Hymns
"Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples! For His merciful kindness is great toward us, and the truth of the Lord endures forever"
Pslam 117:1-2
Welcome to the hymns portion of the website! Here you can find the hymns, along with the lyrics, that are sung during the major as well as minor Coptic feasts of the year.
Lental Hymns
Advent/Nativity Hymns (For the Month of Khiak)
Advent fast started on Saturday November 26th and will end on January 7th, once we enter the month of Khiak we begin to chant hymns
appropriate to Khiak and the Advent hymns. The following hymns are taken from tasbeha.org:
Verse of Cymbals:
http://tasbeha.org/media/index.php?st=Hymns%2FFasts%2FNativity%2FIbrahim_Ayad%2F01.tenousht.1813.mp3
This hymn is recorded by Ibrahim Ayad off of Tasbeha.org and is chanted during vespers and matins. The following are added to the Verse of Cymbals during Khiak:
Hail to Gabriel, the great archangel, hail to him who announced, to Mary the Virgin.
Hail to John, the great forefunner, hail to the priest, the relative of Emmanuel.
We add the Archangel Gabriel to most of the Khiak hymns because he announced to the St. Mary that she was chosen by God to carry our Savior Jesus Christ. With that, we offer our praise to Archangel Gabriel.
Hitenes (Through the Intercession...):
http://tasbeha.org/media/index.php?st=Hymns%2FFasts%2FNativity%2FIbrahim_Ayad%2F12.hiten.8.mp3
This hymn is also recorded by Ibrahim Ayad and was retrieved off of tasbeha.org. Hitenes are commonly chanted during the Divine Liturgy before the Pauline Epistle is read. The following Hitenes are added to the usual Hitenes for the month of Khiak:
Through the intercessions, of the holy archangel, Gabriel the announcer, O Lord
Through the intercessions, of the seven archangels, and the heavenly orders, O Lord ....
Through the intercessions, of the relative of Emmanuel, John the son of Zechariah, O Lord ....
Through the prayers, of Zechariah the priest, and his wife Elizabeth, O Lord ....
Through the prayers, of the blessed elders, Joachim and Anna, O Lord ....
As the Nativity fast continues we offer praise to the heavenly figures that were chosen by God to carry out His will and he used the Holiest of Holiest to carry out His plan for His own only Son to be born into the world. Zechariah and Elizabeth were given their own miracle of having a son, St. John, and later was the very one to baptist our Lord Jesus. Joachim and Anna were the parents of St. Mary and brought her up loving and fearing God, as a result God recognized both her works and her parent's work and was chosen to carry our Lord Jesus Christ.
Praxis and Gospel Responses:
http://tasbeha.org/mp3/Hymns/Fasts/Nativity/Ibrahim_Ayad.html
For month of Khiak, like any other feast in the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Praxis and Gospel responses change according to Advent. However, there are different responses for the 4 weeks. Each offering praise to Archangel Gabriel and the Holy St. Mary. It is encouraged to look at the link provided and note the changes are made for each week.