Last Saturday we heard Hell cry in alarm as Christ called Lazarus back from its grasp. This Saturday, only a week later, we hear Hell groan again, but this time in its death agony:

Today hell cries out, groaning:
I should not have accepted the man born of Mary.
He came and destroyed my power.
He shattered the gates of brass.
As God, He raised the souls that I had held captive.
Glory to Thy cross and resurrection ,O Lord.

Today hell cries out, groaning:
My dominion has been shattered.
I received a dead man as one of the dead,
But against Him I could not prevail.
From eternity I had ruled all the dead,
But behold, He raises all.
Because of Him do I perish.
Glory to Thy cross and resurrection, O Lord.

Today hell cries out, groaning:
My power has been trampled upon.
The Shepherd is crucified and Adam is raised.
I have been deprived of those whom I ruled.
Those whom I swallowed in my strength I have given up.
He who was crucified has emptied the tombs.
The power of death has been vanquished.
Glory to thy cross and resurrection, O Lord.

Holy Saturday, for the Orthodox Church is extremely joyful; you can hear the rumblings from under the earth as Christ frees the souls of all the righteous, from Adam and Eve to Job to John the Baptist. The battle is over, and it's only a matter of time before He bursts from tomb in glory.