they wear a similar form, having put off the oldness of Adam and having been clothed in the newness of the Lord Christ, according to the blessed Paul who says: As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. That in the resurrection we must possess all things white and exceeding white, not only on earth but also in the heavens, you have heard Matthew saying: In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to the tomb of Jesus, and, behold, there was a great earthquake: for an angel having descended from the heavens rolled back the stone; he was sitting upon it; and his countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow. Truly this is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it, because the yoke of the law no longer weighs us down, but the lightness of grace calls us. Let us rejoice and be glad in it, because the ark no longer saves only Noah, but he from the virgin saves the whole world. Let us rejoice and be glad in it, because a house of giants is no longer destroyed, but a house of prayer is raised up; because fire no longer rains on Sodom, but rain bedews the virgin; because Lot’s wife is no longer formed into a pillar of salt, but on a day of light the bride of the Lord is glorified. This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Let us be glad; for the Jews mourn, not having been persuaded by David the prophet, who for many ages spoke about the incorruptible resurrection of the Lord and said thus: His soul was not left in Hades, neither did his flesh see corruption. What do you say, O Jew? If another rose from the dead incorruptible, say so and we will believe. But if there is no other except the Lord Christ, who for many ages cried out through the prophet to the gentile people: Wait for me until the day of my resurrection, says the Lord, because my power is for the gatherings of the nations, why do you not run to me, but flee? This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Let us be glad; for the children of the Pharisees mourn. Why? Not having been persuaded by the patriarch Jacob, who for many ages cried out about the kingly resurrection of the Lord and said thus: Crouching down, he slept as a lion and as a lion’s whelp; who shall rouse him? What do you say, O Jew? Give us another who rose in a kingly manner in the likeness of a lion, and we will believe what you say. But if there is no other except only the Lord Christ who slept for three days as a lion and rose as a lion’s whelp, as it is possible to hear the Lord himself saying for many ages before the incarnation: I am as a panther to Ephraim and as a lion to the house of Judah, why do you not worship him who has risen? But someone might certainly say: And why did the Lord act in the tomb in the likeness of a lion? Why? Because of the natural habit of the lion; a lion, sleeping in its own cave in which it lies, has its eyes open; in the same way also the Lord Christ, having slept in death for three days, did not close the eyes of his divinity. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

ὁμοιόσχημα φοροῦσιν, τὴν παλαιότητα τοῦ Ἀδὰμ ἀποδυσάμενοι καὶ τὴν καινότητα τοῦ δεσπότου Χριστοῦ ἠμφιεσμένοι, κατὰ τὸν μακάριον Παῦλον τὸν λέγοντα· Ὅσοι εἰς Χριστὸν ἐβαπτίσθητε, Χριστὸν ἐνεδύσασθε. Ὅτι δὲ πάντα ἐν τῇ ἀναστάσει λευκὰ καὶ ἔξασπρα οὐ μόνον ἐπὶ γῆς ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν οὐρανοῖς δεῖ κεκτῆσθαι ἡμᾶς, ἤκουες Ματθαίου λέγοντος· Ὀψὲ σαββάτων ἐπιφωσκούσης κυριακῆς ἦλθε Μαρία ἡ Μαγδαληνὴ καὶ ἡ ἄλλη Μαρία εἰς τὸν τάφον τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, καὶ ἰδοὺ σεισμὸς ἐγένετο μέγας· κατελθὼν γὰρ ἄγγελος ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν ἀποκυλίσας τὸν λίθον· ἐκάθητο ἐπάνω αὐτοῦ· ἦν δὲ ἡ εἰδέα αὐτοῦ ὡς ἀστραπὴ καὶ τὸ ἔνδυμα αὐτοῦ λευκὸν ὡσεὶ χιών. Ὄντως αὕτη ἡ ἡμέρα ἣν ἐποίησεν ὁ κύριος· ἀγαλλιασώμεθα καὶ εὐφρανθῶμεν ἐν αὐτῇ, ὅτι οὐκέτι ὁ ζυγὸς τοῦ νόμου βαρεῖ, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἐλαφρὸν τῆς χάριτος παρακαλεῖ. Ἀγαλλιασώμεθα καὶ εὐφρανθῶμεν ἐν αὐτῇ, ὅτι οὐκέτι ἡ κιβωτὸς τὸν Νῶε μόνον διασῴζει, ἀλλ' ὁ ἐκ τῆς παρθένου πάντα τὸν κόσμον διασῴζει. Ἀγαλλιασώμεθα καὶ εὐφρανθῶμεν ἐν αὐτῇ, ὅτι οὐκέτι γιγαντιαῖος οἶκος καταστρέφεται, ἀλλ' εὐκτήριος οἶκος ἐγείρεται· ὅτι οὐκέτι πῦρ ἐπὶ Σόδομα βρέχει , ἀλλ' ὑετὸς ἐπὶ τὴν παρθένον δροσίζει· ὅτι οὐκέτι στήλη ἁλὸς ἡ γυνὴ τοῦ Λὼτ σχηματίζεται, ἀλλ' ἐν ἡμέρᾳ φωτὸς ἡ τοῦ κυρίου νύμφη δοξάζεται. Αὕτη ἡ ἡμέρα ἣν ἐποίησεν ὁ κύριος· ἀγαλλιασώμεθα καὶ εὐφρανθῶμεν ἐν αὐτῇ. Ἡμεῖς εὐφρανθῶμεν· Ἰουδαῖοι γὰρ πενθοῦσιν, μὴ πεισθέντες ∆αυῒδ τῷ προφήτῃ, ἐκ πολλῶν τῶν χρόνων περὶ τῆς ἀφθάρτου τοῦ κυρίου ἀναστάσεως διαγορεύοντος καὶ λέγοντος οὕτως· Οὐκ ἐγκατελείφθη ἡ ψυχὴ αὐτοῦ εἰς ᾅδην, οὔτε ἡ σὰρξ αὐτοῦ εἶδε διαφθοράν. Τί λέγεις, Ἰουδαῖε; Εἰ ἕτερος ἀνέστη ἐκ νεκρῶν ἄφθαρτος, λέγε καὶ πιστεύομεν. Εἰ δὲ οὐδεὶς ἕτερός ἐστιν εἰ μὴ ὁ δεσπότης Χριστός, ὁ ἐκ πολλῶν τῶν χρόνων βοήσας διὰ τοῦ προφήτου πρὸς τὸν ἐθνικὸν λαόν· Ὑπόμεινόν με εἰς ἡμέραν ἀναστάσεώς μου, λέγει κύριος, διότι τὸ κράτος μου εἰς συναγωγὰς ἐθνῶν, τί οὐ προστρέχεις, ἀλλὰ φεύγεις; Αὕτη ἡ ἡμέρα ἣν ἐποίησεν ὁ κύριος· ἀγαλλιασώμεθα καὶ εὐφρανθῶμεν ἐν αὐτῇ. Ἡμεῖς εὐφρανθῶμεν· φαρισαίων γὰρ παῖδες πενθοῦσιν. ∆ιὰ τί; Μὴ πεισθέντες τῷ πατριάρχῃ Ἰακώβ, ἐκ πολλῶν τῶν χρόνων περὶ τῆς βασιλικῆς τοῦ κυρίου ἀναστάσεως ἐκβοήσαντος καὶ λέγοντος οὕτως· Ἀναπεσὼν ἐκοιμήθη ὡς λέων καὶ ὡς σκύμνος· τίς ἐγείρει αὐτόν; Τί λέγεις, Ἰουδαῖε; ∆ὸς ἡμῖν ἕτερον βασιλικῶς ἀναστάντα καθ' ὁμοιότητα λέοντος, καὶ πιστεύομεν οἷς λέγεις. Εἰ δὲ οὐδεὶς ἕτερος εἰ μὴ μόνος ὁ δεσπότης Χριστὸς ὡς λέων ἐκαθεύδησε τὸ τριήμερον καὶ ὡς σκύμνος ἀνέστη, ὡς ἔστιν αὐτοῦ τοῦ κυρίου ἀκοῦσαι λέγοντος ἐκ πολλῶν τῶν χρόνων πρὸ τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως· Ἐγὼ ὡς πανθὴρ τοῦ Ἐφραὶμ καὶ ὡς λέων τοῦ οἴκου Ἰούδα, τί οὐ προσκυνεῖς τῷ ἀναστάντι; Ἔστι δὲ πάντως εἰπεῖν τινα· Καὶ διὰ τί καθ' ὁμοιότητα ὁ κύριος τοῦ λέοντος ἐν τῷ τύμβῳ ἐποίησεν; ∆ιὰ τί; ∆ιὰ τὴν φυσικὴν ἕξιν τοῦ λέοντος· λέων ὑπνῶν ἐν τῷ οἰκείῳ σπηλαίῳ ἐν ᾧ καθεύδει, τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἀνεῳ γμένους ἔχει· τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον καὶ ὁ δεσπότης Χριστὸς καθευδήσας ἐν τῷ θανάτῳ τριήμερον τὰ τῆς θεότητος ὄμματα οὐκ ἐκάμμυσεν. Αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.