Modern Sons of the Pharaohs by Simon Henry Leeder

Author:Simon Henry Leeder [Leeder, Simon Henry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Geschichte
Publisher: Jazzybee Verlag
Published: 2017-10-26T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER II. The People at Worship

WITH these explanations we may now return to the cathedral congregation, with a possibility of understanding in some measure the service in which it is taking part. One thing we may notice is that they have no printed book of any sort with them; the whole service is recited from inscribed books.

Another remarkable feature is, that notwithstanding the great length of service (which on Sunday morning includes the long service of the offering of the Morning Incense, previous to the Holy Eucharist), lasting about four hours, there is no provision for the men to sit down. Though perhaps not one of these men intend to partake of the sacrament they will all have to come fasting, arriving at the church between seven and eight o'clock in the morning, and knowing that the service will not finish until between eleven and twelve. Moreover, most of the long prayers will be in Coptic, a language in no way understood of the people; indeed, it is doubtful if many of the priests understand more than the rote of the Coptic parts of the service, which they are obliged to learn.

It is extraordinary how persistent all through the history of the Coptic Church has been a belief in the merit of standing before God. Standing up, said one of the old monks, is a sign of the humility of the primitive man. So great a merit did standing become in the days when the body was utterly contemned, that competition in spiritual excellence went so far as to lead certain brethren to stand for whole nights in prayer, only to be eclipsed by others who continued praying for forty nights without bending the knees. Then others went further still, and took covenants with God never at any time to sit or lie down, thus seeking to win approval of Him, and renown for their own monastery. For forty years certain brethren in one monastery neither leaned upon anything nor lay down.

In this way standing at prayer became a holy way of life, which the Council of Nicæa (A.D. 325) made into a rule of the Church, by decreeing that “everywhere prayers be offered to God in a standing posture.”

Of late years a few benches have been introduced, but they are not favoured by the old-fashioned men of pious habits. Only the very aged or the ailing are supposed to take advantage of them, though I have seen a tendency on the part of the men of Western education to sit down during some of the many Scripture readings in the services.

The crutch which is so often seen in Coptic churches may be said to punctuate another page of the Church's history. When the pains of the body were no longer compensated by the deep religious fervour which had courted them, and men grew slack towards God, they thought they might by subterfuge escape suffering and yet retain their credit with Him. They had not the courage to decline the

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