Worship In The Alexandrian Churches: Coptic And Ethiopian

The Coptic and Ethiopian liturgies are textually similar but quite different in style and setting. The Coptic liturgy is sober and restrained, while the Ethiopian liturgy is full of life and exuberance. Legend has it that Christianity spread to Egypt at the hands of St. Mark, and to Ethiopia via the eunuch of Candace (Acts 8:26-40). The legends concerning Mark attribute to him the complete shaping of the church in Alexandria: he was bishop and first patriarch, ordained deacons, presbyters and other bishops, and in general was responsible for establishing the church order that was in fact a much later development (see Aziz S. Atiya, A History of Eastern Christianity [London: Methuen, 1968]). With regard to Egypt it is more likely that, because of the commerce between Jerusalem and Alexandria, the path of Christianity's spread was much less precise. As for Ethiopia, it is not until the fourth century, under Frumentius and Aedesius of Tyre, that any authentic evangelization is recorded …