The Mystery of the Incarnation: Part 6

 

This final part of the Mystery of the Incarnation brings together the teaching of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church on the mystery of the Incarnation. Drawing from Holy Scripture and the witness of the Fathers, it presents a unified statement of the faith: that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, truly became man without ceasing to be God. This final part of the essay on the Mystery of the Incarnation offers a concise summary of this mystery as preserved and proclaimed in the life and teaching of the Church.

Concluding summary of the EOTC Teaching on the Mystery of the Incarnation

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church confess and teaches that Jesus Christ is the incarnate Word (ሥግው ቃል), united from two persons into one person and from two natures into one nature (ኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ በተዋሕዶ ከሁለት አካል አንድ አካል፣ ከሁለት ባሕርይ አንድ ባሕርይ የሆነ ሥግው ቃል ነው፡፡). In His incarnation, divinity took flesh from her flesh and soul from her soul, being born of the Virgin Mary in the flesh (መለኮት ከቅድስት ድንግል ማርያም ከሥጋዋ ሥጋ ከነፍሷ ነፍስ ነስቶ በሥጋ ተወለደ።). The Church teaches that divinity and humanity are united without change (ያለመለወጥ), without mixing (ያለመቀላቀል), without separation (ያለመለያየት), and without division (ያለመነጣጠል/ያለመከፋፈል), as Saint Cyril taught. It confesses that the Son, who existed before all ages, was born of the Virgin Mary in His unique nature, perfect God and perfect man. This doctrine is likewise upheld by all Oriental Orthodox Churches.

The Church Fathers have explained the mystery of the Incarnation in various ways. For example, the following may be noted:

Regarding the Incarnation, Saint Athanasius teaches: “Now, you must know that He is God incarnate (በተዋሕዶ ሰው የሆነ አምላክ). If He were only God, how could He have suffered, been crucified, or died? For such sufferings and death are far from God (See Deut. 32:40–49). And if He were only man, how could He have conquered death through His suffering and death? How could He have saved others in both soul and body? For this is beyond human power. Yet He suffered, died, saved His creation, and conquered death—because He is God incarnate” (Luke 24:5; John 5:26–27; Rom. 8:3–4) (Haimanote Abew of Saint Athanasius the Apostolic 27:6–8 - ሃይማኖተ አበው ዘቅዱስ አትናቴዎስ ሐዋርያዊ 27፡6–8).

Saint Heraclius, who was among the defenders of the Orthodox faith at the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD, clearly affirms this teaching, declaring: “We Orthodox believe this. We do not call two the One who cannot be separated; we do not call Him two rulers (ሁለት ገዥ), two forms (ሁለት መልክ), two persons (ሁለት አካል), two in works (ሁለት ግብር), or two natures (ሁለት ባሕርይ). Rather, the Word who became man is one person (አንድ አካል) and one nature (አንድ ባሕርይ). We teach and proclaim this; we unite the Word with the flesh and offer Him one worship —ቃልን ከሥጋ አንድ አድርገን አንዲት ስግደትን እንሰግድለታለን፡፡” (Haimanote Abew of Saint Heraclius 48:6–7 - ሃይማኖተ አበው ዘቅዱስ ኤራቅሊስ 48፡6-7).

Saint Afronious also emphasized, “Let us be careful not to separate divinity from the flesh. At one moment, He speaks of His Lordship; at another, He speaks of His suffering and death. Because He is God, He teaches of His Lordship; He is also the Word of God. And because He is a man, He speaks of His human nature. He is one person and one nature.” “እንግዲህ እንጠበቅ መለኮትንም ከሥጋ አንለይ።…አንድ ጊዜ የጌትነቱን ነገር ይናገራል፤ አንድ ጊዜም የሕማሙን የሞቱን ነገር ይናገራል፤ እግዚአብሔር ነውና የጌትነቱን ነገር ያስተምራል፤ የእግዚአብሔርም ቃል ነው፤ ሰውም እንደመሆኑ የሰውነቱን ነገር ይናገራል፤ አንድ አካል፣ አንድ ባሕርይ ነው፡፡” (Haimanote Abew of Saint Afronius 51:8‑9 – ሃይማኖተ አበው ዘቅዱስ አፍሮንዮስ 51፡8‑9). Through this, he clearly articulated the perfect unity of the Incarnate Word, in whom divinity and humanity are united without separation.

Through the Incarnation, God became visible to the angels in His assumed flesh. Saint Cyril explains, “He was born in the flesh and appeared to the angels, for they did not see Him as flesh. He was glorified in heaven, and because He loved mankind, they said,  ‘peace came to earth’ as expressed in the angelic hymn: ክብር ለእግዚአብሔር በአርያም ይሁን ሰላምም በምድር ለሰውም በጎ ፈቃድ (Luke 2:14). He was proclaimed among the unbelievers, and the whole world believed that He is the Son of God manifested in the flesh.” “በስጋ ተወልዶ ለመላእክት ታያቸው፤ ሰው ሆኖ አላዩትም ነበርና በሰማይ ለእግዚአብሔር ምስጋና ተገባው ሰውንም ስለወደደ በምድር ሰላም ሆነ አሉ፤ በአሕዛብም ዘንድ ተነገረ፤ በሥጋ የተገለጠ የእግዚአብሔር የባሕርይ ልጅ እንደሆነ ዓለም ሁሉ አመነበት፡፡” (Luke 2:14; 1 Tim. 3:16) (Haimanote Abew of Saint Cyril 79:56 - ሃይማኖተ አበው ዘቅዱስ ቄርሎስ 79፡56)

Saint Jacob of Serugh also said, “The angels, the Father’s servants, were greatly astonished at the Son who came into this world to be a servant; yet He would not be a servant in His divinity. The angels marveled at the simple garment girded around His waist, for He whose name existed before the sun and the moon became a servant.” “አገልጋይ ይሆን ዘንድ ወደ እዚህ ዓለም ከመጣ ከወልድ የተነሣ የአባቱ አገልጋዮች መላእክት እጅግ አደነቁ፤ በመለኮቱ ግን ማገልገል የለበትም፤ በወገቡ የታጠቀውን ማድረቂያ አይተው መላእክት አደነቁ፤ ስሙ ከፀሐይና ከጨረቃ በፊት የነበረ እርሱ አገልጋይ ሆነ፡፡” (Haimanote Abew of Jacob of Serugh, 88:9 - ሃይማኖተ አበው ዘቅዱስ ያዕቆብ ዘሥሩግ 88፡9).

The Orthodox Tewahedo teaching is in full agreement with what Saint Dionysius explains: “Before He became man, and after He became man, we know the same one Son.” “ሰው ከመሆኑ በፊት ሰው ከሆነም በኋላ ከአንድ ከወልድ በቀር የምናውቀው አይደለም፡፡” (Haimanote Abew of Saint Dionysius, 93:2).

The mystery of the Incarnation is the indescribable divine wisdom by which the Son of God, Jesus Christ, was born in a distinct body from the Holy Virgin Mary through the union (Tewahedo). Our Lord became man, as Abba Heryaqos teaches in the Liturgy of St. Mary: The Word came to you without separating from the Father; you conceived Him without limitation; without any addition on earth and without reduction from above, He was contained in your womb” (Liturgy of St. Mary, No. 46). “ከአባቱ አጠገብ ሳይለይ ቃል ወደ አንቺ መጣ፤ ሳይወሰን ፀነስሽው፣ በላይ ሳይጎድል በታችም ሳይጨመር በማኅፀንሽ ተወሰነ” (ቅዳሴ ማርያም ቁጥር 46). In becoming man, He lost nothing of His divinity; He did not come to a place where He was absent as God, but rather assumed human nature—without sin—in order to heal and glorify humanity through His divine goodness, thus becoming perfect man.

Thus, we believe and confess that Jesus Christ is God incarnate (በተዋሕዶ ሰው የሆነ አምላክ), as the Holy Scriptures bear witness and as the Holy Fathers have faithfully handed down, since the confession of the Incarnation of the Son is the very foundation of our salvation and the cornerstone of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church’s faith.

Conclusion

In summary, the mystery of the Incarnation stands at the heart of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. The one Son, Jesus Christ, is perfect God and perfect man, united in one person and one nature without division or separation. This is not merely a doctrine to be explained, but a truth to be believed, confessed, and lived; for through this union (Tewahedo), our salvation is accomplished and revealed to the world.