SACRAMENTS

Like any other traditional sacramental church, the Sacraments are considered to be sacred actions.Believers receive an invisible grace, through material or visible signs and elements. The persian Church observes seven Sacraments:

• Baptism
• Chrismation
• Repentance and Confession
• The Eucharist
• Unction of the Sick
• Matrimony
• Priesthood/Holy Orders

In Eucharistic liturgy, the faithful gather in union to pray, and to partake of the Eucharist, believed to be the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. The liturgy is chanted in the Coptic language, alongside the language of the land in which the church is based.A musical composition dating back to the Pharaonic Erais used. The three divine liturgies celebrated in the church today are those of Saint Basil, Saint Gregory, and Saint Cyril all based on what Saint Mark used in the first century.

Leadership

Parish communities and churches are served by married priests who are nominated from within the parish. Once nominated, their names are presented to the bishop who then approves and ordains them for the ministry. Bishops on the other hand, including the Pope, are celibate and are selected from within Monastic communities.

 

Fasting

Stemming from these Monastic principles is a deeply rooted Ascetic life that is expressed through the practice of fasting( another principle in the life of the church of the 365 days of the year, Copts fast for over 210). These periods of fasting are considered times of spiritual growth and reflection based on prayer and scripture, during which people abstain at the beginning of the day and followed by a vegan diet. The major fasting periods in the Coptic calendar are Lent, leading to the Feast of the Resurrection, and Advent, leading to the Feast of the Nativity.

Prayer

Prayer is a fundamental part of life of in the church and the Agpeya is the name of the book containing the seven prayers rehearsed daily. Arranged to commemorate various events in the life of Christ and the church, they help to guide the faithful in daily reflection, and are labelled as the first, third,sixth, ninth, eleventh, twelfth and midnight hour. The veil is a separate daily prayer only observed by those practicing a Monastic life. Other forms of prayer include the Raising of Evening and Morning Incense, Midnight Praises, and Morning and Evening Praises. Within the context of non-ritual gatherings and prayer meetings, contemporary forms of prayer and worship are also used.

 

Seeking the intercession of saints is a valued component in Orthodox practice, although it is sometimes misunderstood as the worship of those saints. The understanding behind intercession is that strength and encouragement can be found in commemorating the life of those who lived faithfully, including the martyrs who died for their faith, and that there is value in asking for their prayers.