“ስለ እነርሱም ሊያማልድ ዘወትር በሕይወት ይኖራልና” (Hebrews 7:25): The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church's Understanding

 

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) holds a profound understanding of Christ’s redemptive work (የማዳን ሥራ), viewing it as both eternal in effect and singular in action. The verse "ስለ እነርሱም ሊያማልድ ዘወትር በሕይወት ይኖራልና ስለዚህ ደግሞ በእርሱ ወደ እግዚአብሔር የሚመጡትን ፈጽሞ ሊያድናቸው ይችላል።” (Hebrews 7:25) is often misunderstood to suggest that Christ is continually praying in heaven after His crucifixion. However, the EOTC interprets this verse with a distinct understanding: Christ does not continue to pray after His sacrificial act. Instead, His once-for-all offering on the Cross remains effective "until the end"—until His Second Coming. This verse points not to a repeated act of prayer, but to the enduring power of His singular, reconciling sacrifice.

Let us closely examine the phrases found in Hebrews 7:25:

"ስለ እነርሱም ሊያማልድ ዘወትር በሕይወት ይኖራልና ስለዚህ ደግሞ በእርሱ ወደ እግዚአብሔር የሚመጡትን ፈጽሞ ሊያድናቸው ይችላል።"(Hebrews 7:25)

The phrase "ስለ እነርሱም ሊያማልድ ዘወትር በሕይወት ይኖራልና" — “He ever lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25, NKJV) — is not interpreted by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) as an ongoing act of verbal prayer in heaven. Rather, it refers to the enduring effect of Christ’s once-for-all sacrificial offering. He lives forever as the victorious Savior, serving as the guarantee of our redemption.

The Church interprets this verse as "በዕለተ አርብ ባደረገው ተልእኮ እስከ ምጽአት ድረስ ሲያድንበት ይኖራል።" This interpretation does not mean that Christ continually prays after His Crucifixion. Rather, by the sacrificial act He accomplished on the Cross, He continues to save until His Second Coming.

This aligns with the EOTC’s understanding of Christ’s priesthood: unlike the Old Testament priests who had to offer sacrifices repeatedly and eventually died, Christ lives forever not to continue offering sacrifices, but because His priesthood is perfect, unending, and eternally effective.

Similarly, the phrase “በእርሱ ወደ እግዚአብሔር የሚመጡትን ሊያድናቸው ይችላል” (“He is able to save them to the uttermost who come to God through Him”) is understood by the EOTC as referring to “those who approach God through Christ’s reconciling work.” It is interpreted as “በእሱ አስታራቂነት ወደ እግዚአብሔር የቀረቡትን ማዳን ይቻለዋል,” meaning that salvation is achieved not only by a distant belief in Christ, but also through communion with God, which is made possible through the body and blood (Holy Eucharist) of the crucified and risen Lord.

This means that Christ is the mediator, the bridge through whom reconciliation with God is made possible. However, Christ’s role as mediator does not imply that He continued praying or interceding for us after His sacrificial crucifixion. For a more detailed explanation on this, you may refer to this link: https://tewahedoperspective.blogspot.com/2024/07/understanding-from-eotc-perspective.html?m=1

2 Corinthians 5:18–19 declares, "ነገር ግን የሆነው ሁሉ፥ በክርስቶስ ከራሱ ጋር ካስታረቀን የማስታረቅም አገልግሎት ከሰጠን፥ ከእግዚአብሔር ነው፤ እግዚአብሔር በክርስቶስ ሆኖ ዓለሙን ከራሱ ጋር ያስታርቅ ነበርና፥ በደላቸውን አይቆጥርባቸውም ነበር...።" This passage affirms that reconciliation is a completed act in Christ. However, its saving power continues to be made effective through the sacraments, the life of the Church, and the believer’s ongoing repentance and faith.

There is no need for Christ to pray continually after His sacrificial act. Through His death, He reconciled us with Himself, the Father, and the Holy Spirit. When Christ declared “ተፈጸመ” (“It is finished”) on the Cross, He was referring to the completed work of reconciliation. As the Word of the Lord, this truth remains eternally valid.

The phrase "ፈጽሞ ሊያድናቸው ይችላል።" (“He is able to save them to the uttermost (እስከ መጨረሻው).”) clearly points to the complete sufficiency of the Cross. Christ’s crucifixion is the one, perfect, and eternal act of reconciliation between God and humanity. His saving work does not depend on ongoing pleading or repeated prayer before the Father—it remains eternally effective by its very nature.

This is rooted in the understanding that Christ, as the God-man, offered a sacrifice of infinite value—one that transcends all time. This one offering remains the basis for the salvation of all who approach God through Him. Thus, salvation continues “to the uttermost” "እስከመጨረሻው" not by repeated action, but by the eternal power of the one sacrifice completed on Golgotha.

Our Lord, who is the offeror of the sacrifice, the sacrifice Himself, and the recipient of the sacrifice, atones for our sins forever through the one offering He made of Himself, once and for all. The Amharic expression beautifully captures this mystery:

"ጌታችን ራሱ መስዋዕት አቅራቢ፣ ራሱ መስዋዕት፣ ራሱ መስዋዕት ተቀባይ ሆኖ አንድ ጊዜ ብቻ ራሱን ባቀረበው መስዋዕት ለዘላለም ኃጢአታችንን ያስተሰርይልናል፡፡"

The blood Christ shed once on the Cross reconciles all generations—past, present, and future—forever. But it is no longer like the system under the Torah (ኦሪት), as Saint Paul explains in Hebrews 7:27 “He no longer needs to offer sacrifices daily.”

The Amharic expression powerfully conveys this reality:

"አንድ ጊዜ በመስቀል ላይ ያፈሰሰው ደም ያለፈውንም ሆነ የሚመጣውን ትውልድ ለዘላለም ያስታርቀዋል፤ እንጂ እንደ ኦሪቱ ሥርዓት ቅዱስ ጳውሎስ ዕብ 7:27 ላይ እንደገለጸው 'ዕለት ዕለት መሥዋዕትን ሊያቀርብ አያስፈልገውም።'"

When He offered Himself, He accomplished this once for all. Therefore, we, too, have received perfect salvation through the one priestly work He performed on our behalf. The Amharic expression conveys this truth as:

"ራሱን ባቀረበ ጊዜ ይህን አንድ ጊዜ ፈጽሞ አድርጓልና፡፡ ስለዚህ እኛም ፍጹም ድኅነትን ያገኘነው አንድ ጊዜ በሠራልን የክህነት ስራ ነው፡፡"

As stated in Colossians 1:19, “በመስቀሉ ደም ሰላም አድርጎ በምድራዊ ወይም በሰማያት ያሉትን ሁሉ ለራሱ እንዲያስታርቅ ፈቅዷል”, what continually reconciles us is the priestly work He accomplished once for all on the Cross. Therefore, Christ does not continue to pray or intercede for us after His sacrificial and reconciliatory act, as said in Amharic: "ይህ የሠራልን የክህነት ሥራው ነው ዘወትር ሲያስታርቀን የሚኖረው።"

If someone claims that Christ still intercedes by pleading or praying for us, then it would follow that He must die repeatedly, daily, for every sin we commit. But to believe that Christ continues the reconciling work that He already accomplished once through His death on the Cross is a grave heresy. Such a belief denies the sufficiency of His one sacrifice and reveals a failure to understand the fullness of God's love given to us. It is, in effect, to say that "we are not yet saved, and Christ must return to die again."

The Amharic version also captures this concept as follows:

"አሁንም ያማልደናል ፣ ይለምንልናል ካልን ግን ክርስቶስ ዕለት ዕለት ኃጢአት በሠራን ቁጥር መሞት አለበት ማለት ነው፡፡ ክርስቶስ ያን በሞቱ አንድ ጊዜ የፈጸመውን የማዳን ፣ የማስታረቅ ሥራ አሁንም ይሠራል ብሎ ማመን ከባድ ኑፋቄ ነው። የእግዚአብሔርንም ፍቅሩን አለማወቅ ነው። እኛም አልዳንም ክርስቶስም እንደገና መጥቶ መሞት አለበት እንደ ማለት ነው።"

Christ’s Sacrifice During Liturgy – Participation, Not Repetition

In the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) liturgy (ቅዳሴ), Christ is not re-sacrificed, nor does the Church seek to recreate His once-for-all offering. Instead, the faithful mystically participate in that singular, eternal act through the Divine Liturgy. The Holy Qurban (Holy Eucharist) provides entry into the ever-present reality of Christ’s redemptive work. This is why each Liturgy commemorates not only His death, but also His Resurrection, Ascension, and Second Coming. The power of His sacrifice continues to sanctify—not through repetition, but because it remains eternally effective and unceasing in its grace.

Conclusion

Hebrews 7:25—interpreted from the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church perspective—proclaims the eternal saving power of Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice on the Cross. This verse does not point to a continuous act of prayer in heaven. Rather, it reveals that:

• Christ continues to save all who come to God through His reconciling sacrifice.
• His very life is the ever-living evidence of humanity’s restored relationship with God.
• His sacrificial work on the Cross remains active and healing until His glorious Second Coming, with no need for His further prayer after His sacrifice.

Therefore, Hebrews 7:25 stands not as a testimony of repetitive pleading, but of divine permanence—the eternal priesthood and unbroken power of Christ’s redemptive work.