The Coptic Text of the Prayer Book of the Hours of the Coptic Orthodox Church

Book excerpt: The Prayers of the Hours, known in the Coptic language as the Agpeya, are popular prayers used by the vast majority of the Christians of Egypt, the Copts. The Agpeya is in fact, Bible-centered prayers, composed for the most part of a selection of psalms from the Old Testament, and gospel readings from the New Testament, with some added hymns of praise and other prayers. The Agpeya prayers are usually recited by both individuals and families for prayers at home, as well as for communal prayers at Church as introductory prayers recited prior to Mass. The present book presents the "Bohairic-Coptic" text of the Agpeya. It is written according to the rites of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, Egypt, and follows the prayers and order of the contemporary Agpeya. It is presented in "Coptic-only" using the same text format used by contemporary liturgical books of the Coptic Orthodox Church. The text has been compiled from different sources, each of which based on extant and documented primary sources. It was further reviewed against a primary source, a 19th century Coptic-Arabic Agpeya manuscript hand-written by Pope Cyril V(1874-1920), one the eminent Fathers of the Coptic Orthodox Church, and a recognized authority of a high stature.