- Aug 27, 2014
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Firstly, may all who celebrate the glorious mystery of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ's defeat of death through His holy resurrection from the dead today be blessed in their celebrations. I know things are especially hard for you all, as they are for all of us in every place, but we will not fear anything, because truly, Christ is risen!
As you might expect if you are reading this, we in the Coptic Orthodox Church, being followers of the Coptic/Egyptian calendar, are on a bit of a different schedule than Western Christianity is, so our celebration of the Resurrection is not until next Sunday, April 19th, 2020. I will post that celebration in its due time, but today is also worth highlighting for us, as today is Hosanna Sunday, marking our Lord's arrival in Jerusalem. Here are the celebrations from St. Mary and St. Moses abbey in Texas, USA with HG Bishop Youssef of the Southern United States Diocese:
This special time in the Church's journey through the year includes several hymns and responses unique to it, such as the Paralex hymn which reads:
This is also the time of the General Funeral, since funerals are forbidden to be held during this holy time, so a general one is held in memory of those who depart during this time. (I assume that proper funerals are then held after Holy Week, but honestly I do not know, as the issue never came up in my parish.)
May God bless us all and keep us safe during this holy week as we enter into His death and resurrection.
As you might expect if you are reading this, we in the Coptic Orthodox Church, being followers of the Coptic/Egyptian calendar, are on a bit of a different schedule than Western Christianity is, so our celebration of the Resurrection is not until next Sunday, April 19th, 2020. I will post that celebration in its due time, but today is also worth highlighting for us, as today is Hosanna Sunday, marking our Lord's arrival in Jerusalem. Here are the celebrations from St. Mary and St. Moses abbey in Texas, USA with HG Bishop Youssef of the Southern United States Diocese:
This special time in the Church's journey through the year includes several hymns and responses unique to it, such as the Paralex hymn which reads:
He who sits upon the Cherubim, riding a colt, entered into Jerusalem, what is this great humility?
They praise Him with alertness: saying, "This is Emmanuel: Hosanna in the Highest, this is the King of Israel
They praise Him with alertness: saying, "This is Emmanuel: Hosanna in the Highest, this is the King of Israel
This is also the time of the General Funeral, since funerals are forbidden to be held during this holy time, so a general one is held in memory of those who depart during this time. (I assume that proper funerals are then held after Holy Week, but honestly I do not know, as the issue never came up in my parish.)
May God bless us all and keep us safe during this holy week as we enter into His death and resurrection.
