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egydave

posted on Mar 10, 2008 - 11:36 PM

Peace and Grace To Everyone,

I was browsing some pictures of St. Stephen and I saw numerous ones with a "shoorya" or censer. Saint Steven was a deacon, never a priest. Why is he drawn with a censer?

DAVE

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stefanos

posted on Mar 10, 2008 - 11:52 PM

In the Early Church and still until today in the Eastern Orthodox Churches and in other Oriental Orthodox Churches (Syrian, Indian, Armenian) full deacons/Archdeacons can offer incense with the censer. Therefore we often write St. Stephen with a censer since he was an Archdeacon.

I am not sure if this was ever the case in the Coptic Orthodox Church (full deacons offering incense) then changed or if it never was to begin with. I hope someone else knows and can post the answer. Thanks. Pray for me.

stefanos

Joined: Nov 26, 2003 | Posts: 116
Location: Michigan

PeterA

posted on Mar 11, 2008 - 12:29 AM

Aghape,
egydave you are quite right. I have a book by Fr Shenouda maher which he submitted to the "The joint liturgical sub-committee between oriental and byzantine orthodox churches". The book is entitled "Liturgical and ritual issues and proposals concerning the restoration of communion"

here is a direct quote from the book saying that the early church deacons did have the ability for censing. Its beautiful actually.

Page 55 under heading "The role of the deacon in Censing"[/u]

"In the early centuries, however, the Coptic archdeacon was allowed to cense before the Gospel and in the holy place, but the priest has to put the incense at first for him in the censor. This is clear from the fourth century canons of the Coptic church attributed to st Athanasius, of which canon 106 orders: "all the incense (offering) thats is offered up in the holy place, morning and evening, especially at the divine anaphora, before the Gospel (lesson), the archdeacon shall take in his hand a censor and fill it with coals and shall stand before the altar overagainst the Gospel (book) and into it shall be put for him the incense and he shall cause it to rise up until the Gospel is read. Then he shall go with the censer before the Gospel into the inner part of the holy place. It is not that the lord hath need at all of incense. Nay, but man shall remember the incense of the ages of light, where (is) no hateful smell before the lord, the God of the living, where (are) hymns of praise".

Hope this answered your question.

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stefanos

posted on Mar 11, 2008 - 12:59 PM

Thank you. It definitely answered my question. I hope one day we can bring this tradition back with the full deacons/archdeacons. I wonder why it went away to begin with seeing that all the other Orthodox Churches including our Oriental Orthodox sister churches have retained it.

Joined: Nov 26, 2003 | Posts: 116
Location: Michigan

egyptianhomeboy

posted on Mar 12, 2008 - 04:51 AM

What happened to the crown?

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Location: California

jydeacon

posted on Mar 12, 2008 - 01:50 PM

Actually in the cathedral if you watch the broadcasts full deacons still where crowns, its a dieing tradition unfortunatly but at least its not completely dead

Joined: Jan 16, 2007 | Posts: 142