A Shorter Liturgy - Differing Types of Liturgy and Examining

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Amazing presentation on the differing ways Liturgy can develop - after going to a youth conference discussing with young adults who've


Is a 20-minute Liturgy un-Orthodox? Why It’s Not as Laughable as You Might Think
Posted on June 10, 2015 by John Habib




As I attended a 20-minute mass at a Catholic cathedral (pictured above) right next to work during my lunch break with a colleague, I could not help but think of how many Orthodox Christians would scoff at the brevity of the service. But is it really that laughable? Here is why I believe it is absolutely Orthodox to allow, in certain circumstances, for a short (20-30 minute, beginning to end) liturgy in the Orthodox Church.

TWO COMMON RESPONSES

There are two responses people usually have when they confront the notion of a shorter liturgy:

1) Bring it on! Many respond enthusiastically, wishing they wouldn’t have to endure long liturgies ever again! I caution those who are eager to respond this way, as it gives me pause for concern to think of the lack of spiritual stamina to pray that such individuals have, and that they seem content to remain that way. Stamina to pray sincerely for long periods of time is a virtue that is sought by God and is to be pursued. What comes to mind from Scripture is the commandment that we “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:16), and also I recall Christ’s persistent request of His disciples to stay up and pray with him instead of going to sleep:

Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter,“What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:40–41).

2) Oh the horror! Heretics! The other extreme of how many respond is one of horror and dismay, as if just the mere mention or suggestion of a shorter liturgy is to have committed some great sacrilege or heresy, as if you have brought the abomination of desolation into the Church! Okay, maybe not that extreme, but you get my point.

LIMITED PURPOSE

Let me make clear at the outset that I do NOT advocate shortening all of our standard liturgical worship on Sundays or any other services (like Great Friday, etc.). Not at all.

What I do suggest, though, is that the Orthodox Church may acceptably use shorter liturgies for specific purposes. The one that sticks out in my mind the most is related to evangelism. Who hasn’t tried themselves or seen someone else bringing a friend/co-worker/potential spouse/classmate/etc. to liturgy on Sunday in an effort to introduce Orthodoxy to them? And for the overwhelming majority of those visitors, how often did we see them return? Some will say, “Don’t have them come to the liturgy to introduce them to Orthodoxy,” but I say, “Why not have them come to a short one?”

[Comment added here 6/16/15 in brackets: I wanted to just clarify this statement I made about evangelism above. I am very aware that the liturgy was never used historically as a means of evangelizing. Actually, Catechumens who were still being instructed were allowed to attend until the sermon was finished, and afterwards the deacon would ask everyone who is not baptized to leave. That command was taken out of the Coptic Church. I take that as an indication that we no longer require it. I’ve seen the actual command that used to be said, as mention of it still exists in the ordination rite of the deaconate (I forget which order, minor or major).

I notice that today, the liturgy is commonly used to introduce others to Orthodoxy. I think there are several reasons for offering a shortened liturgy outside of evangelism though. For example, the Catholic Church I mentioned above offers liturgy during the lunch hour is AMAZING. I wish I could attend a Coptic Liturgy in the middle of my work day, be fulfilled briefly and receive the Lord’s life-giving body and blood, and then get back to work. Also, imagine a Wednesday night liturgy and Bible Study, an hour at length total, including the liturgy. Now imagine bringing some college friends to attend that Christian gathering. I remember a former parishioner-convert who brought their non-Orthodox sister to liturgy. It didn’t prove helpful. Many people today utilize the liturgy as a means of introducing Orthodoxy and I think, if that is going to remain acceptable, then why not accommodate by offering something tailored for evangelism.]

BASIS FOR ACCEPTING A SHORTER LITURGY IN THE ORTHODOX CHURCH

The basis for accepting a shorter liturgy is simple: that’s how they used to be. I mean, can you imagine, right when Christianity began, that they were spending 4-5 hours praying a service?

I came to this realization when I was asked to speak about the history of the liturgy and researched how the early Church worshipped. Some people think that the same (or nearly the same) exact liturgical worship (the words, the length, the everything) has been around intact since around the time of the apostles until this day, unchanged for the most part. That’s simply not historically accurate.

What is true is that the basic structure of the liturgy seems to have been around since very early on, arguably since the time of the apostles. And it is this basic structure that I was so pleased to see followed to its fullest extent in the Catholic mass I attended. And it’s easy to remember! It’s based on a response His Grace Bishop Youssef gave to a question posed by some non-Egyptian visitors to a Coptic Church. They had just attended a liturgy and wanted to understand more about what it meant. Bishop Youssef’s explanation followed along the actions that Christ took during the Mystical Supper:

  1. Took bread – Offertory (This is where wine and the Corban bread is offered, and the one bread that will be used to serve as the Eucharist is chosen; cf.“took bread” — Matt. 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19)
  2. Give thanks Thanksgiving prayer (cf. “when He had given thanks” — 1 Cor. 11:24; Mark 14:23)
  3. Blessed it – Institution Narrative/Anamnesis (This is where we remember and reenact the Mystical Supper; The word anamnesis is the Greek word used in the Bible when Christ said to do this [the Mystical Supper) in reminiscenceor memory of Him. cf. “blessed … it” — Matt. 26:26; Mark. 14:22; 1 Cor. 11:23-29)
  4. Sanctified it – Epiclesis (This is where the canonical clergyman actually requests for the Holy Spirit to descend upon the bread and wine so that it may be changed to the Lord’s body and blood, and most of us unfortunately have no idea where in the liturgy this actually happens [In the Coptic Liturgy, it is after we sing the hymn “Amen Amen Amen, Your Death O Lord….,” followed by the deacon’s declaration that we worship before God, and then a commandment that we pay attention when the deacon says “let us attend]; cf. “For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed”— John 6:55)
  5. Gave it – Distribution (cf. “gave it to them” — Matt. 26:26-27; Mark. 14:23; Luke 22:19)
In addition to this basic structure you’ll find a very early Christian element of the Liturgy (I’ve found references to this as early as the Third Century in the writings of Hippolytus), which is the Anaphora (meaning “lifting up.”) What’s astonishing is the words used in this prayer, as recorded by Hippolytus 1700 years ago are virtually identical to what we pray in every Orthodox liturgy today:

Priest: The Lord be with you!
All: And with your spirit!
Priest: Let us lift up our hearts.
All: They are turned to the Lord!
Priest: Let us give thanks to the Lord.
All: It is right and just!

Moreover, in the Scriptures as well as in the early Church we find that the following other elements were part of worship:

  • Reading from Scripture (cf. 1 Tim. 4:13; 1 Th. 5:27; Col. 4:16)
  • Sermons (cf. Acts 20:17
  • Psalms and hymns (cf. 1 Cor. 14:26; Col. 3:16; Eph. 5:19)
  • Kiss of peace (cf. 1 Cor. 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:12; 1 Th. 5:26)
  • Saying “Amen” at the end of prayers (cf. 1 Cor. 14:16).
  • Communion for the baptized faithful only (cf. Heb 13:10)
It appears that in the early Church there was no extensive pre-set form of prayers as we have now, and that the bishop had freedom to pray within prescribed bounds and structure as shown above. One recent scholar, Fr. Dix, says:

The normal celebrant was, of course, the bishop, who certainly always had freedom to phrase the prayer as he wished within the traditional outline.

Likewise, we find Hippolytus of Rome in the Third Century offering a set of written prayers, but also noting that the bishop is not required to follow it:

Let the bishop give thanks in the manner described above. It is not, however, necessary for him to use the form of words set out there, as though he had to make the effort to say them by heart in his thanksgiving to God … only let him pray in sound orthodoxy.

And therein lies the key for why we have set pre-written liturgies today (e.g., the Liturgy of St. Basil, St. Cyril, St. John Chrysostom, etc.): priests and bishops started to introduce heresy in their prayers, and so set prayers were introduced as the norm to counteract the potential for that to occur.

WORD OF CAUTION

Shorter liturgies do NOT mean abbreviated, rushed-through full liturgies. As one commentator (thanks @anon) in one of my otherposts puts it:

Praying shorter liturgies and rushing through liturgies are two very different things.

Shorter liturgies may be acceptable under some circumstances, but I fear that our culture’s propensity to shorten, abbreviate and reduce an organic whole to its ‘fundamental’ components is something that must be avoided. Let us remember the Roman Catholic Church’s Vatican II reforms which ended in disaster. The shortening has to happen for legitimate pastoral reasons, and people being lazy is not one of those reasons.

On the other hand, rushing liturgies is NEVER acceptable! It is better to shorten the rite (appropriately) than to rush through a long rite. Liturgy is heaven on earth and we step out of chronological time and enter redeemed time (from chronos to kairos).

See this for why rushing liturgy is wrong:

http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2010/05/experience-of-time-and-eternity-in.html
AND http://becomeorthodox.org/orthodox-worship-and-the-senses/

_____________________________

SOURCES/FURTHER READING:

History of the Liturgy – My PowerPoint presentation from which the above post was written

Christ in the Eucharist, by Fr. Tadros Malaty

An early liturgy
 
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ArmyMatt

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I think my Liturgics prof would not be happy about shrinking a Liturgy to 20 minutes, especially when we have reader's services (including the DL). I think this would be a bad idea personally. leave the Liturgy alone.

being from a Coptic blog though, tis something for the Orientals to work out, and not the Orthodox. if they are cool with it tis aiight by me
 
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All4Christ

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I agree with AM; shortening the liturgy is a dangerous thing to do, in my opinion. There are shorter services which we can bring visitors if the length is too long. Vespers is great, and daily vespers is even more concise.

Once you start messing with liturgy though, it gets easier and easier to change it more drastically, even if it is small changes over time. There are many examples of this in other churches (take your pick :) )

Just my 2 cents (if this were to be proposed in the EO church)...
 
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gzt

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A quick but not rushed daily liturgy in Slavic style with only a handful of communicants can get from "Blessed is the Kingdom..." to the dismissal in 50 minutes. That seems fast enough to me.
 
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Yes I have been surprised when some of our daily Liturgy services, when sometimes a small number will attend, and we finish in under an hour.

That does seem brief enough.

I think I wouldn't feel right about coming over during my lunch hour and finishing the liturgy and receiving communion in 20-30 minutes? Father reminds us from time to time that if one is not in Church by the reading of the Gospel, one really should not commune, and I would probably feel that enough of my own time had not been given. I don't know - I wouldn't like it.
 
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ArmyMatt

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A quick but not rushed daily liturgy in Slavic style with only a handful of communicants can get from "Blessed is the Kingdom..." to the dismissal in 50 minutes. That seems fast enough to me.

that's how fast my wife can lead it (she was a choir director before we came to STOTS).
 
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gzt

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Definitely, though it does take two to tango: also need a speedy priest. The best-laid plans are mucked up if the litanies drag and the entrances are slow. Greeks could do it even more quickly, since they have shortened antiphons and excise a couple litanies.
 
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dzheremi

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This is not a good idea, and not a good rationale for it; he's essentially saying "it was probably shorter in the beginning, since I can't imagine it being as long as it is now in the first century". Fair enough, and historically true (what liturgy hasn't had some development since the early centuries of Christianity?), but I can't help but think that this misses the point. Whatever has been added since those days has been added for specific purposes, and ought not be removed for any reason at all. And if that means that this guy can't receive the Eucharist on his lunch break, then that's the cost of adhering to what we have received from the fathers of our Orthodox Church. If there is a need for some adaptation to local or particular circumstances (which is what it seems like this guy is advocating, based on his phrasing that such things "may be acceptable under some circumstances", which...yes, sure, fine...I don't know what those circumstances would be, but I don't want to assume I know everybody's circumstances), then chances are bishops and priests can figure it out. We don't need laypersons advocating something because they think it would be nice to have. If you only have X amount of time and want to do something to show your church's beauty and integration into everyday life to a Catholic or other non-Orthodox who is used to short forms of worship, why not show them the agpeya and how you pray from it? The Thanksgiving Prayer or Psalm 150 don't take a long while to pray (usually...), even in the Coptic tunes.

I'm sorry, but I just don't like this attitude that anything should be changed for any reason. 20-30 minute 'liturgies' are a bad idea in any church. Maybe you can have some other kind of service in that time (I don't know what), but not a liturgy.

And nobody in the Oriental Orthodox Church is actually proposing this just because it's on some Coptic guy's blog. Geez, people. :rolleyes:
 
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ArmyMatt

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And nobody in the Oriental Orthodox Church is actually proposing this just because it's on some Coptic guy's blog. Geez, people. :rolleyes:

we know, just pointing out that it is not our call either way. I am pretty sure the Coptic friends I know would not be down with a 30 minute liturgy
 
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dzheremi

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I know you know. I just felt the need to underline that fact in light of how some replies were phrased regarding what would happen if this were proposed in the EO church. Well...yes, fine, but nobody is proposing it here, either. It's a non-issue, not something for us to work out as though there is some kind of urgency involved here. (And I doubt the OP in this thread or the blog poster meant to seriously suggest such a thing; perhaps only to highlight why they think this is something worth thinking about/the potential positives and drawbacks of such an idea.)
 
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Many...I dare most parishes already do an abbreviated version, where many of the priest's prayers are said "silently" and even some parts of the litanies are skipped altogether. I'm not saying this is wrong, but it a reality. The reason behind these abbreviations is time. People seem to become unhappy when a service goes much over 1 hour - especially during football season.

If the objective is a short "lunch time" service that could draw people in a large metropolitan area - then I think perhaps another service would be better. Perhaps a modified 6th hour with some antidoron at the end?
 
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Unfortunately, this is an example of the creeping influence of Protestantism on Coptic Orthodoxy in America ( I don't know if it is a problem in Egypt)

Why do this when the Church has a wealth of services to draw from? It doesn't have to be the divine liturgy. We EO's and OO's have essentially the same cycle of services. There's no reason to edit the divine liturgy to 20 minutes when we both have the Hours, Compline, Vespers, etc. All these services can be done without a priest.
 
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Wryetui

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Liturgy has been like it is now for almost 17 centuries since John Chrysostom created it, and it has led people to salvation since then, why should we fix a thing that is not broken at all? Only because people "too busy" with their lifes can't find a spot for including the Church? I think not.
 
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Kristos

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Liturgy has been like it is now for almost 17 centuries since John Chrysostom created it, and it has led people to salvation since then, why should we fix a thing that is not broken at all? Only because people "too busy" with their lifes can't find a spot for including the Church? I think not.

Actually it has changed - change is not bad if the reason is good. That is part of the argument put forth - the liturgy has changed in the past so why not change it now if by changing it we can reach more people, maybe even some lost sheep - would not the kingdom of heaven rejoice if one was found who was lost? I don't agree - but it's non-sequitur to just claim that the liturgy can't change because it hasn't changed in 1700 years.
 
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The essence of the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is the same, why should we change it so people can like it? Why would we change because of the world? In my opinion, it is the world that has to change in order to please God, not viceversa.
 
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Also, I saw a post on FB about a Coptic Orthodox Church in the DC area that has multiple liturgies on Sundays, including a children's liturgy. I'm trying to wrap my mind around that. Why would you have a separate liturgy for children? This is exactly what Protestants do. In my time with OCF at a local university, we tried to developed a good relationship with the Coptic Club. In most ways, we succeeded at that. However, some of their members looked at our refusal to play praise and worship songs at our OCF meetings with some mild derision and mildly accused us of not being "ecumenical" enough.
 
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dzheremi

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The DC area has been a major problem in recent years for the Coptic Orthodox Church in America. Other bishops have mentioned this (e.g., HG Bishop Suriel of Melbourne, who has brought up that one of St. Mark's former priests copied Joel Olsteen word for word in one of his sermons; ughhhh), and more recently HH Pope Tawadros II formed a committee of bishops to investigate the complaints of the people about the DC area churches. So it is being addressed, thanks be to God, though I don't know what has happened since the committee visited DC. As the article I've linked to points out, it is a major problem that in large parts of the country there is very little effective oversight of churches due to a lack of bishops, so these places are placed under HH directly, which messes things up purely due to the distance involved. Until 2013, the entire country of Canada did not have any bishop to oversee it (now they have HG Bishop Mina), and some of the things I've heard about the dysfunction up there are almost unbelievable.

And, yes, apart from these structural issues, there is the problem of people being too accommodating to foreign/Protestant influence. I get the feeling that is a little easier in Egypt, maybe, where the Orthodox outnumber the Protestants by so many, but then I know that the Protestants are so insidious, they take advantage of poor and uneducated people like the zabaleen in Moqattam and before you know it there are issues and (again, thanks be to God) bishops like HG Bishop Abanoub have to lay down the law:


What we need is more people like HG and less of this "it's all Christianity" nonsense that being a minority in your own country for 1000 years apparently engenders in people. The heterodox take advantage of that and present themselves as helping the people and offering correction, but people these days are often lacking in the theological education to be able to tell why their confession is correct and that of the foreigners is not, and hence end up going down wrong roads for the sake of seeming "loving" or "ecumenical" or what have you, as you've unfortunately experienced. That is not the Coptic way, but it is the way of some Copts who don't know proper historical and present boundaries between their church and others'. Protestantism came relatively late to Egypt, but the Church has always opposed it going back to at least the days of HH Pope Demetrius II (d. 1870; the Protestants first showed up en masse in Egypt in the 1850s), who wrote a famous (but sadly obviously under-read in America) bull against it.
 
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Gxg (G²)

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Actually it has changed - change is not bad if the reason is good. That is part of the argument put forth - the liturgy has changed in the past so why not change it now if by changing it we can reach more people, maybe even some lost sheep - would not the kingdom of heaven rejoice if one was found who was lost? I don't agree - but it's non-sequitur to just claim that the liturgy can't change because it hasn't changed in 1700 years.
Indeed..

I think that as much as folks often try to speak of Protestantism somehow coming in because of claiming the Liturgy not changing, they do not realize where the line of argumentation is actually a form of Radical Protestantism in the sense that they believe in a form of "Pure Church Restorationism" as if no changes ever occurred and to advocate change means to be against the Church.


Within the EO world, I am glad for others who've done an excellent job pointing this out when it comes to Liturgy - the ways it is often misunderstood and the ways that people not only forget the reasons behind why Liturgy is done - but the ways that many in Orthodoxy often miss the ability for adaptation because they don't know the roots of traditions. It's a very interesting commentary on the historical development of the Liturgy by Sister Vassa (Larin), given at St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral in Washington, DC. Very well done

What she noted with young adults was truly powerful and I was so glad she shared as she did....liturgy HAS changed and it would be intellectually dishonest for anyone to try claiming such ...

Change has already occurred in several differing ways. Many have actually noted the same dynamics with "change means no Orthodoxy!!!" when it comes to differing methods that Liturgy has been conveyed - even though it has been a benefit to see the ways adaptation has occurred for outreach and aiding others in connecting with the Lord. I am glad, for example, for Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church since they do digital services - as seen in Live Broadcast - St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church. Additionally, this has been one of the more helpful resources that has blessed me:



The Divine Liturgy Broadcast from St. Demetrios is done every week and OCN broadcasts live the Divine Liturgy served at St. Demetrios Church of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. A lot of places with the live broadcasts have been operating for some time - many of them listed at Online Chapel → Live Internet Broadcasts of Church Services → Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.....Although depending on the specific jurisdiction you belong to (i.e. Greek Orthodox vs Antiochian Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, etc.), you may not find services from where you belong.

They just started branching out within the OO communion. Have you heard of Aghapy TV - The Coptic Orthodox Church's First Satellite TV Station?


The Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate started its own Coptic Orthodox Christian satellite television station a few months ago. For the idea was to provide Copts and Arabic-speaking Christians all over the world beneficial programming to counter the evils of society. Currently, there is now a petition to bring Aghapy TV to DishNetwork in the United States and Canada. Many have noted how many are in places where they are not allowed to even meet in church buildings or be present with others - and having access to Divine Liturgy via online service/edification is a big deal to keep others connected however they can. For there truly are times people are simply left alone for a myriad of reasons....with this needing to be accounted for.


And with the use of adaptation, things have occurred in a myriad of ways. I am reminded of what occurred when it came to the branch of Orthodoxy I investigated service with was a Coptic Orthodox fellowship (with the priest speaking using an iPad as well for his sermon notes..more shared here in #37 and here / #80 ). The screens were used mainly to show what words were being prayed during the Liturgy. I heard of other Orthodox fellowships within Eastern Orthodoxy that use other technological means like screens (as well as pews), but I didn't know if it was widespread - and was shocked at hearing others claim "PROTESTANTS are taking over!!" at the mere mention of any technological advancement - or even saying that using chairs/pews and screens was going against the heart of Orthodoxy.

But as it concerns the basis of any kind of reactions based in "That's Protestat!!!", WE actually dishonor the memory of the Church and its Popes when we do so. The Popes (at least in the Coptic Church) have often addressed the very issue on several occassions - and when it comes to those dynamics in play, I always go back to Pope Kyrillos (Cyril) IN his extensive work with others/reference irregardless of if they were Protestant - and His Grace Bishop Angaelos, General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the UK - who has worked with RCs and Protestants repeatedly in keeping the GOSPEL of Christ central:




I appreciate what he has noted, when it comes to adaptation in light of the actual example of the EArly Church - and events where Protestant styles of worship have occurred in the Church consistently and reasonably.. We can start with events like the 2014 Coptic Youth COnference in Canada..with spoken word presentations and songs used in Protestant Churches, under the leadership of H.H. Pope Tawadros​


Saw the same thing when at the Coptic South Eastern Diocese Youth Retreat - where prior to Divine Liturgy, the youth were singing with guitar to the song "I could sing of your love forever" and other Protestant songs. They and the leaders noted that it is not an "either or" dynamic when it comes to Protestant thought/using Protestant resources as if it is somehow a turf war where one can never note appreciation (and they were all Copts, to set the record straight)....and this is not unique AND HAS been discussed before. There is a difference between incorrect practices that are essential to the faith and those that are peripheral. And of course, with the same conferences I've gone to for the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States, the UNITY of LOVE concept has been explained in-depth many times. Generally, only people who have convertitis assume that anything Protestant used by Copts or OO is automatically "heresy" and this has come up often....and the same goes for a lot of battles within the Coptic world when it comes to failure to remember that noting people as fellow Christians led to a loss of Orthodoxy is NOT the same as saying that appreciating/referencing thought from other Non-Orthodox Christians means Orthodox ideology does not remain distinct. There are plenty who've noted that extremes occurring do not equate to going with things as they should - as DC-Coptic Churches have had to note when it comes to the allegations brought to them by others in the Coptic Church because they have actually gone and visited churches of others or referenced them in differing ways - and have gone counter to the Radical Protestant ideology that says no changes in Liturgical practices have ever happened or the claim that nothing outside of the Coptic experience is 'of the Lord' when the truth is that people have gotten out of an exclusive mentality that limits the work of Crist. Some of this been discussed before here and here in Father Anthony speaks to President Obama: Ancient Churches & the President of the U.S
 
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