At the third hour of the day (9am), the Holy Spirit rested upon the Apostles in the form of fiery tongues (Acts 

). At this hour also, Our Lord Jesus Christ was condemned to be crucified.

A1. The First Hour (Arabic and English)

The book of the Agpeya is an ancient Orthodox Christian liturgy of the Hours and constitutes the daily prayer of the Hours in the Coptic Orthodox Church. It contains the seven canonical Hours of prayer. The seven canonical Hours have their roots in the prayer of the early church and the unceasing prayer of the desert-dwelling monks. The Agpeya supports daily times of prayer, in accord with the words of the Prophet King David, 'Seven times a day, do I praise Thee because of Thy righteous judgments' (Psalm 118:164). It also contains 'The Veil', which is read by bishops, presbyters and monks.