Here are my thoughts as an Orthodox catechumen. The Orthodox do not believe in original sin in the sense that it is inherited biologically. The belief is in ancestral sin. When we are born, we are not ourselves guilty of the sin of Adam, rather, we are born into a fallen world with a proclivity towards sin. The Orthodox view is that unbaptized infants do NOT got to hell. So, when the orthodox baptize their infants, it's not to "erase original sin", it't to welcome and initiate them into the Church, the living body of Christ "I confess one Baptism for the remission of sins", yes, baptism does this too. The Orthodox also believe that the Theotokos was "immaculate" and "most pure", but there is no need for her to have been "Immaculately conceived" because we don't believe in original sin in the first place. The thought process is that she was born sinless, and remained so (unlike the rest of us) as she was consecrated to God.

It's amazing how many people are incapable of making the difference between "Being a sinner" (someone who has already made the free choice to sin) and "Being capable of sin" (someone who is capable of making a free choice to sin, but did not make that choice and chose not to sin instead).

Orthodox Christian from Germany here 🙋🏻‍♂️🇩🇪 God bless you all and your loved ones 🙏❤️☦️

God is powerfull. He can make anything real.

You made a big leap from the immaculate conception to Mary not being fully human. Do you think God is incapable of protecting one of his creatures from sin if that is his will?

This popped up on recommended and not sure what I was expecting, but I can say this is the first time I’ve ever heard someone say heresy seriously

Catholics don't say Mary was not human. She was preserved from the effects of sin just like oil and water do not mix

Saint John of Damascus said that the Holy Mary is free from sin, I think that the Orthodox church accept this

She is the ark of the covenant. The arc was holy because it contained the manna from the wilderness, the staff of Aaron, and the broken tablets of the commandments. The Bible relates stories of Jews touching the arc and dying. Also it has been the tradition of the church for 2 thousand years that her birth was immaculate.

But if the Theotokos is with sin...then Jesus will inherit the original sin from his mother? And if she is not Immaculate why did the angel told her the she is "Full of grace" ?

Does being without sin make you LESS human? I would think it made you more.

Mary being sinless doesn't mean she is not human like us

I am orthodox from romania thr orthodox don't reject the immaculatr conception actually it is a base concept in the religion

Such dogmas are so much deep theology that i would never consider it a difference between Catholic and Orthodox Church. Catholics say Theotokos didn t inherit the ancestral sin of Adam (immaculate conception) and Orthodox say she did inherit the ancestral sin of Adam (being born from humans). The problem is none of the consequences of this dogma make them different. It doesn't necessarily result in Mary not being human or Jesus not having the human nature (Orthodox say that only Jesus had an immaculate conception, in the way that the human nature of Jesus didn t inherit the ancestral sin of Adam). In the end, it's the same thing viewed from different angles. Orthodox also reject immaculate conception of Mary because they want to mark that the grace of Mary was gained, not awarded from birth. Thus the merit of Mary is greater. PS. I am Orthodox and i love my Catholic brothers

As a mixed race American girl who was raised southern black Baptist, I’m confused but here to take notes and learn

Jesus is described in the Bible as “full of grace and truth.” The only other person in the entire Bible described as “full of grace” is the Blessed Virgin Mary. What is grace? Grace is the supernatural life of God. Based on this, why is it so hard to believe Mary to have been sinless and Immaculately Conceived?

not all orthodox reject immaculate conception. At least not the 5 original counties to accept Christianity(Ethiopia, Egypt, India, Armenia, syria. it was not the Roman Catholic that came up with it. the orthodox before Catholic taught the immaculate conception

I am Latin rite Catholic. We do not believe in inherited guilt of sin but in the inherited condition of separation from God which is an effect of Adam’s sin. For most of us this is removed at baptism; for Mary this was removed when she was conceived. I cannot argue with you about what Orthodox believe; I can argue with you about what you think Catholics believe.

What the Devil said during the exorcism on Annaliese Michel: "The dogma of the Immaculata hurts us so much. Thank goodness no one believes in this truth anymore. If people believed this, all hell would tremble. Because of this disbelief of theirs many people are down here".

I recommend rereading the papal decree on the Immaculate Conception. There are several misconceptions you have said in this video that are in and of themselves causing confusion to the believer and leading them astray

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3: 16 “...Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Matthew 3: 2

Exactly. Orthodox believe in ancestral sin. Human propensity toward sin. But not born guilty.

We Ethiopian Orthodox believe that the holy virgin Mary is free from the original sin we believe God was able to keep her pure from the sin of origin, while she was in the womb as God is capable of protecting his servants at the womb level. "5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, [and] I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." (Jeremiah 1:5)

Nothing new gets put into old wineskins. If Mary was tainted with sin, she would pass that down to Jesus. The power of the most high overshadowed her leaving no room for sin. Jesus was God man. That is why he bled and was tired. He received his earthly flesh (human) from Mary, who was human.

In other words a ccording to you.Jesus was born with sin?? Or else if Mary was not sinless ,the scripture says everyone born of a woman is born in sin.This does not add up , we know Jesus took on everything human except sin, if he took his flesh from Mary and so Sinless is the Lord Jesus Christ , he must have prepared Mary sinless.Mary gives birth to a sinless generation before the fall of Eve, Eve had no sin until the devil came , so if Mary is the theotokos , God bearer ,she can only do so if she was sinless.The immaculate conception is simply true and divinely logical unless the orthodox declare that Jesus needed to be saved from sin too.I did not know orthodox don't believe in this mystery.I can not become orthodox.As a Protestant I have been blessed to understand this mystery , and many more that is why am entering the Catholic church at Rome.

Honest question for catholic or orthodox. Why did Mary call God her savior if she was sinless? What was she being saved from?

"Today the MOST-IMMACULATE and pure Lady hath issued forth from a barren wóman / Today all things rejoice in her natívity! The bonds of Adam have been broken and Eve has been freéd from the curse! / All those in heaven rejoice and mankind is gíven peace! / And we glorify her and crý aloud: / Glory to God in the Híghest, /// And on earth peace, good wíll among men!"

I don’t understand where you are coming from. Although I want to. As a newly reverted Catholic I find the Immaculate conception absolutely beautiful! For a few reasons being: 1) It shows God’s immense power 2) If man was born sinless as I presume you believe than how or why would we ever need God’s forgiveness? (We wouldn’t even need God and Christ’s death and Resurrection would be in Vain) 3) I love how Venerable Fulton Sheen put it: Mary was God’s DREAM COME TRUE. Mary is the Eve! And the Mother of the Church. Also why would God allow His only begotten Son to enter into a line of sinful humans? It makes no sense. The only thing that makes sense is that God created Mary because he can WITHOUT Original Sin so that when the right time came with Mary’s Yes to the Divine Will, His only begotten Son who is True God and True Man could come into the world in a pure vessel. I would love to hear what you think of this. May God bless you always, Sir.

If Mary being without sin from conception means she's not fully human, does that mean that Jesus isn't fully human? Also CCC 405 says, "original sin does not have the character of a personal fault in any of Adam's descendants." Doesn't that contradict the idea that Roman Catholics believe we're born with guilt?

I like the Harry Potter books on your bookshelf behind you. No need to fear good fiction if one’s theology is sound.

Mary appeared to st bernadette and declared "I AM THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION!"

Mary’s immaculate conception made her fully human. She is the model of the Church, what God wants us to be.

❤❤😇 St. Epiphanius Mary, the holy Virgin, is truly great before God and men. For how shall we not proclaim her great, who held within her the uncontainable One, whom neither heaven nor earth can contain? ❤❤😇

The Immaculate Conception makes sense. In the Old Testament if a High Priest was not spiritually clean, he would die when he entered the Holy of Holies. When Moses requested to see the Glory of God, he was hidden in the cleft of rock, and limited to seeing just God's 'hind parts'; otherwise he would have died. However, the Blessed Virgin Mary literally had the Holy of Holies dwell inside her womb, yet she did not die. If Mary was stained with any amount of sin, it would not be biblically consistent for her to have this encounter with God and live.

Our Lord Jesus was without sin. Was he not fully human? He was fully human and fully God.

Second Confession of Orthodox Bishops at their Consecration “The Word of God…took our whole fallen human nature from the PUREand VIRGINAL BLOOD of the ONLY IMMACULATE and pure Virgin…Furthermore I confess that He assumed all our human blameless passions that constitute our nature, excepting sin, i.e. hunger, thirst, weariness, tears, and such like: He underwent them not of necessity as in our case, but by His human will following His divine will; for willingly He hungered, willingly He thirsted, willingly He wearied, willingly He died.”.

The Immaculate Conception of the BVM does not make her not a human being.

From Orthodox Psalter to the Most Holy Theotokos and Evervirgin Mary: Come let us worship our Queen the Theotokos. (Great prostration) +++ Come let us worship the Virgin Mary our Queen the Theotokos. (Great prostration) +++ Come let us worship and fall down before our Lady, the Virgin Mary, our Queen the Theotokos. (Great prostration) +++

“And the Angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, *Full of Grace,* the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.” (Luke 1:29)

St Germanos of Constantinople: "She was three years old and supremely PERFECT WITH DIVINE GRACE, since She had been recognized and designated IN ADVANCE and had been chosen by God and Steward of all things.

"You have surpassed all couples on the earth, / O blessed Joachim and Ánna, / When you gave bírth to her who transcends all creátion. / Truly art thou bless’t, O Joachim, having become a parent or such a Maíden. / And blessèd is thy womb, O Anna, for thou hast sprouted for us the Móther of Life / Blessed are the breasts which nourished with milk her who nurtured the Sustainer of all creátion! / Beseéch Him, we pray you, O all-blessed ones, That He may grant our souls great mércy."

We weren’t born in sin? Oh no? Then why do we die ? It’s a punishment for sin. See Genesis. Was David bone in sin? He himself tells us that he was: "[7] For behold I was conceived in iniquities; and in sins did my mother conceive me." [Psalms 50:7]

⚠️ ORTHODOXWIKI ⚠️ The term Original Sin (or first sin) is used among all Christian churches to define the doctrine surrounding Romans 5:12-21 and 1 Corinthians 15:22, in which Adam is identified as the man through whom death came into the world. How this is interpreted is believed by many Orthodox to be a fundamental difference between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Western Churches. In contrast, modern Roman Catholic theologians would claim that the basic anthropology is actually almost identical, and that the difference is only in the explanation of what happened in the Fall. In the Orthodox Church the term ancestral sin (Gr. προπατορικό αμάρτημα) is preferred and is used to define the doctrine of man's "inclination towards sin, a heritage from the sin of our progenitors" and that this is removed through baptism. St. Gregory Palamas taught that man's image was tarnished, disfigured, as a consequence of Adam's disobedience.

Our Lady being free from sin does not make her less human. That’s a non sequitur. It makes her more human because in sinning we go against our natures and the goal for our humanity

Jesus was fully human and fully divine. If God wanted a human mother he would have wanted the PERFECT mother. Someone who would be as perfect as Adam and Eve when they were created by God, without sin. Mary being immaculate doesn't make her non-human. Because Jesus as well was fully human and was immaculate as well.

The immaculate conception of Jesus is a biblical doctrine. Mary herself says on the pages of Scriptures that she never knew a man, referring to sexual relations and yet she got pregnant. And yes she was a human and a sinner in need of a Saviour just like everyone else is and the reason, Jesus wasn't under the curse is because His Father, as far as the conception is concerned, was the Holy Spirit/Ghost. Also read the book of Romans and you'll see that yes everyone is born with a sin nature and guilty before God and to be saved, one must believe on the Gospel of 1 Chorinthians 15:1-4, wich is the Death, Burial and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ: believe that He did that for you and that what He did alone, none of your good works save you and you'll have Eternal Life. All I said here is neither new doctrine, nor is it my opinion. It's written black on white, on the pages of Scripture. God Bless.

Does that make Adam and Eve less human? - for they were created without original sin... 🤔 I might add, if God incarnate (Jesus) inherited original sin from His mother, would that not mean that God is tainted by sin?... 🤔 Jesus, in His humanity, is like us in all ways, except for sin, for the Divine cannot partake of a sinful nature. Mary is the vessel through which our Lord obtained his humanity, so it only makes sense that she would be Immaculate, so that her Son could be, by extension. As a Catholic, I firmly reject this heresy, however it is interesting to see what others think. 😇 Thank you for sharing this information with us, I have had an inkling for some weeks that the Orthodox Church held these particular views on Mary, so I honestly appreciate your concise provision of the specifics pertaining to this topic. I have lots of respect for our Orthodox brothers, and their teachings, but this is one point on which we differ. :) Take care, and God Bless You, geniussnake497 :-)

Mary in the example of how God is a gentleman. He preserved her to bring His only son. She is pure and loyal to Him. Mary didn’t know about Jesus. She didn’t know she was going to be gracious until the angel Gabriel told her.

Song of songs: 2 "As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters." Lily means sinless ..thorns are sins or sin

Song of songs: Christ speaking 7 "Thou art ALL FAIR , my love; there is no spot in thee."

Being full of grace does not mean a person is born sinless. They have sought God and he has filled them with grace.

It says HAIL MARY..... FULL OF *GRACE* in order for Jesus to be born Mary needed to be cleaned from all sin as no sin could touch God. Mary was different from everyone else because she was the vessel to bring the savior into the world. Yes she was fully human but she needed to be cleaned before birthing the lord. She is the ark of the covenant and the greatest saint that ever lived

"This day, O faithful, from saintly parents begins to take being the SPOTLESS lamb, the MOST PURE tabernacle, Mary …” (From the Office of Matins, the Third Ode of the Canon.

St. John of Damascus: "holy, undefiled, and stainless soul" (Sermon II: On the Assumption)

You misunderstand. Being born with original sin doesn’t mean you are already guilty of sin. It means you have *tendencies* toward sin. And Mary was born without original sin.

The parents of the Panagia, past child conceiving age. I am Orthodox Eastern Orthodox. Maria was likely conceived without sin from the result of prayer by her parents. We can't say this for certain it is probable like 99%. I can agree she was conceived without sin.

"O renowned womb of Anna, in which slowly, wirh additions from Her, AN ALL-HOLY INFANT GREW"

The Most Holy Mother of God has Herself said that She is the Immaculate Conception during the apparitions at Lourdes.

Thank you brother.. for not making it a dramatic theatrical production, and instead just getting to the point.. calm and staying on relevant topic, short and sweet 👍

Kosmas Vestitor: "Hail, Anna, mother - TREE WITH THE IMMACULATE BRANCH. Hail, Joachim, father, oyster shell of the IMMACULATE PEARL!

No, not so. Orthodox Christians don't reject the Immaculate Conception. You must be a wolf under sheep clothe. Read this and repent. On December 8, 1854 Pope Pius IX defined as dogma that Mary of Nazareth was conceived without original sin. By this dogma, the Catholic Church confesses: “The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Saviour of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.” (CCC #491-492, 508) Unfortunately, many Christians objected this dogma. Referring to Rm. 5:12-13, they argued that since sin has spread to all men, and that sin has been in the world before the law was given; Mary could not be conceived without sin. In addition, for Mary to be conceived without sin, they argued, her parents would have to be sinless as well. So was Mary conceived without sin? To answer this question, and to understand this teaching of the Catholic Church, it would be helpful to begin with the Book of Exodus, chapters 25-30. In these chapters, through Moses, the Lord commanded the Israelites to build a sanctuary that he may dwell in their midst. Within the boundary of the sanctuary were the tabernacle, the altar for burnt offering, the bronze laver and its base, and many other furnishings for the tabernacle. The heart of the sanctuary, however, was the tabernacle, which housed the Ark of the Covenant. When the Lord commanded the Israelites to build this sanctuary, he was very specific about the exact details as how everything had to be made, but most noticeable were the construction of the Ark of the Covenant, and the blending of the holy anointing oil. Concerning the construction of the Ark, the Lord said: Ex 25:10-22, (10) You shall make an ark of acacia wood; two and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high. (11) And you shall overlay it with pure gold, within and without shall you overlay it, and you shall make upon it a molding of gold round about. See Ex 25:12-22 for more details. To blend the anointing oil, the Lord commanded, Ex 30:23-25, (23) Take the finest spices: of liquid myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet-smelling cinnamon half as much, that is, two hundred and fifty, and of aromatic cane two hundred and fifty, (24) and of cassia five hundred, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and of olive oil a hin; (25) and you shall make of these a sacred anointing oil blended as by the perfumer; a holy anointing oil it shall be. The Lord further commanded: Ex 30:26-29, (26) With this sacred anointing oil you shall anoint the meeting tent and the ark of the covenant, (27) and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, (28) and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils and the laver and its base. Then the Lord declared, Ex 30:29, When you have consecrated them, they shall be most holy; whatever touches them shall be holy. Thus, creatures consecrated to the Lord became holy, but note that the Ark became most holy even if, at the time of the consecration, it was empty, (Ex 25:16), and that the anointing oil was holy even if it wasn’t consecrated to the Lord. The anointing oil was holy because the Lord preserved it to be holy, he said, Ex 30:25, “...; a holy anointing oil it shall be.” So Scriptures tell Christians that though this world has been under a curse (Gn. 3:17-19), and that sin has spread to all men (Rm. 5:12); the Lord, in his omnipotence, can always have any of his creatures consecrated to him, and he can always preserve any of his creatures for his ‘personal use’. When he did, consecrated and preserved creatures became holy. Scriptures also tell Christians that the Lord had the old Ark of the Covenant made to house his covenant with the Israelites, or the stone tablets on which the ten commandments or the words of the Lord were written (Ex 40:20). This covenant was not the last, nor was it eternal; yet the Ark, which housed it, had to be the most holy. How holy then Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant, in whom the Eternal Word dwells has to be? Therefore, since the old Ark which was made of acacia wood, by human hands, and covered with pure gold was the most holy among all things; the new Ark, Mary, who was created by God’ hands, over shadowed by the Most High (Lk 1:35), from whom the Eternal Word received his flesh must be the most holy among all creatures. One question, which will surely arise is: Who consecrated Mary to God? The answer is, of course, Mary did. She consecrated herself to God, and she did it freely saying, Lk. 1:38, Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word. By her consecration of self, the Word incarnated in her virginal womb, and in her the Word really, truly, and substantially dwelled. Mary must be the most holy among all creatures, angels included. This, understandably, will lead us to the next question: Was Mary the most holy only from the time she consecrated herself to God, or was she always the most holy? As pointed out earlier, the old Ark was the most holy when it housed the words of God as well as when it was empty. Mary, the New Ark, therefore, had to be the most holy when she carried Jesus in her womb as well as when Jesus was not physically in her. In other words, Mary was the most holy throughout her life. This was so, for just in the same way that God had preserved the anointing oil to be holy, so that, by this oil, God gave consecrated creatures their holiness; God had also preserved Mary to be holy and free from sin, so that, through her, God gave his only Son to the world. This preservation, through Prophet Isaiah, God had announced to his people: Is 7:14, Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: The virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. So it’s clear that God had preserved Mary to be the Virgin; God had also made his will known more than 700 years before Mary was conceived in her mother’s womb. Mary, therefore, had to be the most holy and free from original sin at the time of her conception. Thus, by defining as dogma that Mary of Nazareth was conceived without original sin, the Catholic Church did not define the Immaculate Conception as a new revelation. Instead, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, she only brought forward the favor, which the Almighty had bestowed on Mary, Lk. 1:30, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” This favor was only one of the many great things the Almighty had done for her so that all ages will call her blessed. (Lk. 1:39-56) Who through all ages will call her blessed? Only Mary’s offspring will. The offspring of her adversary will undoubtedly never call her blessed. (Gn 3:14-15) Finally, as for the argument: if Mary was conceived without sin, her parents would have to be sinless as well. It’s clear that since the consecration of the Ark made holy only the acacia wood and the gold which was used in the construction of the Ark, and that God preserved only Mary to be holy and free from sin to be the mother of his Son; neither the rest of the acacia wood and gold were made holy nor Mary’s parents were preserved to be sinless. Christians, please pray: “O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee.” By praying this prayer, we ask Mary to pray for us, not that we pray to her.

One Immaculate Conception. One Incarnation. One Virgin Birth. All Three Christ's ALONE!

Georgios Scholarios: "Hence because SHE WAS COMPLETELY LIBERATED FROM THE ANCESTRAL GUILT AND PUNISHMENT- A PRIVILEGE WHICH SHE IS THE ONLY ONE OF HUMAN RACE TO HAVE RECEIVED....

Mother Mary was tempted, but she did not sin. She, instead, accepted to be Jesus' mother, which is a very hard thing to do. What she did was awesome!

Adam and Eve were also created without sin...

St. John of Damascus: "Her whole being is the bridal chamber of the Holy Spirit; Her whole being is a City of the living God which "the flowings of the river gladden"; that is FLOODS OF THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. She is ALL-FAIR, ENTIRELY THE COMPANION OF GOD

look I appreciate what you're saying but if Mary being sinless means that she wasn't fully human, then obviously Jesus being sinless means that he wasn't fully human also. So, that whole thing falls apart. They either should both be sinless, or both be sinful.

Orthodox reject original sin?

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION in ISLAM: Muslims believe in the immaculate conception (i.e., not conceived in sin) of only two persons: Mary and Jesus, as do the Roman Catholic Church. All Christians believe in the immaculate conception of Jesus, but not all believe in the immaculate conception of Mary. The doctrine of Immaculate Conception of Mary was imposed as an Article of Faith in the Roman Catholic Church by Pope Pious IX on Dec. 18th, 1854. The Muslim belief stem from the hadiths: Narrated Said bin Al-Musaiyab: Abu Huraira said, "I heard Allah's Apostle saying, 'There is none born among the off-spring of Adam, but Satan touches it. A child therefore, cries loudly at the time of birth because of the touch of Satan, except Mary and her child." Then Abu Huraira recited: "And I seek refuge with You for her and for her offspring from the outcast Satan" (3.36) (Sahih Bukhari 4.641) Thus, Islam believes that only Mary and Jesus were not touched by Satan. Even Muhammad did not have this distinction

So I’m new to learning about the orthodox faith (Protestant, Pentecostal currently though visiting a Russian Orthodox Church). My question is does the Orthodox Church not believe Mary had a virgin birth when she had Jesus?

Being with child changes a woman's DNA. There's only one Mother to our Lord. And His lone sacrifice is enough for our Salvation. This grace was granted for this one SINGULAR act.

Whether Mary was saved in advanced or without sin or whatever doesn’t matter. What matters is that she was simply a vessel for the Son of God. Period, that’s all that matters

It was fitting that the New Adam and the New Eve were made in the same perfection of the Old Adam and the Old Eve in order to correct the mistakes of choosing an imperfect state over our natural perfect state as human beings. The New Eve was not created inferior to the Old Eve. It was first the New Eve’s perfect obedience that made way for the New Adam’s perfect obedience. It is typologically and theologically perfect and fitting.

The Immaculate Conception does not teach that Mary is not human. And it is a belief you find in the early church

Kosmas Vestitor: "Hail, ALL-PIOUS Father of our hope in God, Joachim; MAY YOUR LOINS BE GRACED! Hail, ALL-HONORED Mother of the Mother of our Life, Anna: GLORY BE TO YOUR WOMB!

See this clarified something I knew all my life and have struggled with about my life. I'm taking it to the church. Thank you💛

I was brought up Roman Catholic and I'd wondered why the OC disputes this It has to do with the Orthodox East view of the fall of man and the redemption offered by Christ RC believe that Everyone is born "tainted" or somehow guilty of the sin of Adam. The Orthodox believe that Adam only bears the mark of his sin ....and that it cannot be transfered ...or inherited In OC view, Mary would not have inherited the sin of Adam, Anyway...that no 1 does She was made to be holy because God chose her to be Theotokos Further, Orthodox teach that we do not inherit the original sin of Adam ...but rather the "fallout" of that sin...namely age, sickness, death The Orthodox have a great devotion. to the Mother Of God

Bible says CHRIST was like us except sin. Which made his sacrifice worth saving others. If had inherited original sin he would be completely like us in that case any person dying on cross for others would be called savior.

I like this because it simply isn’t said in any scripture until a mistranslation from Hebrew to Greek. ‘Alma’ simply means a young woman of child bearing age and it certainly doesn’t mean ‘virgin.’

@orthodoxnet your forgetting the fact that sin is not the definition of bieng a human it just comes along with most humans but Mary was conceived without sin so how does this make her an alien or "not human?"

Ave Maria...

This is an incorrect representation of the Latin-Catholic view of original sin. Original sin does not mean that anyone is born with guilt. It means that we have to suffer the consequences of the fall (of Adam and Eve), which includes a strong inclination to sin, disorder, etc. Baptism into the body of Christ imparts the virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity into one’s soul, and with that grace oneness with Christ. It doesn’t mean that the struggle won’t continue though. I really don’t get why some in the Orthodox Church characterize the Latin view as saying that one is born with guilt. “Actual” sin- which is the sin which one commits himself through the internal or external actions - is what makes you personally guilty in Latin theology. I feel like a lot of times some Orthodox misleadingly strawman attack the Latin Catholic view by describing a more Calvainist or Protestant view of sin and then attacking that as the “Latin” view. Very much not true.

My Brother in Christ would God allow Himself to be tainted by sin? Is not the new wine put in new wine skin and not the old ( tainted ) . Also can God not apply the grace of salvation pre his sacrifice?

It's a twisted doctrine. My baby brother died before being baptized. They disposed of its body. No funeral, no player. According to the church my brother will burn in hell. A dead dog gets a better burial. Dont give a damn what the church says. Human beings are born pure. From all Abrahamic religions, at least Islam acknowledged this.

Orthodox are right and Thankyou

Hail Mary full of Grace. The only woman who is and was full of grace because only a woman full of grace could carry the Lord

As others have said re: Mary, its not new at all and as for original sin, the Orthodox also affirm this position by virtue of the sixth ecumenical council.

Good orthodox =+100 points Glorious beard = +100000000000000000points Wake up (This is a joke)

Tell me you don’t understand the immaculate conception without telling me you don’t understand the immaculate conception. 🙄🙄🙄

The more I learn about Orthodoxy the more I realized i was so wrong about them and the Catholic Church being basically the same. Also, it seems more based the more i learn

That’s why I am orthodox!

His body is her body. As there was no earthly father. He was born without sin, and so He would have absolutely created her without sin. Makes sense to me that He wouldn't want to be conceived from a body that was sinful.

Someone, anonymously posted only the words "anathema on you" . This is a useless and stupid comment and I deleted it. First of all this poor person doesn't understand what an anethema is; it is to lift someone up to God. Is that Anonymous person praying for me or just saying a stupid comment in a hit-and-run? These hit-and-run comments never have any justification they just say you're a terrible person because you don't believe what I believe. I tire of them and I delete them because they just take up useless space. There are using it as a curse. They don't understand the word. Most people don't understand theology but they still talk about it.

If Mary was not touched by God and delivered from impurity, how could she be fit to carry God within her?

The point of the argument here is not about the sinlessness of Mary but the stance of the Orthodox Church against the idea of original sin. Original sin is not biblical but Mary being pure, holy and free of any stain of sin is biblical. In the Gospel according to Luke, Angel Gabriel calls her 'full of grace'. The Bible even acknowledges that Mary is the literal Mother of God, the Theotokos. Elizabeth, St. John the Baptist's mother calls her 'the mother of my Lord'. The 'Lord' here being the God of Israel or God the Father of Jesus.

Subscribed just to learn more Thank you

Short and to the point. Thank you Otac

No orthodox christian ever rejected the immaculate conception. To deny that is to deny christianism itself.

I wonder, what makes u jump to conclusion that if mary is immaculately conceived then, she is not a full human? I dont see any correlation whatsoever

I am deleting comments such as, with no explanation, “I am the Immaculate Conception.” Of course, this refers to apparitions of the Mother of God that are accepted by the Latins but not by Orthodox Christians. I’m an Orthodox Christian and I do not accept apparitions which in a self-serving way tell of a ***new*** dogma. A new dogma is actually an oxymoron. There are no new dogmas. If the Mother of God wanted us to think she was the Immaculate Conception she would’ve said it a long time ago. This is the only so-called dogma that I’m aware of where the Mother of God advertises for it. You may have a different opinion. It’s a free country. You can go to a Roman Catholic site and learn about the immaculate conception, but you’re not going to learn to believe the immaculate conception here. For Orthodox Christians, the Roman conception of the immaculate conception is false. I delete things that just contradict or say that I’m a heretic or other such things. I don’t go on Roman Catholic sites and call them heretics. I am trying to teach Orthodox doctrine here, and you may disagree with it, but you may not just contradict it and say nasty things.Priest Seraphim Holland