Friday afternoon our 17 seminarians, two priests, three nuns
and my colleague Rita and I traveled to Fayoum by bus for a mass celebrating
the taking on of priestly garments by a former student of the summer course.
Egyptians call the black garment a soutane. We know it in English as a cassock
and by the beginning of the second year of theology studies, the deacons at the
seminary must begin to wear this garment. Near as I can tell it’s one of the
symbolic gestures of assuming the role of a priest and preparing oneself for
ordination.
The pictures on my Amy in Egypt Facebook page give you a
sense of our cozy, two-hour bus ride there and back and also the mass we
celebrated. Along the way we drove through Giza so got to see the pyramids on
the Giza plain with the city encroaching from three sides. They are like
mountains rising out of the floor of the desert and they never cease to amaze
me.
The Coptic Catholic Mass we celebrated was largely sung and
lasted over 90 minutes. The seminarians served as the choir for the mass and
lead the singing of the congregation. They all processed in wearing their white
albs embroidered with red and gold. Maybe 10 priests and deacons stood around
the altar throughout the service and shared leadership of the service.
The language of the mass is in a combination of Coptic (the ancient
language of Egypt that has it’s roots in pharonic times) and Arabic. I heard some
familiar words, recognized songs and was generally able to follow along with
the flow because I’m familiar with the English translation of the mass that we
do each morning of the summer course in it’s most simplified form.
If you’ve ever experience worship in an Orthodox church you
understand the sensory richness of what I experienced on Friday night. Every
sense was engaged as we heard music that mimics chant but carries a different
tonal quality, we saw icons and images of saints and disciples covering the
iconostasis, we inhaled the smoke from incense that was spread over us four
separate times during the mass, and ate bread and wine. The mass was filled
with symbols and imagery that I have only begun to notice and understand. But
as Abuna Bishoi explained to me every movement, every action has a meaning and altogether
it is a rich feast!
But of everything that I experienced in worship on Friday, my
favorite moment might have been watching Fady’s mother, who was seated across
from me, when he put on the cassock and turned to face the parish. The face of
a proud mama transcends culture and was maybe the most beautiful thing I saw in
Fayoum.
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