Beautiful Egypt 1 – The Passion Week – April, 28, 2013

   Today is Palm Sunday, which marks the seventh Sunday of the Lent, the forty day holy Lent, which is fasted by Christians following the suit of Lord Christ who fasted for forty days and nights, the Lent ends with the Last Friday and then the Holy Week begins.

   In the past, the Church used to celebrate the Passion Week once per thirty three years and a third, which refers to the life years of Lord Christ on earth, while the fasting was held annually.

   Calling this week “the Passion Week” has a historical development process.

   This week has many names, among which are “the Great Week”,

   the Passover Week, and the Pascha Week, it is considered the holiest days of

   the year, as fasts, prayers and charitable works increase in this week.

   It is referred to “the Passover Week” in the Paschal Letters of Pope

   Athanasius the Apostolic, the term refers to the six days preceding the

   With the end of the seventh century, the title “The Week of Salvatory Passion” appeared, and in the course of time, the term “Passion Week” became popular.

Both “the Pascha Week” and “the Passover Week” are of the same meaning, the word “pascha” is Aramaic which means in Arabic “crossing”, in Hebrew “pesakh” and in English, it is Passover, it refers to the memory of Moses and his People crossing the Red Sea.

Celebrating the Passion Week

   The Church of Jerusalem was the first one to celebrate this great week, as it is the place which bore witness to the events related, then the celebration was transferred to all around the world; Eastwards and Westwards, Northwards and South wards.

   While in Egypt, this holy week fast was known in the third century in 329 AD, to quickly settle in the Church of Alexandria.

   However, the beginning of the Passion Week had differed from a time to another, in the first five centuries, the fast of the six holy days used to begin on Monday, and it was separated from the holy Lent, afterwards, both fasts were conjoined together.

   In the tenth century, there were references and evidences which denote that the Passion Week beginning was Saturday, and not Monday as per the old Jerusalem tradition. Hence, the beginning of the Passion Week would be Lazarus Saturday.

   Since the thirteenth century, the Coptic tradition returned, marking Monday as the beginning of the Passion Week.

Popular Customs in the Passion Week

   Among the Egyptian popular customs in the Passion Week is eating certain food during this week. People eat Freekeh on Wednesday, lentils on Thursday, beans sprouts and falafel on Friday, on which they drink vinegar as well. Some people wear kohl (eyeliner) on the Holy Saturday, which is an old custom inherited through generations.

   On Job’s Wednesday, some people bath with Junipers fragrant plant – it is called Job’s Wednesday as the Book of Job is entirely recited on that day, folklores recount that Job the Righteous, after God had healed his body, bathed using the Junipers plant.

   Some monks and ascetics fast from the Palm Sunday, with no food at all, to the Easter, while others only eat Duqqa (an Egyptian spice) with stale bread at evening.

Celebrating Manifestations in the Passion Week

   The Passion Week has several celebrating manifestations around the world, for example, from Wednesday to Sunday, greetings are disallowed, as a reference to traitorous Judas, who betrayed Lord Christ for thirty pieces of silver, thus the congregation abstains from kissing the priests’ hands, as they usually do.

   On the Covenant Thursday, the praying priest or bishop washed the foot of the priests, the deacons and the entire congregation, as a reference to Lord Christ who washed His disciples’ feet in order to teach them modesty.

   As for the Great Friday, it has very special celebrating aspects in some world countries: in Philippines, most of the shops are closed, commercial exchanges and ceremonies are disallowed on that day. In South America, most of the youth make live acting of the Passion of Lord Christ.

   While in Spain, processions of the Great Friday are held all over the Kingdom, the most prominent of these processions is the one held in Seville, while in Jerusalem, Via Dolorosa (the Painful Way) is celebrated according to its traditional real sites in the old city starting from the Antonia Fortress to the Church of Resurrection. In USA, celebrations include carrying a big cross, referring to the cross which was carried by Lord Christ.

Palm Sunday

   Eastern Churches call Palm Sunday “the Feast of Hosanna”, while the Latin People call it “the Feast of Branches”, it the Sunday preceding the Easter. On this day, the church celebrates Lord Christ’s entry into Jerusalem riding on a colt, cloaks were laid down to him, and He was received with branches of Palm trees and the chants of “Hosanna, the Son of David”, said by the disciples, the people and especially the children.

   The custom of laying down something on a visitor’s path and receiving him with tree branches is an old custom followed, it was also known in Pharaonic Egypt, we still use a similar expression when expressing our welcoming to someone, saying: “Let us lay down sand (or roses) on the ground for you.”

   The word Hosanna is derived from the Aramaic word “Hoshanna”, which means “Save us”, in Greek, it is called “Usanna”. Therefore, Hosanna and Hoshanna are synonymous.

   The word Hoshanna consists of two parts “Hosha” which means “Save and deliver”, and “Nna” which denotes the urgency of need, so the term means “Save now”. David the Prophet mentioned it when he said, “Oh Lord, Save! (Hosanna) O Lord, deliver (Hosanna)”.

   Prayers begin since Saturday evening, Christians cut off the braided palm branches and olive branches, making out of them magnificent shapes.

   The parade of Palm Sunday began first in Jerusalem, then it spread to the Eastern Churches, it starts from the Mount of Olives where the congregation, especially the children, holds palms and olives branches, chanting, “Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord”, wandering in the city streets until they reach the Church of Resurrection, where they hold prayers.

   Rome has come to know about such parade in a later time, while it started in Spain in the sixth century, and in France in the eighth or ninth century AD.

   As for the Coptic rituals, which were practiced until the twelfth century AD, the procession of Hosanna toured the cities and villages on the eve of this feast. The Copts were accustomed to roam through the streets, holding the cross, reading and chanting, yet this custom was abolished in the second half of the twelfth century, to become confined to churches.

   The Copts also were reported to cut off palm fronds and olive branches starting from Lazarus Saturday, making out a huge olive surrounded by crosses, shrouded in candles, honored and glorified, and it was taken to the cell of the Patriarch or the Bishop then.

   On this day, on which we celebrate Lord Christ’s entry into Jerusalem, I would like to speak about two characteristics that feature this feast: modesty and peace.

First- Modesty

   When Lord Christ decided to enter into Jerusalem, He was very modest, riding on a colt. He didn’t choose horses, or vehicles to enter by, teaching us to be modest. Zacharias the Prophet said, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!

   Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you;

   He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey,

   A colt, the foal of a donkey”

   About modesty, one of the saints said, “Nothing is stronger than modesty, for nothing can defeat it”, while another saint said, “Modesty is the base of all other virtues, he who does not have modesty, is nothing but an outer appearance of any other virtue.”

   Some may consider modesty having a low esteem of one’s self, yet when God sees a modest man, He exalts him, as it is written in the Bible, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time”

   A saint asked, “who sold Joseph the Righteous?” He was told, “his brother”. He said, “it is not his brothers who sold him, but rather it is his modesty which sold him, as he could have told the man who bought him that the sellers are his brothers, yet he kept silent, and thus, he was sold because of his modesty, yet God exalted him and he became the one who managed the Kingdom of Egypt.”

   Being modesty is the most important virtue for the believer, as it lets him acquire all other virtues. As any trait or virtue void of modesty will be rejected by people.

   A proud man is always the one who loses: he loses his surrounding friends and colleagues, he loses himself as well, he is a hasty person who listens to nobody.

   I recall a story which I read about a youth, who enjoyed a good reputation and good manners, but one day he got involved in playing cards with some of his friends, he got out of his temper, took out his gun and shot his playing opponent, leaving him dead. He was arrested, brought to court and sentenced to death.

   However, because of his good past and fine morals, his relatives, acquaintances and friends presented petitions signed by many of the country people and the neighboring countries. They presented these petitions to the governor of the region who sympathized with the young man and decided to pardon him. He wrote the amnesty decree, put it in his pocket, disguised himself in the form of a man of religion and went to the prison.

   When the governor arrived at the young man’s cell, the young man got up and said angrily, “Go away, I have been visited by seven clerics like you so far, and I do not need further education and preaching. I have known a lot of it at home.” The governor asked him to be more patient; “But, I wish you would wait for a moment and listen to what I am telling you…” Yet the young man cried, “Listen, get out of here immediately or I will call the guard! The ruler tried to dissuade him, saying, “But, young man, I have very important news for you, do not you want to know it?” The young man refused and threatened him by calling the guard, the governor had nothing to do except to leave with a sad heart.

   Few moments later, the guard entered and told him that his visitor was the city governor bringing with him the amnesty decree, yet he didn’t accept to listen to him.

   It is said that “the first test for great man is his modesty” How great is the modesty which delivers man from falling into the enemy’s snares, and makes man meek and beloved so he inherits the earth and the heaven.

Second – Peace:

   People received Lord Christ in his entry into Jerusalem with the palm and tree branches, and the multitudes were praising, saying, “Peace in heaven” This scene recalls to our minds Noah’s dove, which returned with a green olive leaf in its mouth and became a sign of peace.

   Lord Christ beatified the peacemakers and called them the children of God, the good man lives in peace with himself, and with those around him, if peace is lost from among people, you will notice him seeking with all his efforts and strength, and capabilities to restore this peace.

   Every human being needs peace in order to be productive, working and constructive in any place he occupies. Through this peace, man can also harmoniously cooperate with everyone around him, forming together the most beautiful success pieces, while tensions lead to nothing but frustration, failure and intrigues.

   I recall the story of two brothers who lived together lovingly for a long time in their farm at the countryside working together, understanding and peace used to prevail between them, yet suddenly! One day, a quarrel occurred between them, and it was the first problem to occur between them since forty years; a disagreement arose from a minor misunderstanding, and increased until a brawl came out, accompanied by insults, followed by weeks of silence, and each of them resided in a different place.

   One morning, a stranger came to the elder brother looking for a job in the farm. The brother agreed, and asked the stranger to build a wall between him and his brother so he would not see him again. The stranger agreed, and the brother helped him in collecting the work needs, then he traveled to the city for a few days to finish his work.

   He returned to the farm to find the worker had already done his job, but instead of building a two-meter-high wall, he built a magnificent bridge. Amidst his surprise, the younger brother ran towards him coming from his home, saying, “You are really wonderful! You are building a bridge after all? I am very proud of you.” Then they hugged and reconciled while the stranger was getting ready to leave. They asked him to wait, yet he said, “I wish I can stay, yet so many bridges are waiting for me to build.”

   This is a real peacemaker: he builds bridges whenever he is, among all people

   It is said, “The strongest weapon you can carry is to be a peacemaker.”

   May God bless our country in these holy days, and may He fill it with peace and love.

The General Bishop

head of Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center