THE PROCESSION OF INCENSE

After the priest finishes praying the litanies at the door of the sanctuary he enters the sanctuary, saying, "By the grace, compassion, and love of mankind of Your Only Begotten Son, Our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ, through Whom glory, honor...." He then puts one spoonful of incense into the censer and makes a sign of the cross, saying, "Glory and honor, honor and glory to the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit now and forevermore, Amen." Then he offers incense over the altar three times;

* The first time he says, "We worship You 0 Christ our God, with Your gracious Father and the Holy Spirit, for You have come and saved us."

· The second time he says, "But as for me, I will come into your house in the multitude of your mercy. In fear of You, I will worship towards your holy temple."

· The third time the priest says, "Before the angels I will sing praises to you. I will worship toward your holy temple." (Psalm 138:1-2)

The VIRGIN'S INCENSE

THE HEAVENLY INCENSE

Then the priest turns towards the West and, raising incense, says, "Hail to the hosts of angels and my fathers the apostles, the martyrs, and all the saints."

While facing West the priest views the worshippers standing in their rows, appearing to be in awe and reverence, reminding him of heaven where hosts of angels, apostles and saints are standing before the Lord's throne, praising Him endlessly. The priest then offers incense to the congregation.

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST'S INCENSE

Moving to the south of the sanctuary door, the priest then stands before the icon of John the Baptist, son of Zacharias, and says,

Hail to John, son of Zacharias, hail to the priest the son of the High."

The icon of John the Baptist is placed on the Southern side of the sanctuary's door, next to the icon of our Lord Jesus Christ.³

The priest once again raises incense towards the East, saying, "Let us worship our Savior, the Good Lover of mankind, because He has had compassion upon us and has come and saved us."

In raising the incense towards the East, the priest has completed a full circle, signifying that the start and the end of the offering is to God alone, for He is the beginning and the end, "the Alpha and the Omega" (Rev.22: 13).

He then offers the incense to the Lectionary (Coptic first), then the

(Arabic/English), while saying, "We worship the Gospel of our Lord

Jesus Christ to Whom is the Glory forever. Amen.".

He takes the blessings of the Bible by touching it with his hand and then kisses it. The 'Katameros' (the Lectionary) should be opened to the correct readings, while the priest is offering this incense.

The OFFERING OF INCENSE TO HOLY RELICS OR A HIGH PRIEST

If there are holy relics of saints in the church, the priest is to offer them incense.

There is no formal written note as to what the Pope or Bishop says in response to being offered incense, however, the author has heard a Bishop respond with the same prayer as that with which a priest responds, saying, "The Lord preserve your priesthood like Melchizedek, Aaron, Zacharias and Simeon the priests of the Most High God, Amen.

These are the prostrations offered to God during our individual or public worship, such as at the beginning of each of the hourly prayers when we say "Lord have mercy...." St. Isaac said about such prostrations, "Bow at the beginning of your worship, asking God from your heart, with humiliation, to give you patience and control over your thoughts during prayers." Mar John Casian said about the monks in Egypt, "I saw them in prayer. When they have finished reciting the Psalm they do not prostrate themselves in a hurry, as if it is a duty they want to get out of the way, like many of us do. On the contrary, they stand for a while to raise a short prayer, then they prostrate themselves in awe and great devotion. After that, they get to their feet in a brisk manner, standing uprightly with all their thoughts absorbed in prayer."

The Church's Canon defines the number and arrangement of such prostration’s by saying, "the worshipper starts his prayer either with one or three prostration’s. He should kneel down after each psalm or praise, or whenever the words "kneeling down" are contained in the prayer." Believers (and in particular monks) who prostrate themselves as a daily routine during prayer follow these regulations. The aim of prostration is to offer thanks to the Lord for His great mercies, or for His help in a certain matter. These are known as thanksgiving prostrations.

· "Grant me, 0 Lord, the life of patience and tolerance", or,

· "Grant me, 0 Lord, the life of complete love", or focusing on any of the other virtues.

Also a person may devote a number of prostrations on behalf of those who have asked him to pray for them. He may be motivated to offer

Worships for them without their knowledge through his love for them and his awareness of their needs. One may also devote some prostrations to the Lord for the Church and its fathers, or for the safety of the world and its leaders, and so on.

On the topic of prostration in prayer, Mar Isaac said,

· "Do not think that prostrating yourself before God is a light matter. None of all the good deeds equals persevering in completing prayers with prostration’s." He also said,

· "Compel yourself to kneel down before God, for this invigorates the spirit of prayer." Also,

* "Persistence in offering bows every now and then, will give the vigilant worshipper the ideal atmosphere for worshipping." And also,

* "A love for continual prostration before God during prayer is an indication that the soul has died to the world and has realized the mystery of the new life."

There are two types of these prostrations:

* Offering metanias to God, asking Him to have mercy on us, to give us the life of repentance and to forgive us our sins. These prostrations may be given as a task from our father of confession for the repentance of a certain sin, either for practice or as a corrective measure.

* Offered by a person to his brethren after a meeting of discussion or reconciliation. The other party should accept these metanias and offer a similar metania in return, then they should shake hands in love,

· Reconciliation and forgiveness, as it is written in the Bible,

He once said: "I once heard demons say to each other, 'Every time we are found between monks, we see them offering metanias to each other, suppressing our powers'."

There are two kinds of these prostrations:

With such prostration’s we also honor God, Who worked in them and led them to the shores of eternal peace. Through honoring the saints we also ask for their prayers and intercessions, as they reflect the Light of Christ. As the saints are a mirror image of the Light of Christ, this Light is then transmitted to us.

The prayers and intercessions of the saints are a formidable power and blessing, working in favor of our salvation and spiritual well being. In heaven the saints fulfill the Lord's Will by caring and supplicating for us. Here on earth, we too fulfill God's will by honoring their commemorations and glorifying their relics and icons. We also ask them to envelop us with their love and prayers of intercession. There are no barriers between heaven and earth, but instead, a strong communication between the saints, and us based on supplication and prayers.

Every strain that was felt by St. Paul left a mark on his body. This happens to everyone. When an autopsy is performed on someone's skull, they find that his knowledge, his feelings and sensations, and his spiritual, mental and carnal experiences have all left marks on his brain. These marks are known as wrinkles. Affected also are most of the body's organs."

The struggles of life leave marks not only on the outside of the body, but also on every cell inside the body. This is why the same body that slept will rise in resurrection; whatever one sews he will reap. Each body therefore differs from every other body. In resurrection, the molecules of one body will not be mixed with those of other bodies, despite decomposition. In other words, there will be no mix up between bodies because each individual body will have the marks of his own life, and that will distinguish it from all the others. For this reason we honor the relics of the saints. We realize and we believe that those relics were the dwellings of the saints, and on every part of these relics are the marks of their lives. Every bone of St. Athanasious, for example, bears the qualities of St. Athanasious. Every molecule of his organs or his bones summarizes his whole life.

ii.) Metanias offered to the fathers of the Church, the Patriarch or bishops, are the second type of Prostration’s of Honor in which we honor them as a sign of our love and obedience as they are ambassadors for Christ and successors of the Apostles in the holy Church. We also prostrate in worship to the Holy Sprit, which dwells in them, through which they consecrate altars and ordain priests and deacons.

The Holy Bible is full of evidence that Prostration’s of Honor to the clergy are proper. Here are just four examples taken from many.

· Thirdly, the third captain of fifty men fell on his knees before Elijah (2 Kings 1:13).

· Finally, King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face before Daniel (Dan.2: 46).

History also tells us that Abba Antonio’s the great, father of all monks, used to honor the clergymen. Apostolic St. Athanasious, wrote in his famous book, 'The Life of Abba Antonio’s', "...moreover, he was docile and meek with a humble spirit. Although he had reached very high standards himself, he still strictly observed the Church Canon and tended to honor all clergymen more than himself. He never shunned away from bowing before Bishops of priests.”

In the biography of Apostolic Patriarch Athanasious, the twentieth Pope of Alexandria, we read, "When Abba Macidonious, Bishop of Phyla Island in Nuba, slept in the Lord, the people chose priest Marcus, one of his disciples to take his place. A deputation of the people accompanied priest Marcus, the Bishop Designate, to Alexandria to see Pope Athansious regarding the consecration. When they arrived in Alexandria and asked for the Pope, he was nowhere to be found in the Patriarchate or in the church as he was known to have loved seclusion and calmness. Someone told the delegation that the Pope had been hiding in a small monastery west of Alexandria and he volunteered to take them there. As the delegation approached the monastery, a deacon came out to meet them and they told him of the delegation's mission. The deacon went back inside the monastery and told the Pope. The delegation went inside and fell down on their knees to the ground at the sight of the Pope. The Holy Spirit had already revealed to the Pope the reason for the delegation's mission and of the selection of Marcus as successor to Abba Macidonious before they had even arrived."

In the Sinaxarium (20th Toot) is the story of St. Theobesty, who, although her husband had died while she was still in the prime of her life, she pledged to wear the robe of monks. She went to see Abba Maccari, Bishop of Nicea (in the province of Menoufia, Egypt) and knelt down before him. After receiving his blessings she asked him to pray over her and dress her in the robe of monks. These examples show us that Prostration’s of Honor before the Patriarchs and the Bishops is an old and established tradition in the holy church.

This procedure occurs during the raising of the Morning or Vespers Incense, and also in the Liturgy. After the priest offers the incense to the attending Patriarch or Bishop he incenses to the priests who are present. The priest who performs the Incense Round opens the palms of his hands, the censer still hanging from the little finger of his right hand. He then says to the hegemony, "I ask you, my father the hegemony, to remember me in your prayers, so that our Lord Jesus may forgive me my numerous sins." The hegemony places his right palm on the open left palm of the serving priest and then turns his hand over with the back of his hand touching the priest's palm. Moving his hand, he then does the same thing on the priest's right palm. He performs the whole procedure twice through, after which the two of them hold hands and prostrate before each other, kissing each other's hand. At this time, the hegemony responds to the priest's request by saying, "May the Lord preserve your priesthood like Melchizedek, Aaron, Zacharias and Simeon, the priests of the Most High God, Amen."

The above procedure takes place when the priest who is incensing is the associate priest and not the serving priest (the one offering the sacrifice). If the incensing priest is also the serving priest, the hegemony says, "May the Lord accept your sacrifice like Melchizedek, Aaron, Zacharias and Simeon, the priests of the Most High God, Amen", the word sacrifice being substituted for the word priesthood.

Supplications to the Lord. This intention can be seen in the incensing priest's request of his associate which asks the associate to pray for him, while they offer incense to the Lord together, coupled with a supplication for the Lord's assistance.

· The tradition of offering incense to the clergy is still followed in some other orthodox Churches.

· The detail given in the Liturgy to describe the offering of incense to the clergy is evidence of its importance as being a proper rite of the church.

· It is stated here that the offering of incense to a Bishop is the same as offering it to a priest, except for the difference in the number of

Hands offered (3 to the bishop, 2 to the hegemony and 1 to the presveter).

After incensing before the clergymen, the Incense Tour around the Church begins. Most churches nowadays have four rows of pews, with three aisles between them; to the North, south, and central. When the community of Incense finishes, the priest walks to the North of the sanctuary door to the iconostacis and offers incense before the icons of the angels, the apostles and saints. Here he prays such prayers as:

· "Hail to the martyr, Saint Mina", before the icon of Saint Mina, or

· "Hail to the Saint Abba Antonious", before the icon of Abba Antonious.

He then continues offering incense before the icons on the North side of the iconostacis.

· During Morning Incense: "The blessing of the Morning incense be with us, Amen."

He then walks to the NorthWest corner of the Church behind all the seats at the back and then walks south until he reaches the center walkway. He walks down the center walkway towards the East until he reaches the middle sanctuary door, then he turns South to the iconostacis and offers incense to the icons there. He continues incensing before the icons on the South side of the iconostacis until he reaches the Southern sanctuary door where he bows and offers incense to the icons.

Moving from the Southern door the priest then he proceeds Westward down the Southern-most aisle of the Church, offering incense to the congregation and blessing them while repeating the phrase, "The Holy blessing of Vespers Incense/Matin Incense be with us, Amen.”

In ancient churches the words, "Hail to the sanctuary of God the Father", was written on the front of the sanctuary door. The Church insists on calling it the sanctuary of "God the Father" for three reasons:

* A) the Liturgy that is celebrated in the sanctuary is for God the Father.

· b) The sacrifice of the Liturgy is the Body and Blood of God the Son.

* c) God, also being The Holy Spirit, sanctifies the mysteries and turns them into the True Body and Blood of Christ.

The priest offers incense to the icons of the martyrs and saints, believing that they are with us in spirit and praying with the priest. The martyrs and saints accept the incense and support us with their prayers and supplications exactly as though they were living; as they are now living in the unseen victorious Church while we are living in the struggling Church on earth.

Incense is only offered before icons that have been consecrated by the holy Mayroun oil. There is a special ritual for consecrating the icons, which is performed by a bishop.⁶

THE FIVE AWESOME CONTEMPLATORY VERSES

Before he reaches the place of the Passover (Holy Week) Prayers, the priest recites the first verse of the Five Contemplatory Verses, saying, "Jesus Christ is the same. Yesterday. Today and forever. He. Being one

Hypostasis, we worship and glorify Him." This prayer glorifies the Lord

Jesus, Who was crucified for us and saved us through His Honored

Blood, being taken from the Book of Hebrews (13:8), where St. Paul

Says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever".

When the priest reaches the place where the crucifixion icon is usually placed on Good Friday, he stops and completes the other four verses. Incensing towards the East, he says the second verse, "This is He Who raised Himself as an acceptable sacrifice on the cross for our salvation", referring to Christ, Who sacrificed Himself so that no one who believed in His Name might perish, but would live forever. The Righteous died for us to save us from the yoke of sin, and to transfer us to the glorious freedom that belongs to God's children, and to the Kingdom of Heaven. The Apostle Paul says, "As Christ also has loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" (Eph.5: 2). Jesus Christ is the Perfect Priest and, at the same time, is also the Perfect Sacrifice.

The priest then raises incense towards the North saying the third verse; "So His Good father smelled it on Golgotha in the afternoon." This refers to God the Father smelling the sweet aroma when He saw the Son on the cross; through His Crucifixion, the Son gave the godly righteous His right. He Who is without sin, became a sacrifice of sin, so we become righteous through Him. The Father accepted the sacrifice of Golgotha for the sins of the whole world as "a fragrant offering" (Eph.5: 2), the fragrance of satisfaction.

The priest then raises incense towards the West while facing the main Western door of the church (a symbol for the door of Paradise) and says the fourth verse; "He opened to us the gates of Paradise and returned Adam to his rightful place." He then he raises incense toward the South while saying the fifth verse, "Because of His cross and Holy Resurrection, He returned man once more to Paradise". All five of these verses are a glorification for Christ, Who was crucified for our sake, and gave us salvation. All mention the crucifixion, which is why they are said in the crucifixion icon place of Good Friday.

Incense into the censer, saying, "Glory and honor, honor and glory to the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit."

With the penitent prayers and collective repentance that is offered by the congregation during the incense tour, the priest goes back to the altar and prays The Mystery of Confession.

This mystery is also called The Mystery of the Return, as the priest says it after he returns from the Incense Tour. Here he raises incense over the altar while saying the Mystery of the Congregation's Confession, saying,

"0 God, as you accepted the repentance of the thief on your right while on the cross, accept the confession of your people. Forgive all their sins for the sake of Your Holy Name which is called upon us, and according to Your mercy and not on account of our sins." In this prayer the priest asks God to accept the confessions and repentance of his people, just as He accepted the confession and repentance of the thief at Golgotha. He also asks the Lord that He may prepare the congregation to partake of His Mysterious Dinner. He then goes once around the altar, raising incense, before departing via the sanctuary's main door. Standing before the sanctuary door the priest again raises incense in the four directions (as he has done previously) then offers incense to the Holy Bible and the senior clergymen.

The priest worships the Lord before the altar, then stands to its right side until the end of the Doxologies and the Creed.

A lovely old tradition that is still occasionally followed today sees the priest place his hand on each individual's head while he is incensing among the congregation.

The reason for doing this is threefold. Firstly, it is to give them blessings; secondly, to recognize the attending congregation and understand they’re spiritual standing during the mass; and thirdly, to receive a brief confession from those who might have trespassed after their last confession. Today it is left up to each individual to pray the following short prayer while the priest is touring with the incense, saying, "Lord Jesus Christ, forgive me my sins of which I am aware, and those of which I am unaware".

After the Doxology and the Creed, the priest holds the cross with three lit candles to signify that He Who was crucified is the Light of the world, sacrificing Himself to give light to those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death. The priest stands in reverence in front of the Sanctuary. He spreads both his arms, holding the cross with the three-lit candles in his right hand, while the left hand is being opened in supplication and humility.

Without

While facing due east, and signing, he chants, "Lord have mercy, establish your mercy upon us." Still facing East, he then makes the sign of the cross, and says, "Have compassion upon us." He turns to face the North and, while signing the cross, says, "Hear us." Then he turns towards the West, gives the blessings to the congregation, and says,

During Vespers Incense the priest chants this Litany in the 'long tune', but in the Morning Incense he uses the 'short tune' because the service is too long.

* When the priest chants the Litany in the 'long tune', the congregation responds by singing "Lord have mercy" three times, also using the 'long tune'. During the congregation's response the priest remains facing East with his hands raised, being absorbed in a warm prayer of pleas for mercy. Some Liturgy Books state that during this time the priest prays inaudibly the second litany in the Gregorian Liturgy, which begins, "Healing for the sick, comfort for the needy".

At the end of the congregation's response, the priest makes a sign of the cross over the congregation with the cross and the lit candles, and says, "Let us pray", followed by, "Peace be with you all."

He then blows out the candles and gives them to the deacon, crosses the box of incense, and puts another spoonful of incense into the censer while saying the Litany of the Gospel.

Standing before the sanctuary, he then offers incense to the Bible while saying, "We worship before the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, through the pray~rs of David the Psalmist and Prophet. 0 Lord grant us the forgiveness of our sins." Entering the sanctuary with the censer, the priest then goes around the altar performing the Round of the Gospel while saying, "Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace."

the Gospel is read in Coptic and in Arabic or English.

Having put one spoonful of incense in the censer, the priest stands before the door of the sanctuary and prays the Five Minor Litanies concerning Safety, the Church Fathers, the Holy Places, the Weather and Vegetation, and the Congregations.

This is also a Prayer of Submission to the Son:"

Acquire us unto Yourself, God and Savior, for we know none other than you, for Your Holy Name we do utter..."

If the Lord acquires us with His Blood, we are His own, we love Him, and are faithful to Him, as we say in the Litany of Safety, "We do not know anyone other than you, we say Your Holy Name.""

So fill us, 0 Lord, with your fear, for our only desire is for you. Rejoice that we abide in your goodness, and those who revere you, exalt them in their ways of life and adorn them with virtues. And may we all be worthy of Your Heavenly Kingdom, through the goodwill of our Gracious Father, with whom you are blessed together with the Holy Spirit...."

The priest also prays that we be filled with God's fear, for the fear of God is very important in one's spiritual life. It may be noted that when

Now also, 0 our Master, through Your holy Apostles, as You gave grace to those who labored in the priesthood in Your holy church to forgive sins upon the earth, and to bind and to loose every bond of iniquity, we also ask and entreat Your goodness, 0 lover of mankind, to remember Your servants...(Here the priest makes the sign of the cross on the congregation twice, saying,). . My fathers and brethren. (Then on he, saying,). . And my weakness. Those who bow their heads before Your Holy glory grant unto us your mercy and loose every bond of our sins. If we have committed any sin against You, whether knowingly or unknowingly or through anguish of heart, 0 Master Who knows the weakness of men, grant us the forgiveness of our sins, You great and merciful God."

The priest makes a sign of the cross on Himself, on the deacons, and then on the congregation saying, "Bless us, purify us, absolve us and absolve all your people. Fill us with your fear and help us to live according to Your Holy good will, for you are our God to whom be glory, honor and dominion, now and forevermore, Amen."

In this absolution we gain forgiveness for the sins for which we have actually repented. We should note that this absolution covers all sins; those which we know about, and those we do not, whether a sin by word of mouth, or by deed.

The name of the church's patron saint, or the saint, whose feast is being celebrated, should be mentioned; "May God have compassion upon us, bless us, make His face to shine upon us, and have mercy upon us. Lord save Your people, bless and uplift the Christians everywhere, through the supplications and prayers of the Lady of us all, the holy Theotokos St. Mary, and the holy Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, and all the heavenly hosts, and our fathers the Apostles, the martyrs, the saints and the crossbearers, and the blessed saint and angel of this day. May their holy blessings, their grace, their favor, their love, and their support be with us all forever, Amen."

The priest then says, "Christ is our God", and the congregation responds with, "Amen, let it be so." Facing the East, the priest continues, "0 King of Peace, grant us Your peace and forgive us our sins, for unto You is power, glory.... Amen." He also asks the angel of peace to accompany each member of the congregation as they leave the church, until they arrive at their homes. Then together with the congregation, the priest prays The Lord's Prayer.

While putting on the service garments the priest should go over his thoughts and find himself pure and reconciled with everyone, remembering the Apostle's words, "Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother and then come and offer your gift.

Agree with your adversary quickly while you are on the way with him" (Malt 5:23-25).

Significance of each Psalm is seen below:

Psalm 30

I will extol you 0 Lord for you have lifted me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me..."

Lord Jesus is the Good Shepherd,

"Like a shepherd He will gather the lambs in His arms, He will carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those that are with young" (Isaiah 40:11).

There is a curvature in the Eastern Wall of the Sanctuary, known as The Eastern of the Sanctuary, which symbolizes the Lord's embracing bosom, His compassion and His care. The lit lamp that is always hanging there represents the Lord's watchful eye which beholds and guards the whole world, especially those who call His Name and throw themselves into His bosom;

30:5).

You have turned my weeping into joy. You have torn down my sack cloth and clothed me with gladness, so that my soul praises You and my heart laments no more..." (Ps. 30:11),

He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments" (Rev.3: 5).

The priests and deacons clothed in their beautiful white garments resemble the revelation of the heavenly multitude as seen by St. John, who said,

When we find refuge in the Lord we feel He is very close to us, we feel His care, according to His Divine promise; "Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him, I will set him on high because he has known My name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble,

I will deliver him and honor him and show him My salvation" (Ps. 91:14-1 6).

In experiencing the truth of these promises, we shall sing together with the bride in the Song of Songs, saying,

2:6),