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The Word Became

Flesh

Author: His Grace Bishop Barnabas, Bishop of Ethiopian

Orthodox Täwaḥədo Church Southern California Diocese.

Translated from the Amharic text by Deacon Tariku Demas

Edited by Fr. Mebratu Kiros Gebru, Ph.D (Theology).

First edition, September 2017 (Mäskäräm 2010 E.C.)

All rights reserved to the author,

His Grace Bishop Barnabas.

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In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God

Amen.

Greetings to all Orthodox Fathers, Archbishops, Bishops, Priests and Deacons; and

to fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters, to all throughout the world. Thank God for

allowing us to commemorate the transition from the era of Matthew to the era of

Mark. May the will of God the Most High be with us for this Ethiopian New Year

to be a year of love, peace, joy, fellowship, unity and time of good news.

“ቀዳሚሁ ቃል ውእቱ ወውእቱ ቃል ኀበ እግዚአብሔር ውእቱ ወእግዚአብሔር ውእቱ ቃል። . . . ወውእቱ

ቃል ሥጋ ኮነ።”

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was

God.

…And the Word was made flesh.” John 1:1 & 14.

Today, according to the Ethiopian Calendar, marks two thousand and ten years

since we have started counting the Year of Mercy (the Year of our Lord). It is

called “Year of Mercy”, which was commenced at the birth of Christ, because

before the Year of Mercy, it was Year of condemnation. The first human, Adam,

using his free will brought to himself the wages of sin which is death. Thus, Adam

was alienated from God and became subject to dominion of the devil.

Consequently, human beings (Adam’s descendants), inherited death, corruption

and propensity to sin, and thus they were living in the age of darkness.

But since God is merciful and loving in His nature, He did not let the fate of the

human race to be as such eternally. As Scripture says, “For God so loved the

world, that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16). Therefore, the Logos

(Word) became fully man, taking up flesh and rational soul from St. Mary, the

blessed Virgin so as to save us from eternal death, dominion of the devil, and life

in the world of Hades; and also, to return us back to our original glory by

reconciling us with the Father.

What does it mean when John says, “The Word was made Flesh”?

“The Word was made Flesh” means, one of the three divine Persons, God the

Father’s only Begotten Son, the Word (God the Son) took up human flesh and

human rational soul and became fully man in every way except sin. This means,

while the divine Person of the Logos is as Omnipresent as that of the Father and

the Holy Spirit, without ever being separated from His Father and without losing

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His Omnipresent nature, He was incarnate of the Holy Virgin Mary by taking up

flesh from her flesh, rational soul from her rational soul, without an earthly father

but rather by the mysterious work of the Holy Spirit; He was born in perfect unity

(of Divinity and Flesh). [This unity is known in Greek as enosis, and tewahedo

(ተዋሕዶ) in Ge’ez].

We say it every time during the Ethiopic Anaphora of St. John Chrysostom,

“መጽአ እንዘ ኢይወፅእ እምአቡሁ ወረደ እንዘ ኢይትፈለጥ እምህላዌሁ ነገደ እንዘ ኢይትበዐድ እምሥላሴሁ

አጽነነ እንዘ ኢይዘሮ እምድማሬሁ ኀደረ ውስተ ወለተ ሥጋ እንዘ ኢየዐርቅ እመንበሩ።”

“He [the Logos] came without going out of His Father, He descended without

being removed from His position, He came without being separated from the

Trinity, He came down without breaking His unity, and He dwelt in a daughter of

Flesh (Virgin Mary) without leaving His throne.” Anaphora of Chrysostom No.25.

When “The Word was made Flesh”, it was without alteration, without mingling,

without division, and without separation. This time, let’s give heed, on what our

father Saint Cyril of Alexandria thought us so that we may understand the

hypostatic union of divinity and humanity. And that is,

“እንቲአሁ ለቃል ኮነ ለሥጋ ወእንቲአሁ ለሥጋ ኮነ ለቃል”

“The attributes of the Logos became that of the flesh and vice versa. [In

Christology, this is known as communicatio idiomatum or exchange of properties].

Properties (attributes) of the Word (God the Son) are: omnipresence, Divinity,

Lordship, being a Creator, infinite patience, being victorious, omnipotence,

eternity, being the Alpha and Omega. All these attributes became that of the flesh

due to the hypostatic union.

The attributes (properties) of the flesh are: having a human body that can be

touched, held, limited in space and time; and other attributes of the human nature

include: being conceived, developing naturally in the womb, being born, crying,

hunger, thirst, breast feeding, feeling sleepy, sleeping, feeling tired, obedience,

learning, being baptized, fasting, praying, being tested, being a Gospel teacher,

being a priest, being a High priest, being called an apostle, teaching from place to

place, washing feet, being sued, standing in front of a judge, being scared, being

agonized, interceding via prayer, being nailed on a cross, being scourged, being

hanged, crying out a loud voice, “My God, My God”, giving up His spirit, death,

being buried. Due to the hypostatic union, these attributes belonged to the Logos,

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and thus it is possible to say that the Logos (Word) was born in flesh, suffered and

died in flesh while He is impassible and immortal in His divine nature.

[As famously said by St. Athanasius of Alexandria]: “For the Son of God became

man so that we might become God.” Through this incredible mystery, the divine

prophecy stated in Genesis chapter 3:22 was fulfilled.

“አዳም ኮነ ከመ አሐዱ አምኔነ”

“Behold, the man has become as one of Us,” Genesis 3:22 (KJV).

Therefore, it is the Incarnate Logos or the Son of God who became man whom the

Virgin Mary gave birth to. As the great Orthodox giant and Pillar of Faith, Saint

Cyril of Alexandria thought us,

“ነአምን በድንግል ንጽሕት ከመ ይእቲ ወላዲተ እግዚአብሔር በሥጋ ።”

“We believe that the Holy Virgin Mary is the bearer of God (Theotokos) in flesh.”

When the Logos became incarnate of Virgin Mary, He was named Jesus by the

angel. The name Jesus [in Hebrew Yeshua and in Greek Isous] means God saves or

simply Savior; this name, indeed, belongs to the Logos incarnate. As Saint Cyril

thought us, the perfect unity of divinity and humanity is analogues to the unity of

the human flesh and soul. When we say it is like flesh and soul, we mean that the

union is without separation or division. As the body and soul are one in nature, the

divinity and the flesh are united as such. Jesus Christ (the Logos incarnate) is a

mia-physis (one-united nature).

The famous Ethiopian scholar, Liqä Liqawənt Ezra, in his commentary on the

book, Haymanotä Abäw (Faith of the Fathers) explains:

“ወኢንቤ ከመ ቃለ እግዚአብሔር ተመይጠ ኀበ ሥጋ፤ ወኢሥጋ ተመይጠ ኀበ ህላዌ መለኮት። እስመ ቃለ እግዚአብሔር ኢይትመየጥ ወኢይትዌለጥ። ወዝንቱኒ ነገር ዘተናገርኩ ኢይትነገር ግሙራ። አንሰ ኢያሰሰልኩ ፍልጠተ ቃላት እንተ ተነግረ በእንተ ክርስቶስ። አላ አአምሮ ለእግዚእነ ይትነገር ቦቱ ዘከመ መለኮቱ

ወዘከመ ትስብእቱ ኅቡረ። እስመ ለለሊሁ አምላክ። ወለሊሁ ሰብእ”

“We do not say that the Word was changed to be flesh, nor the flesh was changed

into being the Word; since the Word of God is immutable. What I have said (of the

unity), is beyond comprehension. As for me, I did not omit what it is said of Christ

that the unity is without mingling. I only know of what is said of Him as God and

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as Human united - the Incarnate Logos. I only know of what is said of Him as

God-man because He is fully God and fully man.”

The reason why we are explaining this in this New Year’s message is that there are

some groups [in our Church] nowadays who teach that after the unity of divinity

and humanity in Christ, it is impossible to say that the Logos did this and that in

His humanity, nor is it possible to apply divine attributes to the humanity of Christ.

For instance, they tell us not to say, “in His humanity, Jesus Christ is both the

offered sacrifice and the one who offered the sacrifice (a High priest); while in His

divinity He accepted the sacrifice with His Father and the Holy Spirit.” Moreover,

they tell us not to say, “due to His humanity, He is the Mediator while in His

divinity, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, He was reconciled with humanity.”

They tell us not to say, “in His humanity, He made intercession with His words:

‘Forgive them, for they do not know what they do’ while in His divinity, with the

Father and Holy Spirit, He accepted the intercession.”

These people cannot understand the difference between the unique mediation of

Christ and the intercession of the Saints. Since they do not know the difference,

they confuse the two and mislead the people. Moreover, these people completely

deny the perfect humanity of Christ and are falling into Eutychianism in doing so.

Especially, we have seen a Father of a higher statue around Washington DC

reflecting such a blunder. Therefore, it is necessary to pass along this message so

that the faithful would not stumble in such theological error.

Here, in the teaching of the Mystery of the Incarnation according to the Ethiopian

scholars, unless one understands the theological nuance conveyed in:

The Ge’ez (Ethiopic) letter “በ” or “in” while saying “in His divinity, in His

humanity” (በአምላክነቱ በሰውነቱ) and

The word “እንደ” or “as” while saying “as God and as man” (እንደ አምላክነቱ

እንደ ሰውነቱ), referring to the Logos incarnate (the God-man);

it is impossible to understand the mystery of the hypostatic union. Even if we refer

to the particular attributes of the humanity and divinity while using the

prepositions “in” and “as” (in Amharic “በ” and “እንደ”), always the operation of

these properties belongs to the Incarnate Logos. When we say በሥጋው (in His

humanity) we are referring to the incarnate Logos; likewise, when we say

በአምላክነቱ (in His divinity) we are still referring to the same incarnate Logos.

[There is no division whatsoever implied in these expressions]. For instance, we

read in the epistle of St. Peter, referring to our Lord Jesus Christ, that He “was put

to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.” (I Pet. 3:18).

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The one who was said to die in the flesh is the Logos incarnate. The same

incarnate Logos was said to be risen from the dead by the power of His divinity.

When we talk about matters of the hypostatic union or ተዋሕዶ, using the preposition

“in” and “as” (“በ” and “እንደ”), our intention is not to imply either change

(confusion) or division in the union. Rather, this theological nuance helps us

protect the faithful from the heresies of Eutychianism and Nestorianism.

We find the same theological nuance in the Ethiopic anaphora, which is named

after St. John the evangelist (also known as Son of Thunder):

“Willingly He became hungry as the son of man, and granted many hungry people

to be satisfied with little bread according to His power. He thirsted as a man who

dies, and changed the water into wine as being able to give life to all. He slept as

the children of flesh, and awoke and rebuked the winds as Creator. He became

tired and rested as the humble, and walked upon the water as the Highest.”

Anaphora of John, Son of Thunder, No. 36 and 37.

Thus, we have boldness to say that our Lord Jesus Christ or the incarnate Logos

does this and that in His divinity, and the same incarnate Logos does this and that

in His flesh (humanity). The Word was made man and named Christ Jesus to

become the New Testament High Priest and also become the propitiation of our

sins. Since there is no propitiation without blood sacrifice, the job of a high priest

is to present bloody sacrifice, pray to God and intercede on behalf of his people.

On this topic, another Ethiopian scholar, the late Liqä Täbäbət Aläqa Ayalew, in

his book entitled: “Intercession; Mediation and Peace” from page 20-28,

extensively explains the crux of the aforementioned Christological position. He

says,

“When those in the time of the Old Testament, who were agents of service,

meaning the priests, O.T. sacrifices and offerings finished their service and role,

our Lord Jesus Christ took over their place. The problem with the Old Testament

was that the priest was as wicked as the people were. Therefore, since perfect

service/sacrifice, required of man, was not going to be fulfilled by the priesthood

of the Levites, a prophecy was told about the coming of priesthood that is not

according to the order of Aaron, but according to the order of Melchizedek; and

that no more sin sacrifice but rather as said earlier in prophecy “ሥጋከ አንጽሕ ሊተ

መሥዋዕተ ዘበእንተ ኃጢአት ኢሠመርኩ” “I did not desire your sacrifice and offering, make

your flesh a perfect sacrifice” (Psalms 109፥4፣ 39፥6፣ Hebrews 1፥1-4). When the

fullness of time came, the Son of God was revealed in Flesh and took over the

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priesthood, sacrifice, and the role of the mediator (Galatians 4:4). Therefore, for

the prophet’s cry:

ኖላዊሆሙ ለእስራኤል አጽምዕ፤ አንሥእ ኃይለከ ወነዓ አድኅነነ፤ ሥጋከ አንጽሕ ሊተ,

“Give ear, O shepherd of Israel; show your might, come save us; make your flesh a

perfect sacrifice”;

He responded by saying, አነ ውእቱ ኖላዊ ኄር ዘእሜጡ ነፍስየ ቤዛ አባግዕየ ፣ ውእተ ጊዜ እቤ ነየ መጻእኩ

I am the good shepherd who would give my life on the behalf of the sheep: at that

time, I came willingly. (John 10፥11-20፤ Hebrews 10፥7)

The response was both in words and deeds. Therefore, on the day of His

crucifixion, in place of the O.T. priest as stated in John 17, He prayed:

I pray for them I pray not for the world but for them which thou hast given me; for

they are thine. And all mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I am glorified in

them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come

to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given

me, that they may be one, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept

them in thy name: those that you give me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but

the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. And now come I to thee;

and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in

themselves. I have given them thy world; and the world hath hated them, because

they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that you should

take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil. They are

not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them though thy truth: thy

world is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them

into the world. And for the sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be

sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which

shall believe on me through their word. John 17:9-20

He fulfilled the promise He made when He said:

“I am the good shepherd who would give my life on the behalf of the sheep: at that

time, I came willingly.”

When He, on the behalf of all faithful, presented prayers on the Cross;

“Forgive them, for they do not know what they do”, and saying; “My God, My

God why have you forsaken me”

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Through His death that was done with a priesthood that is full of divine mystery

and that surpassed the priesthood of Aaron; and being the priest, the mediator,

means of the mediation, and the sacrifice. He also fulfilled the reconciliation

between man and God when He said on the Cross:

“Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit; and having said thus, He gave up His

spirit.”

The unity of God and man that had been disrupted because of sin was renewed by

His unique relationship He has with us as He is Emmanuel (God with us), who

made the redemption for our sins. As He is merciful along with the Father and the

Holy Spirit, He was reconciled with us, He accepted the perfect sacrifice, He is

giver of life, He is the one and true judge. [Due to the very costly ransom He paid

with His blood], humans’ letter of bondage of sin was torn up. The wall of sin

between humans and God was dismantled by the blood shed on His Cross

(Ephesians 2:14-18). Glory to God in the heavens, and peace upon earth,

reconciliation to humans… we rejoice in this reconciliation. We also rejoice in this

reconciliation because it was done through His Son as St. Paul told us in his epistle

(Romans 5:6-12). This intercession and mediation is not only for one time and one

day. Rather through the offering of His flesh, which He willfully presented, we are

made righteous forever. He gave Himself once for all with His sacrifice that can

never be obsolete, nor can be changed ever. He made sacrifice with the prayer He

offered and with the mediation He made, thereby granting eternal power to the

Church.” (Read Hebrews 7፥21-28; 10፥9-15).

The unique mediation of Jesus Christ is that of a High Priest, redemptive in nature,

and made a ransom for our sins or a propitiation for our sins which was done by

His blood, and thus [His Father] could not refuse to accept. Liqä Täbäbət Aläqa

Ayalew expounds that the unique mediation of Christ continues to work till the end

of the world:

“His words ‘I pray for them’ is not bounded by space-time but rather it is valid till

the end of the world. This is confirmed by His subsequent words, ‘Neither pray I

for these alone, but for them also who shall believe in me’ As the words He spoke

to create during the creation of the universe (e.g. “let there be light”) work till the

end of the world, His words ‘I pray for them’ work till the end of the world.” (See

p. 26 in his book).

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Liqä Täbäbət Aläqa Ayalew explains Romans 8:34 as follows,

“For such a High Priest (Jesus Christ) was fitting for us; who is holy, harmless,

separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens” (Hebrews 7:26).

In the Church, where He continues to be offered as a sacrifice, His redemptive

power is still effective and will be till the end of the world.

Based on what the Lord says, ‘I am with you always, even unto the end of the

world’ (Mathew 28:20), when the Church teaches the Gospel, transmits His

message at all time and place, what helps her and defends her is this very word of

the Lord. To affirm this, on his epistle to the Romans 8:34, St. Paul refers to our

Lord Jesus Christ as the One who “makes intercession for us” (ወይትዋቀስ በእንቲአነ).

And the Church prays and presents the one and only sacrifice that was made on the

Cross (the Holy Eucharist), as clearly stated in the Pre-communion prayer of the

Ethiopian Eucharistic Liturgy:

እግዚአብሔር አምላኪየ ናሁ ወልድከ መሥዋዕት ዘያሠምረከ ወበዝንቱ አናህሲ ሊተ ኵሎ ኃጢአትየ

“O, my God, my Lord, here is the sacrifice, Your Son, in whom you are pleased

with; forgive all my sins by this sacrifice”.

While the Church prays like this, offering the sacrifice and being helped by the

words of Christ: “I pray for them,” as Christ is the eternal High Priest, He

continues to make intercession [for His Church].

In Romans 8:33-34, the Amharic bible reads:

“እግዚአብሔር የመረጣቸውን ማን ይከሳቸዋል? የሚያጸድቅ እግዚአብሔር ነው፣ የሚኮንንስ ማን ነው? የሞተው፣ ይልቁንም ከሙታን የተነሳው፣ በእግዚአብሔር ቀኝ ያለው ደግሞ ስለኛ የሚማልደው ክርስቶስ

ኢየሱስ ነው”። And its English equivalent is that, “Who shall lay anything to the

charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifies. Who is He that condemns? It is

Christ that died, yea rather, that risen again, who is even at the right hand of God,

who also makes intercession for us” (Romans 8:33-34, KJV).

However, it is wrong to say, that even now [while Christ is seated at the right hand

of the Father] He begs or prays to the Father to make intercession. What we are

saying is that the intercession that He made in the days of His flesh (Heb. 5:7)

continues to be effective till the end of the world.

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Liqä Täbäbət Aläqa Ayalew concludes,

“The redemptive work, which Christ made since His conception till His

crucifixion, enables all the believers to be closer to God and gives them absolute

salvation. This is the faith of the Ethiopian Orthodox Täwaḥədo Church.

Therefore, the Ethiopian Orthodox Täwaḥədo Church excommunicates anyone

who teaches that after His death and resurrection, our Lord makes intercession by

bearing suffering and/or offering prayers.”

This teaching of Liqä Täbäbət Aläqa Ayalew is based on early Orthodox Fathers’

teachings. Therefore, from here on, we will present the testimony of these early

Fathers.

1. In the Ethiopic anaphora of St. Mary, we read that

“Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, from Whom is found every good gift and

every perfect gift, became man, fulfilled all the law of man yet without sin, and

practiced the law of the Hebrews. He was baptized by John, tempted in the

wilderness, hungered and thirsted…” Anaphora of St. Mary No. 97-98

The anaphora continues…

“He looked up to heaven towards Thee His Father, interceded with Him Who

Begot Him, and committed His disciples to Him to keep them from all evil.”

Anaphora of St. Mary No.103

Our Fathers’ exposition on the phrase “interceded with Him Who Begot Him”

(ወአስተምሐረ ወላዲሁ) states that

“Christ intercedes with His father saying “Protect them in your name, make them

righteous in your truth” (ዕቀቦሙ በስምከ ቀድሶሙ በጽድቅከ, ወአማኅፀነ አርዳኢሁ ከመ ይዕቀቦሙ

እምኵሉ እኵይ)”.

And this is the intercessory prayer of our Lord that we find in John 17: as

explained above.

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2. In the Ethiopic anaphora, which is named after St. Athanasius of

Alexandria, we find the following powerful expression:

“ኦ ወልድ ክላህ ከመ ዘሐመ ወበል ኤልማስ ላማ ሰበቅታኒ ወእንዘ ሀሎ ውስተ አፉሆሙ በል አባ ወአቡየ

መሐር ወተሣሃል እለ በልዑ ሥጋየ ወሰትዩ ደምየ።

“O Son, cry as a sufferer and say, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani (My God, My God

why have you forsaken me?); and while it is (Holy Communion) in their mouth

say, Abba, My Father, have compassion and mercy on those who eat My body and

drink My blood.” Anaphora of St Athanasius No. 144

Again, Our Fathers exposition on this anaphora explains this as;

“Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani (My God, My God why have you forsaken me?), O

Father, forgive them for what they not know what they do” and continues, “this

commemorates the sufferings He bear on Friday that became the cause of our

salivation.”

Thus, our Fathers show us that our Lord’s mission, which He accomplished on

Friday, is still ongoing till the end of the world [making intercession for us].

3. St. Cyril of Alexandria

St. Cyril in the doctrinal book: Haymanotä Abäw (Faith of the Fathers) Chapter 79

says, “As if He Himself wants prayers, He[Christ] interceded the Father, to free us

from the bondage of sin we inherited, and also to think of us and to continue to be

with us.” Here, St. Cyril is telling us that this intercessory prayer is for the

propitiation for our sins (I John 2:2).

4. St. John Chrysostom, the Golden Mouth

St. John Chrysostom in the same book: Haymanotä Abäw (Faith of the Fathers)

Chapter 63 No. 14-15 says: “Who else can by Himself be the propitiation for our

sins and faithful mediator? Also, what is the sacrifice that He presented to mediate

and propitiate for our sins? The sacrifice is indeed the flesh that He took through

the hypostatic union. The Word of God came to this world, uniting our human

nature to Himself so as to become a High Priest.”

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5. St. John Chrysostom, the Golden Mouth again in his 13th chapter of

his commentary on the Pauline epistle to the Hebrews says:

“My beloved Christians, take heed. As He spoke these words, “Be fruitful and

increase in numbers; fill the earth and subdue it” only once yet lives till the end of

the world to bless (recreate) generations, Christ’s prayer of intercession while He

was on earth, “Forgive them”, lives forever till the end of the world giving

forgiveness to all those who pray to the Father in the name of Christ.”

6. St. Yared the Great, the Ethiopian hymnographer in his

antiphonary, known as Dəggᵂa (ድጓ) writes:

“ይቤሎሙ ኢየሱስ ለአርዳኢሁ፤ አዐርግ ሰማየ ኀበ አቡየ። ኀበ እስእል ምሕረተ በእንተ እሊአየ”

“Jesus told His disciples: ‘I shall ascend to the heavens to my Father where I

intercede for mercy to those who are mine.’”

When St. Yared says this, it does not literally mean that Jesus Christ offers a

sacrifice or prayers in front of His Father in heaven. But as many Saints have said

it, the one-time intercessory prayer and propitiatory sacrifice that He offered

continues to make intercession for us till the end of the world.

7. Abba Giyorgis of Gasǝčča, the Ethiopian prolific writer in his

Book of Hours (መጽሐፈ ሰዓታት - Mäṣǝḥafä Sä῾atat) says,

“ሊቀ ካህናት ዘይቀውም ሎሙ ለቅዱሳን፥በደብተራ ስምእ እንተ እግዚአብሔር ተከላ ውእቱ ኢየሱስ

ክርስቶስ”

“The High Priest, who stands for the righteous in the heavenly tabernacle that God

made, is Jesus Christ.”

Liqä Liqawǝnt Abba Melaku Takele commented on this, “In the above quote

“stands for” means “intercedes”. In the heavenly tabernacle, Jesus Christ the High

Priest intercedes for the righteous, because the intercession that He made on the

day of His crucifixion continues to grant eternal forgiveness.

To quote more from the Book of Hours (መጽሐፈ ሰዓታት Mäṣǝḥafä Sä῾atat), in the

hymn, known as ስብሐተ ፍቁር (Sǝbhatä Fǝqur – Praise of the Beloved), our fathers

say,

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“ኦ አብ በእንተ ኢየሱስ ርድአነ፤ ክርስቶስ ኀበ አቡከ ኄር አማኅጽነነ፤ መንፈሰ አብ ወወልድ ናዝዘነ”

“O God the Father help us because of Jesus Christ. O Christ entrust us to (intercede

us with) the Father who is merciful. O the Spirit of the Father and the Son, comfort

us.”

Thus far, we saw the intercessory role of the incarnate Logos (Jesus Christ) due to

His humanity because He is fully man. Since He is consubstantial in His divinity

with the Father and the Holy Spirit, He accepts the intercession. As a High Priest in

His humanity, He is a Mediator. Since He is also fully divine, with the Father and

Holy Spirit, He was reconciled with humanity.

Let’s heed here, what makes the intercessory role of Christ uniquely different from

that of the Saints? The unique mediation of Christ is for the atonement of our sins,

done by blood; it is also a ransom paid for our sins, redemptive, and that no one

can refuse to accept, and it is what brought us mercy of God. This mediation of

Christ, since it is for ransom and done by blood, it is what freed us from bondage

of sin, that tore apart the veil of sin between man and God, that tore apart the wall

of sin between man and God, our mallet that we use to bruise head of our enemy

(the devil), and it is the mighty power of the Church. That is why the mediation of

Christ is completely different from the intercession of Saints.

Liqä Liqawǝnt Aba Melaku Takele pointed out,

“St. John, the Golden mouth, says of Paul, ‘intercessor in the imitation of Christ’

(አራቂ ዘውእቱ አምሳሊሁ ለክርስቶስ). While the mediation of Christ is with His death, that

of Paul is with his prayers and teaching. The latter is just bringing people to the

blood of Christ, where we find the propitiation for our sins. Just because the

terminology [i.e. mediation or intercession] is the same, we are not confused since

the task is different.”

His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, the late patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church,

in his book, ‘Comparative Theology’ where he answered questions from the

Protestants regarding the fundamental difference between the intercessions of the

Saints and the unique mediation of Christ, wrote the following:

“The mediation of the Lord Jesus Christ is an atonement, which means that He

mediates for the forgiveness of our sins, being the atoner who paid our debts on

our behalf. His mediation means that He says to the Father: "Do not count their

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transgressions because I have carried their iniquity" (Is.53:6). Thus, He stands as a

mediator between God and [humans]; or rather, He is the only mediator between

God and [humans]; He fulfilled God’s divine Justice and granted people the

forgiveness of sins, by dying for them. This is what St. John the Apostle meant

when he said: "And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus

Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for

ours only but also for the whole world"(1John.2: 1,2). Here, the atoning mediation

is very clear. It is a mediation for the sinner: "If anyone sins", and this sinner

needs atonement. The only One who offered this atonement was Jesus Christ the

righteous. Hence, He can mediate for us through His blood which was shed for us.

The same meaning is given in the words of St. Paul the Apostle about the Lord

Jesus Christ being the only mediator between God and men. He says: "For there is

one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave

Himself a ransom for all" (1Tim.2: 5,6). The Lord Jesus Christ mediates for us as

the redeemer who sacrificed Himself and paid the price of our sins. This type of

mediation is utterly unquestionable. It is attributed to Christ only, whereas the

intercessions of the saints have no connection with atonement or redemption. It is

intercessions for us to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.” Page 77-78.

Our belief is by no means different, and cannot be different from this

Christological position which is taken from the book of the late Coptic patriarch.

Why? Because for 1600 years we were under the same Synod of the Alexandrian

patriarchate. We still share the same doctrines with our Coptic brothers and sisters.

All the Oriental Orthodox Churches, namely: the Coptic Orthodox Church, the

Ethiopian Orthodox Täwaḥədo Church, the Syriac Orthodox Church, the

Malankara Orthodox Church (Syriac Orthodox Church in India), and the Armenian

Orthodox Church have the same Dogmatic teachings.

In conclusion,

This is the era when anything without evidence has no value of acceptance. When

we present the Church’s teachings to this generation, it must be with clarity and

must be supported by evidence. We are leaving the Church in existential danger,

If we cannot witness the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, which He has

done becoming fully man as a High Priest,

If we cannot present the Mystery of Incarnation as stated in the Holy

Scripture and expounded by the writings of the Fathers of the Church.

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What we have witnessed recently in our Church, i.e. instead of bringing the new

generation to the Church a few people are acting as if the Church had no evidence,

as if the Church were not wells of intellectual theologians. Furthermore, they react

to the questions of the generation by persecuting them and giving them away to

strange teachings. Indeed, this is a sign of theological failure.

Although division has been created within the Ethiopian Orthodox Täwaḥədo

Church because of Canonical violations as we have seen and observed in other

Churches, it’s something that will pass away when the political temperature cools

down. But nowadays there are opportunists who are tirelessly working to gain

political and financial benefits, trying to elevate this Canonical division to a

theological one. In fact, they have started this a while ago. This is a very dangerous

act.

As the fate of our nation is at the crossroads, those of us who are concerned about

our nation and our Church must not take this matter lightly. Matters of faith are not

resolved through group thinking or with popularity contest. Our fathers have

entrusted to us the truth which Christ died for at Calvary. It is this truth that we

will be faithful till our last breath.

Therefore, in this New Year, may God give us power to be united instead of

excommunicating each other, and consult with each other instead of tugging one

another.

Amen