www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Has anyone attended a Ge'ez liturgy?

Hello everyone,

Have any of you attended a Ge'ez liturgy before, either Catholic or Orthodox?

I hope sometime within the month of April to attend a Ge'ez Catholic liturgy in Los Angeles, but would like to know a few things beforehand.

I know that Ge'ez liturgies are quite long, how long is the liturgy?

How is the Eucharist distributed? What about the procession that takes place after communion with the Eucharist?

Has the Ge'ez Catholic liturgy been substantially latinized? Has the liturgy been shortened? How does it compare with the Ge'ez Orthodox liturgy?

I am looking forward to hearing the drums. At what points of the liturgy are the drums used? When does the dancing take place?

I greatly appreciate your sharing your experiences.

God bless you,

griego catolico

Dear GC,

Yes, I've attended an Ethiopian Orthodox liturgy . . .

It is quite the experience, the drums, the clanging of other musical instruments, the prayer-staffs, mitres, prayer-shawls, hand-Crosses . . .

I now have most of the above in my private collection!

Fr. Messale Ughema began the liturgical celebration at seven a.m. and by ten the main body of people had come in - all wrapped up by noon.

Don't forget to remove your shoes and, if possible, to bring a prayer-shawl, but perhaps that is not absolutely necessary.

The liturgical dance etc. depends on the level of the feast-day, I believe.

Alex

Griego,

Is the celebration of the Ge'ez Liturgy in LA a special occasion or do they now have a parish/ mission there?

Many years,

Neil

....

Irish Melkite,

There are Ge'ez Catholic communities in Los Angeles and San Diego. My understanding is that these communities are large. My pastor offered the use of his church for their liturgy, but it wasn't large enough to fit the community!! Currently, these two communities have their liturgy at Roman-rite Catholic parishes. They have a priest who celebrates liturgy for both communities on alternate Sundays: one Sunday in LA, the next Sunday in SD, and so on.

The Ge'ez community in LA has their liturgy in the afternoon, so hopefully I'll be able to attend their Palm Sunday liturgy or their Pascha liturgy, depending on which Sunday their priest will be in LA.

God bless you,
griego catolico

Ge'ez is the name of a language - and one could presumably do any Liturgy one likes in that language. I assume the reference is to the Liturgy of the Ethiopian-Eritrean Recension of the Coptic tradition (now there's a mouthful of verbiage!).
Anyway, last time I looked there was Divine Liturgy in Rome at least twice a week, in a Latin church near Piazza Navona. I was there once (with a friend). We got there a bit late - they were already going - we stayed for three hours - they were still going when we left. I don't know any Ge'ez, so I can't offer much of an opinion as to what they were or were not leaving out. The church was packed to the walls (this was a weekday evening) and the music was utterly splendid - much better than the recordings I've heard would have us believe.
Incognitus