The Mystery of the Incarnation: Part 5

 

In the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, the mystery of the Incarnation is confessed through the sacred names of the Son of God—Immanuel, Jesus, and Christ—each revealing a profound aspect of His divine mission and saving work. This essay examines the meaning of these names and their theological significance, while also addressing the major heresies (የኑፋቄ ትምህርቶች)  that have arisen throughout history concerning the Incarnation. Drawing on Holy Scripture and the teachings of the Church Fathers, this essay explores what the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church believes concerning the mystery of the Incarnation.

The Names of the Son of God (የወልደ እግዚአብሔር የተዋሕዶ ስሞች)

The principal names of the incarnate Son of God are Immanuel, Jesus, and Christ. Immanuel means “God with us.” This name is given to God the Son because He was born of the Virgin Mary and dwelt among us. “ስለዚህ ጌታ ራሱ ምልክት ይሰጣችኋል፤ እነሆ፥ ድንግል ትፀንሳለች፥ ወንድ ልጅም ትወልዳለች፥ ስሙንም አማኑኤል ብላ ትጠራዋለች።” (Isaiah 7:14). The fulfillment of this prophecy is proclaimed in the Gospel: “እነሆ፥ ድንግል ትፀንሳለች ልጅም ትወልዳለች፥ ስሙንም አማኑኤል ይሉታል የተባለው ይፈጸም ዘንድ ይህ ሁሉ ሆኖአል፥ ትርጓሜውም፦ እግዚአብሔር ከእኛ ጋር የሚል ነው።” (Matthew 1:23).

The name Jesus means Savior (አዳኝ፣ መድኀኒት). He became man to save the children of Adam, and no one can save the world except God Himself, that is, God the Son (Isaiah 45:20–24; Hosea 13:4; Titus 1:3). The name Christ means Messiah (መሲሕ), the Anointed (የተቀባ), the Appointed (የተሾመ), and the One who possesses authority (ባለስልጣን). Yet when He is called “the Anointed (የተቀባ),” it does not imply that another anointer is required for Him; rather, the anointer, the appointer, and the anointed are Himself: “የተቀባ የተሾመ ሲባል ግን ለእርሱ ቀቢ ሿሚ ኖሮት አይደለም ቀቢውም ሿሚውም ተቀቢውም ተሿሚውም አንድ እርሱ ነው እንጂ” (John 4:25–30).

Gregory of Nyssa also explains the meaning of Christ in relation to the mystery of the Incarnation. He teaches that in Christ the Creator and the creature became one through the union, in one person and one essence. Christ existed before the creation of the world and exists forever; He is the Creator of all that exists. Therefore, when we speak of Him, we confess that He is uncreated (Ps. 102:25–27; Heb. 1:1–14). At the same time, we say that He is truly human because, through the union He made for our sake, He united our weak human nature to Himself. As it is written: “ክርስቶስ ማለት ፈጣሪና ፍጡር አንድ አካል አንድ ባሕርይ በመሆን አንድ ሆነ ማለት ነው፡፡ ዓለም ሳይፈጠር የነበረ ለዘላለሙ የሚኖር፤ ያለውን ሁሉ የፈጠረ እርሱ ነውና ስለርሱ ስንናገር ያልተፈጠረ ነው እንላለን፡፡ (መዝ. 102፡25–27፣ ዕብ. 1፡1–14) ሰው ነው ያልነውም ስለ እኛ ባደረገው ተዋሕዶ ደካማ ባሕርያችንን ስለተዋሐደ ነው።” (Haimanote Abew of St. Gregory Nyssa 35:2–3 ሃይማኖተ አበው ዘቅዱስ ጎርጎርዮስ ዘኑሲስ 35፡2–3).

Heresies on the Mystery of the Incarnation

Many heresies (የኑፋቄ ትምህርቶች) have arisen concerning the mystery of the Incarnation. Although their forms have varied from ancient times to the present, their fundamental errors are essentially the same. In the second century, some heretics denied the divinity of Jesus Christ, claiming that he was “only human” and had no divinity. On the other hand, certain heretics known as Gnostics denied his humanity, claiming that he was “only divine” and merely appeared as a human being through miracles.

However, Jesus Christ is truly God incarnate (ሰው የሆነ አምላክ). After the Incarnation, his divinity was never separated from his humanity, not even for a moment. The prostration (ስግደት)—which is worship when offered to God—and the gifts presented by the wise men (ሰብአ ሰገል) at the time of our Lord’s birth testify to his divinity. As perfect God, he received prostration and gifts; and as perfect man, he was called “the child.” ፍፁም አምላክ እንደመሆኑ ስግደትን፣ አምሐን ተቀበለ፤ ፍፁም ሰው እንደመሆኑም “ሕፃን” ተባለ፡፡” (Matt. 2:9–11))

After the second century, some heretics taught the false doctrine that Christ “was given the Sonship,” claiming that he was only human at birth and that divinity came to dwell in him at his baptism. However, our Lord Jesus Christ, when he was born in the flesh of Mary (በሥጋ ማርያም), was already the Son of God the Father. This truth is revealed in the message of the angel Gabriel to our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary: “እርሱ ታላቅ ይሆናል የልዑል ልጅም ይባላል።” (Luke 2:32).)

Apollinarius of Laodicea (c. 310–390 A.D) rose up and taught the false teaching that Jesus Christ was “man in flesh and divinity in soul,” claiming that His mind was fully divine “በሥጋ ሰው በነፍስ መለኮት፣ አእምሮው መለኮት ነው የሚል የስህተት ትምህርት”. He was subsequently condemned at the Council of Constantinople in 381 AD.

 In more recent times (1802–1875), Gottfried Thomasius propagated a heretical teaching concerning the incarnation of Christ that “He gave up His divinity in order to become human” (“ሰው ለመሆን ሲል መለኮትነቱን ተወው”).

The most serious heresy in the history of the Church concerning the Incarnation was that of Nestorius, who was condemned at the Council of Ephesus (431 A.D.). Nestorius taught that Jesus Christ consists of “two natures, two persons (ሁለት ባህርይ ሁለት አካል),” claiming that Mary gave birth only to the human nature, while the divinity dwelt in Him separately. However, Scripture testifies that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” “ቃል ሥጋ ሆነ፤ በእኛም አደረ።” (John 1:14), showing that Christ remained fully divine even when conceived in the flesh by Mary. St. Abulidis declared that anyone who claims “Christ is a man in whom God dwells” is excommunicated: “ክርስቶስ አምላክ ያደረበት ሰው እንደሆነ የሚናገር ቢኖር የተወገዘ ይሁን፤ አምልኮተ እግዚአብሔርን የዘነጋ ያ ሰው የባሕርይ ገዥ ክርስቶስን ከተገዦች እንደ አንዱ አደረገው ማለት ነውና፡፡” (Haimanote Abew of St. Abulidius 42:19).

Eutyches / አውጣኪ (380–456 AD) propagated another heresy, teaching that Christ had a “third nature,” a mixture of human and divine. He claimed, “Jesus Christ possessed a third nature (a combination of the two) distinct from both flesh and divinity (ኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ ከሥጋም ከመለኮትም የተለየ (የሁለቱ  ቅልቅል) ሦስተኛ ባሕርይ ያዘ የሚል የክህደት ትምህርት።).

The division of the Church into two arose largely from the teaching of the Chalcedonians, who formulated the expression “two natures in one person.” This formulation,, became the principal cause of the separation between the Oriental Orthodox and the Chalcedonian Orthodox  Churches. The council held in 451 AD, known as the Council of Chalcedon, organized under the influence of Pope Leo I and supported by the imperial authorities, accepted this formulation. Those fathers who resisted it suffered greatly. The Oriental Orthodox Churches hold the doctrine of “from two natures into one nature,” while the Chalcedonian Churches hold the doctrine of “two natures in one person.”

Another sect known in Ethiopia as “Tsega (ጸጋ) and Kibat (ቅባት)” also arose later. This teaching was introduced in the 17th century by the Portuguese missionary Afonso Mendes, particularly during the period of Portuguese Jesuit influence in Ethiopia (c. 1620s–1630s). He taught certain priests in Shewa and Gojam that Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit while in His mother’s womb and received divinity by grace. “ኢየሱስ በእናቱ ማሕጸን ሳለ በመንፈስ ቅዱስ ተቀብቶ በጸጋ አምላክነትን አገኘ”::” This teaching undermines the mystery of the Holy Trinity and distorts the doctrine of the Incarnation; consequently, the Church firmly rejects it as heretical.

Conclusion

The faith of the Church, therefore, remains clear and firm: the Word of God truly became flesh and dwelt among us “ቃል ሥጋ ሆነ፤ በእኛም አደረ።” (John 1:14). In the one incarnate Lord Jesus Christ, divinity and humanity are united without separation, confusion, or division. Through the testimony of Holy Scripture and the teachings of the Church Fathers, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church preserves this apostolic faith and rejects every doctrine that distorts the mystery of the Incarnation. Thus, the names Immanuel, Jesus, and Christ continue to proclaim the same eternal truth—that God Himself came to dwell among humanity in order to save the world.