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Rituals

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

The question

Which of the following are/are not practices of the Oriental Orthodox Churches:

-Eating the agape meal
-Transubstantiation
-Praying directly to deceased Christians
-Meeting in cathedrals
-Laity does not usually speak in the church
-Infants are baptized
-The overseers wear vestments
-Icons are venerated

The answer

We do not use the term transubstantiation.   This term is used in the Catholic Church but the Orthodox Church believes in the change of the bread and wine to the body and the blood of the Lord in a mystical way without using the above term, which explains the process since the Orthodox Church believes that the process is a mystical one.

Also, we do not use the term praying directly to deceased Christians because we offer prayers to the Lord. However, we ask the prayers of the reposed saints and this is called, intercession.

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 2224 on the Diocese’s Q&A site. Questions and answers © Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. All rights reserved.