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Agpeya

Faith Q&A › Metropolitan Youssef › Prayer, Fasting and Worship › Agpeya

The question

When are we not supposed to read from the Agpeya and perform prostrations? Why do we not do them at these times?

The answer

During Holy Week, all our focus, prayers, and readings are from the Holy Pascha Book. We perform prostrations during the petitions in the Daytime Litanies, since the Church is still abstaining from any food during these hours, but not during the Nighttime Litanies because these are prayed after sunset, and the abstinence fast is over at sunset.

We do not perform prostrations associated with fasting during the Holy Fifty Days following the Holy Resurrection because this is a joyful season.

Prostrations are generally performed during times of fasting and abstinence, as in the Prime Hour of the Agpeya. We also do not perform prostrations after the Divine Liturgy.

Answered by His Eminence Metropolitan Youssef (opens in a new tab)

Related questions

Questions answered by His Eminence Metropolitan Youssef (opens in a new tab) of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. Question 2027 on the Diocese’s Q&A site. Questions and answers © Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. All rights reserved.