Q&A

I will begin posting a weekly question and answer extracted from credible online sources (yes, it turn out there is such a thing!).
Anyone wishing to submit a question may do so, and I will see what I can do about getting you a competent answer.

Q: I would like to know what is the orthodox canon regarding the "original sin." The following confuse me:

Father Michael Azkoul states that God punished man only once for the original sin by introducing death, and the original sin wasn't transferred to the next generations. He says (on the OCF website): "The Church does not accept the idea that the Mother of God was born with the (inherited) guilt of Adam; no one is ..."

On the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto's page there is a totally different statement:"Worst of all, original sin is hereditary. It did not remain only Adam andEve's."

A: Concerning the original -- or "first" -- sin, that commited by Adam and Eve, Orthodoxy believes that, while everyone bears the consequences of the first sin, the foremost of which is death, only Adam and Eve are guilty of that sin. Roman Catholicism teaches that everyone bears not only the consequence, but also the guilt, of that sin. In the article by Fr. Azkoul, he deals with this quite clearly in the sections above the quote which you sent in your email. There is nothing wrong with his statement.

Concerning the second passage -- from the Toronto Metropolis' web site -- it would probably have been clearer to the reader had the sentence read as follows: "Worst of all, the consequences of the original sin are hereditary. It did not remain only Adam and Eve's." I am not sure that there is any conflict whatsoever; rather, the second passage needs to be clarified.

Finally, the "Orthodox canons" are not statements of doctrine; rather, they are the "canon laws" drafted by the early Church councils. Canons deal with Church discipline and order, not with doctrine. They are found in the proceedings of the seven ecumenical councils and the local councils of the early Church. If by asking "if the Orthodox canons are published and available for purchase" you refer to Canon Law, please let me know, and I will direct you to places where you can purchase them. If you are interested in doctrinal material, however, collections of canons would not contain the fundamental teachings of the faith.

Courtesy of oca.org

For more information:
What is the difference between the Orthodox and the Roman Catholic understandings of original sin?
St. Augustine & Original Sin
What are the differences between Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism?
Original Sin According to St Paul
Banishment and Repentance of Adam and Every Christian
Original Sin in the Eastern Orthodox Confessions and Catechisms
Ancestral vs. Original Sin: A False Dichotomy