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Day 10 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Tubah, may God make it always received, year after year, with reassurance and tranquility, while our sins after forgiven by the tender mercies of our God my fathers and brothers.
Amen.
The Tenth Day of the Blessed Month of Tubah
Paramone of Holy Theophany (Epiphany)
On this day it has been the tradition
of the Orthodox Church, following the teachings of the holy fathers of
the church, to fast until dusk, eating only what is permitted to be eaten
during the holy forty days (Lent). If Christmas day or Epiphany falls on
Wednesday or Friday, the saintly apostles ordained that the believers eat
all the food that one is permitted to eat during the Pentecostal days (the
post-resurrection fifty days). They are feasts to the Lord. The Paramoune
days are fasted to compensate for the feast days, so that we may have the
blessings of both the fast and the feast. In the custom of our Coptic Orthodox
church, if the Paramoune day falls on Saturday or Sunday, it is the tradition
to fast on the Friday that precedes them also. Then they pray on water
before midnight and they wash and bless everyone who wants to be blessed.
The reason to complete this before midnight is because of the fear that
the little children may break their fasting by drinking water. We ask Christ
to purify us, cleanse us from all our abominations, forgive our sins, and
make us worthy to receive the revelation of the glory of His divine nature
in our hearts and in our deeds, as He revealed His glory in the Jordan
River.
To Him be the Glory with His Good Father and His Holy Spirit, now and forever, and to the end of ages. Amen.