The Coptic and Ethiopian liturgies are textually similar but quite different in style and setting. The Coptic liturgy is sober and restrained, while the Ethiopian liturgy is full of life and exuberance.
Legend has it that Christianity spread to Egypt at the hands of St. Mark, and to Ethiopia via the eunuch of Candace (Acts 8:26–40). The legends concerning Mark attribute to him the complete shaping of the church in Alexandria: he was bishop and first patriarch, ordained deacons, presbyters, and other bishops, and in general was responsible for establishing the church order that was in fact a much later development (see Aziz S. Atiya, A History of Eastern Christianity [London: Methuen, 1968]). With regard to Egypt it is more likely that, because of the commerce between Jerusalem and Alexandria, the path of Christianity’s spread was much less precise. As for Ethiopia, it is not until the fourth century, under Frumentius and Aedesius of Tyre, that any authentic evangelization is recorded (Donald Attwater, The Christian Churches of the East, rev. ed. [Milwaukee: Bruce Publishing Co., 1947] vol. 1, 138), with more serious evangelization coming still later at the hands of Monophysite monks from Syria.
In the sixth century, however, the Coptic church was given missionary responsibility for Ethiopia, and the church there came under the jurisdiction of the Coptic patriarch of Alexandria, a dependency, and although the Ethiopian church had other influences as well, and indeed does have its own particular liturgical “flavor,” the two can be taken to constitute a single liturgical tradition. This tradition is Alexandrian in its theological outlook, dominantly Monophysite in its Christology, and in many ways it is the polar opposite of the traditions rooted in Antioch.
The Coptic liturgy is austere, and quite evidently the product of monastic origins. Among the Ethiopians the liturgy is far more colorful, with dance, elaborate costume, and a far more vibrant musical setting. Textually, however, the two liturgies are similar. The Coptic text cited here is from The Coptic Morning Service for the Lord’s Day, translated by John Patrick Crichton Stuart (London, 1980); the Ethiopian text, which has been modified and somewhat simplified, is taken from The Ordinary and the Anaphora of the Apostles, edited by T. Baraki (Washington, D.C., 1984).
The Coptic Liturgy
The Coptic liturgy employs three readings before the gospel itself: from the letters of Paul, from the catholic epistles, and from the Acts of the Apostles. Attached to each is a lengthy prayer. Between these readings and the gospel, there are a series of petitions, accompanied by additional reverences to (processions around) the altar, an offering of incense on behalf of the people, and the trisagion. After the gospel, which is greeted in a solemn and elaborate procession, the priest prays the gospel prayer (“ … may we be made worthy to hear Thine holy gospels, and may we keep thy precepts and commandments … ”). Catechumens may have been dismissed at this point.
Pre-anaphora. A prayer is prayed privately by the priest as he approaches the altar (prayer of the veil). The priest then introduces the intercessions which are each led by the deacon (response of the people: “Lord, have mercy”) and augmented by the priest. The ministers, the people, and the altar are incensed and all proclaim the Nicene Creed.
Anaphora. As in the other Eastern liturgies, the greeting of peace precedes the eucharistic prayer. The eucharistic prayer of Basil is West Syrian in its structure: thanksgiving narrative, which includes the “Holy, Holy, Holy” and the Supper narrative, anamnēsis, epiklēsis, intercessions, and doxology. The institution narrative is interspersed with frequent acclamations of the people (“Amen”), as is the epiklēsis (“Amen” and “I believe”). The intercessions, which include a reading of the diptychs of the dead, are quite lengthy.
Post-anaphora. The prayer of fraction, which precedes the Lord’s Prayer, includes acclamations of faith in the presence of Christ and acts of adoration. The Lord’s prayer is followed by several prayers of remembrance and one of absolution (addressed to the Father). The gifts are presented (“The holy to the holy”), and after a further series of preparation prayers, including an additional proclamation of faith (“I believe, I believe, I believe and confess till the last breath that this is the life-giving flesh which thine only begotten Son, our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ took from our lady, the lady of us all, the holy mother of God, the holy Mary … ”), Communion is distributed. The liturgy concludes with prayer, blessing, and dismissal.
The Ethiopian Liturgy
The Ethiopian tradition knows of at least 22 eucharistic prayers, unique among which is one addressed in part to the Virgin Mary. The most commonly used, however, is the anaphora “of the Apostles,” which is in fact an Alexandrian derivation from the prayer of Hippolytus (third-century Rome), and a variant on the Coptic anaphora of St. Cyril. The liturgical language is Ge’ez, though it is usually celebrated in the contemporary vernacular, Amharic.
Introductory Rites. After the opening sign of the cross (a remnant of the Coptic office of incense), the priest announces: “How wondrous this day and how marvelous this hour in which the Holy Spirit will come down from the high heaven and overshadow this offering and sanctify it.” This same text is employed in the West Syrian liturgy as a diaconal announcement prior to the epiklēsis.
Attention is then turned to the offerings with the same lengthy ritual form as in the Coptic liturgy. The bread is blessed (“Christ, our true God, sign with your right hand [sign of the cross] and bless this bread [sign of the cross], hallow it with your power and strengthen it with your Spirit”). The offering is made (again, a West Syrian text), the chalice is blessed, and then the bread and wine both are given the Trinitarian blessing. A doxology introduces a prayer of thanksgiving and another of absolution, and the first anaphora (addressed to Christ) is begun. Reminiscent of Theodore of Mopsuestia, whose theology is evident in both the East Syrian and West Syrian traditions, the prayer of the veil, as the celebrant covers the bread and wine, recalls: “What we have placed upon this blessed paten is in the likeness of the sepulcher in which you stayed three days and three nights … ” Long prayers of general intercession conclude the introductory rites.
Liturgy of the Word. The liturgy of the Word begins with an invitation to stand, a greeting of peace, and invitation to adore “the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit, three persons, one God,” and the prayer to Mary, recited by all (“You are the golden censer, that bore the glowing charcoal … ”). The traditional four readings are reduced to two though the “readings prayers” have been retained. Between the Epistle and the Gospel praises of Mary and the trisagion are prayed and the blessing of the four “cardinal points” is given.
Pre-anaphora. The rites before the eucharistic prayer include a prayer of blessing and intercession, the creed, a prayer of purification (washing of hands), a doxology (“Glory to God in the heavens, and peace on earth to men of goodwill”), and a kiss of peace.
Anaphora. The anaphora of the apostles is essentially the Hippolytus text, with the “Holy, Holy, Holy” and other acclamations of the people included. There are, as in the original, no intercessions within the eucharistic prayer proper.
Post-anaphora. A complex fraction rite follows the eucharistic prayer, and, together with a prayer of thanksgiving, introduces the Lord’s Prayer. This is followed by a series of prayers (of blessing, for forgiveness, of remembrance—including the commemoration of the dead). When the gifts are presented to the people (“Holy things to the holy”), a prayer over penitents and a profession of faith in the Eucharist is made (“I believe, I believe, I believe and profess … ”). Final prayers of preparation for Communion follow.
After Communion, there are prayers of thanksgiving, an imposition of hands in blessing of the people, a final blessing and dismissal.
Theology and Spirit
The Alexandrian theological tradition stands in contrast to the Antiochene on several counts. Its emphasis on the majesty and otherness of God is stronger, its ability to deal with the fullness of the incarnation weaker. In Trinitarian theology, it tends towards subordinationism, of Son to Father, of Spirit to both. In Christology, it tends to emphasize the divine over the human. In liturgical theology, it tends to stress the spiritual meaning of the symbols and the eternal realm in which that meaning resides. The sanctuary screen in the Coptic churches separates heaven from earth rather than uniting the two and bridging the gap.
Probably the most notable piece in both the Coptic and Ethiopian liturgies is the attention given to the bread and wine in the introductory rites and the seemingly consecratory “first anaphora” to Christ. There is a parallel in the Coptic baptismal liturgy which may illuminate this prayer. Before the baptism, ordinary water is solemnly “consecrated” for the baptism; afterward, with a prayer equally as solemn, it is “returned to ordinary use.” It is as though materials of the earth, in this case, the bread and wine, require a preliminary “consecration” to render them fit for the subsequent consecratory actions of God.
Equally of note, at least in the Coptic version of this liturgical tradition, is the attention paid to the altar. The altar is the altar of sacrifice which the priest approaches unworthily. Many of the processions around the altar, including kissing the altar’s four corners, accompany prayers of intercession offered in worship to God. The altar is likewise a symbol of the one who is offered (“We adore thee, O Christ, and thy good Father, and the Holy Ghost. Behold, thou hast come, thou hast saved us”—said while incensing the altar). Placing the gifts upon the altar places them as well on the altar above (“Receive them upon thine holy reasonable altar in heaven for a sweet savor of incense”—said while incensing the gifts placed upon the altar).
Finally, the place of Mary is unique. She is called the “censer of gold” whose “sweet cloud is our Savior” (Coptic) and the “golden censer that bore the glowing charcoal whom the blessed One … accepted from the sanctuary” (Ethiopian). She is also the one who makes strong supplication for us before God.