The Mystery of the Incarnation: Part 1

The mystery of the Incarnation (ምስጢረ ሥጋዌ) is the central foundation upon which Orthodox Christian faith and belief firmly stand. In this divine and indescribable act, the eternal Word of God assumed our humanity without ceasing to be God. The Church proclaims this mystery not as an abstract idea, but as the living source of salvation, communion, and deification (theosis).

This essay discusses the first part of the mystery of the Incarnation, focusing particularly on the doctrine of the two births of Christ—His eternal birth from God the Father and His birth in the flesh from the Holy Virgin Mary. By examining the testimony of Scripture and the teachings of the Holy Fathers, it seeks to clarify how the Church confesses one Lord Jesus Christ, perfect God and perfect man, united without confusion, separation, or change.

The Mystery of the Incarnation (ምስጢረ ሥጋዌ) is founded upon the Gospel proclamation: “The Word became flesh… and dwelt among us” — “ቃል ሥጋ ሆነ… በእኛም አደረ” (John 1:14). In this divine mystery, God the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, was born in the flesh from the Holy Virgin Mary, truly assuming our humanity. God became man, and man became God; thus, humanity was raised into communion with God.

Through this mystery, humanity was delivered from the death brought upon it by sin. It is through this same divine mystery that our Church received the name “Tewahedo,” confessing the inseparable union of divinity and humanity in Christ; and through Him we are called “Christians.” In this mystery, what was heavenly and beyond human comprehension was revealed to mankind.

Saint John Chrysostom speaks of the greatness of this mystery, saying: “Pay attention to what is said; do not consider it a small honor that God was united with our nature, for He did not do this for the angels— “የተነገረውን አስተውል፤ እግዚአብሔር ከእኛ ባሕርይ የተዋሐደው ተዋሕዶ ጥቂት ክብር አይምሰልህ፣ ይህንን ለመላእክት አላደረገውምና፡፡” (Haymanote Abew the St. John Chrysystom 62:4 — ሃይማኖተ አበው ዘቅዱስ ዮሐንስ አፈወርቅ 62፡4).

The Two Births of Jesus Christ

The Son of God (ወልደ እግዚአብሔር), the Son of Mary (ወልደ ማርያም) — that is, the Son of God the Father and the Son of the Virgin Mary — Jesus Christ has two births.

The first birth (ቀዳማዊ ልደት) is the eternal birth of God the Son from God the Father, a mystery beyond human understanding, in which Christ is begotten from the Father, sharing the same divine nature (አካል ዘእምአካል ባሕርይ ዘእምባሕርይ - ከአካሉ አካል ከባሕርይው ባሕርይ), before the counting of the years (ዘመን ከመቆጠሩ በፊት) and before the creation of the world (ዓለም ከመፈጠሩ በፊት).

Scripture testifies:

“እግዚአብሔር አለኝ፦ አንተ ልጄ ነህ፥ እኔ ዛሬ ወለድሁህ።” (Psalm 2:7)

“ከአንተ ጋር ቀድሞ በኃይልህ ቀን፥ በቅዱሳን ብርሃን፥ ከአጥቢያ ኮከብ አስቀድሞ ከሆድ ወለድሁህ።” (Psalm 109:3)

“ተራሮች ገና ሳይመሠረቱ፥ ከኮረብቶች በፊት እኔ ተወለድሁ።” (Proverbs 8:25)

The second birth (ደኀራዊ ልደቱ) refers to His birth from the Holy Virgin Mary in the flesh, five thousand five hundred years after the creation of the world and Adam's sin (ዓለም ከተፈጠረ ፣ አዳም ከበደለ ከአምስት ሺ አምስት መቶ ዘመን በኋላ). Scripture declares:

 “ነገር ግን የዘመኑ ፍጻሜ በደረሰ ጊዜ እግዚአብሔር ከሴት የተወለደውን ከሕግም በታች የተወለደውን ልጁን ላከ።” (Gal. 4:4),

“ስለዚህ ጌታ ራሱ ምልክት ይሰጣችኋል፤ እነሆ፥ ድንግል ትፀንሳለች፥ ወንድ ልጅም ትወልዳለች፥ ስሙንም አማኑኤል ብላ ትጠራዋለች።” (Isaiah 7:14),

“ሕፃን ተወልዶልናልና፥ ወንድ ልጅም ተሰጥቶናልና፤ አለቅነትም በጫንቃው ላይ ይሆናል፤ ስሙም ድንቅ መካር፥ ኃያል አምላክ፥ የዘላለም አባት፥ የሰላም አለቃ ተብሎ ይጠራል።” (Isaiah 9:6),

“ቃሉን ላከ ፈወሳቸውም፥ ከጥፋታቸውም አዳናቸው።” (Psalm 106:20).

The Son of God, who existed before time with the Father and the Holy Spirit and created the world in His divinity, became incarnate without abandoning His divine body or nature. When born in the flesh of the pure Virgin Mary, He united human nature with His divine nature without confusion, separation, or change. His divine body and nature remained unaltered and undiminished, perfectly united with the human body and nature (ዘመን የማይቆጠረለት፣ በቅድምና ከአብ ከመንፈስ ቅዱስ ጋር የነበረ፣ ዓለምንም በአምላክነቱ የፈጠረ የእግዚአብሔር ልጅ፣ አካላዊ ቃል መለኮታዊ አካሉን፣ መለኮታዊ ባሕርይውን ሳይለቅ በተለየ አካሉ ንጽሕት፣ የባሕርያችን መመኪያ ከምትሆን ከድንግል ማርያም በሥጋ በተወለደ ጊዜ አምላካዊ አካልና ባሕርይን ከሰው አካልና ባሕርይ ጋር ያለመጠፋፋት፣ ያለመቀላቀል ተዋሐደ እንጅ አካሉም ባሕርይውም አልተለወጠም።). This represents the foundational doctrine of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church regarding the nature of Christ.

Our venerable Father Saint Felix, in his teaching on the first and second birth of our Lord, proclaims the mystery of Christ with clarity and precision: “He was born of God the Father before the world was created, and after the world was created, He was conceived in the womb of our Lady the Virgin Mary; and although He became man, He is one body (አንድ አካል), one face (አንድ ገፅ), and one nature (ባሕርይ).” As the original text states: “ዓለም ሳይፈጠር ከእግዚአብሔር አብ የተወለደው በኋላ ዘመን በእመቤታችን በቅድስት ድንግል ማርያም ማኅፀን ያደረ እርሱ ነው፤ እርሱ ሰውም ቢሆን አንድ አካል፣ አንድ ገፅ፣ አንድ ባሕርይ ነው” (Haimanote Abew of Saint Felix 38:10 – ሃይማኖተ አበው ዘቅዱስ ፊሊክስ 38፡10).

Additionally, Saint Natalis teaches the doctrine of the two births with theological clarity: “By His first birth, born of God the Father, He is the Son of God the Father; by His second birth, born of a Virgin, He became the Son of man (የሰው ልጅ). He is one, perfect God, equal in divinity with the Father; and He alone is perfect man, united in the flesh with humanity, born of a Virgin.” As the original text declares: “ከእግዚአብሔር አብ በተወለደው በቀዳማዊ ልደቱ የእግዚአብሔር አብ ልጅ ነው፤ ከድንግል በተወለደው በደኃራዊ ልደቱ የሰው ልጅ ሆነ፡፡ እርሱ አንዱ በመለኮት ከአብ ጋር አንድ የሚሆን የሚተካከል ፍጹም አምላክ ነው፤ እርሱ ብቻ ከድንግል በተወለደው ልደት በሥጋ ከሰው ጋር አንድ የሚሆን ፍጹም ሰው ነው፡፡” (Haimanote Abew of Saint Natalis 46:3–4 – ሃይማኖተ አበው ዘቅዱስ ናጣሊስ 46፡3-4).

Conclusion

The doctrine of the two births—eternal from the Father and in flesh from the holy Virgin—safeguards the fullness of Christ’s divinity and humanity within one indivisible reality. As affirmed by the Holy Scriptures and articulated by the Fathers, including Saint Felix and Saint Natalis, the Son of God became the Son of man without alteration of His divine nature. This is the faith of the Church, the confession of Tewahedo, and the mystery through which humanity is restored. In the Incarnation, heaven and earth are united, and through Christ, we are called into the life of God.