ORIGINAL ARTICLE

O Heavenly King dwell within us

Sameh Hunain, Shereen Azer and Michael Henein

The European Academy of Coptic Heritage – TEACH

 

 

According to the Coptic tradition, believers pray daily the Third Hour (according to the Hebrew tradition) which corresponds to Nine O’clock AM, reflecting on the event of the Pentecost and the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples, 10 days after the ascension of Lord Jesus. The Gospel of the third hour states clearly the promise of Lord Jesus to send the Holy Spirit, from the Father, upon the disciples. And that He will teach them and remind them of all which He had said to them. As is the case with all other hourly prayers, the gospel is followed by the litanies, again which reflect on the same event. The fourth litany reads: ‘O Heavenly King the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, who is everywhere and fills everybody, come and dwell within us, you the Righteous One and save our souls’. This prayer is shared by many churches, including the Greek, Syrian, and Maronite churches. The Arabic of the word dwell ‘حل’ may give an inaccurate impression, of calling upon the Holy Spirit to descend upon the believers. We hereby discuss the Coptic and Greek linguistic evidence for the accurate meaning of the word. We conclude that the accurate meaning is ‘abide within us’ or ‘stay with us’, since the believer declares in the first and second litanies of the third hour, the presence of the Holy Spirit within his/her heart and asks for His renewal, with the Arabic request adjusted accordingly to

’اسكن فینا، امكث فینا، أقم فینا”

Lettre eبناءً على التقليد القبطي، يُصلي المؤمنون يومياً الساعة الثالثة (وفقًا للتقليد العبري) التي تُقابل الساعة التاسعة صباحاً، مع التأمل في حدث يوم الخمسين وحلول الروح القدس على التلاميذ، بعد 10 أيام من صعود الرب يسوع.

إن إنجيل الساعة الثالثة يعلن بوضوح وعد الرب يسوع بإرسال الروح القدس من عند الآب على التلاميذ. وأنه سيعلمهم ويذكرهم بكل ما قاله لهم. وكما هو الحال مع جميع الصلوات اليومية ، ياتي بعد الانجيل القطع التي تعكس مرة أخرى نفس الحدث. وهنا القطعه الرابعة تقول:

“ أيها الملك السمائي المعزى، روح الحق، الحاضر في كل مكان والمالئ الكل، كنز الصالحات، ومعطى الحياة. هلم تفضل وحل فينا ”’وطهرنا من كل دنس أيها الصالح، وخلص نفوسنا “ ، هذه الصلاة هي صلاة مشتركة بين العديد من الكنائس، بما في ذلك الكنائس اليونانية، والسريانية، والمارونية

إن الكلمة العربية “حل” قد تعطي هنا انطباعاً غير دقيق ألا وهو ان الانسان يدعو إلى نزول او حلول الروح القدس على المؤ منين لذلك من الأهمية ان نناقش هنا الأدلة اللغوية القبطية واليونانية للمعنى الدقيق لهذه الكلمة ونخلص إلى أن المعنى الدقيق وهو “اسكن فينا” أو “ابقَ معنا”، لأن المؤمن يُعلن في القطعه الأولى والثانية من الساعة الثالثة عن حضور ( سكني ) الروح القدس في قلبه ويطلب تجديده، وبالتالي يجب تعديل هذه الطلبه باللغة العربية وفقًا لذلك إلى:

’اسكن فینا، امكث فینا، أقم فینا”

Dutch

Volgens de Koptische traditie bidden gelovigen dagelijks het Derde Uur (volgens de Hebreeuwse traditie), wat overeenkomt met negen uur ’s ochtends. Ze reflecteren hierbij op het evenement van Pinksteren en de nederdaling van de Heilige Geest over de discipelen, tien dagen na de hemelvaart van de Heer Jezus. Het Evangelie van het Derde Uur vermeldt duidelijk de belofte van de Heer Jezus om de Heilige Geest, van de Vader naar de discipelen te sturen. En dat Hij hen zal onderwijzen en hen alles zal herinneren wat Hij tot hen had gezegd. Zoals het geval is met alle andere gebedsuren, wordt het evangelie gevolgd door de litanieën, die opnieuw reflecteren op hetzelfde evenement. De vierde litanie luidt: ’O Hemelse Koning, Trooster, Geest der waarheid, alomtegenwoordig, die alles vervult Schat van het goede, Gever van het leven; kom, gewaardig U in ons te wonen en reinig ons van alle smet, o goede Heer, en verlos onze zielen’. Dit gebed wordt gedeeld door vele kerken, waaronder de Griekse, Syrische en Maronitische kerken. Het Arabische woord voor ’wonen’ ’حل’ kan een onjuiste indruk wekken, namelijk dat de Heilige Geest wordt opgeroepen om neer te dalen op de gelovigen. We bespreken hierbij het Koptische en Griekse taalkundige bewijs voor de nauwkeurige betekenis van het woord. We concluderen dat de nauwkeurige betekenis ’blijf bij ons’ of ’verblijf in ons’ is, aangezien de gelovige in de eerste en tweede litanieën van het Derde Uur de aanwezigheid van de Heilige Geest in zijn/haar hart verklaart en vraagt om zijn vernieuwing, met het Arabische verzoek dienovereenkomstig aangepast naar (verblijf in ons, blijf bij ons, woon in ons).

’اسكن فینا، امكث فینا، أقم فینا”

German

Nach der koptischen Tradition beten die Gläubigen täglich zur dritten Stunde (nach der hebräischen Tradition), die Neun Uhr morgens entspricht. Dabei gedenken sie des Pfingstereignisses und des Herabkommens des Heiligen Geistes auf die Jünger, zehn Tage nach der Himmelfahrt des Herrn Jesus. Das Evangelium der dritten Stunde enthält klar das Versprechen des Herrn Jesus, den Heiligen Geist vom Vater auf die Jünger zu senden. Und dass er sie lehren und sie an alles erinnern wird, was er ihnen gesagt hat. Wie bei allen anderen Stundengebeten folgt auf das Evangelium die Litanei, die wiederum das gleiche Ereignis reflektiert. Die vierte Litanei lautet: „ Himmlischer König, du Tröster, Geist der Wahrheit, überall und alles erfüllend, Schatz der Güte und Lebensspender, kehre gnädig ein und erfülle uns; wasche uns von Makel rein, du Gerechter; und errette unsere Seelen. “. Dieses Gebet wird von vielen Kirchen geteilt, einschließlich der griechischen, syrischen und maronitischen Kirchen. Das arabische Wort „حل“ für „wohnen“ kann einen ungenauen Eindruck erwecken, dass der Heilige Geist auf die Gläubigen herabkommen soll. Hier diskutieren wir die koptischen und griechischen linguistischen Belege für die genaue Bedeutung des Wortes. Wir kommen zu dem Schluss, dass die genaue Bedeutung „in uns bleiben“ oder „bei uns bleiben“ ist, da der Gläubige in den ersten und zweiten Litaneien der dritten Stunde die Anwesenheit des Heiligen Geistes in seinem/ihrem Herzen erklärt und um seine Erneuerung bittet, wobei die arabische Bitte entsprechend auf angepasst wird.

’اسكن فینا، امكث فینا، أقم فینا”

Greek

Βάσει της Κοπτικής παράδοσης, οι πιστοί προσεύχονται καθημερινά την Τρίτη Ώρα (σύμφωνα με την Εβραϊκή παράδοση) η οποία αντιστοιχεί στις εννέα το πρωί, αναλογιζόμενοι το γεγονός της Πεντηκοστής και την κάθοδο του Αγίου Πνεύματος επί των μαθητών, δέκα ημέρες μετά την ανάληψη του Κυρίου Ιησού. Το Ευαγγέλιο της τρίτης ώρας δηλώνει σαφώς την υπόσχεση του Κυρίου Ιησού να στείλει το Άγιο Πνεύμα από τον Πατέρα στους μαθητές. Και ότι θα τους διδάξει και θα τους υπενθυμίσει όλα όσα τους είχε πει. Όπως συμβαίνει και με όλες τις άλλες ωριαίες προσευχές, το ευαγγέλιο ακολουθείται από τις λιτανείες, οι οποίες και πάλι αναλογίζονται το ίδιο γεγονός. Η τέταρτη λιτανεία αναφέρει: ’Βασιλεύ Ουράνιε, Παράκλητε, το Πνεύμα της Αληθείας, ο πανταχού παρών και τα πάντα πληρών, ελθέ και σκήνωσον εν ημίν, ο αγαθέ, και σώσον τας ψυχάς ημών’. Αυτή η προσευχή μοιράζεται από πολλές εκκλησίες, συμπεριλαμβανομένων των Ελληνικών, Συριακών και Μαρωνιτικών εκκλησιών. Η αραβική λέξη ’حل’ μπορεί να δώσει μια ανακριβή εντύπωση, ότι καλούμε το Άγιο Πνεύμα να κατέλθει επί των πιστών. Συζητούμε εδώ τα κοπτικά και ελληνικά γλωσσολογικά στοιχεία για την ακριβή σημασία της λέξης. Συμπεραίνουμε ότι η ακριβής σημασία είναι ’μείνε μέσα μας’ ή ’παραμείνε μαζί μας’, καθώς ο πιστός δηλώνει στις πρώτες και δεύτερες λιτανείες της τρίτης ώρας, την παρουσία του Αγίου Πνεύματος στην καρδιά του/της και ζητά την ανανέωσή Του, επομένως το αραβικό αίτημα θα πρέπει να προσαρμοστεί ανάλογα σε ’ἔμεινε ἐν ἡμῖν, μεῖνε ἐν ἡμῖν, παραμείνε ἐν ἡμῖν’.

French

Selon la tradition copte, les croyants prient quotidiennement la troisième heure (selon la tradition hébraïque) qui correspond à neuf heures du matin, en réfléchissant sur l’événement de la Pentecôte et la descente du Saint-Esprit sur les disciples, 10 jours après l’ascension du Seigneur Jésus. L’Évangile de la troisième heure énonce clairement la promesse du Seigneur Jésus d’envoyer le Saint-Esprit, venant du Père, sur les disciples. Et qu’Il leur enseignera et leur rappellera tout ce qu’Il leur avait dit. Comme c’est le cas pour toutes les autres prières des différentes heures, l’Évangile est suivi des litanies, qui méditent également sur le même événement. La quatrième litanie dit : « Ô Roi céleste, Consolateur, Esprit de vérité, qui existes en tout lieu et qui remplis tout le monde, daigne venir en nous, purifie-nous de toute souillure ô très Bon et sauve nos âmes ». Cette prière est partagée par de nombreuses Églises, notamment les Églises grecques, syriennes et maronites. L’arabe du mot « حل » peut donner une impression inexacte, celle d’appeler le Saint-Esprit à descendre sur les croyants. Nous discutons ici des preuves linguistiques coptes et grecques de la signification exacte du mot. Nous concluons que le sens exact est « demeure en nous » ou « reste avec nous », puisque le croyant déclare dans les première et deuxième litanies de la troisième heure, la présence du Saint-Esprit dans son cœur et demande son renouvellement. La prière arabe, ainsi que les autres langues basées sur cette traduction arabe, devraient donc être ajustées en conséquence

’اسكن فینا، امكث فینا، أقم فینا”

Italian

[2024-07-05, 18:24:28] Silvana Milano: Secondo la tradizione copta, i credenti pregano quotidianamente la terza ora (secondo la tradizione ebraica) la quale corrisponde alle ore nove del mattino, riflettendo sull’evento della Pentecoste e la discesa dello Spirito Santo sui discepoli, dieci giorni dopo l’ascensione del Signore Gesù. Il Vangelo della terza ora afferma chiaramente la promessa del Signore Gesù di inviare lo Spirito Santo, dal Padre, sui discepoli; e che Egli gli insegnerà e gli ricorderà di tutto ciò che aveva insegnato loro. Come nel caso di tutte le altre preghiere orarie, il Vangelo è seguito dalle litanie che riflettono lo stesso evento. Nella quarta litania si legge: “O re celeste, consolatore, Spirito di verità, che sei presente in ogni luogo e che riempi tutti, vieni e abita in noi, o buon Dio e salva le nostre anime”. Questa preghiera è condivisa da molte chiese, incluse le chiese greca, siriana e maronita. La parola araba abitare ‘حل’ può dare un’impressione inaccurata di invocare lo Spirito Santo a scendere sui credenti. In questo studio discutiamo l’evidenza linguistica copta e greca per il significato accurato della parola. Concludiamo che il significato accurato è ‘rimanere dentro di noi’ o ‘stare con noi’, dal momento che il credente afferma nella prima e nella seconda litania della terza ora, la presenza dello Spirito Santo nel suo cuore e chiede il suo rinnovo, con la richiesta in arabo adattata di conseguenza a

’اسكن فینا، امكث فینا، أقم فینا”

Swedish

Enligt koptisk tradition ber troende dagligen den tredje timmen (enligt hebreisk tradition) vilket motsvarar klockan nio på morgonen och reflekterar över händelsen vid pingsten och den helige Andes nedstigande över lärjungarna, tio dagar efter Herrens Jesu uppstigning. Evangeliet för den tredje timmen klargör tydligt Herrens Jesu löfte att sända den helige Ande, från Fadern, över lärjungarna. Och att Han ska undervisa dem och påminna dem om allt som Han hade sagt till dem. Som är fallet med alla andra timliga böner, följs evangeliet av litanior, som återigen reflekterar över samma händelse. Den fjärde litanian lyder: “O himmelske Konung, Tröstare, Sanningens Ande, som är överallt och fyller allt, kom och värdigas vara i oss, rena oss från all befläckelse, o Gode och fräls våra själar.” Denna bön delas av många kyrkor, inklusive de grekiska, syriska och maronitiska kyrkorna. Det arabiska ordet för ’ kom ner över’ (’حل’) kan ge ett felaktigt intryck av att man kallar på den helige Ande att stiga ner över de troende. Här diskuterar vi den koptiska och grekiska språkliga bevisningen för den exakta betydelsen av ordet. Vi drar slutsatsen att den exakta betydelsen är ’förbli inom oss’ eller ’stanna hos oss’, eftersom den troende i den första och andra litanian för den tredje timmen förklarar den helige Andes närvaro i sitt hjärta och ber om Hans förnyelse, därför bör den arabiska begäran justeras därefter till

’اسكن فینا، امكث فینا، أقم فینا”

The Sources of this Prayer

The text of this prayer is considered an ancient source. Every ancient prayer is composed either by a church father/saint, or it is collected from other more ancient sources, or from the vocabulary of the Holy Bible. Our objective in this article is to investigate “the sources of this prayer”. In doing this, we find that inside a prayer of saint Ephraem the Syrian (4^th cent. A. D.) these two words, “Βασιλεῦ οὐράνιε”, which are the prooimion of our prayer, as referring to the Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God. In his famous works “De Ceremonnis Byzantinae Aulae” of the emperor Constantinus Porphyrogenitus (10^th cent. A. D.), we find a reference to this prayer that used to be chanted, nearly as a whole, by the cantors. It is worth mentioning that the most important phrase ἐλθὲ καὶ σκήνωσον of this prayer is found for the first time in Acta Thomae where the apostle Thomas says “ἐλθὲ καὶ σκήνωσον ἐν τοῖς ὕδασι τούτοις”¹ calling the power of salvation to come and dwell in these waters (of Baptism). So this passage of Acta Thomae may be considered one of the sources of our prayer.

We will refer below to different sources of this prayer (vd. footnotes).

The Greek language reference

Βασιλεῦ οὐράνιε², Παράκλητε³,
τὸ Πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας⁴,
ὁ πανταχοῦ παρών, καὶ τὰ πάντα πληρῶν⁵,
ὁ θησαυρὸς τῶν ἀγαθῶν⁶, καὶ ζωῆς χορηγός⁷,
ἐλθὲ καὶ σκήνωσον ἐν ἡμῖν⁸,
καὶ καθάρισον ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ πάσης κηλῖδος⁹,
καὶ σῶσον, Ἀγαθέ, τὰς ψυχὰς ἡμῶν.

In the Orthodox Church, this is the only prayer, among all the prayers of the Church, that is not addressed to the Holy Trinity, but to the Holy Spirit.

It is noticed that the first two verbs of the request, i. e. ἐλθὲ καὶ σκήνωσον ἐν ἡμῖν are imperative mood in the aorist tense, the matter which indicates that the prayer requests from the Holy Spirit to come right here, right now and dwell (abide) (within) us. As Rodney Decker states: “The use of the imperative in prayer is also an example of a weakened imperative. These are usually expressed with aorist imperatives and are to be understood as requests¹⁰”.

The verb used here is σκήνωσον which is aorist, imperative, active, 2^nd, singular and means “to spread a tent, dwell, abide”, this means that the prayer does not demand from the Holy Spirit to descend upon him externally, but: to dwell in us internally, to be with us, to be a part of whatever we do and sanctify it and to come and live in us that we may learn to live in Him.

This interpretation is clearly supported by St Luke’s Gospel 3:22. It refers to the Holy Spirit as a dove descending upon Lord Jesus Christ (καταβῆναι ἐπ’ αὐτόν). This is suitable, for this event, since the Lord had no need of the Holy Spirit to dwell in Him, as the two are one with the Father, and the Holy Spirit Himself is of the Son. Furthermore, the descent of the Holy Spirit was a manifestation (Θεοφάνεια) for the people to see the Spirit of God, and believe in the Holy Trinity. Likewise, on the day of the Pentecost, the tongues of the Holy Spirt appeared to the disciples as of fire and sat upon (ἐκάθισεν ἐπὶ) each one of them (Ac. 2:3). This also was a manifestation of the Holy Spirit in order to be visible for all the Jews who were then present. On the same subject, Saint Augustine says ‘when He sent the Holy Spirit, he manifested Him visibly in two ways—by a dove and by fire: by a dove upon the Lord when he was baptized and by fire upon the disciples when they were gathered together¹¹.…

As for the litany of the Third Hour, “Βασιλεῦ οὐράνιε” is somehow different; we don’t ask the Holy Spirit to descend upon us from outside as a dove, nor to sit upon us as tongues of fire, but rather to dwell within us, to abide within us and to make for Himself a home in us. This is a unique prayer that is not mentioned in other settings.

Amazingly the verb σκηνόω used in the litany under discussion, for the dwelling of the Holy Spirit or in the verse of (John 1:14) “Καὶ ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν”, i.e. the Word became a flesh and dwelt within us. The Word through His incarnation dwelt in us, and now we request from the Holy Spirit to dwell in us. This explains the words of Jesus that “It is profitable for you that I should go away, for if I don’t go the Comforter will not at all come to you” (John 16:7). In fact, one time He goes as far as to tell them that it was good that He was leaving them, because if He had remained on earth, the Comforter would not have come. These words of our Lord Jesus may implicate that He will send the Holy Spirit to take His place within them and dwell in them forever.

The Coptic language reference

Wpiouro `nepouranion ouoh `mparaklyton
pi`pneuma `nte ]me;myi@ vy`etsop qen mai niben ouoh e;moh `mpi`e`ptyrf@
pi;ucauroc `nte ni`aga;on@ ouoh `vref] `m`pwnq@
Arikataxoin `amou swpi `nqyten@ ouoh matoubon `ebolha ;wleb niben
`wpi`aga;oc@ ouoh ek`enohem `nnyetenoun `m'u,y.

The fourth litany of the Third Hour prayer is a pledge to the Holy Spirit to “come and dwell within us and purify us from all defilement.” The phrase ‘dwell in us’ in the Coptic script is written as swpi `nqyten which is a literal word-for-word translation as the English and as the Arabic حِل فينا

To better understand the exact meaning of this phrase, a search was conducted for the similar situations where this phrase is being used in the same context. We find that in the Gospel of John, it is written, “and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (John 1:14). In this verse, we find the Coptic script is expressed as afswpi `n`qryi `nqyten which is translated ‘He dwelt among us’ in English and حَل فينا in Arabic. Similarly, in St. Paul’s epistle to the Romans, he says, “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.” (Romans 8:9). In this verse, the Coptic sop qen ;ynou and the Arabic ساكناً فيكم match the English ‘dwells in you’.

A key verse in understanding this important phrase is the promise of the Lord Himself, “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever.” (John 14:16). It is very clear from this verse that the Holy Spirit is being sent from the Father to dwell (abide) with us forever just as the Lord himself was dwelling among His disciples in the flesh some 2000 years ago. We see once again the Coptic verb swpi appearing in the phrase `ntefswpi nemwten (that He may abide – dwell – with you) يَمكُث معكم . The importance of this key verse is that it clarifies the intended meaning of the Coptic verb swpi which has been consistent all along in the above-mentioned verses to denote that the Holy Spirit is living with us, among us, and in us as a support system (Helper) to guide us through life’s journey. Perhaps that is the reason why the Lord explains further about the Holy Spirit saying, “for He dwells within you and will be in you.” (John 14:17). One cannot ignore the fact that the same Coptic verb swpi repeats itself in this verse je afswp nemwten ouoh ef`eswpi qen ;ynou لأنه ماكث معكم ويكون فيكم.

Interestingly, this is the same verb that the Lord Himself used to denote His relationship with the Father. We read: “as You Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us.” (John 17:21). The Coptic wording: eteksop `n`hryi `nqyt ... `ntouswpi `nqyten qen oumetouai consistently uses the verb swpi to denote this form of unity between the Father and the Son. Clearly, that relationship is quite different from our relationship with the Holy Spirit. And so, in this verse context, the verb swpi is rendered inconclusive to denote the meaning of “dwelling in us.”

Conclusions

It may be concluded from this limited survey for the meaning of the Coptic verb swpi (dwell – حل) which is found in this litany of the Third Hour, that the pledge here is for the Holy Spirit (Heavenly King) who is already living and dwelling among us and within us in an unutterable mysterious fashion, to renew His promises to us and support us throughout our daily struggles. This meaning may also imply that the prayer could be considered as a request ‘on behalf of all mankind’ imploring the Holy Spirit to sanctify all believers and, at the same time, work in non-believers to attract them. For it is written that “no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:3). In this sense, the prayer may carry within it an “evangelistic” pledge.

Footnotes

¹ Acta Apostolorum Apocrypha, vol. 2.2”, Ed. Bonnet, M Leipzig: Mendelssohn, 1903, Sec. 51, l. 20.

² De Cerimoniis Aulae Byzantinae (lib. 1.1-92), ed. A. Vogt, (lib. 1.1-92), Vol. 1 = lib. 1.1-46 (= Reiske 1.1-37). Vol. 2 = lib. 1.47-92 (= Reiske 1.38-83), vol. 2, p. 173, l. 4, Ephraem Syrus, De Compunctione, Ed. Phrantzoles Konstantinos, Τὸ Περιβόλι τῆς Παναγίας, 1988, vol. 1, p. 384, l. 2.

³ Ὁ Παράκλητος, (John 14: 26, 15: 26, 16: 27).

⁴ Τὸ Πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας, (John 14:17, 15: 26, 16: 13), (1 John 4: 6).

⁵ Ὁ πανταχοῦ παρών, καὶ τὰ πάντα πληρῶν, Johannes Chrysostomus, Ad populum Antiochenum (homiliae 1-21), MPG 49, 98, l. 52, This formula is found in many other hymns of Romanus Melodus, especially in hymn 37, sec. 18, l. 7 as referring to the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁶ Ὁ Θησαυρὸς τῶν ἀγαθῶν, Eusebius, Ecclesiastica Theologica, MPG 24, 837C., as referring to God.

⁷ Πάσης ζωῆς χορηγός, Origen, Contra Celsum, MPG 11, 1545C, as referring to God.

⁸ Acta Thomae, Acta Apostolorum Apocrypha, vol. 2. 2, sec. 51, l. 20.

⁹ Προκαθάρσιον γάρ ἐστιν αὕτη ἡ ἡμέρα, ἵνα ἑαυτὸν καθαρίσῃς ἀπὸ πάσης κηλῖδος, Johannes Chrysostomus, In ramos palmarum [Sp.], MPG 61: 715–720.

¹⁰ Reading Koine Greek, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan 2014, p. 489.

¹¹ Saint Augustine, Tractates on the Gospel of John, 6, 3, NPNF 1, 7:40.