Do other churches pray it?
By CopticBot.ai (Coptic Space Inc.) · Last reviewed 2026-10-09
No, this specific Prayer of Thanksgiving ("Let us give thanks to the beneficent and merciful God..." / ⲛⲁⲓϯ ϣⲉⲡϩⲙⲟⲧ ⲛϯⲡⲓⲧⲁⲅⲁⲑⲟⲥ ⲟⲩⲟϩ ⲛⲓⲙⲉⲣⲉϩ) is uniquely Alexandrian. Outside of the Churches that directly inherited the Alexandrian liturgical tradition, other Christian bodies do not pray it.
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1. The Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Churches (Yes)
The Ethiopian and Eritrean Churches pray this prayer. Historically, both churches were tied to the See of St. Mark from the 4th century—when St. Athanasius consecrated St. Frumentius (Abba Salama) as the first bishop of Axum—until the mid-20th century.
Because their liturgical life stems directly from Alexandria, they translated the Coptic liturgies and canonical prayers into Ge'ez (the liturgical language of the Ethiopian and Eritrean Churches). In their rite, the prayer is known as the Prayer of Thanksgiving (Tselota Akotet), and its text is an exact translation of the Coptic: thanking the Father of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ for covering, helping, keeping, accepting, sparing, supporting, and bringing us to that hour.
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2. Other Oriental Orthodox Churches (No)
While the Syriac, Armenian, and Malankara (Indian) Orthodox Churches share the one, true Orthodox faith and Christology, they belong to different liturgical families:
- Syriac and Malankara Churches follow the West Syriac (Antiochene) liturgical family. Their services begin with their own ancient introductory prayers, known as the Qawmo (which begins with the Trisagion and the Lord’s Prayer).
- Armenian Apostolic Church follows the Armenian rite, which has its own distinct structure and introductory prayers.
These sister churches do not have the Alexandrian Prayer of Thanksgiving in their rites.
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3. Eastern Orthodox / Byzantine Churches (No)
The Chalcedonian Eastern Orthodox churches (Greek, Russian, Antiochian, etc.) do not use this prayer.
Their liturgical tradition belongs to the Byzantine Rite, which developed in Constantinople. Rather than opening every sacrament and service with an explicit prayer of thanksgiving to the Father, their services typically begin either with:
- The Trisagion Prayers, which begin with an invocation to the Holy Spirit ("O Heavenly King, the Comforter..."), followed by the Trisagion (ⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ ⲟ ⲑⲉⲟⲥ), and the Lord's Prayer; or
- The priestly exclamation: "Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit..." or "Blessed is our God, always, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages."
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4. Roman Catholicism (No)
The Latin Church (Roman Catholic) has entirely different liturgical structures. In the Roman Mass, the service opens with the Entrance Chant, the Sign of the Cross, a generic greeting, the Penitential Act (the Confiteor), and the Kyrie eleison. They do not possess the Alexandrian Prayer of Thanksgiving, nor do they begin their sacraments or the Liturgy of the Hours with it.
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5. Protestantism (No)
Protestants do not pray this prayer at all. Having broken away from the historic Church during the 16th-century Reformation, Protestant sects rejected Holy Tradition, the apostolic priesthood, and the ancient liturgical euchologies. Their services are devoid of patristic liturgical structure, relying instead on modern hymns, sermons, and extemporaneous (unscripted) prayers.
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Summary
The rule that every single prayer, mystery (sacrament), and gathering must start with a formal thanksgiving to God the Father through Jesus Christ is a distinctive jewel of the Alexandrian tradition. Only the Coptic Orthodox Church and its daughter churches in Ethiopia and Eritrea offer this specific apostolic prayer.