Our Heritage Battle As Egyptian-Copts

ASMASM
edited July 2004 in Faith Issues
In my church (located in Ontario), our priest has taken the liberty of translating most/all of mass into english rather then coptic and arabic....he does this so that our generation (born/raised in canada) doesn't drift from the church because we don't understand.....i think that this is really great BUT on the other hand the older generation who grew up in egypt doesnt get to hear the mass that they're used and i feel that our generation is not learning about our heritage like we should whenever we go to another church we have no idea whats going on because we don't understand the coptic/arabic mass and we see kids our age understanding and we feel as if we have missed out...

i can remember going to a convention recently, and they had they're plays and spiritual talks. and i think maybe 60% of it was in arabic and most of the pple from my church just sorta looked at each other it was way over our head. Dont get me wrong, we can all understand arabic when its spoken slowly and clearly :) but when they were busting out big words and jokes i can personally say i was lost.... i just think, eventually alot of the churchs will be going in this direction, if not already. It's just kinda sad to see us looseing this part of us.


ASM

Comments

  • I know what you mean. My dad gets REALLY mad when he's an English Liturgy because he thinks that like we are losing our heritage and all that...

    As for me, I know Arabic so it's no problem for me, infact I like Coptic and Arabic Liturgies more than English...but God understands all languages..

    God Bless..

    Mike
  • we have a similar situation in the Syrian Church. I like the original language, but The older people try and act like it is sacred and English would make the Mass something less. I think thats baloney. The hard part is chanting in English, its good to have some modification with the chant to fit English so it doesn't interfere with the syllables and accents. Otherwise it kinda sounds 'funky.'
  • i know wat ur talkin about ASM, especially about the jokes. i know arabic and often end up being the translator for like all the teenagers around me. however, im not that good and dont always get everything. :(
    in my church we have 2 masses, one english and coptic the other arabic and coptic. there r pros and cons to this. pro- go to wat ur comfortable with and can understand. con- u will either never learn the other language, or forget it.
    i would like to go to one every other sunday, but i dont really like the envirnoment of all adults, especially the old ladies. dont ask. :-X

    i really dont think there is a solution to this problem unless we learn arabic or they learn english, cause there will always be people that dont.
  • Well I mean eventually this community, maybe after even we die, will become English-Coptic...

    Just like in the past, Arabic was very new...

    Mike
  • [quote author=Coptic Defender link=board=1;threadid=444;start=0#msg6607 date=1089520192]
    Well I mean eventually this community, maybe after even we die, will become English-Coptic...

    Just like in the past, Arabic was very new...

    Mike


    I kinda disagree with you Mike, the Coptic language has been around for hundered maybe even centuries so i don't think arabic would die that fast our church do tend to hold on to its heritage

    And as for the language issue in my church we have a tri language mass with a tri language books so if Abouna is speaking arabic you can look in the english or coptic section of the book and kinda follow what he is saying and vise versa and one sunday a month we have an all english mass (which tend to have less attendance from the older people )


    :)
  • :)lol
    guys if its a problem either look in books or do what all the churches in Sydney do well most of them anyway have n arabic and english church simple whoeva wants arabic goes to arabic english go to english even at my other church they have a little kids church its cool only 4 little kids but y speak to some1 in ur church but it will take lot of time but ask anyway

    GB F.R.O.G.
  • In my church, we do it in all 3 languages. Our priest just switches languages evry once and then. I like it that way. It can get confusing at 1st but I'm used to it now.
  • Same here, I love ABouna;s singing in the three languages, especially Enouti Nai Nan, Oh man I love it esp. how he sings it, I also love it when he says: "Ya 7amal Allah ya 7amel 5ateyat el 3alam esma3na we er7amna. Amen"

    I love his voice and I love everything about him.


    Mike
  • I don't think we will have to worry about losing the Coptic or Arabic language for another 4 or 5 decades.

    What I worry about is what would happen if Egypt instituted the Sharia (Islamic Law). Copts would be so heavily, and even more openly persecuted, and eventually...GOD FORBID...we would only come to be less than 1% of Egypt's population - in a country we have been in for centuries longer than the Muslims.

    Rejoice and be glad, O Egypt: and all her borders: for unto you came the Lover of Mankind: Who was before all ages.

    - Chris
  • [quote author=FULLY RELY ON GOD link=board=1;threadid=444;start=0#msg6623 date=1089532204]
    :)lol
    guys if its a problem either look in books or do what all the churches in Sydney do well most of them anyway have n arabic and english church simple whoeva wants arabic goes to arabic english go to english even at my other church they have a little kids church its cool only 4 little kids but y speak to some1 in ur church but it will take lot of time but ask anyway

    GB F.R.O.G.



    some churches are still too small and lack the resources to do this...
  • lol come to my old church we are in that situation now and the begining but we still did it

    F>R>O>G
    ask anyway
  • just a side comment...
    isn't the term "Egyptian-Copts" redundant? I was always taught that saying that you are Coptic Orthodox Christian already carried the notation that you were of egyptian by the definition of the word "coptic"
  • Yeah, I've heard that too. I went to dictionary.com and the most relevant definition was:

    "coptic: n : the liturgical language of the Coptic Church of Egypt and Ethiopia; written in the Greek alphabet"
  • Mary is correct. "Copt" is the Greek word for "Egyptian". So to say "Egyptian-Copt' is to say "Egyptian-Egyptian". This is more proof that Copts are the rightful natives of Egypt, since the Greek word for all Egyptians is "Copt".

    O Lord, O Lord, O Lord, You became like those who are dead: The Jews cast You in a tomb, sealed it and kept watch over it. You did all that in order to save our souls.

    - Chris
  • quick note..

    Main Entry: Copt
    Etymology: Arabic qubt Copts, from Coptic gyptios Egyptian, from Greek Aigyptios
    1 : a member of the traditional Monophysite (<-- sooo wrong!! we're miaphysites) Christian church originating and centering in Egypt
    2 : a member of a people descended from the ancient Egyptians

    ..high five for webster's dictionary.. no matter how badly they have us described
  • There ya go.

    lol. You can't give a high five to an inanimate object Mary. lol

    - Chris
  • can i high five webster then?
  • lol. I think dead people count as inanimate objects too.

    - Chris
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