th amid the gloom,
And with torches burning bright
Cheer the darkness of the night,
Meet the Bridegroom at the tomb;
Greet with songs of festal glee
Him who sets His people free.

{Ode ST'}

{katelthes en tois katotatois}

{ho Heirmos}

To depths of earth Thou didst descend,
O Christ, to break the chain
That held the sons of men enslaved,
And lead them forth again;
As Jonah left the living grave,
So cam'st Thou forth, O Christ, to save.

{troparion}

Unbroken were the seals when Thou
Didst leave the dismal tomb,
Even as the virgin bars remained
When Thou didst leave the womb;
And Thou hast ope'd the gates of heaven,
And entrance free to all is given.

O Thou, my Saviour and my God,
Who camest from above,
And gav'st Thyself for sinful men
An offering of love!
Now, rising from the grave, we see
Our human race arise with Thee.

{Ode Z'}

{ho paidas ek kaminou rhysamenos}

{ho Heirmos}

He who in the fiery furnace
Kept from harm the faithful three,
Suffering in our mortal nature,
Decks with life mortality,--
Him, our fathers' God, we praise,
Blest and glorious always.

{troparion}

Holy women bearing ointments,
Sought the mortal, bathed in tears;
But their sorrow changed to gladness,
For the Living God appears;
And they tell the news abroad
Of the risen Son of God.

Now we celebrate the triumph,
Death and Hades overthrown,
Earnest of a life unending;
All the glory is Thine own;
God, our fathers' God, we praise,
Blest and glorious always.

Hallowed feast of holy gladness!
Night that waits salvation's birth,
Till the Resurrection morning
Breaks with splendour on the earth,
And eternal light is poured
By the Christ from death restored.

{Ode E'}

{haute he klete kai hagia hemera}

{ho Heirmos}

This is the chosen day of God,
The brightest and the fairest,
The Lady thou of all the feasts,
The Queen of all, and rarest;