Oriental Orthodox theology understands the consequences of Adam's fall primarily through the Eastern patristic concept of 'ancestral sin' (πρωπατορική αμαρτία). Following St. Cyril of Alexandria and the broader Eastern Fathers, the tradition teaches that humanity inherits from Adam mortality, bodily corruption, and a weakened nature prone to sin—but not the personal guilt of Adam's transgression. Each person is responsible for their own sins, not Adam's.

This Eastern framework differs from the Western Augustinian doctrine of original sin, which includes the inheritance of Adam's guilt. The Oriental Orthodox position does not deny the reality of the fall and its devastating consequences for human nature, but locates the remedy in Christ's restoration of human nature through the Incarnation rather than primarily in the remission of inherited guilt. Baptism is still understood as the sacrament that incorporates the believer into Christ and begins the process of healing from the effects of ancestral sin.