The History of the Rite of Holy Week in the Coptic Orthodox Church

The History of the Rite of Holy Week in the Coptic Orthodox Church is a scholarly study by Associate Professor Youhanna Nessim Youssef, for anyone who wants to know where the Coptic rite of Holy Week (Pascha Week) came from and how it grew.

The Coptic Church is one of the most ancient churches in the world. As an Orthodox Church, almost all of its rites can be traced back to the Apostolic era, with little change in their ritual parts. Yet there is a gap in the literature on complex composite rites such as the Coptic Holy Week, a gap that has been better addressed for other traditions, such as the Byzantine Church.

This book is one of the first to gather and analyse different sources to trace the origin and development of the Coptic rite of Holy Week. Today, each hour of Pascha Week follows a similar pattern: prophecies, the paschal praise, psalm, Gospel, exposition and daytime litanies, with special hymns at key hours such as the 6th hour of Good Friday. But it was not always so.

The current rite comes mainly from a very early 4th-century Christian tradition, and was enriched over the centuries with readings and hymns for various reasons. The author examines sources across ten centuries, from many different writers, to draw a clear map of how the modern rite and lectionary developed.

Book details

• Author: Dr Youhanna Nessim Youssef
• Format: Printed book
• Published: 2023, St Shenouda Press
• ISBN: 9780645770308