Q&A Home > A > Agpeya

• Do you know who is/are the author/s of the Agpeya? When and how was it written?
• At Abu Makar Monastery, the third and sixth hour sections dedicated to St. Mary are not prayed under the assumption that these are not found in the early manuscripts of the Agpeya. What is Your Grace's and Bishop Mettaous's opinion concerning the flower of incense in the Holy Psalmody?
• Could Your Grace please explain how to pray the Agpeya?
• I understand your explanation about the Agpeya, who the author is, and when it was written. It was during the time of St. Pachomius. The Church fathers met together to establish a daily worshipping system for all believers to pass onto the following generations...My Question is if we are Coptic Orthodox and believe that St. Mark the Gospel writer was our first patriarch and the Last Supper was held at his house, why did the fathers not mention any of the Gospel according to St. Mark in the Agpeya prayers. I am perplexed to find out why there is not one Gospel reading from St. Mark in the Agpeya? The First and Third Hour is the Gospel of John The Sixth Hour is the Gospel of Matthew The Ninth Hour is the Gospel of Luke The Eleventh Hour is the Gospel of Luke The Twelfth Hour is the Gospel of Luke The Veil is the Gospel of John The Midnight First Watch is the Gospel of John The Midnight Second Watch Is the Gospel of Luke The Midnight Third Watch is the Gospel of Luke
• In the Agpeya, Holy Book of Psalms 51, verse 4: "…when You are judged." Who is judging whom? I believe this should be corrected to "…when You judge." Why don't we use NKJV in the Psalms of the Agpeya?
• In the third hour of the Agpeya litanies, we pray "O Mother of God, you are the true vine who bore the Cluster of Life...” In Arabic I think it says "karma" which I believe is vineyard. Is this just a bad translation calling St. Mary the "true vine”?" Didn't our Lord say, "I am the true vine" (John 15:1) which is the exact gospel that we read in the Third Hour? I understand what the church is trying to say, but isn't it theologically incorrect to call her the "true vine”?
• What does "troporia" mean?
• What is the significance of praying with the Agpeya? How does it compare to American Christian Denominations way of praying?
• When are we not supposed to read from the Agpeya and perform prostrations? Why do we not do them at these times?
• Why must we use the Agpeya in prayer? Can a person just use their own words if they feel that it helps them get closer to God, or would this be disobeying the Church? Also, as time goes by, are we supposed to be growing in how many psalms we recite from the Agpeya, or is the goal of our prayer life to know and grow closer to God whether that includes using the Agpeya or not?