“Uniting With The Lord” Conference 2016
We were honoured to welcome to the Coptic Centre on Friday 21st October Eng. George Kyrillos, Maha, Edward, Peter and Monika for a conference on “Uniting With The Lord.” Now, one may be forgiven for questioning the link or relevance of hymnology to unity with God; however, if there is one thing that this team showed us, it was that they have everything to do with each other.
We were shown the great depth and riches of our Church, especially within its hymns, which are often taken for granted and dismissed as mere tradition. Throughout the weekend we were guided through a selection of hymns which were dissected into five dimensions: Theology, History, Ritual, Lyrics and Music! Without knowing the words, you can often understand what the hymn is about purely from the music. The melodies are so delicately composed that they hide in them elements of our doctrine. For example, When we sing the hymn “Ni Sherobim” we say “Agios, Agios, Agios” which is “Holy” three times, with the tune repeated in the exact same way each time – representing the equalness of the Holy Trinity.
The first hymn we looked at was “vol evol” – also known as the hymn of the group confession for any type of sin.
We started Saturday with a fun interactive game where Edward would play for us a hymn on the violin and we would attempt to name the hymn and be able to identify the occasions in which it is said. Afterwards, we took a plunge into the hymn “Kata Ni Khoros” which is said in the Feast of the Resurrection and the 39 days that follow it. We also were schooled in the distribution hymn, Psalm 150, praising God for His tender mercies and “Ton Sina” which is said in the Feast of the Resurrection and the Holy Fifty Days. We were taught that when we say this hymn, we should ask ourselves: Am I risen? Am I grateful? And am I joyful?
On Sunday we prayed the Divine Liturgy; it was truly uplifting to pray together as one voice and one body that understands and prays from the heart. Afterwards, Monika gave us a demonstration on our relationship with God – how we cannot concentrate and prioritise these treasures of our Church without Christ. Christ must come first, He must be the end to which they are a means and we cannot let ourselves be distracted from that.
The hymn “Eso Panagios” is said just before the confession in the Divine Liturgy in response to the Priest saying “The Holies are for the Holy”. The Hymn means to say that we are unworthy and that only God is Holy. The final hymn we looked at was “Erepo Esmo” or “May their Holy Blessings”, said after the commemoration of the saints.
The Church is often accused and criticised for having unnecessary rituals and tradition. What we must realise is what we have inherited, we have inherited for a reason. Our inheritance, which has been passed down to us by blood and suffering, aims to touch our souls, help us focus, unify us as the body of Christ, preserve our faith and praise God. Yes, we must not be distracted by the very things that aim to bring us closer to God, but we also must not neglect them as by them we can find ourselves inside Him.
