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heaven shedding forth flashes of light, not suggesting the things of nature, but gushing forth streams of grace. And as all creation rejoiced, together both earth and the things under heaven were made bright with grace. For those who had gone astray were returning, the sinners were repenting, the impious were becoming pious, the sick were partaking of health, the dead into a workshop of life, the living into the presence of the Godhead. And as the demons were being driven out, and disease was wasting away, and death was finally being put to shame, also those held in Hades by the enemy, having received word about him, were eager to see his glory, and were begging to be loosed from their bonds. And when the forerunner of destruction and ruler of darkness saw him accomplishing these things here, and ready to plunder the kingdoms of Hades, the Evil One deserted to the demons guarding there, saying: "He who brought chastisement under heaven is coming under the earth, he is coming to despoil the ends, and to take captive our unseen treasuries."

And the avengers, answering, say to him: "And who is stronger than you? Did you not say, 'There is no one mightier than I who opposes me?' Now you have grown cowardly, being stripped by him? For now, try to fight; take courage, and you will find him defeated in everything." But he says, "I have tried, and I have tested, and he has seized my dominions from every side; I fought him in the desert, and he has shown me to be desolate on every side. Neither was I strong against his disciples; for he left behind the same glory for them too." But they said to him: "For now, go inside, and lock the bronze gates, and let us secure the iron bars, and let us ready our arrows." While the evil ones were shouting these and such things, behold, the Lord arrives with fire-bearing hosts. "Open the gates for me, you rulers of demons; for the King of glory will enter." But those who were inside were emboldened, and answering: "Who is this King of glory, the Lord strong and mighty in war." But the general of the demons said to them from within: "Did I not tell you that he is strong and mighty in war, and powerful in strength?" But the angels urged them on: "Lift up the gates, before we shatter them, and break the bars; open in peace, before we enter in wrath. Lift up the gates, you rulers of Hades, and the King of glory will enter." But they, seized with fear, as they were doubting in their words: "Who is this King of glory?" they themselves answered: "He is the Lord of hosts, the Master of things above and things below." And as they were in dissent, not opening, being chastised by terror, at a nod from the Godhead, immediately the gates were shattered, and the bars were broken, and the proclamation of the prophecy trumpeted so many generations before was fulfilled, that "He shattered gates of bronze, and broke in pieces bars of iron." Then the workers of slander, being at a loss, the lawless ones said. "Having arrows and swords, let us rush upon him." But he who had broken the gates also shattered them, and fulfilled the two proclaiming prophecies: "The Lord shatters wars, the Lord is his name." "There he shattered the power of the bows, the shield and the sword and the war." And when the imprisoned saw the light of eternal life, they cried out, saying: "You shine wondrously from the eternal mountains." They called the strongholds of Hades mountains. "All the foolish in heart were troubled;" that is, the diabolical rulers were beside themselves; "they have slept their sleep, and found nothing." For they were put to death by the Lord, and what they had in their hands they lost, and they found nothing. "At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, they that rode upon horses slumbered." By horses he means the souls of those who were held captive, and by riders the evil demons, demons who mercilessly chastise the souls of men. They slumbered and were put to death. Then when they saw the salvation of the souls, and their own destruction, their 61.696 freedom, and their own slavery, them being released, and

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οὐρανὸς μαρμαρυγὰς ἀποβάλλων, οὐ τὰ τῆς φύσεως ὑποβάλλουσα, ἀλλὰ νάματα τῆς χάριτος βρύουσα. Ὡς δὲ πᾶσα ἡ κτίσις ἠγάλλετο, ὁμοῦ καὶ γῆ καὶ τὰ ὑπ' οὐρανὸν ἐφαιδρύνοντο χάριτι. Οἱ γὰρ πεπλανημένοι ἐπέστρεφον, οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ μετενόουν, οἱ ἀσεβεῖς εὐσέβουν, οἱ νοσοῦντες ὑγίειαν μετελάμβανον, οἱ νεκροὶ εἰς ζωὴν ἐργαστήριον, οἱ ζῶντες εἰς θεότητος πρόσωπον. Ὡς δὲ οἱ δαίμονες ἐδιώκοντο, καὶ ἡ νόσος ἐμαραίνετο, καὶ ὁ θάνατος κατῃσχύνετο λοιπὸν καὶ οἱ ἐν τῷ ᾅδῃ ὑπὸ τοῦ ἐχθροῦ κατεχόμενοι ἀκοὴν περὶ αὐτοῦ δεξάμενοι, ἰδεῖν τὴν δόξαν ἐσπούδαζον, καὶ λυθῆναι τῶν δεσμῶν ἱκέτευον. Ὡς δὲ εἶδεν ὁ τῆς ἀπωλείας προαγέτης καὶ ἄρχων τοῦ σκότους τὰ ὧδε αὐτὸν κατορθώσαντα, καὶ ἕτοιμον πορθῆσαι τὰ τοῦ ᾅδου βασίλεια, πρὸς τοὺς ἐκεῖ φρουροῦντας ὁ Πονηρὸς ηὐτομόλησε δαίμονας λέγων· ὅτι Ὑποκάτω τῆς γῆς ἔρχεται ὁ ὑποκάτω τοῦ οὐρανοῦ σωφρονήσας, τὰ πέρατα ἔρχεται σκυλεῦσαι, καὶ αἰχμαλωτεῦσαι ἡμῶν τὰ ταμιεῖα τὰ ἄδηλα.

Ἀποκριθέντες δὲ λέγουσι πρὸς αὐτὸν οἱ ἀλάστορες· Καὶ τίς ἐστί σου ἰσχυρότερος; οὐκ ἔλεγες, Οὐκ ἔστι μου δυνατώτερος ὁ ἐμοὶ ἀντιταττόμενος; Νῦν ἐδειλίασας παρ' ἐκείνου λωφούμενος; Τέως πείρασον πολεμῆσαι· θάρσησον, καὶ εὑρήσεις αὐτὸν κατὰ πάντα ἡττώμενον. Ὁ δὲ, Ἐπείρασα, φησὶ, καὶ ἐδοκίμασα, καὶ πάντοθέν μου τὰς δυναστείας ἐκράτησεν· εἰς τὴν ἔρημον αὐτὸν ἐπολέμησα, καὶ ἔρημόν με πάντοθεν ἀπέδειξεν. Οὔτε πρὸς τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ ἴσχυσα· τὴν αὐτὴν γὰρ δόξαν κἀκείνους ὑστέρησεν. Οἱ δὲ πρὸς αὐτόν· Τέως εἴσελθε ἔσωθεν, καὶ τὰς χαλκᾶς πύλας ἀπόκλεισον, καὶ τοὺς σιδηροῦς μοχλοὺς καθειρξώμεθα, καὶ τὰ βέλη ἡμῶν εὐτρεπίσωμεν. Ταῦτα καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα κραζόντων τῶν πονηρῶν, ἰδοὺ δὴ καὶ ὁ Κύριος μετὰ πυροφόρων στρατιῶν παραγίνεται. Ἀνοίξατέ μοι πύλας, οἱ τῶν δαιμόνων ἄρχοντες· εἰσελεύσεται γὰρ ὁ βασιλεὺς τῆς δόξης. Οἱ δὲ ἔνδοθεν ὑπάρχοντες ἐτόλμων, καὶ ἀποκρίνοντες· Τίς ἐστιν οὗτος ὁ βασιλεὺς τῆς δόξης, Κύριος κραταιὸς καὶ δυνατὸς ἐν πολέμῳ. Ὁ δὲ στρατηγὸς τῶν δαιμόνων ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς ἔνδοθεν· Οὐκ εἶπον ὑμῖν, ὅτι κραταιός ἐστι καὶ δυνατὸς ἐν πολέμῳ, καὶ ἰσχυρὸς ἐν ἰσχύϊ; Οἱ δὲ ἄγγελοι ἐπεσπούδαζον· Ἄρατε πύλας, πρὶν αὐτὰς συντρίψωμεν, καὶ τοὺς μοχλοὺς κατεάξωμεν· μετ' εἰρήνης ἀνοίξατε, πρὶν μετ' ὀργῆς εἰσέλθωμεν. Ἄρατε πύλας, οἱ ἄρχοντες τοῦ ᾅδου, καὶ εἰσελεύσεται ὁ βασιλεὺς τῆς δόξης. Οἱ δὲ φόβῳ συνεχόμενοι ὡς ἀμφέβαλλον ῥήμασι· Τίς ἐστιν οὗτος ὁ βασιλεὺς τῆς δόξης; αὐτοὶ ἀπεκρίναντο· Κύριός ἐστι τῶν δυνάμεων, τῶν ἄνω καὶ τῶν κάτω ∆εσπότης. Καὶ ὡς ἐστασίαζον, μὴ ἀνοίγοντες τρόμῳ παιδευόμενοι, νεύματι τῆς θεότητος εὐθέως αἱ πύλαι συνετρίβησαν, καὶ οἱ μοχλοὶ κατεάγησαν, καὶ ἐπληρώθη τῆς προφητείας τὸ κήρυγμα τὸ πρὸ τοσούτων γενεῶν σαλπιζόμενον, ὅτι Συνέτριψε πύλας χαλκᾶς, καὶ μοχλοὺς σιδηροῦς συνέθλασεν. Εἶτα ἐν ἀπορίᾳ γενόμενοι οἱ τῆς λοιδορίας ἐργάται, εἶπαν οἱ ἄνομοι. Ἔχοντες τὰ βέλη καὶ τὰς ῥομφαίας, ἐφορμήσωμεν αὐτῷ. Ὁ δὲ τὰς πύλας συγκλάσας, κἀκείνους συνέτριψε, καὶ ἐπλήρωσε τὰς δύο κηρυττούσας προφητείας· Κύριος συντρίβων πολέμους, Κύριος ὄνομα αὐτῷ. Ἐκεῖ συνέτριψε τὰ κράτη τῶν τόξων, ὅπλον καὶ ῥομφαίαν καὶ πόλεμον. Ὡς δὲ εἶδον οἱ κατάκλειστοι τὸ φῶς τῆς ἀϊδίου ζωῆς, ἀνεβόησαν λέγοντες· Φωτίζεις σὺ θαυμαστῶς ἀπὸ ὀρέων αἰωνίων. Ὄρεα ἐκάλουν τὰ τοῦ ᾅδου στερεώματα. Ἐταράχθησαν πάντες οἱ ἀσύνετοι τῇ καρδίᾳ· τουτέστιν, ἐξέστησαν οἱ διαβολικοὶ ἄρχοντες· Ὕπνωσαν ὕπνον αὐτῶν, καὶ οὐχ εὗρον οὐδέν. Ἀπενεκρώθησαν γὰρ ὑπὸ τοῦ Κυρίου, καὶ ἃ εἶχον ἐν ταῖς χερσὶν αὐτῶν ἀπώλεσαν, καὶ οὐχ εὗρον οὐδέν. Ἀπὸ ἐπιτιμήσεώς σου, ὁ Θεὸς Ἰακὼβ, ἐνύσταξαν οἱ ἐπιβεβηκότες τοῖς ἵπποις. Ἵππους λέγει τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν κατεχομένων, καὶ ἐπιβάτας τοὺς πονηροὺς δαίμονας, δαίμονας τοὺς ἀνελεημόνως παιδεύοντας τὰς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ψυχάς. Ἐνύσταξαν καὶ ἀπενεκρώθησαν. Τότε ὡς εἶδον τῶν ψυχῶν τὴν σωτηρίαν, καὶ τὴν ἰδίαν ἀπώλειαν, τὴν 61.696 αὐτῶν ἐλευθερίαν, καὶ τὴν ἑαυτῶν δουλείαν, αὐτοὺς ἀπολυομένους, καὶ