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they will become thunder-boiling, roaring-ragingly, lightning-shuddering, 62.752 dart-depth-astonishment-quake-killers. Those wishing to approach the cross, hate slander, abhor bearing grudges, do not cease to have mercy on the poor, do not hesitate to visit the sick, do not desire avarice, do not cease visiting those in prison. Gathered together in the churches, let us approach the cross with fear and trembling and joy, and let us not cease honoring the priests. Let us consider, O beloved, the power of the cross. For when the cross was fixed, and Christ was stretched upon it, and he bowed his immaculate head upon it, and his side was pierced by the lance, and all that is under heaven was fluttering with fear, and preparing itself for the vengeance of the one hanging in the flesh on the cross, but was restrained by him who was crucified in the flesh, the devil, seeing the elements disturbed, the armor of the lawless, and their station, the sound of thunders and their booming, the gleam of lightnings and their course, the flight of arrows and their lightness, the boldness of an earthquake and its might, the multitude of angels and their ranks, the brightness of fire and its flame, the storm of wrath and its fury, of highly-equipped armies and their battle arrays, the powers of holy living creatures and their strength, the submission of clouds and their mission; the devil, beholding these things, hurried down to Hades, and commanded the gates and bars to be secured. But gazing intently, he saw the substance of torch-bearing lightnings descending towards him, and the heavy-resounding sound of thunders roared at him, darkness surrounded him, a trembling of the elements disturbed him, a rank of the well-girded went before, the earth was shaken, the rocks were rent, bars were shattered, the elements were quaking, death was shaken, torches of noetic fire went ahead; the Tartarean abyss was made to tremble, the sea was stirred to mud, the subterranean places of the abyss were pried open, the sounds of the trumpet were strengthened. The sun was darkened, and one could see the heaven and the visible firmament, the enclosure of the world, the roof of creation, the tiling of the universal house, the unaging cover, the water-fixed vault, the crystalline bowl, the smooth under-papyrus, the golden-lettered book, the silver-bought with stars, the dark-blue dyed chamber, the torch-bearing bridal chamber, in which the sun and moon, like bridegroom and bride, are seated before. And the heaven, instead of splendor, was clothed in darkness, and rivers and springs and lakes hastened to check their flow, but by the nod of the crucified Christ their streams were commanded to flow forth; and the gloomy phalanx and battle-line of demons was put to flight.

And every rank of angels and archangels and of the ministering powers was shaken with fear and trembling, seeing the timeless and incorruptible and immortal God not having left the heavens, and descending under the earth to Adam. And Hades was in travail, and Beliar, stupefied with fear, was made as dead, and death, smoked and thunderstruck by the lightning of the Godhead, vomited forth all the righteous whom he held. As these things were thus happening, behold, a voice came forth from the mouth of the holy and immaculate and immortal and invisible one, life-giving, and not death-bearing, but making joy and trembling; joy for the righteous, but trembling for the rulers of darkness; I say to you who are in bonds, come forth, and to those in darkness, be revealed. Hearing these things, the souls of the righteous rejoiced, and the choir of the prophets, being gladdened, sang: Our God shall come manifestly, our God, and he shall not keep silent. Fire shall go before him, and round about him a mighty tempest. And the souls of the holy ones, freed from their bonds, went out together with Adam, the prophets striking down the devil, and the righteous slapping him, and the holy ones spitting on him mocked him; but the phalanx of demons, placing their heads on their knees, were made to hear the lyres and harps in the hands of the prophets, and the songs of timbrels,

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βροντόβραστοι, βριμόβρυχοι, ἀστραπόφρικτοι, 62.752 βελοβυθοθαμβοσεισμοφόνοι γενήσονται. Οἱ βουλόμενοι τῷ σταυρῷ προσελθεῖν, καταλαλιὰν μισήσατε, μνησικακίαν βδελύξασθε, ἐλεεῖν πτωχοὺς μὴ παύσησθε, ἐπισκέπτεσθαι ἀῤῥώστους μὴ ὀκνήσητε, φιλαργυρίαν μὴ ποθήσητε, τοὺς ἐν φυλακῇ ἐπισκεπτόμενοι μὴ παύσησθε. Ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις συναθροιζόμενοι, φόβῳ καὶ τρόμῳ καὶ χαρᾷ τῷ σταυρῷ προσέλθωμεν, καὶ τοὺς ἱερεῖς τιμῶντες μὴ παυσώμεθα. Ἐννοήσωμεν, ὦ ἀγαπητοὶ, τὴν τοῦ σταυροῦ δύναμιν. Τοῦ γὰρ σταυροῦ παγέντος, καὶ Χριστοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ τανυσθέντος, καὶ τὴν ἄχραντον κορυφὴν ἐπ' αὐτὸν κλίναντος, καὶ τῇ λόγχῃ πλευρὰν νυγέντος, καὶ πᾶσαν μὲν τὴν ὑπ' οὐρανὸν ὑπὸ τοῦ φόβου πτερυσσομένην, καὶ εἰς ἐκδίκησιν τοῦ ἐν σταυρῷ σαρκὶ κρεμαμένου ἑτοιμαζομένην, ὑπ' αὐτοῦ δὲ τοῦ σαρκὶ σταυρωθέντος κωλυομένην, ἰδὼν ὁ διάβολος τὰ στοιχεῖα ταρασσόμενα, τὴν ὁπλὴν τῶν ἀνόμων, καὶ τὸν σταθμὸν αὐτῶν, ἦχον βροντῶν καὶ βόμβους αὐτῶν, αἴγλην ἀστραπῶν καὶ δρόμον αὐτῶν, στάσιν βελῶν καὶ τὸ κοῦφον αὐτῶν, θράσος σεισμοῦ καὶ τὸ κράτος αὐτοῦ, πλῆθος ἀγγέλων καὶ τὰς τάξεις αὐτῶν, στιλβότητα πυρὸς καὶ τὴν φλόγα αὐτοῦ, καταιγίδα ὀργῆς καὶ τὸν θυμὸν αὐτῆς, στρατιῶν ὑψιστόλων καὶ τὰς παρεμβολὰς αὐτῶν, ζώων ἁγίων δυνάμεις καὶ τὸ σθένος αὐτῶν, ὑποταγὴν νεφελῶν καὶ τὴν ἀποστολὴν αὐτῶν· ταῦτα θεωρῶν ὁ διάβολος, σπεύσας πρὸς τὸν ᾅδην κατῆλθε, καὶ πύλας καὶ μοχλοὺς ἀσφαλίζεσθαι προσέταττεν. Ἀτενίσας δὲ εἶδεν ἀστραπῶν λαμποδοφόρων οὐσίας πρὸς αὐτὸν κατιούσας, καὶ βροντῶν ὁ βαρύκτυπος ἦχος πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐθρόησε, γνόφος αὐτὸν περιεκύκλωσε, τρόμος στοιχείων ἑαυτὸν ἐτάραξεν, εὐζώνων τάξις προέφθανεν, ἡ γῆ ἐσαλεύετο, αἱ πέτραι ἐῤῥήγνυντο, μοχλοὶ συνετρίβοντο, ἐδονοῦντο στοιχεῖα, ὁ θάνατος ἐκλονεῖτο, λαμπάδες πυρὸς νοητοῦ προηγοῦντο· ταρτάρειος βυθὸς ἐτρομοποιεῖτο, ἡ θάλασσα ἐβορβοροῦτο, τὰ καταχθόνια τῆς ἀβύσσου ἀνεμοχλεύοντο, φωναὶ τῆς κερατίνης ἐνισχύοντο. Ἥλιος ἐσκοτίζετο, καὶ ἦν ἰδέσθαι τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὸ φαινόμενον στερέωμα, τὸν τοῦ κόσμου περίβολον, τὸν τῆς κτίσεως ὄροφον, τὴν τῆς πανδήμου οἰκίας κεράμωσιν, τὴν ἀπαλαίωτον στέγην, τὴν ὑδατοπαγῆ καμάραν, τὴν κρυστάλλινον φιάλην, τὴν ὁμαλὴν ὑποχάρτωσιν, τὴν χρυσογράμματον βίβλον, τὴν ἀργυρώνητον τοῖς ἄστροις, τὸν κυανοβαφῆ θάλαμον, τὸν πυρσοφόρον παστὸν, ἐν ᾧ ἥλιος καὶ σελήνη, ὡς νυμφίος καὶ νύμφη, προκάθηνται. Καὶ ὁ μὲν οὐρανὸς ἀντὶ αἴγλης σκότος περιεβάλλετο, ποταμοὶ δὲ καὶ αἱ πηγαὶ καὶ λίμναι τὸ νᾶμα συστέλλειν ἠπείγοντο, νεύματι δὲ τοῦ σταυρωθέντος Χριστοῦ τὰ ῥεῖθρα προβάλλειν ἐκελεύοντο· ζοφερὰ δὲ φάλαγξ καὶ παράταξις τῶν δαιμόνων ἐφυγαδεύετο.

Πᾶσα δὲ τάξις ἀγγέλων καὶ ἀρχαγγέλων καὶ τῶν λειτουργικῶν δυνάμεων φόβῳ καὶ τρόμῳ ἐκλονοῦντο, θεωροῦσαι τὸν ἄχρονον καὶ ἄφθαρτον καὶ ἀθάνατον Θεὸν τοὺς οὐρανοὺς μὴ λιπόντα, καὶ ὑπὸ γῆν πρὸς τὸν Ἀδὰμ κατιόντα. Καὶ ὁ μὲν ᾅδης ὠδυνᾶτο, καὶ ὁ Βελιὰρ καρωθεὶς τῷ φόβῳ νενέκρωτο, καὶ ὁ θάνατος καπνισθεὶς καὶ βροντοβολισθεὶς τῇ ἀστραπῇ τῆς θεότητος πάντας, ὅσους εἶχε, δικαίους ἐξήμεσε. Τούτων οὕτω γινομένων, ἰδοὺ φωνὴ ἐξήρχετο ἐκ στόματος τοῦ ἁγίου καὶ ἀχράντου καὶ ἀθανάτου καὶ ἀοράτου, ζωοδοτοῦσα, καὶ οὐ θανατοφοροῦσα, ἀλλὰ χαρὰν καὶ τρόμον ποιοῦσα· χαρὰν μὲν τοῖς δικαίοις, τρόμον δὲ τοῖς τοῦ σκότους ἄρχουσιν· Ὑμῖν λέγω τοῖς ἐν δεσμοῖς, ἐξέλθετε, καὶ τοῖς ἐν τῷ σκότῳ, ἀνακαλύφθητε. Ταῦτα ἀκούσασαι αἱ ψυχαὶ τῶν δικαίων ἠγαλλιάσαντο, καὶ ὁ χορὸς τῶν προφητῶν γεγηθότες ἔψαλλον· Ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν ἐμφανῶς ἥξει, ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, καὶ οὐ παρασιωπήσεται. Πῦρ ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ προπορεύσεται, καὶ κύκλῳ αὐτοῦ καταιγὶς σφοδρά. Καὶ τῶν ὁσίων αἱ ψυχαὶ τῶν δεσμῶν λυθεῖσαι σὺν τῷ Ἀδὰμ συνεξῄεσαν, οἱ μὲν προφῆται τὸν διάβολον καταπαίοντες, καὶ οἱ δίκαιοι ῥαπίζοντες, οἱ δὲ ὅσιοι ἐμπτύοντες αὐτὸν κατεγέλων· ἡ δὲ φάλαγξ τῶν δαιμόνων κάρας γόνασι θέμενοι, τὰς ἐν χερσὶ τῶν προφητῶν κιννύρας καὶ φόρμιγγας, καὶ τυμπάνων ᾠδὰς ἐνηχοῦντο,