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The purity of the
Holy Virgin Mary is testified to by the Church Fathers and illuminated by Holy
Scripture. Their witness presents her as holy, sanctified, and free from every
stain and defilement. Scripture likewise reveals her as already full of grace
and blessed among women.
The Church
Fathers, who are highly revered and recognized across many Christian
traditions, spoke clearly about the purity and holiness of the Holy Virgin
Mary. Their testimonies include the following:
“ጥንት የሌለው እርሱ ንጽሕት ከምትሆን
(አደፍ ጉድፍ ከሌለባት)
ከቅድስት ከድንግል ማርያም የነሣውን ጥንት መገኛ ያለውን የሥጋን ባሕርይ በተለየ አካሉ ተዋሐደ”
— Gregory of Nyssa, Haimanote Abew, 35:12.
Here, St. Gregory
of Nyssa explains that the eternal Lord united Himself with the human nature He
received from the Holy Virgin Mary, who is pure and free from every stain (አደፍ)
and defilement (ጉድፍ).
“አምላክን በወለደች መለወጥ በሌለባት በንጽሕት
(አደፍ
ጉድፍ
በሌለባት)
ድንግል
ማርያም
ማሕፀንም
እንደ
አደረ
ፈጽመን
እናምናለን”
— Dionysius, Haimanote Abew,
101:14.
The testimony of
St. Dionysius affirms that we firmly believe Christ dwelt in the womb of the
Holy Virgin Mary, who is pure and free from every stain and defilement.
“እግዚአብሔር አብ ንጽሕናሽንም ባየ ጊዜ ስሙ ገብርኤል የሚባል ብርሃናዊ መልአኩን ወዳንቺ ላከ” — Abba
Heryaqos, Kidase Maryam, No. 45.
Abba Heryaqos likewise
testifies that when God the Father saw the purity of the Holy Virgin Mary, He
sent to her His radiant angel, whose name was Gabriel.
“ሁለንተናሽ ያማረ ርግቤ ሆይ ነይ፤ አደፍ ጉድፍ የሌለብሽ ንጹሕ ግምጃ ሆይ ነይ” Saint Yared, Ziq of
Hidar, Qusquam.
Saint Yared, too,
proclaims that the Holy Virgin Mary was entirely pure in her whole being and
free from every stain and defilement, both inwardly and outwardly.
These testimonies
affirm that the Holy Virgin Mary was sanctified by God from her mother’s womb,
preserved from the stain of original sin (ጥንተ አብሶ / ድቀተ ባሕርይ),
and chosen as the pure and holy vessel from whom the Word of God took flesh.
Likewise,
a careful and discerning reading of Scripture reveals that the Holy Virgin was
free from Original Sin (ጥንተ አብሶ) from her mother’s womb. The angel Gabriel declared: “መልአኩም ወደ እርስዋ ገብቶ፦ ደስ ይበልሽ፥ ጸጋ የሞላብሽ ሆይ፥ ጌታ ከአንቺ ጋር ነው፤ አንቺ ከሴቶች መካከል የተባረክሽ ነሽ አላት።” (Luke 1:28). His
greeting describes her as already full of grace, declaring “ጸጋ የሞላብሽ ሆይ”,
and as blessed among women (“አንቺ ከሴቶች መካከል የተባረክሽ ነሽ”),
rather than merely announcing what she would become. This language presents her
as one who already possessed a unique fullness of divine grace, holiness, and
purity, without any blemish or defilement.
This is further
emphasized when Mary was troubled by his words, and the angel reassured her: “ማርያም ሆይ፥ በእግዚአብሔር ፊት ጸጋ አግኝተሻልና አትፍሪ።”
(Luke 1:30). The expression “ጸጋ አግኝተሻልና”
speaks of grace already received. Thus, these passages support the Church’s
understanding that the Holy Virgin was sanctified and blessed by God and was
not under the bondage of Original Sin from her mother’s womb.
It is important to
understand that Mary’s parents, Hannah and Joachim, were under the bondage of
Original Sin. Yet God sanctified Mary from the womb because God, who is holy,
had chosen her to become the dwelling place of His Incarnation. Holy Scripture itself
testifies to this: “አንቺ
ከሴቶች
መካከል
የተባረክሽ
ነሽ (indicating
that she was already blessed—holy and set apart among women) …በእግዚአብሔር ፊት ጸጋ አግኝተሻልና አትፍሪ።”
(indicating that she had already received
grace and was chosen by God) (Luke 1:28–30). If one argues that Mary was not
sanctified from the womb of her mother, it would imply that the flesh Christ
assumed from her was under the bondage of Original Sin, which would lead to a
serious theological error.
While the above
scholars argue, and the Church teaches, that Mary was not under the bondage of
Original Sin from the womb of her mother, some nevertheless err by claiming
that Original Sin was removed from Mary only at the announcement of the Angel.
But if the angelic message itself removes Original Sin, then why were the
mothers of those who were conceived following angelic announcements, such as
the mother of Samson and Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, not
likewise cleansed from this curse?
The
Church teaches that the Virgin Mary is free from sin in thought (ከሀልዮ
/ ሃሳብ), speech (ከነቢብ / ንግግር),
and deed (ከገቢር /ሥራ). In addition, the Church
teaches that she was protected from Original Sin (ጥንተ አብሶ)
from the womb of her mother.
Conclusion
The testimony of
the Church Fathers and Holy Scripture points to one profound truth: the Holy
Virgin Mary was sanctified by God from her mother’s womb and preserved from the
bondage of Original Sin (ጥንተ
አብሶ).
Her purity was not something granted only at the Annunciation, but part of
God’s divine preparation for her unique vocation as the dwelling place of the
incarnate Word. Yet one important question remains: if Mary was preserved from
Original Sin, why did she fall asleep and taste death? This profound question
will be explored in the upcoming parts.
