymnal). Other Miscellaneous Books: Other books used non-exclusively during that period are those of the Laqan (Maundy Thursday), Diaconal, Mimars, and Homily books. They usually contain prayers, hymns, services and readings. Conclusion: The above books details to us the different aspects of the solemn services, occurring during this holy season. They preserve in their order and arrangement the special flavor that the Church is trying to give us. Regrettable the current trend is to produce an all-in-one volume that include just the parts that are strictly used in the service. Their composition is influenced by local

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter

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