Liturgy of the Faithful

• Reconciliation Prayer
• Anaphora
• Supplications
• Introduction to the Fraction

Reconciliation Prayer

Pray for perfect peace, love and the holy apostolic greetings

• Perfect Peace = divine peace - "the peace of God which surpasses all understanding" - the deacon should raise the cross because it is through this cross that we have peace and are reconciled. Hold it with strength because the deacon will be saved by the zeal of his service.
  • "Saved amen. And with your spirit..." - Deacon should go and stand and hold the cross with strength to declare the power of salvation through the cross 
  • What is peace? Who is peace? The Lord Jesus Christ
    • "He is our Peace who made the two into one"
  • "And make us worthy of the heavenly peace which befits Your divinity and is full of salvation, that we give the same to one another in perfect love and greet one another with a holy kiss" - Reconciliation St Cyril
  • Didache - it is the responsibility of the people in the church in order not to allow any person who is not reconciled with one another to stand and approach the Communion because a person not reconciled will defile the peace of the rest of the congregation
    • There is a difference between the rebellious sinner and the repentant sinner. The above refers to the rebellious
• Love

The Triangle Corporal which was before the seal on the tomb is raised by the priest

• The seal on the tomb is removed which means the Resurrection will be revealed (the Lord rose while the tomb and seal were there... so removing the seal is not preparing the Resurrection, but preparing for the revelation of the Resurrection)
• Symbolizes the veil that was between us and God. That's why the deacon stands on the opposite side, holding the cross - to say that through the Cross, the veil is torn
• Contemplations:
  • Same corporal that Abouna uses while he's choosing the Lamb.
  • He puts it in his sleeve - when they used to offer sacrifices the priest used to put the knife in his sleeve and by it, he slaughtered the lamb. This corporal represents the knife by which the Lamb will be slaughtered.
  • Then that same corporal wraps the oblation and so it symbolizes our sins that the Lord took upon Himself and carried on the Cross (which is why Abouna will put the cross in front of it in Glory and Honor)
  • After the procession of the lamb, that corporal goes on top of the Prospherine representing the seal (death of Christ)
  • Then the corporal is held up at end of Reconciliation prayer and represents the veil
  • During Agios, that corporal goes from left to right and then West to East and ends on top of the Chalice, as if the corporal that represents sin, death, curse and punishment ends on the blood of Christ because through the Blood of Christ, our sin, death, curse and punishment was removed.
• When God grants us His divine love, THEN we can love one another with the same love. The Reconciliation Prayer describes the Reconciliation between God and Man and THEN through this reconciliation, extends to us. "Glory to God in the Highest" and THEN "peace on earth and goodwill toward men"
• Holy Apostolic Greeting
  • Without Lust
  • Without Hypocrisy
  • "Not with a vile sense that defies Your fear, nor with thoughts of guile filled with the wickedness of the traitor, for our conscience is not bent on evil. Rather, we greet one another by the eagerness of our souls and the 
  • Tradition says that the Holy kiss was by the mouth (which is why only men greet men and women greet women) - tradition taken from the Jews
    • That's why St Cyril says "not with a vile sense" (lustful heart)
    • nor with thoughts of guile (like the kiss of Judas) - betrayal or hypocrisy

Greet one another with the holy kiss

• Three responses:
  • Greet one another with the holy kiss
    
  • Yes Lord, who are Jesus Christ the Son of God hear us and have mercy upon us
  • Offer Offer Offer in order stand with trembling...
• In most other liturgies like Lakkan and Consecration of Myron, the response starts with "Offer, Offer, Offer..." (the third part)
• Look toward the East means all of us, all the time, whether in the Church or outside the Church, we are fixing our eyes towards God who is our East
  • Paradise (Garden of Eden) was in the East
  • Parousia (Second Coming) will be from the East
  • If it meant to physically look toward the East, why would the deacon repeat the commandment in the Anaphora
  • It is not right for the deacons to look toward each other, but should be looking toward the East
• The Holy Kiss is an essential part of the Liturgy (and all Churches since the beginning have the holy kiss as an essential part)
  • It used to be that when a bishop got ordained, all of the clergy and the laity would come and give him the holy kiss
  • And then everyone baptized later (i.e. catechumens) would receive it from the Bishop first
  • So catechumens were not allowed to participate in the holy kiss because they are not members yet of the Body of Christ and did not receive the Holy Spirit
  • St Paul mentioned "Greet one another with a holy kiss" several times in his letters
  • Didascalia - Bishop every Monday should have a council with people in conflict and try to reconcile them so they have enough time to reconcile before Sunday. If they insist on not reconciling, don't call them brethren (they are not in the Body of Christ)
  • "Let no one keep any blemish between him and his brother; no hypocrisy, no judges" - an addendum to the response in some euchologions
  • Didascalia - If there are grudges between you and your brother, your prayer will not be heard before God; your thanksgiving will not be accepted before God
  • Holy Kiss used to be before the Offering of the Lamb
  • During the Holy Kiss is the hymn of the Aspasmos (which means greeting) -
    • the Church is encouraging us to have a spirit of oneness and unity in the Liturgy - "He made us unto Himself an assembled people";
    • Someone may say "the church is crowded I can't pray" and then goes and stands in the sanctuary to pray alone. Some people see it as spiritual but it lacks the theological understanding of the Holy Kiss and that we are an "assembled people"
  • The priest does not remove the Prospherine until "Offer Offer Offer" (AFTER the people have greeted one another)
  • Pope Gabriel V - After they greet one another, now they are reconciled with the heavenly so they can have the praises of the Seraphim and can chant in the Anaphora "holy holy holy Lord of Sabaoth, heaven and earth are full of Your holy glory"
  • "You have given to us the praise of the Seraphim" - Liturgy of St Gregory - how do we get this praise of the Seraphim? We have to be reconciled with one another and with the heavenly
• Order
  • "Greet one another with the holy kiss"
  • Aspasmos is chanted (hymn of greeting) - "O Christ our Savior, make us worthy for Your holy and heavenly peace in order to praise you with the Cherubim and the Seraphim saying holy holy holy O Lord the Pantocrator; heaven and earth are full of Your glory and honor. Through the intercessions of St Mary the Mother of God, O Lord grant us the forgiveness of our sins"
    • Because the first part is omitted, many may ask "what does through the intercessions have anything to do with the Reconciliation Prayer?"
    • There is another one that says "Greet one another with a holy kiss and purify your hearts from all evil. Be ready for the gift of God that you may partake of these mysteries. Through these, we may win mercy and forgiveness of our sins according to His great mercy."
  • "Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy. Yes Lord who are Jesus Christ the son of God hear us and have mercy upon us."
  • "We worship You O Christ, with Your good Father, and the Holy Spirit for you have come and saved us."
  • "Offer in order"
    • Because we cannot offer except after we reconcile
  • "A mercy of peace a sacrifice of praise"
• This ritual explains to us how we enter into heaven
  • The prospherine is shaken three times so the bells make noise which is the sound of the Resurrection
    

Anaphora

Anaphora

• Means Offer Up ( ana = up; phora = offer)
• Includes the whole liturgy starting with the Lord be with you all
• Starts with Liturgical Dialog
  • The Lord
    
  • It is meet and right
• Originally, there were no signings during the Anaphora
  • In the beginning of the Anaphora, the signings happens with the corporal that was on the Body and signs the people, the altar servers, and himself
  • In Agios, the signings happen with the corporal that was on the Chalice and signs himself, the altar servers and then the people
  • In the church canons it says that since Abouna touches the bread, he cannot leave his hand uncovered in honor and glory to what he has touched
  • Why does Abouna start by signing the people, then the deacons, then himself
    • To remind him that you are here to serve the people. So you must be the last. And when you make yourself last, you will receive the peace and quietness that comes from humility.
  • If a bishop is present but not officiating the liturgy, the priest will say "the Lord be with you all" and the bishop will sign them
  • Signing the people is from the left to the right (relative to the priest) or right to the left (relative to the people).
    • In the Myron the person's right arm is anointed before his left harm (priest's left)
    • In anointing with oil, or water, the person's right arm is anointed first because it is the priests' left

The Lord be with you all

• "The Lord be with you all"
  • Some people say "The Lord be with all" or "Peace be with all" - but if that was the blessing, then it would not need "and with your spirit" since the priest is included in "all"
  • The response of "and with your spirit" shows the participation of the congregation, who when they are assembled together, can give the bishop or priest peace that they can pray for him that the Lord be with him.
  • This love, fellowship and mutual blessing qualifies us to be offered up to heaven "whenever we stand in your holy sanctuary, we are considered standing in heaven..."
  • "Their prayers which they offer on our behalf, as well as ours on their behalf, receive them upon your holy rational altar in heaven" - this is the anaphora. This is what offers us up and puts us in heaven is the fellowship.
  • You even see the priest and congregation playing off each other
    • "It is meet and right" - "Meet and right"
    • "You are He around whom stand the Cherubim full of eyes..." - "The Cherubim worship You..."
    • "holy holy holy" - "Agios Agios Agios"
• Three forms of the Liturgical Dialogue
  • The Lord be with you all
  • The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
    • Antioch, St John Chrysostom and others
    • 1 Cor 17:15
    • Not common in Coptic Liturgies
    • Invoke the Holy Trinity starting with the Son
  • The love of God the Father, the grace of the only begotten Son and the communion of the Holy Spirit
    • Liturgy of St Gregory
    • Invoke the Holy Trinity starting with the Father
• Apostolic Traditions - when the bishop attends aghapy, he stands in the middle of the believers and before giving thanks he tells the people "The Lord be with you all" - "and with your spirit" - "Let us give thanks to God" - "Meet and right for unto Him majesty, glory and honor are due"
  • The part of "Lift up your hearts" is only liturgical (when there is evkharistia)

Lift up your hearts

• Three forms
  • Lift up your hearts
  • Lift your minds up (or Lift up your minds and hearts)
  • Lift your ears to the Lord (some Spanish traditions)
• It does not mean lift it right now, but it literally means "let us hold our hearts lifted up at all times" which is why the response is "we have them with the Lord"
• The beginning of the Anaphora is the beginning of our journey to heaven
• "Let us give thanks to Him because if He did not offer us His grace, our hearts would be bound to the earth but here we say 'it is meet and right' to give thanks to Him who lifted up our hearts where our Head is" (our Head is Christ)

Four Parts of the Anaphora

• Work of God the Father in Creation
• Incarnation
• The Cross
• Institution Narrative

Meet and Right

• Some people want to call it "worthy and just"
  • This response is not about God... it is about Thanksgiving. We are not saying that God is worthy and just to receive thanksgiving.
  • We are saying it is meet, proper, our duty, the right thing to do: to give thanks to Him
  • mosta7aq wa mostawgab
    
• Thanksgiving - St Basil
• Praise You, Bless You, Serve You, Worship You, Glorify You - St Gregory
• Praise You, Hymn You, Bless You, Serve you, Worship You, Thank You, Glorify You, Confess to You day and night - St Cyril

You who are seated stand - Look toward the East - Let us attend

• Keep standing, even if you are tired, wait for the Lord
• The East should not depart from our mind and our hearts (in or outside the church) and our hearts should be fixed on the altar where the Body and Blood are there
• Don't be distracted with anything, but lift up your mind and your heart to the level of the Cherubim and Seraphim who are standing around the throne of God - "and one cries to another" - they are encouraging and reminding each other that it is a time of praise and glorifying God

Anaphora of St Cyril

• Before "You who are seated stand" the Litanies are added
• In St Basil and St Gregory, they wait until the change of bread and wine to Body and Blood of Christ and say this is the suitable time to offer our prayers
• In St Cyril, they put it before the decent of the Holy Spirit because they understand that the Offering already started. The change does not happen at a moment. The descent of the Holy Spirit is just the LAST time that the priest asks the Lord to come down on the bread and wine. It is a process that started in the Offertory.
• In the Offertory he says "show Your face upon this bread and upon this cup which we have set upon this, Your priestly table. Bless them, Sanctify them, Purify them, and Change them. In order that on the one hand, this bread may indeed become Your holy Body and on the other hand the mixture in this cup Your precious Blood, and may they become..."
• Heaven and earth are FILLED with Your holy glory... so FILL this sacrifice with the blessing from You by the Holy Spirit"
• "That every knee in heaven and on earth and under the earth bow down in the name of Christ" (Philippians)
  • When we say "holy holy holy" we are fulfilling what St Paul said
• Three Major Litanies: Peace, Fathers, Assemblies
  • Six Litanies go between Peace and Fathers: Sick, Travelers, Season, King, Departed (including Commemoration and Diptych), Oblation
  • Eight Litanies go between Fathers and Assemblies
    • The Fathers are split into Patriarch and Bishop/Clergy
    • Rest of the Orthodox, the Place, those standing in the place, those who asked us to remember them, himself (servant priest), priesthood

Supplications

HH Pope Tawadrous Weekly Meetings Contemplating on the Supplications

• Confirm the Foundation of the Church: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfOyDH1cDCE 
• The Oneness of Heart that is of love, may it take root in us: 
• May the righteousness of faith grow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBnIUExR5Hg 
• Straighten for us the Way of Godliness: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMOxf58MgBU 
• Control the shepherds, and those whom they shepherd, confirm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igOaR3RfJ2Y 
• Give splendor to the clergy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxXKjubpS4o 
• Asceticism to the Monks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pys98Jy3LFg 
• Purity to those in Virginity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6y5WR5YTPY 
• A life of goodness to those in wedlock: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=as0YbPqI_LU 
• Mercy to those in repentance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiFo8n1odTY
• Goodness to the rich: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPxqXAGPwdY 
• Meekness to the honorable: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_QFfoe4djM 
• Help to the poor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVGralYcZF8 
• Success to the students: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G3kbGqF7Ag | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bou4IKCocqs 
• Work for the needy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDY9aASzy7I 
• Strengthen the elders: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Dmyl-a6Gg4 
• Chasten the young: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8tlqZmYugQ 
  
• Restore the unbelievers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dzhiTcjCg8 
• May the schisms of the Church cease
• Strip the vanity of the heretics
• Count us all in the unity of godliness

Introduction to the Fraction

• ⲧⲉⲛⲟⲩⲱϣⲧ ⲙⲡⲉⲕⲥⲱⲙⲁ ⲉⲑⲟⲩⲁⲃ We worship Your holy Body...
  ⲛⲉⲙ ⲡⲉⲕⲥⲛⲟϥ ⲉⲧⲧⲁⲓⲏⲟⲩⲧ And Your precious Blood...
  • In the 1902 Euchologion it says: "The congregation says this response according to most of the new books, but in the old books, this response does not exist" (pg. 385)
  • In the Manuscript of the Paris Euchologion, the response does not exist
  • This response does not exist in the Liturgy of St. Gregory or the Liturgy of St. Cyril
  • There is no deacon response telling the congregation to worship here, and this is the role of the deacon: to instruct the congregation in all of their motions
    • Pray for...
    • Stand, Look towards the East, Let us attend, Offer
    • "Let us sing Alleluia" (Confession preceding distribution Alleluia)
  • The Liturgy of St. Basil addresses God the Father, but this response addresses God the Son
  • In 2016, the Rites Committee of the Holy Synod studied and discussed these responses with the recommendation of changing it to "We worship the Holy Body... and the Precious Blood"
  • https://m.facebook.com/groups/DeaconsService/permalink/1603166919877251/?anchor_composer=false