Editor’s Note: Matthew Chicoine interviewed Christian Salem via phone call on August 7th, 2025. Some of the questions/answers have been rearranged, edited, and paraphrased to provide the best reader experience without losing any integrity of the answers given.
The Coptic Catholic Church traces its origins to St. Mark the Evangelist. How does this apostolic heritage shape the spiritual life and identity of Coptic Catholics today?
When St. Mark brought the Gospel to Egypt, he gave us the foundation for a Church rooted in apostolic faith. After his martyrdom, the community he formed blossomed into a vibrant ascetical tradition, giving rise to saints like Anthony the Great, Cyril of Alexandria, and Athanasius, whose lives of prayer, fasting, and theological brilliance shaped Coptic spirituality for centuries.
You can see how this heritage lives on today in the Coptic Catholic Church’s liturgy, monastic ideals, and steadfast witness, preserving the same faith St. Mark entrusted to Alexandria.
The Coptic Catholic Church uses ancient liturgies like those of St. Mark, St. Cyril, St. Gregory, and St. Basil. What are some distinctive elements of the Coptic Catholic Mass that a Roman Catholic might find striking?
Editor’s Note: Matthew Chicoine interviewed @churchofambrose from Instagram via phone call on April 11th, 2025. Some of the questions have been rearranged and edited to provide the best reader experience without losing any integrity of the answers given.
Tell me about your faith journey.
I was born and raised Catholic. During my teenage years I became lukewarm, I moved to university and during the initial years my faith struggled. Slowly, but surely the Lord called me back to the faith in a deeper way. I was fundamentally unhappy for a while before I found God again. I want people to experience it.
The Ambrosian Rite is largely unknown outside of Milan. It is a local church, there’s practically one diocese (Milan).
The Ambrosian Rite dates back to at least the 4th century with connections to St. Ambrose himself. What sparked your passion for preserving this ancient liturgical tradition through digitization?
I think the Ambrosian Rite is one of the most unique rites. It is very intrinsic in our culture. This rite starts from (most likely) the old Roman Rite. Bl. Cardinal Schuster (1880-1954) said that Saint Ambrose took the rite from Rome and slightly modified it. This is probably only partially true, however the Ambrosian Rite is the oldest Western Rite still alive today. Our Lent is the same Lent that Gregory the Great would have followed. It’s so interesting and cool that this rite is preserved. This is how Saints Augustine and Ambrose followed. It feels like I’m going back centuries; it’s very inspiring.
(For example during the 1st, 3rd and 5th Sundays of Lent, instead of the “Gloria” we sing the “Divinae Pacis”. This chant is older than the edict of Milan (313 AD))
For readers unfamiliar with the Ambrosian Rite, what are the most distinctive elements that set it apart from the more familiar Roman Rite celebrated in most Catholic churches?
In general the thing that people notice the most is the thurible. In the Roman Rite there’s a cap on top of it. We don’t have a cap on it and it’s spun in a 360 degree motion. It is spun to form the shape of the cross. (At the start of the Mass the altar is incensed. You can remove this and add the text at the bottom) (Another particular difference, is the incensation of the Tabernacle which is done kneeling at the start of every High Mass.)
The other thing people notice is the chants. It’s very hard to explain, it’s just very different.
(The ambrosian chants were introduced by Saint Ambrose himself in the 4th century. For the first time in the Church’s history, non-psalmic hymns were included in liturgical celebrations. Ambrose, personally composed many hymns, including “Aeterne rerum conditor”, “Deus creator omnium”, “Iam surgit hora tertia”, and “Intende qui regis Israel”. The most famous hymn is obviously the “Te Deum”, which was composed together with Saint Augustine after Augustine’s baptism. I highly suggest the reader listen to the Ambrosian Version of the “Te Deum”. Despite the modifications it underwent over the centuries, Ambrosian chant is considered the oldest surviving body of Western liturgical music.)
And the Offertory is done before the Credo (and it is much longer). We have lots of prefaces (one for each day) and some of them are very old and date back to St. Ambrose.
(there are other differences but these ones are the most noticed by first time visitors)
Your mission focuses on digitizing the Traditional Ambrosian Rite. What are the greatest challenges you’ve faced in translating manuscripts and liturgical books that are many centuries old into accessible digital formats?
The Ambrosian Rite was heavily attacked from its beginning. Most of the original manuscripts are gone. When it comes to more recent things, I have been looking for breviaries and missals. It is very difficult to find these items. There are subtle differences that are easy to miss. It is difficult to find where things originated from.
The Ambrosian liturgical calendar has some fascinating differences, including six Sundays of Advent rather than four. Which seasonal celebrations in the Ambrosian tradition do you find most spiritually enriching?
Our Ordinary Time is limited compared to the Roman Rite. It is only during a few weeks of the year, and differences in color. We have a different hue of purple (morello). During the Lenten period we use black during the weekdays because it’s also a penitential color not just for mourning. Saturday and Sundays are less penitential during Lent, so morello is used.
(Red is the Eucharistic color instead of the Roman Rite white, so the feast of the Corpus Domini (Corpus Christi in the Roman Rite) is in Red not white in the Ambrosian rite)
Who are saints particularly honored in the Ambrosian Rite?
Ambrose (of course being our Rite’s namesake).
Charles Borromeo is our second patron saint. He is the one who reformed the Archbishop of Milan. He had a huge role in the Council of Trent. In Milan he was the first one to create a seminary. He is also the patron saint of seminaries.
We care about our bishops and martyrs. In the Eucharist Prayer we ask for intercession for most of the archbishops and martyrs.
(I’ll send a picture of the Comunicantes with the Ambrosian Saints and Martyrs)
Looking to the future, how do you see traditional liturgical forms like the Ambrosian Rite contributing to the spiritual renewal of the Church in an increasingly digital age?
I’m noticing many young people are more interested in the traditional liturgies. The church where I attend is always full. You might find a seat if you go five minutes early, but not likely. There’s a huge emphasis on the parish. It’s kind of like the dynamic between the Traditional Latin Rite Mass and the Novus Ordo Mass (in the Roman Rite).
Where can my audience find more of your work? On my Instagram page @churchofambrose.
I am a cradle Catholic. In my childhood, my parents would take me to Sunday Catechism classes. During my college years, I fell away from the Church. I think mainly because it was due to not having Catholic friends. Most of my friends were Hindu or Atheist. For about six years I was a nominal Catholic. In 2022, I came back to the Church. I went to some Latin Rite Masses when I was far away from my home. During Covid I was getting used to the online Masses, but eventually I stopped going. I met a woman who asked me if I was going to Mass. I had a powerful experience when I returned back to the Church. After about a month, I had a desire to go to Confession. There was only one Mass on Sundays and Confession was before it. The lines were long for Confession and by the time I got to the confessional, the priest told me that he was out of time and had to be ready for Mass.
In 2022, I found my first Catholic friend who referred me to another priest who had the time to administer the sacrament of Confession in October. He told me after my Confession, “Welcome home!”. That was the first time I felt back in the Church. In the months prior to my Confession, I was studying the Scriptures and attending the Mass.
This is my home parish: St. Thomas Malankara Syrian Catholic Church, Nalanchira, Trivandrum.
The Malankara Catholic Church represents a fascinating blend of Eastern Syrian tradition and Indian cultural elements. Could you describe some distinctive features of your liturgy and how it reflects both your Syrian heritage and Indian identity?
Saint Thomas came to India 52 A.D. In the 15th century the Portuguese came to India and started missionaries. This is out when the Latin Church was first brought. We were under the guardianship of the bishops. When the Latin missionaries and bishops came there were some problems in the Indian church as they were following some Hindu. The Synod Diamper (1599 A.D.) gave the church more restrictions. There were a variety of reasons beyond religious for the synod, including political. A lot of the Syrian textbooks were burned, they Latinized the Mass, while keeping the Syrian language, they changed some elements.
Many people didn’t like this and protested the changes. During the synod no one opposed it due to fear of excommunication. But about 50 years later, protests started. “Coonan Cross Oath”. The protesters pledged to not be under Portuguese rule. They wanted a bishop from Rome, not a bishop from Portugal. After many years, a split happened in the church. Some stayed with the Latin bishop (the older faction) and those who opposed the Latin bishop (new faction). The new faction is no longer under the umbrella of the Catholic Church. Syro-Malabar Church was a name for the old faction.
The new faction wanted to be under a Syrian bishop and didn’t want to be Latinized. No bishops were coming, but eventually a Western Syrian bishop, from the Jacobites, came to India. What happened was that the new faction joined this Western Syrian bishop. Again a split happened in 1912. The new faction wanted to have self-governance not under a Jacobite bishop. Some people in the new faction said they would be under the Jacobite bishop and the others would be under the Indian Metropolitan. The Metran faction formed under the Indian Metropolitan. And the others under the Jacobite patriarch were known as the patriarch faction (eventually known as the Jacobite-Syrian Church). And the Metran faction became known as the Indian Orthodox Church.
In 1930, Rome accepted the request by the Indian Orthodox Church to be under their governance. One priest was the primary contact in this communication and he became the first bishop of the Malankara Church. His name was PT Geevarghese and became Mar Ivanios. My great-grandfather’s family was one of the first to join the Malankara Church. Also my grandfather was a personal assistant to Mar Ivanios near the end of his life.
There was a college started during Mar Ivanios’ tenure. My aunts and uncles attended this college along with my mom.
What role does the Syriac language play in your liturgical celebrations, and how has the balance between Syriac, Malayalam, and other languages evolved in your worship practices?
Initially it was all Syriac. Later, everything was in the vernacular. Now it is fully in Malayalam (it’s a newer language). About 20 percent of the liturgy is in Syriac. People are comfortable with Malayalam because they know the songs. They also like singing in Syriac.
Who are the saints your rite has a particular devotion to (besides Saint Thomas)?
Not really, we have a devotion to all the Catholic saints. Some of the popular saints are Saint George. Before the Synod, there were many Churches named after the Syriac saints, but after the synod many churches had their names changed to Roman saints.
Many Catholics in the West are unfamiliar with Eastern Catholic traditions. What aspects of Malankara spirituality, devotional practices, or theological emphases do you wish were better understood by the broader Catholic community?
These things I came to know about recently, the basics of the Western Church is the emphasis on reasoning and Scholasticism. Compared to that, the Eastern Catholic Church has more of a focus on mysticism. We called the Mass Quarbana. It has a meaning called “offering”. We also use the term Divine Liturgy. In the Malanakara Liturgy the first thing that happens is the offering. And it occurs behind the curtain. The priest will be offering the bread and wine. The first service is called Melcizdek and the second service is Aaron. He will incense the offering and after that we will start the Mass. Once the curtain is open the public life of Jesus is presented. We say a shorter version of the Creed. There is a short prayer (Trisagion). After the readings happen (Two Epistle and Gospel). There is no Psalm reading. The Old Testament reading is read at the beginning of the Liturgy before the preparatory service.
After the Liturgy of the Word, prayers from the priest are like a catechism (it’s like 10-15 minutes), followed by the Creed (we don’t use the filioque clause- because our church came from the Orthodox, and this was a compromise made with Rome), anaphora is next it’s where the service of offering happens. During the anaphora the Institution of the Eucharist happens.
Immediately after the anaphora we have the intercessory prayers. Then the Service of Fraction (meaning the Crucifixation of Jesus) and during this time the curtain is closed. After this, the curtain is open to symbolize the Resurrection of Jesus and we sing many songs (devoted to Mary, saints, faithful departed, priests). It’s more like a chain of songs.
After the songs the priest starts a procession for the congregation to Adore Jesus (this was a tradition started before the widespread use of Eucharistic Adoration Chapels). Then the faithful receive Communion. A similar procession happens after Communion. This procession is more of a thanksgiving. Closing prayers happen and the Divine Liturgy concludes.
Thanks for sharing your experience with my audience! Any words of encouragement or thoughts about the Eucharist to share with my readers?
Whenever I think about the Holy Mass inside one of the songs there is a line that is similar to this quote by Saint Maximilian Kolbe, “If angels could be jealous of men, they would be so for one reason: Holy Communion” –-St. Maximilian Kolbe
Additional information:
The Divine Liturgy of the Malanakara Church is kind of like a minor scale whereas the Syro-Malabar and Latin Masses have more of a major chord and happy tone.
We don’t kneel during Sundays because we are celebrating the Resurrected Jesus.
About Jibin:
Jibin Jose, Mechanical Design Engineer from Kerala, India, settled in UAE, Syro Malankrite.
