Content

This unit is an introduction to the worship life of the Coptic Church and its liturgical services. The course will introduce students to the basic structure of vespers, matins, and the liturgy in the Coptic Rite. Furthermore, students will learn the broad historical background of these services and the process by which they acquired their current shape. To this end, students will also become familiar with the major sources of studying the liturgical tradition of the Coptic Church.

Unit code: DL8440A

Unit status: Archived (New unit)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Foundational

Unit discipline: Liturgy

Delivery Mode: Face to Face

Proposing College: St Athanasius College

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Learning outcomes

1.

Analyse the structure of the Coptic services of vespers, matins, and the Divine Liturgy.

2.

Examine the historical context and nature of the main sources informing our knowledge of the Coptic liturgical tradition, as well as the socio-cultural background in which it developed.

3.

Formulate a lucid and cohesive understanding of the major units comprising the Coptic Divine Liturgy and their relationship to the entire mystery of the Eucharist.

4.

Develop an integrated understanding of the factors that led to development of the Coptic rite of prothesis or offertory in its current shape taking into considerations the liturgical, historical, and architectural evidence.

5.

Evaluate the scholarly distinction between cathedral and monastic traditions of daily prayer and the relevance of this system as a method to study the Coptic rites of vespers and matins taking into account the various scholarly opinions on this distinction.

Pedagogy

12 weekly sessions, required reading and additional reading resources

Indicative Bibliography

  • Bradshaw, Paul F. Daily Prayer in the Early Church: A Study of the Origin and Early Development of the Divine Office. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 1981.
  • Bradshaw, Paul F. “Cathedral and Monastic: What’s in a Name?” Worship 77 (2003): 341-353.
  • Brightman, F.E., ed. Liturgies Eastern and Western Being the Texts Original or Translated of the Principal Liturgies of the Church. Vol. 1. Eastern Liturgies. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 1896.
  • Burmester, O.H.E. “The Canonical Hours of the Coptic Church.” Orientalia Christiana Periodica 11 (1936): 78-100.
  • Burmester, O.H.E. The Egyptian or Coptic Church: A Detailed Description of Her Liturgical Services and the Rites and Ceremonies Observed in the Administration of Her Sacraments*. Cairo, Egypt: Société d'Archéologie Copte, 1967.
  • Farag, Lois, ed. The Coptic Christian Heritage: History, Faith, Culture. London: Routledge, 2013. (recommended for purchase)
  • Fritsch, Emmanuel. “The Preparation of the Gifts and the Pre-Anaphora in the Ethiopian Eucharistic Liturgy in Around A.D. 1100.” In: Rites and Rituals of the Christian East: Proceedings of the Fourth International Congress of the Society of Oriental Liturgy, Lebanon, 10-15 July 2012, edited by Bert Groen et al., 97-152, Leuven: Peeters, 2014.
  • Frøyshov, Stig Simeon R. “The Cathedral–Monastic Distinction Revisited Part I: Was Egyptian Desert Liturgy a Pure Monastic Office?.” Studia Liturgica 37 (2007):198-216.
  • Gabra, Gawdat, ed. Coptic Civilization: Two Thousand Years of Christianity in Egypt. Cairo, Egypt: AUC Press, 2014.
  • Mikhail, Maged S.A. From Byzantine to Islamic Egypt: Religion, Identity and Politics after the Arab Conquest. London: I.B. Tauris, 2014.
  • Mikhail, Ramez, “Sources for the Study of Coptic Liturgy”.
  • Mikhail, Ramez. “On Evening Worship in Egypt: A Theological Evaluation of Contemporary Practice in Light of Patristic and Medieval Sources.” Coptica 12 (2013): 77-94.
  • Swanson, Mark N. The Coptic Papacy in Islamic Egypt (641-1517) (The Popes of Egypt 2). Cairo: AUC Press, 2010. (recommended for purchase)
  • Taft, Robert F. The Liturgy of the Hours in East and West. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1993. (recommended for purchase)
  • Taft, Robert F. ‘‘Cathedral vs. Monastic Liturgy in the Christian East: Vindicating a Distinction.” Bollettino della Badia Greca di Grottaferrata III, 62 (2005) 173-219.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Essay

Major Essay (3000 words)

3000 50.0
Essay

Short Essay (1000 words)

1000 20.0
Forum

Forum Reflections (4) (2000 words)

2000 30.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by John Capper on 19 Oct, 2017

Unit record last updated: 2022-10-31 15:51:27 +1100