The Biblical Background to the kneeling prayer which is prayed today on the Feast of Pentecost
Explanation of the Kneeling Prayers (“Salaat el Sagda”) on the Feast of the Pentecost by Fr. Bishoy Lamie Mikhail June 8, 2014 Every year on the Feast of Pentecost, the Coptic Orthodox Church practices “Salaat el Sagda,” or the “Kneeling Prayer,” in the evening. This important prayer has a deep meaning, as it explains the significant role of the descent of the Holy Spirit in our salvation and life as a church. “In the Old Testament, Pentecost was the feast which occurred fifty days after Passover. As the Passover feast celebrated the exodus of the Israelites from the slavery of Egypt, Pentecost celebrated God’s gift of the Ten Commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai. In the new covenant of the Messiah, the Passover event takes on its new meaning as the celebration of Christ’s death and resurrection, the “exodus” of men from this sinful world to the Kingdom of God. And in the New Testament as well, the Pentecostal feast is fulfilled and made new by the coming of the...