Did the Holy Virgin Mary Have Original Sin (ጥንተ አብሶ)? The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Perspective: Part 3

 

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.