His Holiness Pope Tawadros II and 106 Pontiffs of the Church Pray the Liturgy for the Sanctification of the Holy Myron and the Galileon at St. Bishoy’s Monastery in Wadi El-Natroun, Egypt
You can find a video and some photos at the end of the text.
On Tuesday the 12th of March 2024, the prayers of the Liturgy for the Sanctification of the Holy Myron Oil were held, followed by the Liturgy of the Galileon Oil, and the prayers concluded with the Eucharist for the Day of the Sanctification of the Holy Myron and the Galileon, and the chapters of whose readings are for this event.
His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, arrived at nine in the morning of March 12 at the Cathedral of the Monastery of Saint Bishoy in Wadi Natroun, accompanied by the Metropolitans and Bishops. His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, began the first step of the Holy Myron Ritual, which is the “Liturgy for the Sanctification of the Holy Myron Oil,” where the eight vessels containing the Holy Myron Oil were placed inside the altar, before beginning prayers in preparation for sanctification.
The Chrismation Liturgy, as well as the Galileon Sanctification Liturgy, is distinguished by the fact that they have a ritual arrangement that follows the same pattern as the usual Divine Liturgy, with some differences represented in the texts of the prayers and requests, which focus on requests for the sanctification of the oil. In the Chrismation Liturgy, the Book of Song of Solomon is read along with the readings of the Pauline Epistle, the Catholic Epistle, the Praxis, the Psalm, and the Gospel.
Among the prayers, there is a unique ritual that is performed only during the consecration of the Chrism. It is the ritual of the session that took place inside the altar, during which His Holiness carried the book of Masagogy, meaning (the teaching of faith), and walked around with it three times, along with a number of the church’s bishops.
The book Masagogy (Teaching the Faith) was used to teach the reconciled (those who wish to join the Christian faith) before receiving the sacrament of baptism, and then anointing them with Holy Myron Oil to receive the sacrament of chrismation.
After the session, His Holiness said: “We are now in the Liturgy for the sanctification of the Holy Myron Oil, and through the readings, prayers and hymns, the Holy Myron Oil is sanctified.”
His Holiness Pope Tawadros II added: “Within the ritual of consecrating the Holy Myron, we read the Book of Songs of Solomon, which we call the Book of Adults, and it is a book whose sign is sacred love, and it consists of eight chapters, and the number 8 symbolizes eternity, as it is the book of love that connects us to eternity, and we also read it because most of the components of Holy Myron Oil is mentioned in it.”
Then His Holiness began reading the Book of the Song of Solomon, reading the first chapter of it, and the Bishops followed.
The prayers of the Liturgy for the Sanctification of the Holy Myron Oil were completed, and concluded with the sprinkling of the oil in the name of the Trinity by the mouth of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, thus completing the Liturgy for the Sanctification of the Holy Myron Oil.
His Holiness Pope Tawadros II affirmed before the start of the Liturgy for the sanctification of the Galilean that chrismation, according to the history of the Church, can be performed at any time and in any place, and that it cannot be performed during a period when the patriarchal seat is vacant, because its work is linked to the presence of the Patriarch…
This news was originally published on the website of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Please click here to read the full text.
