After further discussion and clarification of the issues, Fr. Maximos signaled for the next question.
A woman in her fifties, who introduced herself as Maria, a professional counselor, spoke in accented Greek. “Your Eminence, can you comment on what I used to hear my parents say when young, namely that in our religion it is believed that the sins of the parents torment their children?”
“Did you hear this in church?” Fr. Maximos asked with some humor in his voice.
“Both in church and outside church,” Maria replied. “I work with clients who have psychological problems, and I have heard many folks in church who believe that these people are suffering because of sins committed by their parents or even their ancestors. What is the position of the Ecclesia on this topic?”
Fr. Maximos nodded and proceeded to answer. “Okay. As far as guilt is concerned, and I mean from a legalistic point of view, human beings are responsible only for their own actions. I cannot pay for the sins of my father, my mother, or my grandfather. According to Holy Scripture, ekastos peri aftou dosi logon. It means that in front of God every person is accountable for his or her own actions and for no other. This is very clear. The notion of guilt that you mentioned has been rejected in the New Testament by Christ Himself.”
“Then why do so many people believe in this?” Maria asked.
“Perhaps because of heredity, what people understand today about the genetic code, about DNA. A parent who is schizophrenic, for example, may pass on this malady to his or her child. This is simply a biological problem without any spiritual consequences. Unfortunately, as we all know, we can inherit biological problems like diabetes, heart disease, or whatever. From the biological point of view, it is possible for a person to conduct that we do carry the inheritance of our fathers, mothers, and ancestors. This has nothing to do with sin. It has no relevance when it comes to our relationship with God.”
“But I thought somewhere in the Old Testament there is a reference to problems extending over seven generations,” young woman went on to say.
“If there is such a reference in the Old Testament, I believe we can only interpret it in the way I just mentioned, as simply biological inheritance and not as the result of moral responsibility.”
“This notion of hereditary guilt is grounded in beliefs of Original Sin that entered into Western theology through Augustine,” I volunteered.
“Good point,” Fr. Maximos said. “This is probably a key difference between the Eastern Orthodox theological tradition and other traditions. So, what is Original Sin? Did Adam and Eve sin and we pay for this sin to this day? Are we to believe that God has not forgiven us all these years? Must we suffer because of what Adam and Eve did in time immemorial?”
Fr. Maximos went on to answer his own rhetorical questions. “The Eastern Orthodox tradition teaches that Original Sin is related not to some legalistic notion of guilt but to the form of heredity of an illness within the very fabric of our human nature.
“As I pointed out in the morning, the Orthodox tradition,” he went on, “understands Original Sin as a medical problem, not a legalistic one.”
“It’s part of our existential DNA,” I suggested.
“Precisely. We are not morally responsible for what Adam and Eve did during that primordial time. But their choices affected the entire human race. Christ came into the world to heal us from this morbid inheritance. That is why we call Him the Second Adam. He has come to heal us from our inherited predicament by giving us a new birth.”
~Adapted from Kyriacos C. Markides, Inner River: A Pilgrimage to the Heart of Christian Spirituality
