he starts by reading the Third Hour Psalms then follows with the Sixth Hour. He then reads the Gospel of the Third Hour and its parts, followed by “Holy God...”, The Lord’s Prayer, and, “Peace to you....” Then he prays the Gospel of the Sixth Hour and its parts, followed by, “We glorify you Mother of Light...”, The Creed, then “Keryalison” is said during the choosing of the Lamb.
During fasting periods when the Ninth Hour is also prayed the church prays the Third Hour prayers completely separate, consisting of the Psalms, the Gospel, the Parts, “Keryalison”
repeated forty-one times, “Holy Holy”, The Lord’s Prayer and the Third Hour Absolution. The Sixth and Ninth Hour prayers are then prayed following the same structure as that of the Third and Sixth Hour prayers during a non-fasting period.
On the feasts of the Nativity, Epiphany and Resurrection we offer the lamb without first praying the Psalms as the holy Liturgy is celebrated at night.
The serving priest should read the following Psalms each hour;
+ In the Third Hour he should read, “May the Lord answer you...”, “I will exalt You...”, “My heart is overflowing...”, and, “Oh clap your hands all you people...”.
+ In the Sixth Hour he should read, “Save me O God by Your name...”, “Lord You have been favourable to Your land...”, and, “The Lord reigns....”
+ In the Ninth Hour he should read, “Oh sing to the Lord a new song...”, “The Lord said to my Lord...”, and, “I believed, therefore I spoke...”.
When beginning to pray the Psalms of the Third Hour the priest and the congregation prostrate while the priest says,
“Lord have mercy, Amen. Alleluia. Glory be to the Father, the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and forevermore, Amen.
The prayer of the Third Hour of this blessed day is offered to Christ our King and our God beseeching Him to forgive our sins. From the Psalms of our teacher David the Prophet and King, may his blessings be with us all, Amen.”
When praying the afternoon prayers from the Agbia or those during Vespers we should not prostrate but rather bow our heads reverently and do the sign of the cross. Prostrations are always associated with abstinence from food. For this reason, during Passion Week the Morning Litanies are
accompanied with prostrations while the Evening Litanies are associated with bowing or kneeling.
On Saturdays, Sundays, Pentecost and Feast days the hourly prayers that are said before the liturgy are prayed without prostration.
The deacon then distributes the Psalms, after which the priest says the introduction to the Gospel, saying, “Glory be to You O Lord. A chapter from the Holy Gospel according to our teacher St. (Matthew, Mark, Luke or John) the Evangelist, may his blessings be with us all, Amen.”
One of the deacons prostrates before the sanctuary and kisses the cross and the priest’s hand and then reads the Gospel. The priest says, “Let the sayings of God be completed in peace. Glory be to God forever and ever, Amen. We worship You O Father, with Your Gracious Son and the Holy Spirit, for You have come<$FOn regular days of the year and during fasting periods it is said “...have come...”<R>From Nativity Paramoun until the end of the Circumcision Feast it is said “...were born...”<R>For the Epiphany Paramoun (10th Tuba - 12th Tuba) it is said
“...were baptized...”<R>On the two Feasts of the Cross (17th Toot - 10th Baramhat) and during Passion Week and funerals, it is said “...were crucified...”<R>During all the days of the Pentecost, from Easter Eve till the end of the 50 days, also on Sundays from the Apostles fasting until the 4th Sunday of Hatour, and on the commemoration of the Annunciation Feast, Christmas and the Resurrection, which is the 29th of each Coptic month (except Touba and Amsheer, as they symbolize the law and prophets of the Old Testament, falling before the Easter) it is said “...have
risen...” After all of these five sentences, the priest says
“...and saved us, have mercy upon us.” and saved us.”
The phrase, “Let the sayings of God be completed in peace”, means that the word of God which has just been read from the Holy Bible should be fulfilled in our lives in a practical way; we should believe in them and live each word from day to day, as St. James said,
“Be doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks in the perfect law of liberty and continues in it and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the word, this one will be blessed in what he does” (James 1:22-25).
The Lord Jesus blesses those who hear and act according to the word not those who merely know the word, as He says,
“If you know these things, happy are you if you do them”
(John 13:17).
The priest then reads the three parts of the Third Hour which follow the Gospel; “O Lord, do not take Your Holy Spirit...”, “O Lord Who sent Your Holy Spirit...”, and, “O Mother of God...”. Then the priest says, “We ask You Lord to hear us and have mercy upon us and forgive us our sins, Amen.” Then together with the congregation, “Keryalison”
is repeated forty-one times, followed by “Holy, Holy, Holy...”, The Lord’s Prayer and the Third Hour Absolution prayer.
Some Remarks On the Hourly Psalm
Y The serving priest should lead the Psalms even if a higher ranking priest is present. If a bishop is present, he should do the sign of the cross on the service vestments of the priests and deacons. He should also choose the Lamb and then gives it to the serving priest.
Y The serving priest should read the first three parts of the Third Hour prayer then distribute the rest; he should distribute firstly to the other priests who are participating in the service, then to other priests present in the church and whatever is left is to be given to the deacons to read.
Y “Keryalison” is repeated forty one times because the Lord was whipped thirty nine times (2Cor.11:24), was struck with the crown of thorns on His head (Matt.27:30), and was pierced in His side with a spear (John 19:34). During this powerful and precious contemplative prayer we ought to remember the sufferings of the Lord which He tolerated for our salvation, remembering the scourges, the thorns, and how His precious blood was shed for the purification of the whole world.
Y Following the Gospel we say, “We worship You O Christ, with Your Gracious Father and the Holy Spirit, for You have come and saved us. Have mercy upon us.”