Chapter 4: The Position of the Holy Bible in the Coptic Church

Some people think that our Coptic Church gives no attention to the Bible, and that our rituals and doctrines are not biblical. However, this accusation is found clearly untrue if we notice the following:

Our Church Honors the Bible.

The Church gives special honor to the Bible, as evident in the following attitudes:

The Gospel is on the altar all the time.

Bible are placed in the growndwork of churches on building them.

The priest holds the Gospel up and kisses it with great reverence before the Bible is read.

There is a special prayer that the priest says before the reading of the Bible in which he asks for his people blessing and power to fulfil the commandments and obey them.

Candles are lit and lights are turned on while the Bible is being read so that everyone would understand that it is the light of life and of the way.

People stand while the Bible in particular is being read as it is the word of God and the voice of the Almighty.

B) The Bible Is Used in Rituals.

1) No ritual in the church is void of various readings from the Bible. In a single liturgy, nine passages from the Bible are read (two from the Psalms; and the Gospels: during the offering of the morning and evening incense and the Mass, a passage from the Pauline epistle, another one from the catholic epistle and finally a passage from the paraxis.

During the Ninevite Fast and the Lent, proplecies are also read During the Holy Weak, we read omnivorously from both Testaments, readings that are organized in a wonderful way to suit the events of the Lord’s sufferings day by day and hour by hour. During Baptism, the unction of the sick, Matrimony, Laqqan and the vigel, there suitable readings from the Bible.

2) The Church has assigned a special degree of deacons, known as "anagnostis" , for reading the Bible. This reader is in charge of reading, studying and teaching the Bible all the time. His motto is "Whoever reads let him understand" (Matthew 24: 15). An example of such a reader is Ezra the clerk.

C) The Orthodox Doctrine is a Biblical One:

All the Orthodox doctrines are built on the Holy Bible, whether its texts or its spirit. We do not find any doctrines that are built on intellectual calculations, far from the spirit of the Bible and its texts. No human being is infallible, whereas the Bible alone is without fault: "for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1: 21).

However, the Orthodox doctrine draws upon the Bible as a whole, as it is not comfortable with the system of the single verse or depending upon a single text or a number of texts linked together in a clearly artificial way to support a personal opinion. The Bible is an indivisible whole, and the doctrine should have the same basis.

D) The Holy Bible is the Basis of Spiritual Life:

It never happened in the history of the Coptic Church that the church forbade the people to read the Bible and feed on it. On the contrary, we find that she has always encouraged her children to read the Bible, study it, and memorize parts of it. The church has always taken the right stand concerning this matter: she neither forbade the laity to read the Bible, nor did she allow the individual the freedom of interpretation without going back to the sayings of the fathers. This way, the church could avoid two mischiefs: depriving the people of the bread of life in the word of God, as well as intellectual pride that has tom other denominations apart.

A wise man has once asked St. Anthony: "How could you remain firm in the wilderness without books to feed on?" St. Anthony answered: "My books are the examples of my predecessors, and if I feel like reading, I read word of God".

Someone has once asked St. Sesois to give him a word of advice. The latter said: "what can I tell you? I read the Old Testament and then I go back to the New".

St. Clement says: "when you go back to your cell, give great attention to reading the word of God and to prayer".

This is the position of the Holy Bible in the Coptic Church. Thus, it is a first - rate biblical church.