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was being demonstrated, he says, the veil was torn from top to bottom; the rocks were split, the earth was shaken, the tombs were opened.

12 The veil is torn because when there is no king and ruler in his own house, the veil certainly signifies his authority. But after the outrage against the most high God, God who dwells in the temple and the Holy Spirit went out from the temple, leaving the house desolate; “Behold, your house is left to you desolate.” When the king of glory went out, the symbols of the kingdom were rent; the tombs were rent; he had not yet descended into Hades to set things right and the earth did not bear the master’s presence; the rivers were rent, not bearing the one who descended to them from above, the tombs were rent and gave up men and they entered into the holy city so that they might leave the sentence undecided.

13 These things happened at the cross and the Jews were mocking, saying: “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross and we will believe you.” Consider the voice of the children of the devil, how they imitate this voice of their father. The devil says to the savior on the pinnacle of the temple: “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.” Likewise also the Jews: “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross and we will believe you.”

14 And they crucify robbers with him, not because they hated robbers, for they were associates of robbers, but insulting the master by the association with robbers and so that those present might see that he is judged for a crime of evil; “With robbers,” it says, “let us crucify the one who did things like robbers.” But Isaiah was not silent about the drama, but seeing the inequality of the suffering of the just one and the unjust, he said: “For the sins of the people he came to death and was numbered among the lawless,” that is, with robbers. For the Jews did not hate robbers, but they wished by the association with robbers to insult the passion of Christ.

15 And that they did not hate robbers, Pilate says to them: “Whom shall I release to you, Jesus or Barabbas the robber, who for murder,” it says, “had been thrown in prison.” But they say: “Release to us Barabbas.” The robbers asked for the robber and handed over the Lord to the cross, not conquering by force but handing him over by the divine economy. Pilate says to them: “Shall I crucify your king?” But they say: “We have no king but Caesar.” They denied the kingdom of God and were handed over to the kingdom of the Romans; since what they had they acknowledged, what they asked for they received.

16 They brought to the cross thorns, they also brought gall, and foreseeing these things, Moses cried out. “O crooked and perverse generation, do you repay the Lord with these things; to the one who gave manna in the wilderness, to this one you offer gall?” Well then does Isaiah also say: “I waited for it to make grapes, but it made thorns.” To the one who made good things blossom for you, to this one you offer a crown of thorns. Pilate spares and the Jews: “His blood be upon us and upon our children.”

17 Let us also say the same words, but not from the same mind: “The blood of Christ be upon us and upon our children,” for them unto condemnation, for us unto righteousness. For the blood of Christ is no worse than the Babylonian furnace; the furnace of Babylon honored the saints and consumed the Chaldeans. The precious blood knows how to destroy the unbelievers, and to save the believers. 18 The light befits the cross. For this alone dispersed the darkness of the demons. If not for the cross, we would be worshiping demons. The cross cast down error, the cross made holiness blossom, the cross brought a ray of righteousness. All things for us are from the cross, and we are of Christ, to whom be the glory and the power together with the Father and the all-holy Spirit, now and forever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

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ἐπείγνυτο, λέγει, τὸ καταπέτασμα ἐσχίσθη ἀπὸ ἄνωθεν ἕως κάτω· αἱ πέτραι ἐσχίσθησαν, ἡ γῆ ἐσαλεύθη, οἱ τάφοι ἠνεώχθησαν.

12 Σχίζεται τὸ ἀμφίθυρον ἐπειδὴ βασιλέως οὐκ ὄντος καὶ ἄρχοντος ἐν οἰκείᾳ, πάντως τὸ καταπέτασμα μηνύει τὴν ἐξουσίαν. Μετὰ δὲ τὴν ὕβριν τοῦ ὑψίστου Θεοῦ, ὁ Θεὸς ὁ ἐνοικῶν ἐν τῷ ναῷ καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ἐξῆλθεν τοῦ ναοῦ καταλιπὼν τὸν οἶκον ἔρημον· «Ἰδοὺ ἀφίεται ὑμῖν ὁ οἶκος ὑμῶν ἔρημος». Ἐξελθόντος τοῦ βασιλέως τῆς δόξης ἐρράγη τὰ σύμβολα τῆς βασιλείας· ἐρράγησαν οἱ τάφοι· οὐδέπω κατῆλθεν εἰς ᾅδου διορθωσάμενος τὰ πράγματα καὶ οὐκ ἤνεγκεν ἡ γῆ τοῦ δεσπότου τὴν παρουσίαν· ἐρράγησαν οἱ πόταμοι μὴ ἐνεγκόντες τὸν ἄνωθεν πρὸς αὐτοὺς κατελθόντα, ἐρράγησαν οἱ τάφοι καὶ ἀνέδωκαν ἀνθρώπους καὶ εἰσῆλθον εἰς τὴν πόλιν τὴν ἁγίαν ἵνα ἀποφάσιστον καταλίπωσιν τὴν δίκην.

13 Ταῦτα ἐγένετο ἐπὶ τοῦ σταυροῦ καὶ Ἰουδαῖοι ἐχλεύαζον λέγοντες· «Εἰ υἱὸς εἶ τοῦ Θεοῦ κατάβηθι ἀπὸ τοῦ σταυροῦ καὶ πιστεύσομέν σοι». Ἐννόησον τὴν φωνὴν τῶν τέκνων τοῦ διαβόλου πῶς μιμοῦνται τὴν φωνὴν ταύτην τὴν πατρικήν. Ὁ διάβολος λέγει τῷ σωτῆρι εἰς τὸ πτερύγιον τοῦ ναοῦ· «Εἰ υἱὸς εἶ τοῦ Θεοῦ, βάλε σεαυτὸν κάτω». Ὁμοίως καὶ οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι· «Εἰ υἱὸς εἶ τοῦ Θεοῦ, κατάβηθι ἀπὸ τοῦ σταυροῦ καὶ πιστεύσομέν σοι».

14 Συσταυροῦσι δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ λῃστὰς, οὐ λῃστὰς μισοῦντες, λῃστῶν γὰρ ἦσαν κοινωνοί, ἀλλὰ τῇ κοινωνίᾳ τῶν λῃστῶν τὸν δεσπότην ὑβρίζοντες καὶ ἵνα ἴδωσιν οἱ παρόντες ὅτι δι' ἔγκλημα κακίας κρίνεται· «Μετὰ λῃστῶν, φησίν, σταυρώσωμεν τὸν ὅμοια λῃστῶν δράσαντα». Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐσιώπησεν Ἡσαίας τὴν δραματουργίαν, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἄνισον τοῦ πάθους θεασάμενος ἐπὶ τοῦ δικαίου καὶ τῶν ἀδίκων ἔλεγεν· «Ὑπὲρ τῶν ἁμαρτησάντων τοῦ λαοῦ ἦλθεν εἰς θάνατον καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἀνόμοις ἐλογίσθη» τουτέστιν λῃσταῖς. Οὐ γὰρ λῃστὰς ἐμίσουν Ἰουδαῖοι, ἀλλ' ἠθέλησαν τῇ κοινωνίᾳ τῶν λῃστῶν ὑβρίσαι τὸ πάθος τοῦ Χριστοῦ.

15 Ὅτι δὲ οὐ λῃστὰς ἐμίσουν, λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ Πιλάτος· «Τίνα ὑμῖν ἀπολύσω, τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἢ Βαραββὰν τὸν λῃστήν, ὃς διὰ φόνον, φησίν, ἦν βεβλημένος ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ». Οἳ δέ φασιν· «Ἀπόλυσον ἡμῖν τὸν Βαραββάν». Οἱ λῃσταὶ τὸν λῃστὴν ἐζητήσαντο καὶ τὸν Κύριον τῷ σταυρῷ παρέδωκαν, οὐ βίᾳ νικήσαντες ἀλλὰ τῇ οἰκονομίᾳ παραδόσαντες. Λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ Πιλάτος· «Τὸν βασιλέα ὑμῶν σταυρώσω;» Οἳ δέ φασιν· «Οὐκ ἔχομεν βασιλέα εἰ μὴ Καίσαρα». Ἠρνήσαντο τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ βασιλείαν καὶ παρεδώθησαν τῇ Ῥωμαίων βασιλείᾳ· ἐπειδὴ ὃ εἶχον ἐγνώησαν ὃ ᾐτήσαντο ἔλαβον.

16 Προσήνεγκαν ἐπὶ τοῦ σταυροῦ καὶ ἀκάνθας, προσήνεγκαν καὶ χολὴν καὶ προϊδὼν ταῦτα Μωϋσῆς ἐβόα. «Γενεὰ σχολιὰ καὶ διεστραμμένη, ταῦτα Κυρίῳ ἀνταποδίδοτε· τῷ δεδωκότι τὸ μάννα ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, τούτῳ χολὴν προσάγεις;» Καλῶς οὖν καὶ Ἡσαΐας λέγει· «Ἔμεινα τοῦ ποιῆσαι σταφυλήν, ἐποίησεν δὲ ἀκάνθας». Τῷ ἀνθήσαντί σοι τὰ ἀγαθὰ τούτῳ στέφανον ἐξ ἀκανθῶν προσάγεις. Ὁ Πιλάτος φείδεται καὶ οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι· «Τὸ αἷμα αὐτοῦ ἐφ' ἡμᾶς καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ τέκνα ἡμῶν».

17 Εἴπωμεν καὶ ἡμεῖς τὴν αὐτὴν φωνὴν, μὴ ἀπὸ τῆς αὐτῆς γνώμης· «Τὸ αἷμα Χριστοῦ ἐφ' ἡμᾶς καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ τέκνα ἡμῶν», ἐκείνοις εἰς κατάκρισιν ἡμῖν εἰς δικαιοσύνην. Οὐ γάρ ἐστι τὸ αἷμα Χριστοῦ χεῖρον τῆς Βαβυλωνίας καμίνου· ἡ κάμινος Βαβυλῶνος ἐτίμησε τοὺς ἁγίους καὶ ἀνάλωσεν τοὺς Χαλδαίους. Τὸ αἷμα τὸ τίμιον οἶδεν ἀπολέσαι μὲν τοὺς ἀπίστους, σῶσαι δὲ τοὺς πιστεύοντας. 18 Πρέπει τῷ σταυρῷ τὸ φῶς. Οὗτος γὰρ μόνος διέλυσε τὸ σκότος τῶν δαιμόνων. Εἰ μὴ σταυρός, δαίμονας ἂν προσεκυνοῦμεν. Σταυρὸς καθῆλε τὴν πλάνην, σταυρὸς ἤνθησεν τὴν ἁγιωσύνην, σταυρὸς ἤνεγκεν ἀκτῖνα δικαιοσύνης. Πάντα ἡμῖν ἀπὸ σταυροῦ, ἡμεῖς δὲ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ᾧ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος ἅμα τῷ Πατρὶ καὶ τῷ παναγίῳ Πνεύματι, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.