Homily II on the Holy Pascha · §2 · Hesychius of Jerusalem

One Word Made Flesh

…this same one, as God, stripped death of its spoils. Again, the soldiers kept guard over him as one dead, and the gatekeepers of Hades, beholding him as God, cowered (Job 38:17).

You will say that this one and that one are the same, not one and another, nor one in another, nor one through another. For the Word made flesh, being one, brought these things and those together into one, as he willed, in a manner beyond telling. He gave his flesh to serve the sufferings, and he made use of his Godhead for the signs and wonders; but as it is not right for the Word to be separated from the flesh, so the sufferings must be interwoven with the wonders. For he who went down into Hades as one dead, this same one as God set the dead free. Otherwise, how do angels minister at a tomb, how do they appear in white to the women, as for a bridegroom, and how did they say to them, 'You are looking for Jesus…'

Greek

ἄνθρωπος οὗτος ὡς θεὸς τὸν θάνατον ἐσκύ λευσεν. Πάλιν ὡς νεκρὸν οἱ στρατιῶται ἐφρούρησαν καὶ ὡς θεὸν οἱ πυλωροὶ τοῦ ᾅδου θεωρήσαντες ἔπτηξαν. 3 Τὸν αὐτὸν δὲ τοῦτον κἀκεῖνον ἐρεῖς, οὐκ ἄλλον καὶ ἄλλον, οὐδὲ ἄλλον ἐν ἄλλῳ, οὐδὲ ἄλλον δι' ἄλλου· εἷς γὰρ ὢν ὁ σαρκω θεὶς Λόγος εἰς ἓν ταῦτα κἀκεῖνα ὡς ἠβουλήθη ἀρρήτῳ λόγῳ συνήγαγεν· καὶ τὴν μὲν σάρκα διακονῆσαι τοῖς πάθεσι δέδωκεν, τῇ θεότητι δὲ πρὸς τὰ σημεῖα καὶ τὰ θαύματα κέχρηται, ἀλλ' ὥσπερ οὐ θεμιτὸν τὸν Λόγον ἐκ τῆς σαρκὸς χωρίζεσθαι, οὕτως ἀνάγκη τὰ παθήματα συμπεπλέχθαι τοῖς θαύμασιν. Ὁ γὰρ ὡς νεκρὸς εἰς ᾅδου καταβάς, οὗτος ὡς θεὸς τοὺς νεκροὺς ἠλευθέρωσεν, ἐπεί πως τάφῳ διακονοῦσιν ἄγγελοι, πὼς δὲ λευχείμονες ὡς ἐπὶ νυμφίῳ ταῖς γυναιξὶν ἐμφανίζονται, πὼς δὲ πρὸς αὐτὰς ἔλεγον· »Ἰησοῦν ζητεῖτε

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About this text

Hesychius of Jerusalem’s second homily on the holy Pascha, on the empty tomb and the risen Christ, in a fresh English translation from the Greek.

Hesychius of Jerusalem (fl. c. 412–450) preached this second homily on the holy Pascha. It is translated whole, from the opening to the closing doxology.

A sacred and royal trumpet, which Bethlehem filled and Zion tempered in fire, gathers the hearers. The tomb is a bridal chamber where the bridegroom slept for three days and from which the bride was raised incorrupt. The soldiers guard him as one dead, and the gatekeepers of Hades see him as God and cower.

He is the same one, not one and another. The Word made flesh is one, and it is not right for the Word to be separated from the flesh. The angels tell the women that the Nazarene who was crucified is not here, for he has risen. Hosea foretells the third day, and Isaiah's "Now I will arise" is the Lord's own word about his rising. The homily ends with glory to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

A fresh English translation made from the Greek text printed in PG 93.

Printed text used

Translated from PG 93 (Greek)

We have not yet re-checked this work against its source. We made this study translation with AI help. No scholar has yet certified it as faithful and complete. Open Greek on any section to see the source text. It is not a critical edition.

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