Epiphanius of Salamis, Homily on Christ's Resurrection

In this He established new boundaries and laws for creation; in this He brought to an end the Passover of the law, and of the Jews; in this He fulfilled every type, shadow, and prophecy. Our Passover, the true Passover, Christ was sacrificed, and whoever is in Christ is a new creation, whoever is in Christ has a new faith, new laws, a new people of God; a new, but not the old Israel, and a new Passover; a new and spiritual circumcision; a new and bloodless sacrifice; a new and divine covenant. Be renewed today, and renew a right spirit within your hearts, so that you may receive the mysteries of the new and true festival, and delight today in a truly heavenly delight, and depart, enlightened, with the unfading antitypical mysteries of the new Passover instead of the old; so that you may understand how great is the distance and difference between ours and those of the Jews, and what is the comparison of the types to the truth. Let us begin the things of Christ's Paschal resurrection, and contemplation, from what follows. The lawgiver Moses was once sent for the salvation of the people from God from a high mountain according to the type of the law; the Lord, the lawgiver, was also sent, both God from God, and a mountain from the mountain of heavenly mountains, for the salvation of our people, that of the truth. But Moses delivered from Pharaoh and the Egyptians; while Christ delivered us from the devil and demons. But Moses killed the one wronging the Jew, hiding him in the sand; and Christ put the devil to death, sending him to the abyss. Moses made peace between his two brothers who were fighting; Christ also made peace between his two peoples, uniting the heavenly with the earthly. There Pharaoh's daughter, going down to wash, found and took 43.469 Moses; but the Church of Christ, also a daughter, receives Christ to be baptized, not as a three-month-old from an ark, like Moses, but as one three days from the tomb instead of Moses. There Israel kept the Passover typically and at night; here we celebrate the Passover brightly and in the daytime. There towards the evening of the day; here towards the evening of the ages of the world. There the doorposts were smeared with blood; here the hearts of the faithful are sealed with the blood of Christ. There the sacrifice was at night, and by night the crossing of the Red Sea; here is salvation, and the bright Red Sea of baptism, made fiery by the fire of the Spirit; in which the Spirit of God truly is borne along together, and appears, and upon the same water, in which the head of the dragon is crushed, the prince of the draconic demonic peoples of the devil. There Moses, Israel with a nocturnal baptism; there a cloud covers the people; but the power of the Most High overshadows the people of Christ. There, when the people were saved, Miriam, the sister of Moses, danced; but here, while the people of the nations are being saved, the Church of Christ with all her Churches celebrates. There Moses takes refuge in a rock of creation; here the people take refuge in the rock of faith. There the tablets of the law are broken, signifying at once the transgression and the obsolescence of the law; but here the divine laws are preserved unbreakable. There a calf was cast for the punishment of the people; but here the Lamb of God is sacrificed for the salvation of the people. There a rock is struck with a rod; but here Christ the rock is pierced in the side. There water comes forth from the rock; here blood and water spring forth from a life-giving side. They received quail meat from heaven; but we receive the dove of the Spirit from on high. They ate the temporary manna, and died; for we eat bread unto eternal life. But those things, being old and shadowy, have grown old and been brought to an end; but the things of our people increase, and flourish, remaining forever.

ἐν ταύτῃ καινοὺς ἐπήξατο τῇ κτίσει ὅρους καὶ νόμους· ἐν ταύτῃ κατέπαυσε τὸ Πάσχα τοῦ νόμου, καὶ Ἰουδαίων· ἐν ταύτῃ ἐπλήρωσε πάντα τὸν τύπον, σκιὰν καὶ προφητείαν. Τὸ Πάσχα ἡμῶν, τὸ Πάσχα τὸ ἀληθινὸν, ἐτύθη Χριστὸς, καὶ ἥτις ἐν Χριστῷ καινὴ κτίσις, ἥτις ἐν Χριστῷ καινὴ πίστις, καινοὶ νόμοι, καινὸς ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ λαός· καινὸς, ἀλλ' οὐ παλαιὸς Ἰσραὴλ, καὶ καινὸν Πάσχα· καινὴ καὶ πνευματικὴ περιτομή· καινὴ καὶ ἀναίμακτος θυσία· καινὴ καὶ θεία διαθήκη. Ἐγκαινίζεσθε σήμερον, καὶ πνεῦμα εὐθὲς ἐγκαινίσατε ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν, ὅπως δέξησθε τὰ τῆς ἑορτῆς τῆς νέας καὶ ἀληθινῆς μυστήρια, καὶ τρυφήσητε σήμερον τρυφὴν τὴν ὄντως οὐράνιον, καὶ ἀπέλθητε φωτισθέντες τὰ μὴ παλαιούμενα τοῦ νέου Πάσχα ἀντὶ παλαιοῦ μυστήρια ἀντίτυπα· ὅπως συνήσητε ὅσον τὸ μέσον, καὶ διάφορον τῶν Ἰουδαίων τὰ ἡμέτερα, καὶ τίς σύγκρισις τῶν τύπων πρὸς τὴν ἀλήθειαν. Ἀρξώμεθα τὰ τῆς Χριστοῦ Πάσχα ἀναστάσεως, καὶ θεωρίας, ἐκ τῶν ἐντεῦθεν. Ἀπεστέλλετό ποτε πρὸς σωτηρίαν λαοῦ ἀπὸ Θεοῦ ἐξ ὄρους ὑψηλοῦ ὁ νομοθέτης Μωϋσῆς πρὸς τὸν τοῦ νόμου τύπον· ἀπεστάλη καὶ ὁ Κύριος ὁ νομοθέτης, καὶ Θεὸς ἀπὸ Θεοῦ, καὶ ὄρος ἀπ' ὄρους οὐρανίων ὀρέων, εἰς σωτηρίαν τοῦ ἡμετέρου λαοῦ, τὸ τῆς ἀληθείας. Ἀλλὰ Μωϋσῆς ἐκ Φαραὼ καὶ Αἰγυπτίων ἐλυτρώσατο· Χριστὸς δὲ ἐκ διαβόλου, καὶ δαιμόνων ἐλυτρώσατο ἡμᾶς. Ἀλλὰ πεφόνευκε Μωϋσῆς χώσας ἐν τῇ ἄμμῳ τὸν ἀδικοῦντα τὸν Ἰουδαῖον· τεθανάτωκε καὶ Χριστὸς διάβολον, παραπέμψας αὐτὸν τῇ ἀβύσσῳ. Εἰρήνευσε Μωϋσῆς τοὺς δύο ἀδελφοὺς αὐτοῦ μαχομένους· εἰρήνευσε καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς τοὺς δύο λαοὺς αὐτοῦ, ἑνώσας τὰ οὐράνια τοῖς ἐπιγείοις. Ἐκεῖ ἡ θυγάτηρ Φαραὼ λούσασθαι ἀπερχομένη εὗρε λαβοῦ 43.469 σα τὸν Μωϋσῆν· ἡ δὲ τοῦ Χριστοῦ Ἐκκλησία καὶ θυγάτηρ βαπτίζεσθαι λαμβάνει Χριστὸν, οὐκ ἀπὸ θίβης τριμηνιαῖον, ὡς Μωϋσῆν, ἀλλ' ἐκ τοῦ τάφου τριήμερον ἀντὶ Μωϋσῆ. Ἐκεῖ τυπικῶς καὶ νυκτερινῶς τὸ Πάσχα ὁ Ἰσραὴλ ἐποίησεν· ἐνταῦθα φωτεινῶς τε καὶ ἡμερινῶς τὸ Πάσχα ἑορτάζομεν. Ἐκεῖ πρὸς ἑσπέραν τῆς ἡμέρας· ἐνταῦθα πρὸς ἑσπέραν τῶν χρόνων τοῦ αἰῶνος. Ἐκεῖ αἱ τῶν φλιῶν θύραι τῷ αἵματι ἐχρίοντο· ἐνταῦθα αἱ τῶν πιστῶν καρδίαι τῷ τοῦ Χριστοῦ σφραγίζονται αἵματι. Ἐκεῖ νυκτερινὴ ἦν θυσία, καὶ νυκτὶ ἡ τῆς Ἐρυθρᾶς θαλάσσης διάβασις· ἐνταῦθα σωτηρία, καὶ φωτεινὴ ἡ τῆς Ἐρυθρᾶς τοῦ βαπτίσματος θάλασσα, καὶ πυριζούσης τὸ πῦρ τοῦ Πνεύματος· ἐν ᾧ καὶ Πνεῦμα Θεοῦ ἀληθῶς ἐπιφέρεται ὁμοῦ, καὶ ἐπιφαίνεται, καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ ὕδατος, ἐν ᾧ συντρίβεται ἡ κεφαλὴ τοῦ δράκοντος, καὶ ἄρχοντος τῶν δρακόντων τῶν δαιμονικῶν τοῦ διαβόλου λαῶν. Ἐκεῖ τὸν Ἰσραὴλ νυκτερινῷ Μωϋσῆς βαπτίσματι· ἐκεῖ νεφέλη τὸν λαὸν σκέπει· τὸν δὲ Χριστοῦ λαὸν ἡ δύναμις τοῦ Ὑψίστου ἐπισκιάζει. Ἐκεῖ τοῦ λαοῦ σωθέντος ἡ Μωϋσέως Μαρία ἐχόρευσεν· ἐνταῦθα δὲ τοῦ λαοῦ τῶν ἐθνῶν σωζομένου ἡ τοῦ Χριστοῦ Ἐκκλησία σὺν πάσαις αὐτῆς ταῖς Ἐκκλησίαις ἑορτάζει. Ἐκεῖ τῆς κτίσεως πέτρᾳ προσφεύγει Μωϋσῆς· ἐνταῦθα τῆς πίστεως πέτρᾳ προσφεύγει ὁ λαός. Ἐκεῖ αἱ πλάκαι αἱ νομικαὶ συντρίβονται, τὴν τοῦ νόμου διάβασιν μηνύουσαι ὁμοῦ, καὶ παλαίωσιν· ἐνταῦθα δὲ οἱ θεῖοι νόμοι ἀδιάῤῥηκτοι σώζονται. Ἐκεῖ μόσχος ἐχωνεύετο εἰς τὴν τοῦ λαοῦ τιμωρίαν· ἐνταῦθα δὲ ὁ Ἀμνὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ θύεται εἰς τὴν τοῦ λαοῦ σωτηρίαν. Ἐκεῖ ῥάβδῳ πέτρα τύπτεται· ἐνταῦθα δὲ Χριστὸς ἡ πέτρα τὴν πλευρὰν νύττεται. Ἐκεῖ ὕδωρ ἐκ τῆς πέτρας ἐξέρχεται· ἐνταῦθα αἷμα καὶ ὕδωρ ἐκ ζωοποιοῦ πλευρᾶς πηγάζεται. Ἐκεῖνοι ὀρτυγομήτραν κρέα ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ἐδέξαντο· ἡμεῖς δὲ περιστερὰν τοῦ Πνεύματος ἐξ ὕψους δεχόμεθα. Ἐκεῖνοι μάννα πρόσκαιρον ἔφαγον, καὶ ἀπέθανον· ἡμεῖς γὰρ ἄρτον ἐσθίομεν εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον. Ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνα ὡς παλαιὰ καὶ σκιώδη πεπαλαίωται, καὶ τετέλεσται· τὰ δὲ τοῦ ἡμετέρου λαοῦ αὔξει, καὶ ἐπανθεῖ εἰς ἀεὶ διαμένοντα.