''Tasbeha'' (from the Arabic word "" meaning "praise") is the ''Midnight Praise'' of the

Coptic Orthodox Church The Coptic Orthodox Church (), also known as the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian church based in Egypt. The head of the church and the See of Alexandria is the pope of Alexandria on the Holy Apo ...

. The Praise consists of four canticles, known in the

Coptic language Coptic () is a dormant language, dormant Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language. It is a group of closely related Egyptian dialects, representing the most recent developments of the Ancient Egyptian language, Egyptian language, and histori ...

as a "Hoos" (), directly from the Holy

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

, as well as other praises that vary by day of the week. As its name suggests, the Tasbeha typically happens late at night, preceding a liturgy in the morning. In monasteries, the Tasbeha is usually prayed every night, often in the early hours before dawn. However, outside monasteries, this usually happens in the evening before a liturgy, though not necessarily at midnight. It typically lasts from 90 minutes to 2 hours.

Structure

After praying the

Agpeya The ''Agpeya'' ( Coptic: Ϯⲁⲅⲡⲓⲁ, ) is the Coptic Christian "Prayer Book of the Hours" or breviary, and is equivalent to the Shehimo in the Syriac Orthodox Church (another Oriental Orthodox Christian denomination), as well as the Byzan ...

, the Tasbeha begins with the hymn known as Ten Theno which calls on God to awaken us from our slumber so that we may praise Him fittingly. The Tasbeha then proceeds with 4 "Hoos"-es or

canticle In the context of Christian liturgy, a canticle (from the Latin ''canticulum'', a diminutive of ''canticum'', "song") is a psalm-like song with biblical lyrics taken from elsewhere than the Book of Psalms, but included in psalters and books su ...

s. Each canticle is sung directly from the Bible, followed by a "Lobsh" or explanation hymn. #The first canticle is the

Song of Moses The Song of Moses is the poem which appears in Deuteronomy of the Hebrew Bible, which according to the Bible was delivered just prior to Moses' death on Mount Nebo. Sometimes the Song is referred to as Deuteronomy 32, despite the fact that Deute ...

(). #The second canticle or ''hoos'' is

Psalm 135 Psalm 135 is the 135th psalm from the Book of Psalms, a part of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Praise ye the LORD". In the slightly different numbering system of the Greek Sept ...

in the

Septuagint The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...

(136 in the Masoretic), which thanks God for "His mercy

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

endures forever". #The third canticle is the praise of the Three Holy Children () followed by its Lobsh hymn Aripsalin. #*On

Bright Saturday Easter Saturday, on the Christian calendar, is the seventh day of Eastertide, being the Saturday of Easter or Bright Week. In the kalendar of Western Christianity it is the last day of Easter Week, sometimes referred to as the Saturday of ...

and during the month of Kiahk, the hymn Tenen is chanted. #After some additional hymns, doxologies, and commemorations of the saints, the fourth canticle is sung, which consists of the Laudate psalms (Psalms 148, 149, and

150 150 may refer to: * 150 (number), a natural number * AD 150, a year in the 2nd century AD * 150 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC * 150 Regiment RLC * Combined Task Force 150 * 150 Nuwa, a main-belt asteroid * Chevrolet 150, an economy or fleet car ...

). The Tasbeha continues with Psali (from Greek "" meaning to sing psalms), which are praises for Jesus, and

Theotokia A Theotokion (; pl. ) is a hymn to Mary the Theotokos (), which is read or chanted ( troparion or sticheron) during the canonical hours and Divine Liturgy of the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches, as well as in the praises of t ...

, which are praises for

St. Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

that intricately explore the various symbols of the Virgin and Christ's incarnation present in the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

. The Psali and Theotokia depend on the day of the week. Luke 2:29-32 and an

Antiphonary An antiphonary or antiphonal is one of the liturgical books intended for use (i.e. in the liturgical choir), and originally characterized, as its name implies, by the assignment to it principally of the antiphons used in various parts of the ...

about the saint of the day are also read. It concludes with a praise of God for His mercy, the

Creed A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) which summarizes its core tenets. Many Christian denominations use three creeds ...

, the prayer " Holy Holy Holy" and, if a priest is present, the Midnight Absolution.

Seven and Four

Traditionally, on every Saturday evening during the month of Kiahk (which overlaps with the

Nativity Fast In Christianity, the Nativity Fast—or Fast of the Prophets in Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church—is a period of abstinence and penance practiced by the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Churc ...

), a Tasbeha would held in which the four canticles and all seven Theotokia of the week would be chanted, interspersed by additional hymns and glorifications in honour of the Virgin Mary. These Tasbehas were thus called "Seven and Four", and would last all night until Sunday morning. However, it is more common nowadays for churches to have a daily "Seven and Four" Tasbeha throughout Kiahk, praying only that day's Theotokia on each one. This service typically lasts 5–7 hours, concluding around midnight.

Symbolism

Tasbeha is often regarded by Copts as the closest time to Heaven on Earth in that the community joins with the angels in the heavenly praise of God.Explanation of Praises
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Notes

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References

External links

Tasbeha.orgComplete Tasbeha (English and Coptic)Kiahk Tasbeha (English and Coptic)Third Canticle in Coptictext

Aripsalintext

Tenentext

Fourth Canticle in Coptictext

Friday Theotokia in Englishtext

Saturday Theotokia in EnglishSunday Theotokia (Parts 10-15, Coptic and English)
Coptic Orthodox Church Coptic Rite