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Questions & Answers

Feasts

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

The question

Why do our Nativity and Resurrection Liturgies take place at night rather than in the morning?

The answer

The answer to this question is that both events, the birth of our Lord (Psalm 110:3) and His Resurrection (John 20:1), took place early in the morning. So the liturgy starts at night and should end very early in the morning as it is done in St. Mark Cathedral in Cairo. Regarding the feast of Theophany, it is done at night because Nicodemus visited the Lord by night and spoke about the Mystery of Baptism (John 3:2) and there is a tradition that says that the Lord was baptized early in the morning.

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 210 on the Diocese’s Q&A site. Questions and answers © Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. All rights reserved.