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Coptic procession hymns?
Christ is risen!
I was wondering why there aren't any Coptic hymns for the procession during the 50 days...it seems that we adopted several Greek hymns. From my understanding these hymns were adopted with the last 2 centuries...so what was being chanted during the procession before that? Are there hymns that perhaps I am just unaware of?
(I know there is pikhristos aftonf...any others?)
I was wondering why there aren't any Coptic hymns for the procession during the 50 days...it seems that we adopted several Greek hymns. From my understanding these hymns were adopted with the last 2 centuries...so what was being chanted during the procession before that? Are there hymns that perhaps I am just unaware of?
(I know there is pikhristos aftonf...any others?)
Comments
A more likely hypothesis would be that the Resurrection procession was introduced into the Coptic Church within the last few centuries and it was introduced with Greek hymns. Even later Ya kul al sofoof and Pikhristos aftonf was added later. We do have manuscript evidence that O nim nai was the paralex of Kata nikhoros of the Veil.
As far as I can tell, there are no additional hymns for the Resurrection procession that are not said today. And if there were any additional hymns, it would likely be a later addition.
There is no sufficient evidence that Greek hymns were added within the last two centuries. There is only a lack of evidence that these hymns existed before the last two centuries. You are also assuming that there was a Resurrection procession before the manuscript evidence of the last two centuries.
A more likely hypothesis would be that the Resurrection procession was introduced into the Coptic Church within the last few centuries and it was introduced with Greek hymns. Even later Ya kul al sofoof and Pikhristos aftonf was added later. We do have manuscript evidence that O nim nai was the paralex of Kata nikhoros of the Veil.
As far as I can tell, there are no additional hymns for the Resurrection procession that are not said today. And if there were any additional hymns, it would likely be a later addition.
Thank you, Remnkemi.
If you have any other information about processions in general (why? what occasions? etc) please share!
The summary of the procession is the following:
1- Kata nikhoros
2- Procession around the altar 3 times
3- Christos Anesti during the procession
4- Procession around the church either once or three times, depending on local custom, while singing Christos Anesti still
5- Pikhristos Aftonf at conclusion
6- Trisagion
7- Pachois
Notice the following interesting remarks from the rite described above:
1- No resurrection enactment...I think we all know that by now it is a very late addition
2- No Ya kull Alsufof
3- The only procession hymn is Khristos Anesti, whether in Greek or Coptic
4- No specific number of circuits around the church. Insistence on a total of 7 circuits around the Church as a symbolic gesture is a much later phenomenon, not a hard and fast rule.
5- Perhaps Khristos Anesti was chanted repeatedly until procession ended in big churches?
6- Notice that Pachois comes after the Trisagion, not before as it does today.
As Remenkimi said, we don't have evidence for the Greek troparia until much later...
Unfortunately, all the info I provided is from the book on the rites of Resurrection by Fr. Athanasius Almaqari, since I have no access to manuscripts from the Coptic museum.
what both remenkimi and Ramez say agrees with the teachings I was taught.. ton sina, tolitho and whatever else were added in the days of pope Kirollos IV, although remenkimi says there aren't manuscripts to prove otherwise, and rightly so. And also that Arabic song was only added, not even as part of reenactment, but because people got fed up learning and listening to long monotonous hymns like kata nikhoros!
Oujai
I want to add that Resurrection Dialogue (not enactment) seems to be a Syrian tradition with a similar tradition in the Eastern Orthodox Church. I found this on Orthodoxwiki
"Matins
Paschal matins begins with a procession that starts around midnight. The people leave the dark church building singing, carrying banners, icons, candles, and the Gospel. The procession circles the outside of the church and returns to the closed front doors. In Greek practice, the Gospel which tells of the empty tomb is now read. In Syrian practice, following the Gospel reading, the priest beats on the door and takes part in a dialogue with an interlocutor inside the church doors, crying out with the words of Psalm 23 (24): "Lift up your heads, O gates! And be exalted, you everlasting doors, that the king of glory may enter in!" In Slavic practice, neither of these rites is preserved....The doors are opened and the faithful re-enter. The church is brightly lit and adorned with flowers. It is the heavenly bride and the symbol of the empty tomb. The celebrants change to white vestments, the bright robes of the resurrection. The Easter icon stands in the center of the church, where the grave just was. It shows Christ destroying the gates of hell and freeing Adam and Eve from the captivity of death. There constant proclamation of the celebrant: Christ is risen! The faithful continually respond: Indeed he is risen! and censing of the icons and the people."
A few notes to consider.
1. The Resurrection Dialogue was in Matins in the Greek church and it moved to the Liturgy in the Coptic Church.
2. The people leave the whole church and close the doors in the Greek church but in the Coptic Church we just close the curtain of the veil
3. The Resurrection Dialogue is after the Gospel reading in the Greek Church, but it occurs before the Gospel in the Coptic Church.
4. The doors are open after the procession in the Greek church, the curtain is open before the procession in the Coptic Church
There are similarities too
1. The language of the Resurrection Dialogue taken from Psalm 23 is the same.
2. Closing the doors/curtain, instead of simply having the Resurrection Dialogue face to face.
3. The use of a procession with banners, icons, candles and the Gospel is found in all Orthodox Churches
4. The Resurrection troporion (Christos aneste) is used as a proclamation of the during the procession, not the other Greek hymns.
Regarding the hymns during the procession, Manuscript 117 from St Shenouda the Archimandrite Society gives us some interesting facts that corroborates Ramez's claim. It is undated and it is essentially a deacon service book.
1. The rubrics of Kata nikhoros says it is said after the reading of the Acts. No synaxarium. No Resurrection Dialogue. Kata Nikhoros of the Veil is separated into each line: Line 1, Kata nikhoros. Line 2: etisotem eroo. Line 3: W nim nai cymfonia, Line 4: ethnyou enamashg. This leaves us with 12 parts to this hymn.
2. The rubrics say, "The following is said in the procession of the Resurrection Feast and the Pentecost. Christos anesti up to Zoxa patri. Then Christos anesti is repeated with Ke nyn ke ai. Then Pikhristos Aftonf. Then the Paralex of Christos Anesti is Kata nikhoros (the one we sing in Communion). This Kata nikhoros also has 12 parts. This would take about an hour to complete.
Manuscript 33 of St Shenouda the Archmandrite Society gives us different rubrics. St Shenouda's description of this manuscript is "Liturgical, Ordo for the Holy Week and the Paschaltide, Coptic & Arabic, paper, complete bound codex, undated." Some notes to consider.
1. Kata Nikhoros is said while the veil is closed, the Resurrection icon is held with banners, icons and candles (everyone is outside the altar)
2. "The priests and serving deacons go back into the altar with the banners, icons, candles and the Resurrection icon. Then they proceed around the altar 3 times. Then the they sing with the cymbals in its known tune with joy and happiness saying" ...(Chistos aneste)
3. "Then they come down from the altar and proceed around the Church three times and sing as it was explained." I can't make out the rest of it but it seems like they say Kristos Aneste again and end with Pikhristos aftonf.
4. Then they sing the Trisagion then Pachois Isos Pikhristos.
5. The words for Pachois is different: Pa[oic Iycoc Pi,rictoc vyetaftwnf ebol qen nye;mwout qen piehoou emmah somt nai nan kata peknis] nnai. The second verse is Al al al Iycoc Pi,rictoc `pouro `nte `pwou aftwnf `ebol qen nye;mout. The third verse is Ni,eroubim "as normal and at the end of it they say the second verse like the first one je aktwnk akcw] `mmon. I think what it is trying to say is that the end of the Moyahar Nisherobim normally ends with je aki akcw] `mmon. We see this in the Kiahk mohayar and in the Crowning ceremony (weddings). The wedding mohayar is never said and the Kiahk is not said often. In the Resurrection, the rubric is reminding singers to change the last line to the common Resurrection ending je aktwnk akcw] `mmon.
Unfortunately we don't have dates for the rites. We do, however, know that our Coptic rite did not evolve in a vacuum. We took things from the Palestine Rite, as did the Byzantines, Syrians, and so on. When we took rites, we usually placed them in Coptic rites, rather than borrowing the entire Byzantine rite. In other words, we didn't take the Byzantine Orthos or Matins as a whole. We took the Resurrection Dialogue and placed it in the liturgy. The same is true for Bright Saturday.
We also must remember that due to lack of adequate manuscript evidence or direct evidence (i.e., evidence like "In the days of Patriarch X, the Coptic Church took the Byzantine Resurrection Dialogue or added the hymn Ton synanarkhon to the procession"), we can only hypothesize with a fairly small margin of accuracy. We can't draw conclusive claims like "our current rite is made up" or "our current rite fixes the discrepancies of previous eras".
I hope this helped.
I've heard that the resurrection dialogue or enactment was done after matins. Which is supported by your evidence. I also see that in the hymn khristos Anesti in thoxa Patri. When we get to the word pnevmati there is a catch so that you do not mess up and so that you can continue with ke nin. Which also makes sense with your information saying that they said khristos Anesti then thoxa and then again khristos and then ke nin.
In terms of kata no khoros el hegab. Unfortunately we do not have the tunes anymore of the second and fourth part.
And it's very new to me that we would say kata nikhoros el tawzi3 in the reenactment although we do say it after the acts in the ascension with afrek etfe.
Overall very interesting. To be honest though I do like the way the hymns of the procession are now. And that I feel the structure is better. Although I would love to find out why the mohhayyar used to be said after the trisagion.
Plz send again the original mohhayyar for the resurrection and the wedding. Thank you. Also is there any way I can see these manuscripts???
There is no sufficient evidence that Greek hymns were added within the last two centuries. There is only a lack of evidence that these hymns existed before the last two centuries. You are also assuming that there was a Resurrection procession before the manuscript evidence of the last two centuries.
When we study the manuscripts, that date before the 1850, we cannot find the added Greek hymns used nowadays in the procession.
When we compare those manuscripts with what was produced after the attempted union between the Melkites and the Coptic Church, we see the added hymns.
Specifically, Tonsina, Tolitos were added as part of the attempted unity.
There is nothing wrong with chanting those borrowed hymns so long as we are are aware of our heritage.
All of these added hymns employ the Byzantine musical notes.