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THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 293
nian church have adhered to the Western church, but in its rites it far moie resembles the Eastern Greek church. The language is well adapted for song.
Their most ancient religious songs were written by Sahac, the great Katholicos, or patriarch of the church; the psalms were sung by them to popular melodies.
THE CHURCHES OF AFRICA.
St. Mark is considered as the Apostle of Egypt and founder of the church of Alexandria; the liturgy used by this church is said to have been written by him; but many manuscripts exist which point to St. Basilius as its author, and it bears internal evidence that St. Mark could not have written it, for among the prayers for the dead, it names many saints, martyrs, bishops, etc., including St. Mark.
The songs of the early Christians here, as throughout the Orient, were hymns, psalms, and anthems of which the melodies were taken from the popular m^sic of the day.
The Coptic church in its liturgy entirely resembled the Greek church of Egypt, and in looking over its ritual, one continually meets with translations of the liturgies of St. Basil, St. Cyrille, or St. Gregory Nazianzen. In the National Library, of Paris there is also a Coptic translation of the Liturgy of St. Mark.
The music of the Coptic church is very much embellished, and of inordinate length; for, owing |
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