SHARING IN THE COPTIC LITURGY: SOME SPECIALIST TERMS

1. The Synaxis is the gathering together for worship, especially for the first part of the
Eucharist, i.e. the Liturgy of the Catechumens. The Synaxis derives from the worship
of the synagogue (from Greek συναγωγή or place of assembly). It consists of
readings, psalms, prayer and a sermon. Both words “Synaxis” and “synagogue” derive
from the Greek verb συναγειν, “to assemble”. Normally the faithful should first receive
Our Lord into their hearts as he speaks to them through the reading of the Gospel, if
they are then to receive Him through the communion of His Body and Blood. “The
words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63).

2. During the Synaxis, the Coptic Church reads from the Synaxarion (another related
word). The Synaxarion is a compilation of stories mainly of the saints ordered by the
Coptic Calendar. It is read after the Acts to show that the Holy Spirit’s work continues
in the Church until now.

3. The second part of the Eucharist, i.e. the Liturgy of the Faithful, is called the
Anaphora. The Greek word αναφορα means “lifting up” or “offering”. [A similar word is
prosphora, which also means “offering” (compare “prospharine”).] The Anaphora
extends from “Lift up your hearts” to the dismissal at the end of the service.

4. The Liturgy has a basic fourfold shape. “He took; he blest; he broke; He gave.” The
taking is the Offertory, the selection of the Lamb. [This differs significantly in the
Eastern Orthodox Liturgy, where there is a pre-service rite known as the Prothesis.
Copts do not have this.] The blessing consists of thanking God for his saving acts and
the consecration through invocation of the Holy Spirit. The breaking consists of the
Fraction Prayer, which often varies according to the church season. Some of these
Coptic prayers are profound in meaning, for example the Fraction Prayer that recalls
Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac. Finally the giving is communion.

5. Prior to the Consecration, the priest says a prayer re-calling or remembering the
saving acts of Our Lord Jesus Christ, including the institution narrative. Thus these
past events become operative in the present by their effects. This prayer is called the
Anamnēsis (αναμνησις). Compare the English words “amnesia” (forgetfulness) and
“mnemonic” (something to help you remember). On the night of his betrayal, Our Lord
said, “Do this in remembrance of me”. Or “Do this as my anamnēsis.” In the Eucharist,
one is not just looking back passively on a lifeless past. Rather one is recalling that the
event of the cross is now effective in heaven for salvation, as the worshippers ask the
Father to look on them with favour, despite their sins, and to find them in Christ
crucified by virtue of their baptism into His death.

6. However, the Anamnesis is not itself the consecration. In the old Roman Mass, the
words “Hoc est meum Corpus” (“This is my Body”), transubstantiated or transformed
the bread into the Body of Christ. The Christian East understands the consecration
differently. In particular, the Epiklēsis (επκλησις) is the calling down of the Holy Spirit
to change (for example) the Lamb into the Body of Christ. “This bread he makes into
His Holy Body”. In St John’s Gospel, Our Lord says, “Whoever eats my flesh and
drinks my blood has eternal life.”(John 6:54). “It is the Spirit who gives life.” (John
6:63). The Lord Himself is the Bread of Life. We feed on Him. “For the bread of God is
He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

7. The people receive Our Lord in communion. The Greek word for “communion” is
Koinōnia. In Modern Greek κοινωνια means “society”. It concerns “what we have in
common” (koinē). St Augustine said that in the communion, through receiving the
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 Body of Christ, the Church becomes aware that she is the Body of Christ. Therefore, it
is very important for the faithful both to attend the Liturgy and to receive communion
regularly, although this usually also means regular Confession. Before the people
receive communion, the priest says, “Holy gifts for Holy People.” The congregation
replies, “Only God is Holy, the Holy Trinity.”

8. As St Paul says, “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the
blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of
Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that
one bread” (or loaf). (I Corinthians 10:17). This One Loaf idea is lost in some Western
churches that use unleavened individual wafers for communion.

9. However, the Liturgy is not just communion. One may receive communion only
because Our Lord died for us on the cross. Whether or not one receives communion,
all present may bring before God the sacrifice of Our Lord and plead its merits for their
salvation. All remember or re-call the saving acts of Our Lord. The Eucharist is a
sacrifice of praise. In the Messianic Age, all the Old Testament sacrifices are
abolished, except for the unbloody sacrifice of praise. The word “Eucharist” means
“thanksgiving”.

10. The Liturgy does not repeat the sacrifice of the cross. Neither was the cross an altar.
A more correct view is in the Letter to the Hebrews. The death of the victim was not
enough on its own. The point of the death was to re-establish relationship with God.
Sacrifice meant offering the victim at the altar and re-establishing communion by a
communal meal, applying the benefit of the victim’s death to the individual
worshippers.

11. The Letter to the Hebrews teaches that Christ’s death was effective for salvation once
for all. It did not need to be repeated. However, Christ is the great High Priest who
brings his death on the cross continually before God on the heavenly altar. He makes
there an expiation or propitiation (Greek hilastērion) for our sins. Christ can save
those who come to God through Him because “he always lives to make intercession
for them.” (Hebrews 7:25). In the Eucharist the priest offers the living Christ in the form
of Christ’s death (broken body and blood poured out). His death is for our life. But this
New Covenant involves not only the Lord’s death on the cross but also the pouring out
of the Holy Spirit following the Resurrection and Ascension (Hebrews 8:8-12). With His
own blood, Christ entered the Holy Place (Hebrews 9:12). In the Eucharist individuals
receive the Body and Blood of Christ for the remission of sins. The Holy Spirit
transforms both them and the holy gifts. Yet, at the end of the Liturgy, the priest asks
the angel of the offering to take all the prayers of the Liturgy to the heavenly altar.

12. Therefore too, the Eucharist looks forward to the Parousia or Second Coming of
Christ. As St Paul says, “As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you
proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (I Corinthians 11:26).

13. Although the priest has a special role in the Liturgy, it is also important to be aware
that the offering of the Liturgy involves everyone. A priest, a deacon and a layperson
must be present before anyone can celebrate the Liturgy. The priest cannot go ahead
with no one else present. In the Liturgy, the whole Christ offers the whole Christ, as a
Western theologian has said.

14. As well, to symbolise the wholeness of the Incarnation, the Church adds a little water
to the wine before consecration. The water symbolises Christ’s humanity which is

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inseparable after the Incarnation from his divinity. Christ’s humanity is itself the
intercession for us at the heavenly altar.