The Liturgy of the Word

While Christianity was known in the medieval Middle East as a “religion of the book”, throughout Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, the Christian message was more often disseminated through speaking and preaching rather than reading. Historically, most Christians accessed Christian culture in the public setting of rituals. These rituals usually featured the reading of Scriptures, the lives of saints, and homilies, and other ritual practices, such as prayers, hymns, and preaching. This book tells the story of the Coptic Liturgy of the Word, which precedes the prayer of the Eucharist in Coptic Christianity. Drawing on hundreds of medieval liturgical manuscripts, historical accounts, and visual and material culture, this history of the Coptic Liturgy of the Word tells the story of how Scripture, song, prayer, and preaching came together to transmit Coptic religious culture, shape minds and hearts, and reinforce the identity of Coptic Christians living in Islamic Egypt.