Canon of the Pasch

1.
Resurrection Day:
how it illumines the people!
The Pasch is the Passover of the Lord
from death to life,
from earth to the kingdom.

Let us cleanse our senses
and see Christ like lightning-
inaccessible light.
Listen: he calls us to sing.

Let the earth rejoice,
let the kingdom feast.
Let all things visible and invisible
celebrate, for He is risen
to an endless joy.

2.
Come, let's drink
of the new waters, not flowing from a rock
but spouting

from an empty tomb.
The sky, the earth, the abyss--

all things are filled

with light.

Buried yesterday, today I arise.
Crucified yesterday,
today I am remembered
in the kingdom.

3.
Let the prophet Habakkuk come.
Let him show us the angel of light
who announces the world's liberation.

David, the forefather of God,
leaped and danced before the tented ark.
Let us, the holy of God,
rejoice in spirit and grasp the mystery
of His third day resurrection.

4.
Let us rise before dawn
and in place of myrrh,
bring the songs of praise.
We will welcome the Sun of all Truth.

The prisoners of the abyss
moved toward His light,
weaving a dance in their chains.

With candles, let us meet
our bridegroom as He steps out
from the tomb.

5.
Within the depths, O Christ,
You shattered the ancient fetters
and rose on the third day
like Jonah from the whale.

The seals are intact
at Your grave, virginity
is preserved in Your birth.
You open to us
the narrow gates.

O Saviour,
living and indestructible
sacrifice,
from the grave You lead forth Adam
and all the children of men.

6.
He, Who released Abraham's sons
from Nebuchadnezzar's furnace,
became a man, suffered
as a man, and by sufferings
immortalized man.

We celebrate the death of death,
the destruction of hell,
the first fruit of another and endless life.
We leap for joy,
we praise the Cause,
the God of our fathers.

7.
This day, first after the Sabbath,
is first among Sabbaths.
Come, let us drink the new wine.
Let us drink it in the kingdom.

Zion, look around you;
your children gather like stars--
from the West and from the North,
from the Sea and from the East--
blessing Christ in you, forever.

Shine, shine, New Jerusalem.
The Lord's glory has risen upon you.
Zion, rejoice,
and you, Mother of God,
in this third day resurrection.

O Christ, mysterious Passover!
O Wisdom, Word of God!
May we be with You and of You
in the kingdom's light, which never sets.

Peter Oresick lived in Pittsburgh when this poem appeared. It is a translation of an eighth-century verse by St. John of Damascus.