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Ethiopic · Homilies ·

Homily on the Archangel Michael (for Miyāzyā)

Anonymous · betmas

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machine-draft · no human review 4 passages · 844 words

Work dossier · summary and historical context

Summary

This anonymous Ethiopic homily, assigned to the tenth day of Miyāzyā (April–May), celebrates the archangel Michael as an intercessor and cosmic mediator. It opens with a standard homiletic formula and develops a cosmological argument that links heaven and earth, echoing Matthew 6:10. The homily recounts the creation of Adam on the sixth day, the command for angels to bow to him, and Michael’s refusal—a motif paralleled in Coptic tradition. It also claims that Adam’s image was that of the Son, reflecting a Christological reading of Genesis 1:26. The text survives in multiple Ethiopic manuscripts, often bound with Marian and angelological works, and was likely read during the Aksumite or early post-Aksumite period. Its anonymous authorship and lack of internal dating leave its precise origin uncertain, but its content aligns with broader Ethiopic, Coptic, and Syriac traditions of Michael veneration.

This homily is significant for its Christological reading of Genesis 1:26, claiming Adam’s image was that of the Son, and for its role in the Ethiopic tradition of Michael veneration. It parallels Coptic and Syriac sources, particularly the homily of Theodosius of Alexandria, and reflects the integration of angelological themes into Ethiopian Orthodox liturgy. Its survival in multiple manuscripts attests to its enduring liturgical use, though the lack of critical edition limits textual analysis.

Historical context

The homily is part of the Ethiopic liturgical tradition of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, assigned to the month of Miyāzyā (eighth month of the Geʿez calendar, April–May). It survives in multiple manuscripts, often alongside Marian and angelological texts, indicating its fixed liturgical use. The work is anonymous and lacks internal dating; its style and content suggest an Aksumite or early post-Aksumite origin (roughly 4th–7th centuries), but no firm terminus ante quem is established. The homily belongs to a broader tradition of Michael veneration in Ethiopia, paralleled in Coptic and Syriac sources. The source edition (betmas) does not provide a critical apparatus or collation of variant readings, so textual fluidity and scribal interventions cannot be assessed. The homily’s incipit, 'As in heaven, so also on earth,' adapts Matthew 6:10 for a cosmological argument, and its reference to the sixth day of creation aligns with Ethiopic patristic motifs. The command for angels to bow to Adam and Michael’s refusal echoes the Coptic homily of Theodosius of Alexandria, suggesting shared traditions.

Apparatus · what the pipeline recorded

Annotation and terms

24 commentary units 4 structure4 term4 scripture4 background4 caution3 reception1 parallel 0 derived notes 9 open questions 4 narrative
What the kinds mean

Pipeline notes

  • coverageNo English translation was located by an automated check of the source corpus and one library catalogue. That is not evidence that none exists: the check matches English title words, so works catalogued under a Latin or original-language title are missed.
  • limitThe English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve.
  • registerRegister: homily in Geʿez; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them.
  • structurePassages: 4 narrative.
  • sourceSource edition: betmas — CC BY-SA 4.0 (per file); site footer states NC-SA - treat as NC

Term index

CopticRenderingCountFirst
no glossary terms recorded
LIT3962Homily:1 · narrativehigh
Source
The following text is taken from 107-114 . በስመ፡ አብ፡ ወወልድ፡ ወመንፈስ፡ ቅዱስ፡ አሐዱ፡ አምላክ፤ ድርሳን፡ ዘደረሰ፡ ርቱዐ፡ ሃይማኖት፡ አመ፡ ዐሡሩ፡ ወሰኑዩ፡ ለወርኀ፡ ሚያዝያ፡ በእንተ፡ ብፁዕ፡ ወክቡር፡ ወቅዱስ፡ ሚካኤል፡ ሊቀ፡ መላእክት፡ ትንብልናሁ፡ የሀሉ፡ ምስሌነ፡ ለዓለመ፡ ዓለም፤ አሜን። መፍትው፡ ለነ፡ ኦ፡ አኀውየ፡ ንዘከር፡ ዕበየ፡ ዘአብ፡ ወኂሩተ፡ ዘወልድ፡ ወዐቅመ፡ ዘመንፈስ፡ ቅዱስ፡ እስመ፡ በኅብረተ፡ ሥላሴ፡ ተገብረ፡ ኵሉ፡ ፍጥረት፡ ዘበሰማይ፤ ወዘበምድር። እስመ፡ ይቤ፡ መድኃኒነ፡ በወንጌል፡ ቅዱስ፡ በከመ፡ በሰማይ፡ ከማሁ፡ በምድርኒ። ንቀድም፡ እንከ፡ ጠይቆቶ፡ ለዘበሰማይ፡ ከመ፡ ንለቡ፡ ዘበምድር፡ እስመ፡ በሳድስ፡ ዕለት፡ ገብሮ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ለአዳም፡ እመሬተ፡ ምድር፡ በአርአያሁ፡ ወበአምሳሊሁ፡ በኅብረተ፡ ሥላሴ፡ በአሐቲ፡ ምክር፡ እንዘ፡ ይብል፡ አብ፡ ወወልድ፡ ወመንፈስ፡ ቅዱስ፡ ንግበር፡ ሰብአ፡ በአርኣያነ፡ ወበአምሳሊነ፥ ወገብሮ፡ ለሰብእ፤ ወሰመዮ፡ አዳም፥ ወአዘዞሙ፡ ለመላእክቲሁ፡ ከመ፡ ይስግዱ፡ ሎቱ፡ ለአዳም፤ እስመ፡ አርአያሁ፡ ለወልድ፡ በከመ፡ ይቤ፡ ነቢይ፡ ወይሰግዱ፡ ሎቱ፡ ኵሉ፡ መላእክተ፡ እግዚአብሔር።
English
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one God. A homily composed by one of right faith, for the tenth and the appointed day of the month of Miyāzyā, concerning the blessed, honored, and holy Michael, chief of the angels. May his glory be with us forever and ever. Amen. Let us begin, O my brethren, to recount the greatness of the Father, and the grace of the Son, and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, for by the union of the Trinity was made every creation in heaven and on earth. For our Savior said in the Holy Gospel, "As in heaven, so also on earth." Let us first inquire concerning that which is in heaven, that we may understand that which is on earth. For on the sixth day, the Lord made for Adam the earth of the earth in his image and likeness, by the union of the Trinity, with one counsel, while the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit said, "Let us make man in our image and likeness." And He made man, and named him Adam, and commanded his angels to bow down to Adam, for his image was that of the Son, as the prophet said, "And all the angels of the Lord bow down to him.
LIT3962Homily:2 · narrativemedium
Source
ወአውፅኦ፡ እምቤተ፡ ሞቅሕ፡ ወበጽሐ፡ ኀበ፡ ኆኅተ፡ ኀጺን፡ ወተርኅውት፡ ሎቱ፡ ለሊሃ፡ ሶቤሃ። ወይቤ፡ ጴጥሮስ፡ ይእዜ፡ አእመርኩ፡ ከመ፡ በአማን፡ ፈነወ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ መልአኮ፡ ወአድኀነኒ። ኦሚካኤል፡ ሊቀ፡ መላእክት፡ ሰአል፡ ወጸሊ፡ በእንቲኣነ፡ ከመ፡ ናሥምሮ፡ ለእግዚአብሔር፡ ወንርከብ፡ ሞገሰ፡ በኀቤሁ፡ በይእቲ፡ ዕለት፡ ምስለ፡ ኵሎሙ፡ ቅዱሳን፡ ወሰማዕት። ትንብልናሁ፡ ወአስተበቍዖቱ፡ የሀሉ፡ ምስሌነ፡ ለዓለመ፡ ዓለም፡ አሜን። after በስመ፡ አብ፡ ወወልድ፡ ወመንፈስ፡ ቅዱስ፡ አሐዱ፡ አምላክ፡ ድርሳን፡ ዘደረሰ፡ ርቱዐ፡ ሃይማኖት፡ አመ፡ ዐሠሩ፡ ወሰኑዩ፡ ለወርኀ፡ ሚያዝያ፡ በእንተ፡ ብፁዕ፡ ወክቡር፡ ወቅዱስ፡ ሚካኤል፡ ሊቀ፡ መላእክት። ትንብልናሁ፡ የሀሉ፡ ምስሌነ፡ ለዓለመ፡ ዓለም፡ አሜን። መፍትው፡ ለነ፡ ኦ፡ አኀውየ፡ ንዘከር፡ ዕበየ፡ ዘአብ፡ ወኂሩተ፡ ዘወልድ፡ ወዐቅመ፡ ዘመንፈስ፡ ቅዱስ፡ እስመ፡ በኅብረተ፡ ሥላሴ፡ ተግባረ፡ ኵሉ፡ ፍጥረት፡ ዘበሰማይ፡ ወዘበምድር። እስመ፡ ይቤ፡ መድኀኒነ፡ በወንጌል፡ ቅዱስ፡ በከመ፡ በሰማይ፡ ከማሁ፡ በምድርኒ።
English
And he brought him out from the house of imprisonment, and he arrived at the gate of the sword, and he was saved for himself, for her, then. And Peter said, “Now I have known that truly the Lord sent his angel and saved me.” O Michael, chief of the angels, intercede and pray for us, that we may praise the Lord and find favor with him on that day, together with all the saints and martyrs. May his glory and his exaltation be with us forever and ever. Amen. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one God. A homily composed by one of right faith, on the tenth and the appointed day of the month of Miyāzyā, concerning the blessed, honored, and holy Michael, chief of the angels. May his glory be with us forever and ever. Amen. The beginning for us: O my brothers, let us recall the greatness of the Father, and the power of the Son, and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, for by the union of the Trinity is the work of all creation, that in heaven and that on earth. For our Savior said in the holy Gospel, “As in heaven, so also on earth.
LIT3962Homily:3 · narrativehigh
Source
ንቀድም፡ እንከ፡ ጠይቆቶ፡ ለዘበሰማይ፡ ከመ፡ ንለቡ፡ ዘበምድር፡ እስመ፡ በሳድስ፡ ዕለት፡ ገብሮ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ለአዳም፡ እመሬተ፡ ምድር፡ በአርኣያሁ፡ ወበአምሳሊሁ፡ በኅብረተ፡ ሥላሴ፡ በአሐቲ፡ ምክር፡ እንዘ፡ ይብል፡ አብ፡ ወወልድ፡ ወመንፈስ፡ ቅዱስ፡ ንግበር፡ ሰብአ፡ በአርኣያነ፡ ወበአምሳሊነ፡ ወገብሮ፡ ለሰብእ፡ ወሰመዮ፡ አዳም፡ ወአዘዞሙ፡ ለመላእክቲሁ፡ ከመ፡ ይስገድዱ፡ ሎቱ፡ ለአዳም፡ እስመ፡ አርአያሁ፡ ለወልድ፡ በከመ፡ ይቤ፡ ነቢይ፡ ወይሰግዱ፡ ሎቱ፡ ኵሎሙ፡ መላእክተ፡ እግዚአብሔር። ወይቤ፡ ጴጥሮስ፡ ይእዜ፡ አእመርኩ፡ ከመ፡ በአማን፡ ፈነወ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ መልአኮ፡ ወአድኃነኒ። ኦ፡ ሚካኤል፡ ሊቀ፡ መላእክት፡ ሰአል፡ ወጸሊ፡ በእንቲአነ፡ ከመ፡ ናሥምሮ፡ ለእግዚአብሔር፡ ወንርከብ፡ ሞገሰ፡ በኀቤሁ፡ በይእቲ፡ ዕለት፡ ምስለ፡ ኵሎሙ፡ ቅዱሳን፡ ወሰማዕት። ትንብልናሁ፡ ወአስተብቍዖቱ፡ የሀሉ፡ ምስሌነ፡ ለዓለመ፡ ዓለም፡ አሜን። after .
English
First, as for the one in heaven, how shall we speak of him? For as for the one on earth, on the sixth day the Lord made Adam in his image and likeness, in the union of the Trinity, by a single counsel, while the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit said, “Let us make man in our image and likeness.” And he made man, and named him Adam, and commanded his angels to prostrate themselves before Adam, because his image is that of the Son, as the prophet said; and all the angels of the Lord prostrated themselves before him. And Peter said, “Now I have known that truly the Lord sent his angel and saved me. O Michael, chief of the angels, intercede and pray for us, that we may praise the Lord and find grace before him on that day, together with all the saints and martyrs.” His greatness and his glory shall be with us forever and ever. Amen.
LIT3962Homily:4 · narrativemedium
Source
በስመአብ፡ ወወልድ፡ ወመንፈስ፡ ቅዱ ፩አምላክ፡ ድርሳን፡ ዘቅዱስ፡ ሚካአል፡ ሊቀ፡ መላእክት፡ ዘይትነበብ፡ አመ፡ ፲ወ፪ሰንዪ፡ አወርኃ፡ ሚዝያ፡ ትኅብልናሁ፡ ያሀሉ፡ ምስለ፡ ገብሩ፡ ዘለዓለመ፡ ዓለ፡ ንሄድራንስ፡ አድርያስ፡ አብርያስ፡ መፍትው፡ እንከ፡ አሐውየ፡ ከመ፡ ንዘከር፡ እበዩ፡ ዘአብ፡ ወኂሩት፡ ዘወልድ፡ ወክብረ፡ ዘመንፈስ፡ ቅዱስ፡ ኢስመ፡ በህብረተ፡ ሥላሴ፡ ተትበፈ፡ ዓለም፡ ስማይ፡ ወምድር፡ እስመ፡ ይቤ፡ መድኃኒነ፡ በከመ፡ በሰማይ፡ ከማሁ፡ በምድር፡ ንቀደም፡ እንከ፡ ጠይቁ፡ ዘበሰማይ፡ ንለቡ፡ እንከ፡ ዘበ፡ ምድር፡ እሰሚ፡ ቀዳሚ፡ ገብረ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ሰማየ፡ ወምድረ፡ ወኩሉ፡ ፍጥረት፡ ዘዚአሁ፡ ወካእበ፡ አመ፡ አሐዘ፡ ሄሮድስ፡ ለጰጥሮስ፡ ወአጽንዖ፡ በሞቱ፡ ወረደ፡ መልአከ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ወአንቅሖ፡ ወይቤሎ፡ ትንት፡ ሐቄከ፡ ወነአ፡ ትልወኒ፡ ወጽአ፡ ወወድቃ፡ መዋቅሕቲሁ፡ እም፡ እደዊሁ፡ ወበጽሐ፡ ኀበ፡ ኆኅተ፡ ኃሂን፡ ወተርህጠት፡ ለሊሃ፡ ወሶቤሃ፡ ዲቤ፡ ጰጥሮስ፡ በአማን፡ አእመርኩ፡ ከመ፡ ፈነወ፡ ከመ፡ ፈነወ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ መልአኮ፡ ወአድኃነኒ፡ እምእዴሁ፡ ለሄሮድስ፡ ወይእዜኒ፡ ጸሊ ከመ፡ ናስምሮ፡ ለእግዚአብሔር፡ ወንርከብ፡ ምገ፴፡ በቅድሜሁ፡ በግዓምት፡ እለት፡ ምስለ፡ ኩሎሙ፡ ቅዳሳን፡ ዘሎት፡ ሰብሐት፡ ወክብር፡ ለአብ፡ ወወልድ፡ ወመንፈሶ፡ ቅዱስ፡ ይእዜኒ፡ ወዘልፈኒ፡ ወለዓለመ፡ ዓለም፡ ዓሜን፡
English
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one God. A homily of the holy Michael, chief of the angels, which is read on the twelfth of the month of Miyāzyā. It tells of him who is with his servant forever. World without end. Hadrianus, Abriyas, the interpreter, let us now recall the great ones: the Father’s love, the Son’s grace, and the Holy Spirit’s glory. For by the union of the Trinity the world was created, heaven and earth, as our Saviour said: “As in heaven, so on earth.” Let us first ask about that which is in heaven; let us then speak of that which is on earth. For the first work of the Lord God was heaven and earth and all his creation. And again, when Herod seized Peter and condemned him to death, an angel of the Lord came and awakened him and said to him, “Get up, take your truth, and come with me.” And he went out, and his chains fell from his hands, and he arrived at the gate of the city of Ḥāḥīn, and she was astonished. And then Peter said, “I truly knew that the Lord sent his angel and saved me from the hand of Herod. And now pray that we may praise the Lord and find mercy before him on the day of judgment with all his saints.” Praise and glory to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and ever. Amen.
Citation. Tergwame, “Homily on the Archangel Michael (for Miyāzyā)”, LIT3962Homily:1, machine-draft, 2026. https://naxiai.com/christian/works/LIT3962Homily#s1
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