Faith Q&A › Catechism › On the Main Features of the Coptic Liturgy

Can someone leave before the Liturgy of the Faithful ends?

The answer

It is stated in Canon 2.7 of the Apostles: “The deacons stand at the men’s doors to prevent anyone from going out and so that the doors may remain shut for the duration of the Liturgy, even if him who knocks on the door is a believer.” St. Basil says, “No one is to leave after the reading of the gospel unnecessarily except after receiving the eucharist.”¹⁵⁶¹

Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty

Notes

¹⁵⁶¹ Monastery of the Syrians, St. Basil the Great: His Life, Asceticism, and Church Canons (Arabic) (St. Mary’s Monastery (Deir al-Sourian), 2003): p. 544.

Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty, Catechism of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Volume 1, Books 1–3. First English Edition, 2023. Published by St. George Coptic Orthodox Church, Sporting, Alexandria, and Queen St. Mary & Prince Tadros Coptic Orthodox Church, South Brunswick, NJ. Copyright © 2023. Translation and Editing: Youth of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, Arabian Gulf, and Egypt.