A roughly 1000-year-old mosaic portrait of St. John Chrysostom in Istanbul\u2019s (the former Constantinople\u2019s) Church of Hagia Sophia \u00a0\u00a0(Wikimedia Commons public domain image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
St. John Chrysostom (ca. AD 349-407), archbishop of Constantinople, delivered this Eastern sermon around AD 400:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Are there any who are devout lovers of God?<\/span><\/strong>
\nLet them enjoy this beautiful bright festival!<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nAre there any who are grateful servants?<\/span><\/strong>
\nLet them rejoice and enter into the joy of their Lord!<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nAre there any weary with fasting?<\/span><\/strong>
\nLet them now receive their wages!<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nIf any have toiled from the first hour,<\/span><\/strong>
\nlet them receive their due reward;<\/span><\/strong>
\nIf any have come after the third hour,<\/span><\/strong>
\nlet him with gratitude join in the Feast!<\/span><\/strong>
\nAnd he that arrived after the sixth hour,<\/span><\/strong>
\nlet him not doubt; for he too shall sustain no loss.<\/span><\/strong>
\nAnd if any delayed until the ninth hour,<\/span><\/strong>
\nlet him not hesitate; but let him come too.<\/span><\/strong>
\nAnd he who arrived only at the eleventh hour,<\/span><\/strong>
\nlet him not be afraid by reason of his delay.<\/span><\/strong>
\nFor the Lord is gracious and receives the last even as the first.<\/span><\/strong>
\nHe gives rest to him that comes at the eleventh hour,<\/span><\/strong>
\nas well as to him that toiled from the first.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nTo this one He gives, and upon another He bestows.<\/span><\/strong>
\nHe accepts the works as He greets the endeavor.<\/span><\/strong>
\nThe deed He honors and the intention He commends.<\/span><\/strong>
\nLet us all enter into the joy of the Lord!<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nFirst and last alike receive your reward;<\/span><\/strong>
\nrich and poor, rejoice together!<\/span><\/strong>
\nSober and slothful, celebrate the day!<\/span><\/strong>
\nYou that have kept the fast, and you that have not,<\/span><\/strong>
\nrejoice today for the Table is richly laden!<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nFeast royally on it, the calf is a fatted one.<\/span><\/strong>
\nLet no one go away hungry. Partake, all, of the cup of faith.<\/span><\/strong>
\nEnjoy all the riches of His goodness!<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nLet no one grieve at his poverty,<\/span><\/strong>
\nfor the universal kingdom has been revealed.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nLet no one mourn that he has fallen again and again;<\/span><\/strong>
\nfor forgiveness has risen from the grave.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nLet no one fear death, for the Death of our Savior has set us free.<\/span><\/strong>
\nHe has destroyed it by enduring it.<\/span><\/strong>
\nHe destroyed Hell when He descended into it.<\/span><\/strong>
\nHe put it into an uproar even as it tasted of His flesh.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nIsaiah foretold this when he said,<\/span><\/strong>
\n\u201cYou, O Hell, have been troubled by encountering Him below.\u201d<\/span><\/strong>
\nHell was in an uproar because it was done away with.<\/span><\/strong>
\nIt was in an uproar because it is mocked.<\/span><\/strong>
\nIt was in an uproar, for it is destroyed.<\/span><\/strong>
\nIt is in an uproar, for it is annihilated.<\/span><\/strong>
\nIt is in an uproar, for it is now made captive.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nHell took a body, and discovered God.<\/span><\/strong>
\nIt took earth, and encountered Heaven.<\/span><\/strong>
\nIt took what it saw, and was overcome by what it did not see.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nO death, where is thy sting?<\/span><\/strong>
\nO Hell, where is thy victory?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nChrist is Risen, and you, o death, are annihilated!<\/span><\/strong>
\nChrist is Risen, and the evil ones are cast down!<\/span><\/strong>
\nChrist is Risen, and the angels rejoice!<\/span><\/strong>
\nChrist is Risen, and life is liberated!<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nChrist is Risen, and the tomb is emptied of its dead;<\/span><\/strong>
\nfor Christ having risen from the dead,<\/span><\/strong>
\nis become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nTo Him be Glory and Power forever and ever. Amen!<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
This is a standard translation of the sermon, widely available online. \u00a0The original Greek text is available at\u00a0https:\/\/www.earlychurchtexts.com\/main\/johnchrysostom\/paschal_sermon.shtml<\/a>.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 St. John Chrysostom (ca. AD 349-407), archbishop of Constantinople, delivered this Eastern sermon around AD 400: \u00a0 Are there any who are devout lovers of God? Let them enjoy this beautiful bright festival! Are there any who are grateful servants? Let them rejoice and enter into the joy of their Lord! Are there […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[4611,4613,828,1363,4615,831,4607,4609],"class_list":["post-72979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-byzantine","tag-byzantium","tag-constantinople","tag-easter","tag-hagia-sophia","tag-istanbul","tag-john-chrysostom","tag-sermon"],"yoast_head":"\n
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