The Praising of The Virgin St. Mary During The Advent Season By William A. Hanna, Ph.D. St. Mary and St. Abraam Coptic Orthodox Church of St. Louis St. Mary, The Theotokos, please intercede on our behalf to the Lord, so He may forgive us our sins. Koiahk Celebration, The Marian Month ------------------------------------ The Virgin Mary, the Mother of Light, is celebrated all through Koiahk, the Advent month of the Coptic Calendar. Koiahk starts on December 11 and ends with the celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ on the 28th of Koiahk, the 7th of January. During this Month which is part of the 43 days of Advent Fasting, the Church changes the tone of singing into the Advent/Koiahk tone, a joyful tone that underlines the Church's feelings about the importance of Christ's incarnation, as the first step in the story of salvation. God chose St. Mary to bear His Incarnate Word. Thus she is rightly, as the Church Fathers called her from the early centuries of Christianity, the Mother of God (Theotokos). During the month of Koiahk, we celebrate Advent by special praises called the Koiahk Praises, or the Marian Month Praises. These are praises handed down from the early Church, some dating back to St. Athanasious the Apostolic, and St. Cyril the Great. These praises consist of 4 Hoses (Psalms) and 7 Theotekias (Praising the Virgin Mary), so in the common language the Marian Month is referred to in Arabic as "sab3a wa-arba3a" (Seven and Four). The 4 Hoses are repeated every day of the week, but there is one theotokia for every day of the week. In Egypt, it is common to have praises services 2 or 3 nights every week during the Marian Month. The most popular are the ones on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday nights. These praises go for 5 or 6 hours, and often start in the late evening and conclude at sun rise with liturgical service. Why do we praise Mary? --------------------- It is good to praise God in His Saints. For God Himself delights in praising His saints as the Psalm says: "And He has raised up [...] the praise of all His saints". By giving praise to St. Mary and to other saints as well, we are praising God. Besides, whenever we praise St. Mary or other saints, we always start and end by praising God. For example, during Seven and Four, we sing the hoses (Psalms to the Lord) before we sing the Theotekia (praise to Mary) or the Doxologia (praise to other Saints). Also, we end the praises with the "magma3" (congregation of the Saints), imploring the Lord to have mercy on us, hear us, and help us by saying "Ya-allah Erhamna", or Lord Have Mercy. Mary is the Mother of God. The Lord chose her and favored her above all His saints and faithful people, for his Angel declared in truth: "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women! [...] for you have found favor with God." [Luke 1:28,30]. And without hesitation, when the Angel told Mary the Gospel (Good News) of Salvation, she accepted what God chose for her: "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." It is that belief that make her deserve our blessings and praise, so we join Elizabeth who with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit said: "Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord" [Luke 1:45]. When we praise St. Mary we are praising our Lord, The God she magnified as her and our savior: "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior." [Luke 1:46-47]. And, when we bless Mary we are indeed fulfilling her own prophesy that she spoke by the Holy Spirit who "came upon her" [Luke 1:35], for she said: "for behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed." [Luke 1:48]. We have to remember that God is glorified in His saints. Mary is the first among all of those on earth and in heaven to become worthy of praise. She was born like us, a human condemned to eternal death because of sin, but the Holy Spirit descended on her and the power of The Most High endowed her and made her worthy to carry the Incarnate Word in her womb. This is why the Fathers of the church called her the Theotokos (The Mother of God In Truth). That is also why the introduction to the Creed of faith was added in the Council of Ephesus: "We magnify you O Mother of the True Light, and Glorify you O Virgin Saint Mother of God. Because you bore for us the Savior of all the world. He came and saved our souls..." Amen. To conclude, let us enjoy this hymn from the Sunday Theotokia... + + + Seven times every day From all my heart I praise Your Name God of all people. + + + I mentioned Your Name And was comforted O King of all ages And God of all creation. + + + Jesus Christ our Lord Our True God Who died for us For our salvation + + + Was incarnate from The Holy Spirit And the Virgin Mary The pure bride. + + + He changed our sorrow And our tribulations To heartfelt happiness And complete joy. + + + Let us worship Him And glorify Him With His mother The fair dove. + + + We shout with voices Of joy, saying Hail to you O Mary The Mother OF Emmanuel. + + + Hail to you O Mary Salvation of our father Adam; Hail to you O Mary Mother of shelter; Hail to you O Mary Joy oF Eve; Hail to you O Mary Hapiness of all genertions. + + + Hail to you O Mary Joy of righteous Abel; Hail to you O Mary the true Virgin; Hail to you O Mary Salvation of Noah; Hail to you O Mary Undefiled and calm. + + + Hail to you O Mary Grace of Ibrahim; Hail to you O Mary The crown unchanging; Hail to you O Mary Salvation of righteous Issac; Hail to you O Mary The Mother of the Holy. + + + Hail to you O Mary The joy of Jacob; Hail to you O Mary Many times over; Hail to you O Mary Pride of Juda; Hail to you O Mary The Mother of the Master. + + + Hail to you O Mary The preaching of Moses; Hail to you O Mary The mother of the Master; Hail to you O Mary The honor of Samuel; Hail to you O Mary The pride of Israel. + + + Hail to you O Mary The power of Joab; Hail to you O Mary The precious stone; Hail to you O Mary The Mother of the beloved; Hail to you O Mary The daughter of king David. + + + Hail to you O Mary The friend of Solomon; Hail to you O Mary The rising of the Righteous; Hail to you O Mary The salvation of Isiah; Hail to you O Mary The healing of Armeia. + + + Hail to you O Mary The knowledge of Ezekiel; Hail to you O Mary The grace of Daniel; Hail to you O Mary The strength of Eliah. Hail to you O Mary The Grace of Elisah. + + + Hail to you O Mary The Mother of God; Hail to you O Mary The Mother of Christ; Hail to you O Mary The fair dove; Hail to you O Mary The Mother of the Son of God. + + + Hail to you O Mary To whom All The Prophets Testified and said: + + + That God the Word Was born from Her With one nature That which tongues cannot explain + + + Truly you are Elevated more Than the staff of Aaron You are full of grace + + + What is the staff Other than you It is a symbol Of your virginity + + + You bore and gave birth To God incarnate The Son of The Most High Without illusion. + + + We praise you and magnify you, With your Son Jesus our Lord, Ask him on our behalf, To forgive us our sins. + + + Our Lord we pray to you, To keep us all, Keep the doors of the church, Open to the believers. + + + Through her prayers, And intercessions, Keep the doors of the church, Open to the believers. + + + Lord we magnify You, And glorify You, Now and at all times, And forever Amen. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _|_ This article is one of many more articles about the Coptic Orthodox | Church, the Christian Apostolic Church of Egypt. 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