Scripture connects incense with prayer, and the Coptic rite gives that image a liturgical form. The incense rises before the altar while the Church gives thanks, asks for mercy, intercedes for the Church and the world, and remembers the saints.
Let my prayer be set before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
The shape of the service
The service commonly includes the opening of the sanctuary curtain, the Lord’s Prayer, the Thanksgiving Prayer, the offering of incense, the litanies, doxologies, the Creed, the Litany of the Gospel, the Psalm and Gospel, short litanies, absolutions, and concluding prayers. The exact order and additions can vary by day, season, and local parish practice, but the main movement is stable: thanksgiving, incense, intercession, Gospel, and absolution.
The priest censes the altar, sanctuary, icons, clergy, deacons, and people because the Church’s prayer is gathered and offered before God. The people answer throughout the service, so the rite is the Church praying together.
Why it comes before the Liturgy
The Raising of Incense prepares the Church for the Eucharistic service. It places thanksgiving and repentance before offering, and it teaches the faithful to intercede before approaching the holy mysteries. The same language of incense continues during the readings and other parts of the Liturgy because the whole service is prayer rising to God.
This preparation is already worship. The Church stands before God, gives thanks, prays for mercy, hears the Gospel, and receives the priestly absolution before the Eucharistic offering continues.