# From the Comments of St. Severus of Antioch on Ancestral Sin

> All this shows clearly that it is the life that a person lives (in truth) that comes to judgment, and this is what he means by the saying: “No one is clean from his defilement, even if he lived only one day…”

*2026-10-13T11:21:32Z*

![“…he who is born from his mother’s womb and lived only one day on earth does not come to judgment. So how can a person arrive at judgment automatically merely because he has breathed this air and lived?” — St. Severus of Antioch, Against the Additions of Julian](/uploads/sites/1274e232-e31c-46f4-a48b-27b854406479/media/evidence-22e32272-ec78-416e-a644-bd951b15dbaa-en-square.png?w=1080&h=1080)

### From the comments of St. Severus of Antioch in “Against the Additions of Julian”:

All this shows clearly that it is the life that a person lives (in truth) that comes to judgment, and this is what he means by the saying: “No one is clean from his defilement, even if he lived only one day of the use of life on earth.” In any case, he who is born from his mother’s womb and lived only one day on earth does not come to judgment. So how can a person arrive at judgment automatically merely because he has breathed this air and lived? In fact, it is utterly ridiculous to think that God would make him appear before Him for judgment! Moreover, Job is speaking of the defilement that lies in sins of deed and thought, which also come to judgment, and he did not mean, like those Manichaeans who think that this defilement is naturally merged with man by birth

### Who is St. Severus of Antioch?

Born c. 465 AD, reposed 538 AD. When the name of St. Anba Severus, Patriarch of Antioch, is mentioned, his concern for the soundness of the faith and his harmony with the Church of Alexandria are remembered. He was known for firmness and steadfastness in the faith and the power of argument. The tie was close between the Antiochene Patriarch and the Alexandrian Patriarch Pope Timothy in the sixth century concerning their defense of the Orthodox faith

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Source: https://abba.fadymondy.com/en/blog/st-sawiris-of-antioch-for-original-sin