"By Mine own will, earth covers me, O Mother, but the gatekeepers of Hell tremble as they see Me, clothed in the blood-stained garment of vengeance: for on the cross as God have I struck down Mine enemies, and I shall rise again and magnify thee."
--Canon from matins of Holy Saturday
O Saviour, Sun of Righteousness, Thou dost set beneath the earth: therefore the Moon, thy mother, is eclipsed with grief, seeing thee no more.
When she received Thee in her bosom, O Creator and Saviour, the earth shook in fear, and with her quaking she awoke the dead.
Thou hast gone down beneath the earth, O Creator of light, and with Thee the sun's light has also set; creation is siezed with trembling and proclaims Thee the Maker of all.
--Lamentations of Holy Saturday
Today hell groans and cries aloud: "My power has been destroyed. I accepted a mortal man as one of the dead; yet I cannot keep him prisoner, and with Him I shall lose all those over whom I ruled. I held in my power the dead from all the ages; but see, He is raising them all."
--Vespers of Holy Saturday
