Holy Saturday Morning: The Vesperal Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great
Scriptural References
Genesis: 1:1-13
Jonah 1:1-16, 2:1-11, 3:1-10, 4:1-11
Daniel 3:1-57
Romans 6:3-11
Matthew 28:1-20
On Great and Holy Saturday morning, the Orthodox Church commemorates Christ"s decent into Hades and the releasing of the souls of all who were held captive by death. It is important for us to remember that humankind had been removed from Paradise, since the time of Adam and Eve, and that man was subject to death. Upon the death of all from the time of Adam and Eve to the moment of Christ"s voluntary death on the cross, all the souls of those who lived were "held captive by death" in a place called Hades. Hades, not to be confused with hell, was a jail of sorts for souls - a place where they were held prisoner.
When Jesus died on the Cross, Hades accepted His soul thinking that it was accepting the soul of a man - only to find out that it had accepted God, the uncontainable, into her midst.
Immediately, an explosion takes place, the Hymns tell us that "Hades lets out a groan" as the doors to Hades are blown open the "locks and chains" used to imprison the souls tossed aside and rendered useless as Christ raises all the dead and resurrects them all.
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