Why do we, Copts, call the Holy Week's prayers Pascha while other Christians

Comments

• drilago99

  April 2012

      In the Christian tradition, the use of the term "Pascha" varies in use according to the theological focus of the Christian group. The early Latin rite, focusing on the sufferings of Christ, used Pascha to refer to the "Passion" and thus related more closely to the day of our Lord's Crucifixion. One example of this is Melito of Sardis, who writes, "What is the Pascha? It is taken from an accompanying circumstance paschein (to keep Pascha) comes from pathein (to suffer). Therefore, learn who the suffer is and who is he who suffers along with the sufferer."
  
      However, there is a second, more accurate understanding of Pascha, which was interpreted as "passage" instead of "passion." This understanding was introduced by the Jewish writer Philo, and continued in by the famous Alexandrian fathers, the Scholar Origen, St. Cyril of Alexandria, and St. Clement. Thus, our Church focused more on the glory and victory of the resurrection rather than the sufferings.
  
  Source: Treasures of the Fathers of the Church - Volume Three: The Holy Pascha.
  
• sifaing

  April 2012

  Xristos anesti!
  
  Our Pascha week ends with the feast of Pascha. So we call our Easter Pascha as well (عيد الفصح). 
  
  Pascha is the Greek rendition of the word fes7 (فصح). The f is interchangeable with p or b and the 7 is not in the Greek language, so they use kh. Fes7 in turn is a Hebrew word meaning Passover.
  
  Alitos anesti.
• henrik.hank

  April 2012

  Etymology of the word Pascha: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=pascha&searchmode=none
• ilovesaintmark

  April 2012

  The New Passover.  The New Passover Lamb.
• egyboy

  April 2012

  The word "Pascha" in Coptic, comes from the Hebrew word "Pasakh" which means "Passover".
• ilovesaintmark

  April 2012

  Yes.