The Rite of the General Funeral Prayers Fr.

Athanasius Al Maqary* Translated by: Ramez Mikhail

he prayers of the General Funeral that follow the Divine Liturgy on Palm Sunday is a rite unique to the Coptic Church, and is unknown in other churches in both East and West. These prayers are independent and has no relationship to the prayers of the Divine Liturgy on Palm Sunday, since the rite starts after the conclusion of Communion of the mysteries, according to the ancient rite.

The Purpose of the General Funeral Prayer As for the main purpose of these prayers, it is to pray over the entire people, accompanied with raising of incense and the Litany of the Departed, since the Church does not offer incense on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of the Pascha Week. Thus, if any of the faithful departs during one of these three days, prayers would have been offered for him already in the raising of incense in this General Funeral. It is then sufficient to bring the coffin into the church, and to be read over him the final prayers and litanies from the funeral rite, without offering of incense. Our participation in the General Funeral by our own will is a voluntary partaking for a few moments that prepares us to partake in the sufferings of the Lord and His death for us, so that we may rejoice in His Resurrection in our lives, which have now become altogether from Him, by Him, and in Him.

The Rite in Ibn Sebaa We have an explanation of these prayers dating back to the 13th century. Under the title, The Funeral of the Living on Palm Sunday at the Ninth Hour Outside of the Liturgy, Ibn Sebaa writes, The Patriarch ascends to the sanctuary, and the priests with him, and completes the Liturgy of Gregory as its custom. He dismisses the people to eat food, and the custodians warn them to return at the ninth hour for the funeral.1 After the ninth hour of the day on Palm Sunday, the entire Christian people assemble in church, men, women, menservants, maidservants, children and infants, to attend the general funeral. And the reason for the funeral at this time is that the week of sufferings is especially for the sufferings of Christ, and mourning over Him who went to the sufferings2 voluntarily, such as the cross and else. So while mourning for Christ, to Him be glory, there can be no other mourning. Thus, before the beginning of

* Athanasius Al Maqary, The Holy Pascha: The Ritual History / The Rites of the Prayers, Part I (Cairo, 2010). 1 In one of the copies of The Precious Jewel, we read, And the people depart in peace to their homes, rejoicing, until the time of the ninth hour of the day. Precious Jewel , 322. 2 In some copies of The Precious Jewel, we find, went to perdition.
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the week of sorrow that is special to Christ, they begin by doing the funeral for all people at this hour, so that there may not be a funeral that causes mourning, and thus there would be another mourning to share with the mourning for Christ.3 In some copies of The Precious Jewel of Ibn Sebaa, and under the title, The Remembrance of the Funeral for the Living on Palm Sunday, we read the following: And the reason for performing a funeral at this time, is lest a man dies during the week of Pascha. There should not be any raising of incense during the week of Pascha, except on Thursday and Saturday. Thus, this funeral suffices for funerals on these four days,4 in which there should not be funeral or incense.5 Instead, if someone dies, let them bring him to the church, and read over him the lections appropriate for the funeral, without raising of incense or the litany of the departed.6

The Rite in Abul-Barakat Manuscripts Paris Arabe 203 and Uppsala O. Vet. 12: And the reason for this is that during the week of sufferings there can be no funeral for a dead person inside the church, and no incense is offered upon him, but will be read over him one section from the Torah, no matter who he is. For this reason the fathers have appointed the reading of the lections for the funeral on Palm Sunday, and the remembrance of the departed from the Christians. What is read from these lections are either some, most, or all, according to what time requires. Manusript Uppsala O. Vet. 12: And the priest reads the Tobhat7 from [the book of] Pascha, and the people say Kyrie eleyson in the Paschal melody in the short manner twelve times. And the priest says the blessing and dismisses the people afterwards. Manuscripts Paris Arabe 203 and Uppsala O. Vet. 12: And from the evening of the aforementioned Sunday, the rites of the week of sufferings are followed.8

Research into the Author of the General Funeral Prayer It is clear from what has been mentioned and explained before, that the intended meaning of the general funeral prayer implies that the Holy Week of Pascha has not started yet.9 By returning to our ancient Coptic
Yuhanna ibn Zachariah ibn Sebaa, The Precious Jewel in the Ecclesiastical Sciences, 322-323. i.e. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. 5 This explanation is incomplete. According to Canon 11 of the canons of Pope Christodoulos ( AD 1047-1077), we read the following, in Holy Week neither the absolution nor the diptych nor the burial-service is allowed until the feast of easter is completed. (Cf. Burmester, The Canons of Christodoulos, Patriarch of Alexandria, Revue dEtudes Orientales 45 (1932), 80), it is thus not a question of raising incense or not, but the main point is that absolutions, commemorations of the departed, and funerals are not allowed in the Holy Week of Pascha, which ends with the conclusion of prayers on Good Friday. 6 Precious Jewel, 322 ft. 7 The Tobhat from the Coptic word Tobh, entreat or ask. 8 Ms. Uppsala O.Vet.12 adds the following, And what the monks of the Monastery of Shahran follow has been annulled, and the rite of the Monastery of Abu Maqar we have annulled, and it is half a pages worth.
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documents, we find that the oldest known source thus far that mentions this prayer is from the mid-11th century, at the time of Pope Christodoulos (AD1047-1077) the 66th Patriarch of the Coptic church. In his Canon 11, we read the following: And after the completion of the Liturgy on the Sunday of Olives10 there shall be read the gospel and the Diptych11 for the dead after the Apostle of Paul appointed for the dead,12 and after this there shall be read over the assembly of the people the absolution, because in Holy Week13 neither the absolution nor the diptych nor the burial-service is allowed until the feast of Easter is completed.14 Pope Christodoulos, who was able before to prohibit a liturgical practice that was followed since the days of Pope Khael I (AD 743-767) three centuries before his own time, which is the reservation of the Eucharist after the Liturgy of Palm Sunday for communion during the days of Holy Week, is very likely also the author of this rite, that is the rite of the general funeral prayer. That is because, other than Canon 11 mentioned above by Pope Christodoulos, we do not have so far any older source mentioning even implicitly this prayer or this rite. This is a sure evidence so far that the author of this rite is the Pope mentioned. Also, none of the writings of Severus of Ashmunein (d. ca. AD 987) contain any reference to this rite or this prayer, although he is a famous bishop, who lived very close to the time of Pope Christodoulos. For this reason, after the 11th century, the time of Pope Christodoulos, we begin to see comments in Ibn Sebaa, Abul-Barakat and others that the beginning of the Holy Week of Pascha in the Coptic church is on Monday, and not the previous Saturday (Lazarus Saturday), as Severus of Ashmunein mentioned in the 10th century. That is because the establishment of the general funeral prayer after the Liturgy of Palm Sunday, as a preparation for the Holy Week of Pascha, has consequently removed Palm Sunday from the days of this holy week. The Rite of the General Funeral Prayer according to the Manuscripts under Investigation Ms. Paris Copt 32 (15th cent.) has the following: Then the funeral rite is said for the men, women, deacons, and priests during the distribution of the Divine mysteries. When it is finished, they pull the curtain of the sanctuary,15 and the priest descends with his partner deacon. The people say Ke tw pneumati cou. The priest says the three minor litanies, after which the people say Qen oume;myi16 and the priest says Ce Poc Poc and `N;ok Poc and `Vnyb Poc.17 The people say Kyrie eleyson in the Paschal

Cf. Dom Emmanuel Lanne, Textes et rites de la liturgie Pascale dans lancienne eglise Copte, LOrient Syrien 6 (1961), 287. 10 i.e. Palm Sunday 11 In the Ms. Add. 5997, British Museum, fol. 169r, Tarheem translates the word Diptycha. 12 This service for the dead on Palm Sunday is given in Ms. Add. 5997 fol. 16v-20r, the gospel being Jn.5:19-30, and the epistle I Cor.15:1-27,39-58. 13 i.e. The Week of Pascha. Holy Week ends with the conclusion of prayers of Good Friday, since in his Canon 13, he writes, And in the Liturgy of Holy Saturday there shall be said the diptych and the absolution, but there is not the kiss. 14 Burmester, ibid. 15 i.e. They close the door of the sanctuary. 16 i.e. The Creed 17 i.e. The three absolutions.
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manner, and the prayers are concluded by the dismissal of the people and the reading of the blessing.18 What follows is a brief summary of what is mentioned in the rest of the manuscripts under investigation concerning the prayers of the general funeral, wherein they agree on the liturgical elements: The introduction to the Pauline epistle, the Pauline reading, the Psalm where all the manuscripts agree to be chanted in a shortened melody (damjann) and is responded to in the funeral manner.19 Afterwards, the introduction to the Gospel reading, Ke upertou, is said, followed by the Gospel reading in the Paschal manner with its explanation in the common language. Likewise, all the manuscripts agree that after the washing of the vessels, the priest descends from the sanctuary, closes the curtain, and stands before the closed door reciting the three litanies (the peace, the hierarchs, and the assemblies). Afterwards, the Creed is recited, the litany of departed, Our Father, and the absolutions. However, the manuscripts under investigation did not mention the prophecy reading from Ezekiel (Ez 37:114), which precedes the Pauline reading, which does not appear in Ms. St. Antony 260 Rites (12th cent.), Ms. Bl.Add.5997 (12th cent.), or Ms. Paris Copte 70 (14th cent.). And now to a more detailed explanation.

The Rite of the General Funeral Prayers According to Church Order (Tartib Al-Baya) Manuscripts In the following lines, I include what is mentioned in Ms. Copt. Pat. 118 Rites (AD 1911), which is an extension of what appears in other Church Order manuscripts preserved in the libraries of monasteries and churches, and which go back to the middle ages. Afterwards, I will add an explanation and commentary on the rite of the general funeral prayers, and the historical stages it underwent. Under the title The Order of the Liturgy of Palm Sunday, the manuscript reads20: And afterwards they begin reading the funeral from the ambon, and that is what is required. Then they read the introduction to the Pauline for the funeral thus: E;be ]anactacic `nte nirefmwout For the resurrection of the reposed

Then the psalm is read in the shortened fashioned (damjann), and is responded to with the funeral tune. After, Ke upertou is said, and the Gospel is read in the Pachal fashion. And they recite the funeral pericopes one by one, until the end of the funeral and the distribution. The priest washes the vessels and his hands, and does not dismiss the people, but they close the veil. Then the celebrant priest descends from the sanctuary, and stands outside the door of the altar. He says the three major litanies, and the deacon responds to him, and these are the peace, the hierarchs and the assemblies. After this, the people recite the Creed, then the priest says the litany of the departed, and the deacon responds to him, while the people are
Ms. Paris Copte 32 (15th cent.) e.g. Ms. Copt. Museum 31 Rites (14th cent.) 20 In agreement also with Ms. Baramus (AD 1514)
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sitting for the litany of the funeral to be read over them, lest perhaps that which is inevitable may befall one of them during the week of sufferings. Then the people say Our Father and the priest says: Ce Poc Poc and `N;ok Poc and the absolution of the Son to its end. And he raises the cross and says V] nai nan in the Paschal manner, so the people respond to him with Kyrie eleyson in the Paschal manner, one chorus after another, every chorus by itself three times in the long way, and three times in the short way, twelve times in total. Then Our Father is said, and the priest says the blessing for Pascha, Jesus Christ our true God and continues as usual. Then the people depart to their homes in peace. Then they return to the church at the time of the ninth hour of that day. And the doors of the sanctuary are closed, and a black or colored veil is hung over the door of the sanctuary. A lectern is placed in the middle, and the Pascha book is placed upon it, and it is covered with a black silk veil or otherwise. Then they start performing the Holy Pascha.21

Explanation and Commentary on the Rite of the General Funeral Prayers From what was mentioned before and according to Church Order manuscripts and the rest of the manuscripts under investigation it becomes clear to us that the liturgical elements that comprise the general funeral prayers are: 1. The general funeral prayer starts after the chanting of Psalm 150 in the shortened way ( damjann) and after Ekesmaroout in the Palm Sunday tune, while the veil of the sanctuary remains open. 2. The introduction of the Pauline in the funeral tune, E;be ]anactacic, For the resurrection of the reposed, who have reposed and departed in the faith of Christ, O Lord repose all their souls. 3. The Pauline reading (I Cor 15:1-27, 39-58)22, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures and that He rose again the third day For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive But each one in his own order. 4. The Psalm (Ps 64), Blessed is the man You choose, and cause to approach You, which is said in a shortened tune (damjann) according to the manuscripts, and not with its Attribi tune. As for Ms. Bl.Add.5997 (12th cent.), it has the Psalm text likewise, Blessed is he whom You have chosen and accepted to dwell in Your habitations forever. Return to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you, for You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. I will walk before the Lord In the land of the living. 5. The introduction to the Gospel Ke upertou , So that we may be worthy to hear the Holy Gospel, we entreat with wisdom. Let us attend to the Holy Gospel. 6. A reading from the Holy Gospel (Jn 5:19-30), For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. Whereas Ms. Bl.Add.5997 (12th

Ms. Copt. Pat. 118 Rites (AD 1911) This reference is what appears in Ms. Bl.Add.5997 (12th cent.), whereas some Paschal lectionaries have truncated the text.
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7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.

cent.) includes after this reading another reading from the Gospel of Matthew, about the woman who poured the precious ointment on the head of the Lord in the house of Simeon the leper. The three major litanies, according to the Church Order manuscripts, or the three minor litanies according to Ms. Paris Copt 32 (15th cent.). The Creed The litany of the departed, which was not mentioned in Ms. Paris Copt 32 (15th cent.). Our Father, which was not mentioned in Ms. Paris Copt 32 (15th cent.), although when the manuscript mentions the absolutions, it implies that Our Father is also said. The absolutions. The antiphon Kyrie Eleyson said twelve times. The concluding blessing.

These liturgical elements are also those we find in the canons of Pope Christodoulos, with the exception of 6, 7, 9, 11, and 12. Thus, when Pope Christodoulos speaks of The Diptych for the dead, he in fact means the litany of the departed, which is accompanied by offering incense, even if not mentioned explicitly. In the 13th century, we also find in Ibn Sebaa these liturgical elements for the general funeral prayer, except for a correction to number 11 above. He writes: And the funeral that is for all the people is accomplished according to custom by the commencing of the prayers, the offering of incense, and its going around over the people, the reading of the funeral hymns and the Apostolos, which begins with, Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received,23 in the sad melody. Likewise, they read the psalm, the Gospel, and the absolution as the custom. And when the absolution is finished as the custom, Kyrie Eleyson is said one hundred times, and thus ends the annual joy. Afterwards, there is the reading of the Memre to the people, and the Pascha is received from the 11th hour of the day of Sunday.24 Similarly, Abul-Barakat refers to the totality of these liturgical elements, and writes thus: And when the Liturgy is finished and they begin the distribution, Psalm 150 is not said, but rather the funeral lections are read, one by one, from the epistles of Paul, the Psalms, and the Gospel specific for the funeral of the dead, until the offering is consumed, so that there would be no time without its reading, but rather the hearing of the multitude would be occupied with their recitation until the end of the offering.25 On the other hand, contemporary service books have included a prophecy from the book of Ezekiel (Ez 37:1-14) to be read after the Pauline epistle, in which the Lord says, Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves. I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it.(Ez 37:1214) If only we stood during the general funeral prayers with heads bowed down, as dry bones, as a result of our many transgressions, so that we may hear the word of the Lord with an able faith no matter how simple
I Cor 15:1 The Precious Jewel, 312-324 25 Ms. Paris. Arabe 203 (14th cent.), Ch. 18
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that He will open for His word a road to our hearts. Then the word of the Lord may enter our depths, and discern the thoughts of our hearts, our intentions, to purify and wash our consciences and our lives, we who stand dead because of our sins and iniquities. It is worth mentioning here that among twenty Paschal lectionary manuscripts, scattered in the worlds libraries, which O.H.E. Burmester examined,26 he has found only one manuscript in the Catholic Institute of Paris,27 and in which was written in the beginning the following statement, On Palm Sunday, during the distr ibution, this prophecy from Isaiah the prophet is read, followed by the text of the prophecy from (Is 40:931).28

The Sprinkling of Water at the Conclusion of the General Funeral Prayers The sprinkling of water at the conclusion of the Liturgy of Palm Sunday and the general funeral prayers is for the people and not for the palms. It is the normal rite that follows the end of every Liturgy, and there is no relationship between the sprinkling of this water and the general funeral prayers, which are now performed at the conclusion of the Liturgy of this great day. This water is the water of dismissal of the people per the custom of every Liturgy, and is not funeral water, as it is called by some. For there are neither any prayers that are said over the water in any of the general funeral prayers, nor water thrown on the people, but only incense is offered, as any funeral prayer offered throughout the year for a departed person. The only difference in this case is that these prayers offered on behalf of the living. Also, the text of the entire service does not contain a single reference to water, and there is no sanctification of this water, or any other ritual practice performed on it. Perhaps the confusion that occurred between the funeral prayer and the use of water on that day is precisely because of the basin that many churches place in the sanctuary that day throughout the Liturgy, and consequently is also present during the funeral prayers that follow. However, this basin or laqqan derives its origin from an old Jewish ritual on the Feast of Tabernacles, in which the priest brought water in a golden urn from the pool of Siloam, carried it to the altar and poured it there. This rite symbolizes the events of Palm Sunday, and not the funeral prayers.29 Many have been distracted, thinking that the sprinkling of water at the end of the funeral prayers is to bless the palms, and this is something that has to be corrected and understood, and must be made well-known. It is worth mentioning here that the eastern churches with the exception of the Maronite church, which follows
Patrologia Orientalis, XXIV, fasc. 2, 176. Ms. Copt 6 Institut Catholique de Paris. 28 O.H.E. Burmester, The Turuhat of the Coptic Church, OCP 3 (1937), 91. 29 Fr. Matta Al-Miskeen mentions the following, And some priests and this is a terrible mistake consecrate the palms with the water from the laqqan of the departed, which the priests perform in case someone departs during Holy Week, where prayers over the departed are forbidden, and they are rather to sprinkle him with water from the laqqan for the departed. (Cf. Matta Al-Miskeen, Sharh Enjeel Alqidees Yuhanna [Commentary on the Gospel of St. John], (Cairo, 1990), 726). However, this detail was never mentioned in any ancient liturgical sources, or even in Church Order manuscripts that were copied from generation to generation until the early 20 th century. It is worth mentioning here that since 1987, and before the general funeral prayers that were done at the 3 PM in the Monastery of St. Macarius, a basin of water is placed in the church with two candles surrounding it. This is removed at the conclusion of general funeral prayers without any ritual practice performed on it. I do not know the reason for this.
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the Latin rite do not know a rite for blessing of the palms.30 As for the Latin Western tradition, it alone observes a rite for blessing of the palms that the people carry on that day. This rite has been quite long at first, but has now been abbreviated. As for the Byzantine church, there are specific prayers to be prayed over the palms on that feast. Since AD 397, the palms were blessed on that day in the church of Mesopotamia.

It is incorrect that the blessing of the palms occurs in Matins during the procession of the twelve Gospels (Cf. Moshtaha Al-Nefus fi Tartib Al-Tequs [The Desire of Souls in the Organization of Rituals], 39). I do not know who said this?! This is a strange matter, unsubstantiated by any liturgical sources, whether ancient or modern.
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