Did the Holy Virgin Mary Have Original Sin (ጥንተ አብሶ)? The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Perspective: Part 2

 

The question of whether the Holy Virgin Mary was affected by original sin (ጥንተ አብሶ) touches the heart of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church’s teaching on her purity and holiness. In this second part, we turn to the Church’s official statement of faith, Holy Scripture, the writings of the Fathers, and the sacred hymns of Saint Yared to understand how the Church presents Mary as specially chosen, purified, and sanctified by God for the mystery of the Incarnation.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church’s official statement of faith, “የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን እምነት፣ ሥርዓተ አምልኮትና የውጭ ግንኙነት,” compiled by scholars and bishops of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, approved by the Holy Synod, and published in 1996, states the following on page 49 regarding the purity and sanctity of Our Lady, the Holy Virgin Mary:

…አምላክን በድንግልና ጸንሳ በድንግልና የወለደች እመቤታችን ድንግል ማርያም ከአዳም ዘር የተላለፈ ኃጢአት (ጥንተ-አብሶ) ያላገኛት መርገመ ሥጋ ፣ መርገመ ነፍስ የሌለባት ገና ከመወለዷ አስቀድሞ በአምላክ ሕሊና ታስባ ትኖር የነበረች ፣ በሰው ልማድና ጠባይ ከሚደርሰው ሥጋዊ ሀሳብና ፈቃድ ሁሉ የተጠበቀች ከተለዩ የተለየች ንጽሕት ቅድስተ ቅዱሳን ናት። (መኃ 4፡7) ። እመቤታችን በውስጥ፣ በአፍኣ ፣ በነፍስ ፣ በሥጋ ቅድስት ስለሆነች እግዚአብሔር ለልጁ ማደሪያ መርጧታል። ማኅደረ መለኮት እንድትሆን አድርጓታል። አምላክን ለመውለድ ያስመረጣትና ያበቃት ድንግልናዋ ፣ ንጽሕናዋ ነው። (አባ ሕርያቆስ፣ መዝ 132፡13)። ንጽሐ ሥጋ ፣ ንጽሐ ነፍስ ፣ ንጽሐ ልቡና ለእመቤታችን ገንዘቦቿ ናቸው።

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, through its Holy Synod, has clearly affirmed that the Holy Virgin Mary is free from all forms of impurity, including original sin (ጥንተ አብሶ). This is the established teaching of the Church.

As Solomon declares in the Song of Solomon, “ወዳጄ ሆይ ሁለንተናሽ ውብ ነው ነውርም የለብሽም” (Song of Solomon 4:7), the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, based on Holy Scripture and the teachings of the Church Fathers, understands these words as prophetically referring to the Holy Virgin Mary. Thus, the wise Solomon, in his great song, praises her beauty and purity, declaring that there is no blemish in her. The Church therefore teaches that the Holy Virgin Mary was not afflicted by original sin (ጥንተ አብሶ / ድቀተ ባሕርይ).

The Holy Virgin Mary, although born of a mother and father who were subject to the fallen nature (ድቀተ ባሕርይ), was herself a seed preserved from the womb. This is understood in the prophetic words of Isaiah: “የሠራዊት ጌታ እግዚአብሔር ዘርን ባያስቀርልን ኖሮ…” (Isaiah 1:9). Our Lord took this pure flesh from her and united it to Himself (ጌታችንም ይህን ንጹሕ ሥጋ ነው የተዋሐደው).

The Preface to the Miracle Book of Mary (የተአምረ ማርያም መቅድም) states, “እመቤታችን ማርያም ዓለም ሳይፈጠር በአምላክ ሕሊና ታስባ ትኖር ነበር,” indicating that, according to God’s eternal purpose, she was chosen and preserved in purity for her unique role in the mystery of salvation. Likewise, Saint Severus (ቅዱስ ሳዊሮስ), in Haimanote Abew (ሃይማኖተ አበው), states: “መንፈስ ቅዱስ በእናቷ ማኅፀን ጠበቃት።”

These testimonies affirm the same truth: the Holy Virgin Mary was chosen according to God’s eternal purpose and preserved by His grace for her unique role as the Mother through whom the Savior entered the world.

Saint Yared, in his liturgical hymnary known as the Dəggə, states: “ማርያም አስቀድሞ በአዳም አካል (ባሕርይ) ውስጥ እንደ ዕንቁ ታበራለች።” — “Mary shines like a pearl (ዕንቁ) in the body/nature of Adam from the beginning.” This affirms that she was chosen and prepared by God in advance to be the dwelling womb of the Incarnate Word, for the Holy One dwells in what is holy and pure.

In another hymn within the Dəggə, St. Yared writes:: “አንጺሖ ሥጋሃ ቀዲሶ ኪያሃ ኀደረ ላዕሌሃ” — “ሥጋዋን አንጽቶ፣ እርሷን ቀድሶ፣ በእርሷ ላይ ዐደረ” (ድጓ ዘፍልሰታ ኪዳነ ምሕረት).

The words “አንጺሖ ሥጋሃ ቀዲሶ ኪያሃ ኀደረ ላዕሌሃ” convey the profound holiness of the Virgin Mary: God purified her flesh (አንጺሖ ሥጋሃ), sanctified her (ቀዲሶ ኪያሃ), and dwelt in her (ኀደረ ላዕሌሃ). In this sense, St. Yared presents the Virgin as one who was specially purified, sanctified, and set apart as the dwelling place of the incarnate Word.

Thus, “ሥጋዋን አንጽቶ” is understood theologically as referring to God's special purification and sanctification of her humanity, setting her apart for the divine indwelling. This supports the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church’s understanding of the Virgin Mary as uniquely pure and holy, from the womb of her mother.

Saint Heraclas, the third-century Bishop of Alexandria, explaining the mystery of the betrothal of the aged Joseph to the Holy Virgin, states that Joseph did not know that she had been created from pure dust (seed) to become: “የእግዚአብሔር መቅደሱ ፣ ማደርያው ትሆነው ዘንድ ከንጹህ አፈር (ዘር) የተፈጠረች መሆኗን አላወቀም።” (Haimanote Abew, Chapter 48, verse 31).

Of course, the aged Joseph did not initially understand why he had been betrothed to the Holy Virgin Mary. Nor did he fully understand that she was the one whom the prophets had foretold would conceive and give birth to the Lord while remaining a virgin, and that she had been set apart from the curse inherited from Adam and Eve. He began to understand these mysteries after the angel reassured him, saying, “ከእርስዋ የተፀነሰው ከመንፈስ ቅዱስ ነውና እጮኛህን ማርያምን ለመውሰድ አትፍራ።” (Matthew 1:20), and after witnessing the various signs surrounding her.

For this reason, Saint Heraclius states, “የእግዚአብሔር መቅደሱ ትሆነው ዘንድ ከንጹህ አፈር (ዘር) የተፈጠረች መሆኗን አላወቀም።” This expression emphasizes the purity and holiness of the Holy Virgin Mary from the beginning of her existence. Before Joseph understood the mystery concerning her, he did not know that she had been set apart from the effects of Adam’s sin. Heraclius therefore describes her as having been created “from pure dust—ከንጹህ አፈር,” highlighting her purity and sanctity.

Conclusion

The testimony of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, together with Scripture, the Fathers, and the sacred hymns of Saint Yared, presents the Holy Virgin Mary as uniquely purified and sanctified by God and preserved from original sin (ጥንተ አብሶ). Her purity was not accidental, but part of God’s providential preparation of the holy dwelling place of the Incarnate Word. In the next part, we will examine this mystery more deeply through the Church’s understanding of Adam’s fallen nature (ድቀተ ባሕርይ) and Mary’s sanctification.