Did the Holy Virgin Mary Have Original Sin (ጥንተ አብሶ)? The Ethiopian Or-thodox Tewahedo Church Perspective: Part 4

 

The death of the Holy Virgin Mary presents a profound theological question: if she was preserved from Original Sin, why did she fall asleep and taste death? To explore this mystery, we must first understand the meaning of death and distinguish between physical death and spiritual death.

Before answering this important question, however, we must first understand what death is. Death can be understood in the following ways:

1. The Separation of the Soul from the Body (የነፍስ ከሥጋ መለየት)

In the Old Testament, as a consequence of the disobedience of Adam and Eve, death entered into human existence (Genesis 2:17). Upon death, the body returns to the earth and decays in the grave, while the soul enters Sheol (ሲኦል), the state of the dead. The Psalmist expresses this clearly: “ነፍሴን በሲኦል አትተዋትምና፥ ቅዱስህንም መበስበስን ያይ ዘንድ አትተወውም።” (Psalm 16:10). This passage indicates that, in the Old Testament, upon death, the body was subject to corruption and decay and was left in the grave (ፈርሶ፣ በስብሶ መቅረት), while the soul descended to Sheol.

At that time, humanity did not yet have the fullness of the hope of resurrection that we have in the New Testament. This hope was fully revealed through the coming of Christ, who conquered death and opened the way to resurrection and eternal life. The Apostle Paul proclaims concerning Christ’s victory over death: “ሞት ሆይ፥ መውጊያህ የት አለ? ሲኦል ሆይ፥ ድል መንሣትህ የት አለ?” (1 Corinthians 15:55)

In the New Testament, however, Christ’s victory over death transformed this reality. Although the bodies of both the righteous and the wicked still descend to the grave, they remain there only temporarily, whereas the soul of the righteous no longer descends to Sheol (ሲኦል). Having been liberated through Christ’s death, the soul of the righteous goes to Paradise (ገነት) to be with Christ.

Our Lord Himself testifies to this when He said to the repentant thief:

“ኢየሱስም፦ እውነት እልሃለሁ፥ ዛሬ ከእኔ ጋር በገነት ትሆናለህ አለው።” (Luke 23:43)

St. Paul likewise expressed his desire to depart this life and be with Christ:

“በእነዚህም በሁለቱ እጨነቃለሁ፤ ልሄድ ከክርስቶስም ጋር ልኖር እናፍቃለሁ፥ ከሁሉ ይልቅ እጅግ የሚሻል ነውና፤” (Philippians 1:23)

At the resurrection (በትንሳኤ ዘጉባኤ), the body will be reunited with the soul. The righteous will receive eternal life, while sinners will receive eternal punishment (John 5:28–29).

The death of the Holy Virgin Mary should therefore be understood in light of this New Testament reality. As explained above, the soul of the righteous goes to Paradise (ገነት) after death, whereas in the Old Testament, souls descended to Sheol (ሲኦል). Therefore, the soul of the Holy Virgin Mary also went to Paradise, not to Sheol (ሲኦል) like those who remained under the bondage of Original Sin, as she was the holiest and most righteous woman, chosen by God to bear the incarnate Word, God the Son, and reposed in the New Testament.

Thus, the death and repose of the Holy Virgin Mary were unique and different from those of people who remained under the bondage of Original Sin, as her soul went to Paradise rather than descending to Sheol.

2. The Spiritual Death (መንፈሳዊ ሞት)

Death can also be understood as spiritual death—the separation of the soul from God and His grace (የነፍስ ከእግዚአብሔር ጸጋ መለየት፣ መራቆት). Adam was told, “ነገር ግን መልካምንና ክፉን ከሚያስታውቀው ዛፍ አትብላ፤ ከእርሱ በበላህ ቀን ሞትን ትሞታለህና።” (Genesis 2:17). Yet Adam lived for another 930 years before experiencing physical death: “አዳምም የኖረበት ዘመን ሁሉ ዘጠኝ መቶ ሠላሳ ዓመት ሆነ፤ ሞተም።” (Genesis 5:5).

This indicates that the death God warned Adam about was not merely physical; it was a spiritual death that occurred immediately through separation from God and His grace (ከእኔ ትለያለህ፣ ከጸጋም ትርቃለህ፣ ትራቆታለህ ሲለው ነው።).

Understanding spiritual death in this way helps explain the theological distinction concerning the Holy Virgin Mary. She did not experience this spiritual death as separation from God and His grace. On the contrary, she remained in communion with God and His grace. She was greeted by the angel as one “full of grace”: “መልአኩም ወደ እርስዋ ገብቶ፦ ደስ ይበልሽ፥ ጸጋ የሞላብሽ ሆይ፥ ጌታ ከአንቺ ጋር ነው፤ አንቺ ከሴቶች መካከል የተባረክሽ ነሽ አላት።” (Luke 1:28). Therefore, within this theological understanding, the spiritual death experienced by Adam through separation from God and His grace did not apply to the Holy Virgin Mary.

Moreover, the 4th-century Church Father, Saint Epiphanius, speaking about the Virgin Mary, wrote: “ቅዱሳት መጽሐፍት ከተአምሯ የተነሳ የሰዎችን ልቦና መገረም እንዳይመታው ስለ ማርያም ሞት ዝም አሉ።” In other words, the Scriptures remained silent about Mary’s death because of the extraordinary mystery surrounding it. Saint Epiphanius thus expresses a sense of wonder regarding the unique circumstances of the Virgin Mary’s death, suggesting that her death was not to be understood simply in the same manner as ordinary human death.

Similarly, St. Yared, the 6th-century Ethiopian saint and composer of the Church’s sacred hymns, expressed his wonder concerning the Virgin Mary’s death in his hymnary, Dəggʷa, saying, “የማርያምስ ሞት ይደንቃል።” His words convey a sense of astonishment, suggesting that Mary’s death was extraordinary and unlike ordinary human death.

Conclusion

The death of the Holy Virgin Mary was not the result of spiritual separation from God, but a unique and mysterious repose. Her soul descended to Paradise, unlike those who remained under the bondage of Original Sin. Thus, this theological understanding can also provide grounds to conclude that she was not under the bondage of Original Sin. Yet an important question remains: if she was free from the bondage of Original Sin, why did she still fall asleep and taste death? We will explore this profound mystery in the upcoming part.