Did the Holy Virgin Mary Have Original Sin (ጥንተ አብሶ)? The Ethiopian Or-thodox Tewahedo Church Perspective: Part 5

 

In the previous parts, we examined the biblical and patristic witness, together with the witness of Holy Tradition, concerning the purity of the Holy Virgin Mary and her freedom from Original Sin (ጥንተ አብሶ). In this final part, we address an important question: If the Holy Virgin Mary was free from Original Sin and fallen nature, why did she still experience death?

Her death does not contradict her purity. Rather, as we shall see, her repose and death reveal the mystery of her true humanity, her conformity to the path of Christ, and her glorious destiny in God.

Briefly, Adam possessed a body that was capable of death even before he sinned. His continued life was not based on an inherently immortal body, but was sustained by God's grace and through access to the Tree of Life (እጸ ሕይወት/ የሕይወት ዛፍ) in Paradise. Scripture says:

“እግዚአብሔር አምላክም አለ፦ እነሆ አዳም መልካምንና ክፉን ለማወቅ ከእኛ እንደ አንዱ ሆነ፤ አሁንም እጁን እንዳይዘረጋ፥ ደግሞም ከሕይወት ዛፍ ወስዶ እንዳይበላ፥ ለዘላለምም ሕያው ሆኖ እንዳይኖር።”
(Genesis 3:22)

Therefore, Adam's continued life depended upon God's sustaining grace and access to the Tree of Life. His body was capable of death, while immortality was sustained through God's provision in Paradise.

This distinction is important: freedom from Original Sin does not necessarily mean freedom from physical death. Original Sin concerns humanity's fallen condition and separation from the life and grace of God; physical death, however, is not necessarily proof that a person was under the bondage of Original Sin. Therefore, the fact that the Holy Virgin Mary experienced death does not, by itself, mean that she was subject to Original Sin or fallen nature.

Let us briefly consider why the Holy Virgin reposed and tasted death:

1.     To Put on an Eternal and Glorified Body (ዘላለማዊ ሥጋን ትለብስ ዘንድ)

She tasted death in order to put on an eternal and glorified body. As explained above, Adam was not created with an inherently eternal body. Before the Fall, his body was pure and natural, yet it was capable of eating, drinking, becoming tired, and experiencing death. Therefore, to enter into the fullness of eternal life and the Kingdom of God, Adam was to progress in obedience to God's law and continually partake of the Tree of Life, through which he was sustained and renewed. This is evident from Scripture:

እግዚአብሔር አምላክም አለ፦ እነሆ አዳም መልካምንና ክፉን ለማወቅ ከእኛ እንደ አንዱ ሆነ፤ አሁንም እጁን እንዳይዘረጋ፥ ደግሞም ከሕይወት ዛፍ ወስዶ እንዳይበላ፥ ለዘላለምም ሕያው ሆኖ እንዳይኖር፤ (Genesis 3: 22)

This process was interrupted by his transgression (መተላለፍ).

In the New Testament, Christ Himself is our Tree of Life, through whom humanity receives life and renewal. Although the body assumed by the Holy Virgin Mary was pure, like Adam’s body before the Fall, it still required renewal and transformation into a glorified body. Thus, through Christ, the true Tree of Life, symbolized by the Tree of Life mentioned in Genesis 3:22, the Holy Virgin Mary passed through repose and death toward the renewal and glorification of her body and entrance into the Kingdom of God.

Her repose, however, should not be understood as the same kind of death associated with the fallen human condition. As discussed earlier, Mary's death was not a spiritual separation from God, nor did her body undergo corruption (ወድቆ ፣ በስብሶ የሚቀር አይደለም). Rather, it was the separation of her soul from her body—a death without corruption—followed by her glorification.

Another argument raised by those who claim that the Virgin Mary had Original Sin or fallen flesh is that she experienced suffering on various occasions. Since sorrow, suffering, pain, and shock are associated with the consequences of the Fall, they argue that Mary must therefore have possessed fallen flesh.

However, this conclusion does not necessarily follow. The Virgin Mary indeed experienced sorrow, suffering, shock, and pain throughout her earthly life, but the mere experience of these things does not prove any defect or fallen condition in her natural identity:

“ድንግል ማርያም በምድር ላይ ስትኖር ሐዘን ፣ መከራን ፣ ድንጋጤንና ስቃይን ተጋፍጣለች ፥ ይሁን እንጂ ይህን ሁሉ መጋፈጧ በእርሷ ተፈጥሯዊ ማንነት ላይ እንከን አለ እንድንል አያስችለንም።”

When Adam was cursed, the earth—from which he was taken—was also cursed. Therefore, sorrow, suffering, and pain may arise from humanity's existence in this fallen and troubled world. Consequently, the fact that Mary experienced such things during her earthly life cannot, by itself, be used as evidence that her nature or flesh was fallen.

This understanding is further supported by writings attributed to the Church Fathers and preserved in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church tradition, which bear witness to the purity of the Holy Virgin Mary's nature and indicate that she did not possess a fallen or corrupted nature.

For example, a writing attributed to St. John Chrysostom, as preserved and understood within the Church's tradition, states:

“ጥበበኛው ንጹሕ አፈር ባገኘ ጊዜ ጥሩ እቃ እንደሚሰራበት ጌታችንም የድንግልን ንጹሕ ሥጋዋን ንጹሕ ነፍሷን ባገኘ ጊዜ ይዋሃደው ዘንድ ነፍስ ያለውን መቅደስ ሰውነቱን ፈጠረ።”

(Haimanote Abew [ሃይማኖተ አበው], Chapter 66, Verse 14.)

St. John Chrysostom compares the Virgin Mary to pure soil, describing both her flesh and soul as pure. As we know, man was formed from the dust of the earth, yet through Adam's transgression, death and corruption entered human existence, and God declared: “አፈር ነህና፥ ወደ አፈርም ትመለሳለህ” (Gen. 3:19). In contrast, the Virgin Mary, whom God knew and prepared to become the dwelling place of the Incarnate Word, is described in this patristic witness as possessing pure and uncontaminated flesh and soul. This imagery points to her purity and freedom from the corruption associated with the fallen condition. Adam's return to the dust, on the other hand, was explicitly pronounced as a consequence of his transgression, as recorded in Genesis 3.

2.     To Follow Christ’s Path of Death and Resurrection

The Holy Virgin Mary also passed through death in conformity with the path of her Son, Jesus Christ. By tasting death, she followed the way that leads to resurrection and glorification, for Christ is the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep and the source of our resurrection.

“አሁን ግን ክርስቶስ ላንቀላፉት በኩራት ሆኖ ከሙታን ተነሥቶአል። ሞት በሰው በኩል ስለ መጣ ትንሣኤ ሙታን በሰው በኩል ሆኖአልና። ሁሉ በአዳም እንደሚሞቱ እንዲሁ ሁሉ በክርስቶስ ደግሞ ሕያዋን ይሆናሉና።” 1 Corinthians 15:20

As St. Jacob of Serugh teaches, she died in order to taste the cup of her Son’s death; and this, too, was according to His will.

3.     Because She Is Truly Human

The Holy Virgin Mary tasted death because she is truly human. God allowed her to experience death so that there would be no doubt about her true humanity, even though she gave birth to Christ the Lord, the incarnate God.

Although she was truly human and therefore assumed flesh capable of death, her death was not an ordinary death. It was unique, wondrous, and a mystery that fills the Church with reverent wonder, as St. Yared beautifully expresses:

 “ሞትሰ ለመዋቲ ይደሉ ሞታ ለማርያም የአጽብ ለኲሉ፤ ሞትማ ለሚሞት ይገባል የማርያም ሞት ግን ለሁሉ ያስደንቃል”

— St. Yared, Deggua Ze Asterio Mariam (ድጓ ዘአስተርእዮ ማርያም)

Conclusion

The Holy Virgin Mary was never under the bondage of Original Sin. The Holy Scriptures bear witness to her holiness; the prophets of old foreshadowed her purity; and the Holy Fathers of the Church, who came after them, testified to the same faith handed down through the ages. From her conception, throughout her earthly life, and even unto her glorious Dormition and Ascension, she remained wholly pure and holy by the grace of God.

Therefore, the Church confesses that the Holy Virgin Mary was completely pure and holy—before, during, and after the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ—and was never under the bondage or curse of sin. This is not an isolated teaching, but a teaching firmly rooted in the witness of Holy Scripture, the prophecies, and the testimony of the Holy Fathers. Thus, the Church’s teaching concerning the purity of the Mother of God faithfully preserves the apostolic faith and the truth handed down through the generations.