Christ, harrower of hell

Categories: hymns

Date: 30 November 2004 09:14:17

O Clavis David,
et sceptrum domus Israël,
qui aperis, et nemo claudit,
claudis, et nemo aperuit:
veni, et educ vinctum
de domo carceris,
sedentem in tenebris,
et umbra mortis.

O Key of David,
and sceptre of the house of Israel,
you open, and no one shuts,
you shut, and no one opens:
come, and lead the prisoner
from jail,
seated in darkness
and in the shadow of death.

The key of the house of David
I will lay on his shoulder;
So he shall open, and no one shall shut;
And he shall shut, and no one shall open.
Isaiah 22:22

The icon above, of the Resurrection, shows Christ triumphant over the broken and smashed gates of Hell, pulling up Adam and Eve. Old Testament kings, prophets and St John the Baptist look on. I have a similar icon on the shelf above my computer -- it never ceases to fill me with joy and hope to recall that Christ, my Saviour, has defeated death, and that I too have the hope and promise of eternal life in Him.

St John Chrysostom's Paschal Sermon, well worth reading, contains a joyful meditation on the triumph of Christ over Hell:

Let no one fear death,
For the Saviour's death has set us free.
He that was held prisoner of it has annihilated it.

By descending into Hell, He made Hell captive.
He embittered it when it tasted of His flesh.
And Isaiah, foretelling this, did cry:
Hell, said he, was embittered
When it encountered Thee in the lower regions.

It was embittered, for it was abolished.
It was embittered, for it was mocked.
It was embittered, for it was slain.
It was embittered, for it was overthrown.
It was embittered, for it was fettered in chains.
It took a body, and met God face to face.
It took earth, and encountered Heaven.
It took that which was seen, and fell upon the unseen.

O Death, where is thy sting?
O Hell, where is thy victory?