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

The Wood of the Cross

…whole circle he shone out.

Look, beloved, at Rome, the imperial city, glorying in the emblems of the cross in the middle of her marketplace. Look at Paul, writing his undying letters and recording himself as a servant of the cross. He was not ashamed of the cross, the stumbling block of the Jews; what the Gentiles call foolishness he took up as a safeguard of wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:23). By the wood of the cross he roused the churches throughout the world.

A single rod of Moses drove off the plagues of the Egyptians, but a rod akin to the wood of the cross puts an end to the sins of humankind. There Pharaoh is drowned in the sea while pursuing Israel (Exodus 14:23–28); here the devil is overthrown, and those who worship the Savior are saved. There Adam stretched out his hands and drew death upon us (Genesis 3:6); but our Master, by stretching out his hands, saved all things.

But O wood, more magnificent than heaven and higher than the vaults of the sky! O thrice-blessed wood, ferrying our souls across to heaven! O wood that won salvation for the world and drove out the devil's army! O wood that hurled the thief into paradise like a javelin and set him dancing with Christ: 'For truly, truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise' (Luke 23:43).

Let us imitate the good resolve of the murderer, or rather of the bearer of the Spirit…

Greek

κύκλῳ κατέ λαμψεν. 3 Ἰδέ μοι, ἀγαπητέ, τὴν βασιλεύουσαν Ῥώμην σταυροῦ συμ-βόλοις ἐν μέσῳ τῆς ἀγορᾶς σεμνυνομένην. Ἰδέ μοι Παῦλον ἀθα νάτους ἐπιστολὰς συγγραφόμενον καὶ δοῦλον τοῦ σταυροῦ ἑαυ τὸν καταγράψαντα· οὐκ ἐπῃσχύνθη τὸν σταυρόν, τὸ σκάν δαλον τῶν Ἰουδαίων· τὴν τῶν ἐθνῶν μω ρίαν σοφίας ἐπεσπάσατο φυλακτήριον· ἐν σταυροῦ ξύλῳ τὰς τῆς οἰκουμένης ἐκκλησίας διήγειρεν. Μία ῥάβδος μωσαϊκὴ τὰς τῶν Αἰγυπτίων μάστιγας ἀπήλασεν, ῥάβδος δὲ συγ γενείᾳ πρὸς τὸ τοῦ σταυροῦ ξύλον παύει τὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἁ μαρτήματα. Ἐκεῖ Φαραὼ καταποντοῦται τὸν Ἰσραὴλ καταδιώκων, ἐνταῦθα δὲ διάβολος καταλύεται, οἱ δὲ τοῦ σωτῆρος προσκυνηταὶ σῴζονται. Ἐκεῖ τὰς χεῖρας ἐκτεί νας ὁ Ἀδὰμ θάνατον ἡμῖν ἐπεσπάσατο, ὁ δὲ ἡμέτερος δεσπότης τῇ τῶν χειρῶν ἐκτάσει τὰ πάντα διέσωσεν. 4 Ἀλλ' ὦ ξύλον μεγαλοπρεπέστερον οὐρανοῦ καὶ τὰς οὐρα νίους ἁψῖδας ὑπερβάλλον, ὦ ξύλον τρισμακάριστον τὰς ἡμετέρας ψυχὰς διαπορθμεῦον εἰς οὐρανόν, ὦ ξύλον τῷ κόσμῳ τὴν σωτηρίαν πορισάμενον καὶ στρατὸν διαβολικὸν ἐκδιῶξαν, ὦ ξύλον λῃστὴν εἰς παράδεισον ἀκοντίσαν καὶ μετὰ Χριστοῦ χορεύειν πεποιηκός· «Ἀμήν, ἀμὴν γὰρ λέγω σοι ὅτι σήμερον μετ' ἐμοῦ ἔσῃ ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ.» Μιμησώμεθα τοῦ ἀνδροφόνου τὴν ἀγαθὴν γνώμην, μᾶλλον δὲ τοῦ πνευματοφόρου

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About this text

Hesychius of Jerusalem’s first homily on the holy Pascha, on the night of victory and the wood of the cross that opened heaven, in a fresh English translation from the Greek.

Hesychius, a presbyter of Jerusalem (fl. c. 412–450), preached this homily for the holy night of Pascha. It is his first homily on the holy Pascha; the second is a separate work.

He begins with the night itself, lit up less by the stars than by joy, because our God and Savior has conquered: "Take courage," he says, "I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Since God has conquered the invisible enemy, his hearers too will win the victory over the demons, so he calls them to stay beside the saving cross and keep the holy night with torchlight and song.

He then praises the wood of the cross, which opened the doors of heaven. Rome glories in it, and Paul was not ashamed of it. Moses' rod drove off the plagues of Egypt, but the cross puts an end to the sins of humankind. The thief's prayer, "Remember me, Lord, in your kingdom" (Luke 23:42), becomes the hearers' own. The day itself speaks of the opened tomb and the King ascending, and the homily ends with the risen Lord called to sit at the Father's right hand.

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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