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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