John Chrysostom, On the Resurrection of the Lord -

of the one who begot, of the one who brought forth the transgression, of the begetter of the Jews as the prophet says: The strength of your father will be in vain. True is the word; that one fashioned the cross, a tree of curse, but Christ transformed it into a blessing; that one hewed a tomb, but Christ made it an altar; that one snatched Judas away from the disciples, but Christ strengthened all the newly illumined. For the brightness of the newly illumined has become the darkness of the Jews and the feasting of these, the misery of those and the salvation of these, the strangling of those and of the devil. For these are in the church and those in the wilderness, these with angels, that one with swine.

From where that one fell, these have been lifted up; the captives in freedom and the tyrant in slavery. Let the redeemed of the Lord say; what should they say? Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered. What should they say? Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. What should they say? The snare is broken, and we are delivered. What should they say? Your mercies, O Lord, we will sing forever. Let them speak, let them not be silent nor let them consign the good deed to oblivion. What should they say? One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God who is over all and through all and in all, according to the apostle. Let them not say one thing at the font and think another, but as you were taught, O newly illumined one, worship, as you were baptized, glorify, as you were born again, believe, what you were entrusted with, guard, what you have acquired, do not sell, as an eagle you were born again, seek the things that are above, you have come out of Sodom, do not turn back, save yourself on the mountain, do not look back, <so that> you do not become a pillar of salt like Lot's wife, you were called a child, do not imitate Absalom, you became a disciple, do not associate with Judas, you entered the ark, do not go near the raven, you were freed from Egypt, do not deify a bull's head, you were separated from the nations, do not worship the sun, you were delivered from idolatry, do not be overly curious about the phases of the moon, you were redeemed from demons, do not suppose that the stars are holy, you were delivered from the polytheism of men, do not deify the passions, you have been deemed worthy of freedom, do not become a slave of pleasures, for by whatever a person is overcome, to that he is enslaved. You have put off the old man and put on the new, who is Christ. Keep your soul and body securely from defilements.

Let the redeemed of the Lord say; what should they say? I have put off my tunic, how shall I put it on? Let my soul rejoice in the Lord, for he has clothed me with a garment of salvation and has put on me a tunic of gladness. What garment? The clothing of faith. And a tunic of gladness. What kind? As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ, that is, the confession of the undivided Trinity. To him be the glory, to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

γεννήσαντος, τοῦ τὴν παράβασιν τεκόντος, τοῦ τῶν Ἰουδαίων γεννήτορος καθώς φησιν ὁ προφήτης· Ματαία ἔσται ἡ ἰσχὺς τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν. Ἀληθὴς ὁ λόγος· ἐκεῖνος ξύλον κατάρας τὸν σταυρὸν ἐτεκτόνευσεν, ὁ δὲ Χριστὸς εἰς εὐλογίαν τοῦτο μετέστησεν· ἐκεῖνος ἐλατόμησε τάφον, Χριστὸς δὲ θυσιαστήριον αὐτὸν κατειργάσατο· ἐκεῖνος τῶν μαθητῶν τὸν Ἰούδαν ἀπέσπασεν, Χριστὸς δὲ πάντας τοὺς νεοφωτίστους ἐστήριξεν. Ἡ γὰρ τῶν νεοφωτίστων λαμπρότης γέγονεν σκοτία τῶν Ἰουδαίων καὶ ἡ τούτων εὐωχία ἐκείνων ταλαιπωρία καὶ ἡ τούτων σωτηρία ἐκείνων καὶ τοῦ διαβόλου πνιγμός. Οὗτοι γὰρ ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ κἀκεῖνοι ἐν ἐρημίᾳ, οὗτοι μετὰ ἀγγέλων ἐκεῖνος μετὰ χοίρων.

Ὅθεν ἐκεῖνος ἐξέπεσεν ἀνεσφαιρίσθησαν οὗτοι· οἱ αἰχμάλωτοι ἐν ἐλευθερία καὶ ὁ τύραννος ἐν δουλείᾳ. Εἰπάτωσαν οἱ λελυτρωμένοι ὑπὸ κυρίου· τί εἰπάτωσαν; Μακάριοι ὧν ἀφέθησαν αἱ ἀνομίαι καὶ ὧν ἐπεκαλύφθησαν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι. Τί εἰπάτωσαν; Χριστὸς ἡμᾶς ἐξηγόρασεν ἐκ τῆς κατάρας τοῦ νόμου. Τί εἰπάτωσαν; Ἡ παγὶς συνετρίβη καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐρρύσθημεν. Τί εἰπάτωσαν; Τὰ ἐλέη σου, κύριε, εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα ᾄσομεν. Εἰπάτωσαν, μὴ σιωπάτωσαν μηδὲ λήθῃ τὴν εὐεργεσίαν παραπεμψάτωσαν. Τί εἰπάτωσαν; Εἷς κύριος, μία πίστις, ἓν βάπτισμα, εἷς θεὸς ὁ ἐπὶ πάντων καὶ διὰ πάντων καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν, κατὰ τὸν ἀπόστολον. Μὴ ἄλλα ἐν τῇ κολυμβήθρᾳ λεγέτωσαν καὶ ἄλλα φρονήτωσαν, ἀλλ' ὡς ἐδιδάχθης, ὦ νεοφώτιστε, θρήσκευε, ὡς ἐβαπτίσθης δόξαζε, ὡς ἀνεγεννήθης πίστευε, ὃ ἐπιστεύθης φύλαττε, ὃ ἐκτήσω μὴ πίπρασκε, ὡς ἀετὸς ἀνεγεννήθης, τὰ ἄνω ζήτει, ἐκ Σοδόμων ἐξῆλθες, εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω μὴ ὑποστρέψῃς, εἰς τὸ ὄρος σῴζου μὴ περιβλέψῃ εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω, <ἵνα> μὴ γένῃ στήλη ἁλὸς ὡς ἡ γυνὴ τοῦ Λώτ, τέκνον ἐκλήθης τὸν Ἀβεσσαλὼμ μὴ μιμήσῃ, μαθητὴς ἐγένου τῷ Ἰούδα μὴ συντύχῃς, εἰς τὴν κιβωτὸν εἰσῆλθες μὴ πλησιάσῃς τῷ κόρακι, τῆς Αἰγύπτου ἠλευθερώθης μὴ θεοποιήσῃς βουκέφαλον, ἐκ τῶν ἐθνῶν ἀπεσπάσθης μὴ προσκυνήσῃς τὸν ἥλιον, εἰδωλολατρείας ἐρρύσθης μὴ περιεργάσῃ τῆς σελήνης τὰ σχήματα, δαιμόνων ἐλυτρώθης μὴ ὑπολάβῃς ἀστέρας εἶναι ἁγίους, τῆς τῶν ἀνθρώπων πολυθεΐας ἀπηλλάγης μὴ θεοποίει τὰ πάθη, ἐλευθερίας ἠξίωσαι μὴ γίνου δοῦλος ἡδονῶν, ᾧ γάρ τις ἥττηται τούτῳ καὶ δεδούλωται. Ἐξεδύσω τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον καὶ ἐνεδύσω τὸν νέον, ὅς ἐστι Χριστός. Ἀσφαλῶς τήρει σου τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ τὸ σῶμα ἀπὸ μολυσμῶν.

Εἰπάτωσαν οἱ λελυτρωμένοι ὑπὸ κυρίου· τί εἰπάτωσαν; Ἐξεδυσάμην τὸν χιτῶνα μου, πῶς ἐνδύσωμαι αὐτόν; Ἀγαλλιάσθω ἡ ψυχή μου ἐπὶ τῷ κυρίῳ, ἐνέδυσε γάρ με ἱμάτιον σωτηρίου καὶ χιτῶνα εὐφροσύνης περιέθηκέ μοι. Ποῖον ἱμάτιον; Τὸ τῆς πίστεως ἔνδυμα. Καὶ χιτῶνα εὐφροσύνης. Ποῖον; Ὅσοι εἰς Χριστὸν ἐβαπτίσθητε Χριστὸν ἐνεδύσασθε, δηλαδὴ τὴν τῆς ἀδιαιρέτου τριάδος ὁμολογίαν. Αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα τῷ πατρὶ καὶ τῷ υἱῷ καὶ τῷ ἁγίῳ πνεύματι, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.