Mahilete Tsige Lite

Mahilete Tsige is prayer of the commemoration of St. Mary migration in to Egypt

Although this this prayer can be prayed at any time, it is specifically used in the church service during the during this season of flight, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church offers special hymns, the so called Mahilete Tsige (The Hymn of the Flower) and Seqoqawe Dingil (The Lamentation of the Virgin) along with the hymn of St Yared (Digua). These strophes of hymns composed in memory of the hardship of the Holy Family comparing Jesus and His Mother Mary by fruit and flower accompanied with many historical and religious facts as the Prophet Isaiah has compared Jesus by fruit and His Mother Mary by flower as stated: “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.” (Isaiah 11:1).

During this time, the Ethiopian faithful devotes in praying, fasting and other generous activities in memory of the flight of the Holy Family and their hardship in the wilderness of Egypt. The fasting is performed on one’s free will for it is out of the seven official fasting periods for abundant blessings one expects from God through the intercession of St. Mary.

On Sundays and other holidays, the clergy, often joined by a large number of people, gather the whole night for the divine office and sung up to the time of Mass. After the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, the believers especially in rural areas prepared a banquet (wine and food) in every Sundays of Zemene Tsigie in the name of St Mary and celebrate the season in such charitable activities.

The season which starts on the 26th of the first month of the Ethiopian calendar, the month of Meskerem (or October 6th in the other years and October 7th in the leap year) and stays for 40 days is a season assigned for the commemoration of the migration of the Holy Family: Jesus, Mary His mother, the old Joseph and Salome. In the Ethiopian Orthodox Church liturgical calendar, the season is known by the name “Season of Flower”

Features of the App

Theme

• Material Design color schemes.

• Setting for Night mode and Day Mode

Multiple book collections

• Add two or more translations to the app.

• Multiple books of Ethiopian prayers

Navigation

• User can configure the choice of translation and layout within the app.

• Allow swiping between books

• Book names could be displayed as list or grid views

Fonts and Font Sizes

• You can change fonts sizes from toolbar or navigation menu.

• The app uses true type fonts for main view.

Contents

• Book contents are rearranged and missing parts included

• Colorful texts for the name of God, Jesus, St. Mary and Saints

• Notices and Orders in the book are written in italic for emphasis

Interface translations

• Added interface translations in English, Amharic and Afaan Oromoo.

• Changing the app Interface language will change menu item’s name.

Search

• Powerful and fast search features

• Search the whole words and accents

• Number of search results displayed at the bottom of the page

Settings screen

• Allow the user of the app to configure the following settings:

• Book selection type: list or grid

• Red Letters: show the name of saints in red