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Antiphonary (multiple-type collection, Group A)

Anonymous · betmas

BothSourceEnglish
JSON Dossier
machine-draft · no human review 38 passages · 184 words

Work dossier · summary and historical context

Summary

This antiphonary (Group A) is a multiple-type collection of liturgical chants for the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, transmitted in Geʿez. It forms part of the Deggwa, the church's hymnbook, and continues in liturgical use. The edition is based on a single manuscript tradition without collation, limiting knowledge of textual variation. The work is anonymous and its dating is uncertain; the edition provides no explicit evidence for the date of composition or of the manuscript exemplar. The classification 'Group A' is a modern editorial construct, not found in the manuscript tradition itself.

This antiphonary is significant as a witness to the liturgical and musical traditions of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, a major branch of Oriental Orthodox Christianity. It provides insight into the structure and content of the Deggwa, the church's hymnbook, and its relationship to the Coptic liturgical tradition. The work's ongoing use underscores its enduring role in Ethiopian Christian worship and identity.

Historical context

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church developed a rich liturgical tradition in Geʿez, its classical language. The Deggwa, or antiphonary, is a core liturgical book containing hymns and antiphons for the entire year, structured according to the liturgical calendar. This antiphonary (Group A) is part of that tradition, though its precise date of composition is unknown. The edition (betmas) presents the text from a single manuscript, with no collation of multiple witnesses, so the extent of textual variation across the tradition remains unclear. The work is anonymous, and the edition does not include musical notation or rubrics, omitting the melodic and ritual dimensions. The classification 'Group A' is a modern editorial construct, and its boundaries may be arbitrary. The antiphonary continues in liturgical use, indicating its ongoing importance in Ethiopian Orthodox worship.

Apparatus · what the pipeline recorded

Annotation and terms

137 commentary units 38 structure38 background18 term15 reception13 caution9 parallel3 transmission3 sense 0 derived notes 37 open questions 38 narrative
What the kinds mean

Pipeline notes

  • 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: other in Geʿez; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them.
  • structurePassages: 38 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
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:1 · narrativehigh
Source
The following division into textparts is based on the index of (with the exclusion of some idiosyncratic commemorations) if not indicated otherwise.
English
Antiphonary (multiple-type collection, Group A) — Anonymous
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:2 · narrativehigh
Source
Season of John the Baptist ( Yoḥannǝs )
English
Season of John the Baptist (Yoḥannǝs)
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:3 · narrativehigh
Source
John the Baptist
English
John the Baptist
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:4 · narrativemedium
Source
Takkaze
English
Takkaze
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:5 · narrativemedium
Source
Sunday in the week of John
English
Sunday in the week of John
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:6 · narrativehigh
Source
Ferial days in the week of John
English
Ferial days in the week of John
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:7 · narrativehigh
Source
Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist
English
Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:8 · narrativehigh
Source
Zachariah, father of John the Baptist
English
Zachariah, father of John the Baptist
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:9 · narrativehigh
Source
Sunday in the week of Fruits
English
Sunday in the week of Fruits
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:10 · narrativehigh
Source
Ferial days in the week of Fruits
English
Ferial days in the week of Fruits
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:11 · narrativemedium
Source
The Construction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
English
The Construction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:12 · narrativehigh
Source
The Holy Cross
English
The Holy Cross
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:13 · narrativehigh
Source
Helena the Queen
English
Helena the Queen
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:14 · narrativehigh
Source
Sunday in the week of the Cross
English
Sunday in the week of the Cross
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:15 · narrativehigh
Source
Ferial days in the week of the Cross
English
Ferial days in the week of the Cross
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:16 · narrativehigh
Source
Bǝzuḫān Māryām (Commemoration of the Fathers of Nicaea and St Mary)
English
Bǝzuḫān Māryām (Commemoration of the Fathers of Nicaea and St Mary)
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:17 · narrativehigh
Source
Peter and Paul the Apostles, and the End of Kǝramt ( Ḍaʾata Kǝramt )
English
Peter and Paul the Apostles, and the End of Kǝramt ( Ḍaʾata Kǝramt )
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:18 · narrativehigh
Source
James and John the Apostles
English
James and John the Apostles
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:19 · narrativemedium
Source
Kings (or ʾAbrǝhā and ʾAṣbǝḥā)
English
Kings (or ʾAbrǝhā and ʾAṣbǝḥā)
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:20 · narrativemedium
Source
Ṗanṭalewon
English
Ṗanṭalewon
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:21 · narrativehigh
Source
Sundays in the Season of Flowers (Zamana Ṣǝge)
English
Sundays in the Season of Flowers (Zamana Ṣǝge)
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:22 · narrativehigh
Source
Ferial days in the Season of Flowers (Zamana Ṣǝge)
English
Ferial days in the Season of Flowers (Zamana Ṣǝge)
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:23 · narrativehigh
Source
Matthew the Evangelist
English
Matthew the Evangelist
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:24 · narrativehigh
Source
ʾAbbā ʾAragāwi
English
Abbā ʾAragāwi
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:25 · narrativehigh
Source
Stephen the Protomartyr
English
Stephen the Protomartyr
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:26 · narrativehigh
Source
Virgin Mary
English
Virgin Mary
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:27 · narrativehigh
Source
Luke the Evangelist
English
Luke the Evangelist
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:28 · narrativemedium
Source
ʾAbbā Yǝmʾattā
English
Abba Yem'atta
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:29 · narrativehigh
Source
Habakkuk the Prophet
English
Habakkuk the Prophet
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:30 · narrativemedium
Source
ʾAbbā ʿAbaydo
English
Abbā ʿAbaydo
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:31 · narrativemedium
Source
ʾAbbā Yoḥanni
English
Abbā Yoḥanni
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:32 · narrativemedium
Source
Koskam
English
Koskam
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:33 · narrativemedium
Source
Four Living Creatures
English
Four Living Creatures
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:34 · narrativehigh
Source
Michael the Archangel
English
Michael the Archangel
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:35 · narrativehigh
Source
The Watchers ( Tǝguhān / ʾAʾlāfa malāʾǝkt )
English
The Watchers (Tǝguhān / ʾAʾlāfa malāʾǝkt)
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:36 · narrativehigh
Source
Menas the Martyr
English
Menas the Martyr
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:37 · narrativehigh
Source
Season of Supplication ( ʾAstamḥǝro )
English
Season of Supplication (ʾAstamḥǝro)
LIT7417DeggwaGrA:38 · narrativehigh
Source
Season of Easter ( Fāsikā )
English
Season of Easter (Fāsikā)
Citation. Tergwame, “Antiphonary (multiple-type collection, Group A)”, LIT7417DeggwaGrA:1, machine-draft, 2026. https://naxiai.com/christian/works/LIT7417DeggwaGrA#s1
Colophon. Source: betmas · licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 (per file); site footer states NC-SA - treat as NC · model: deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor · provider: Relace · cost: $0.0086 · generated 2026-11-14.