Holy Saturday

Here are numerous quotes and citations from early Christian and apocryphal sources regarding the mystery of Christ's redemptive activity between the time of His death and resurrection.

- ST. IGNATIUS, 2nd century — "He descended alone into Hades, but He rose up from it with a multitude, and He cleft the aeonian barrier, and broke down its middle wall."

- ST. JUSTIN MARTYR, 2nd century. — "And He descended to them (the dead) to preach to them His salvation."

- Odes of Solomon (non-canonical poem), 2nd century, Ode 42 "Sheol saw me and was shattered, and Death ejected me and many with me.I have been vinegar and bitterness to it, and I went down with it as far as its depth..And I made a congregation of living among his dead; and I spoke with them by living lips; in order that my word may not be unprofitable.And those who had died ran towards me; and they cried out and said, Son of God, have pity on us. And deal with us according to Your kindness, and bring us out from the bonds of darkness. And open for us the door by which we may come out to You; for we perceive that our death does not touch You. May we also be saved with You, because You are our Savior. Then I heard their voice, and placed their faith in my heart. And I placed my name upon their head, because they are free and they are mine."

- ST. IRENAEUS, 3rd century. — "Christ descended to preach even to those (who were under the earth) His advent."

- ORIGEN, 3rd century. — "Jesus descended into Hades, and the Prophets before Him, and they proclaim beforehand the coming of Christ."

- Clement of Alexandria 3rd century- "the sole cause of the Lord's descent to the underworld was to preach the gospel.

- (apocryphal) Acts of the Apostle Thomas, circa 3rd century "You Who went down even to Hades. And did bring out thence those shut in for many ages."

- Eusebius 4th century. — "Bursting open the eternal gates of the dark abode, and opening a way of return to life for the dead there bound in chains of death."

- St.Epiphanius, 4th century "Christ, like a swift-winged hawk, snatched away all that He bad from the beginning, from the devil and left him deserted."  "Christ arose, and the prison of Hades was emptied."

 - St. Chrysostom, 4th century "While the devil imagined that he had got hold of Christ (in Hades), he lost all in fact whom he was keeping." 
"The fire of hell (Gehenna) is extinguished, the sleepless worm (evidently the 'worm that dies not') dies those who were in Hades. are set free from the bonds of the Devil"

- Didymus 4th century "In the liberation of all no one remains a captive; at the time of the Lord's passion he alone (Satan) was injured, who lost all the captives he was keeping." 

- The Apostles' Creed, first partial formulation in the 2nd century, with the phrase "He descended into Hell" likely added in the 3rd or 4th century

- ATHANASIUS 4th century. — (The devil) "sitting by the gates sees all the fettered beings led forth by the courage of the Saviour."

- GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS, 4th century. — "Until He loosed by His blood all who groan under Tartarean chains."

- ST. AMBROSE, 4th century. — "Christ….bursting open the bars and gates of hell, recalled to life from the jaws of the devil…souls bound in sin."

- ST. HILARY OF POICTIERS, 4th century. — "He knows…that even to those who were in prison and had once been unbelieving, the exhortation was preached."

- Victorinus, 4th century "The Savior descends into Hades by that Passion of the Cross in order that He may set free. every soul."

- Ambrosiaster,  circa 4th century "Christ snatched from Hades all *** the devil, lost, together with Christ, all whom he was keeping."

- St. Ephrem of Syria, 4th century "Christ burst open the most voracious belly of Hades * seeing that Death trembled * and sent forth all whom from the first man up to that time he had kept in bonds."

- (apocryphal) Gospel of Nicodemus, circa 4th century ""When Jesus arrived in Hades, the gates burst open, and taking Adam by the hand Jesus said, "Come all with me, as many as have died through the tree which he touched, for behold I raise you all up through the tree of the cross.'"

- Maximus of Turin, 5th century "Christ carried off to heaven man (mankind) whose cause He undertook, snatched from the jaws of Hades."

- ST. JEROME , 5th century "Our Lord was shut up in æonian bars in order that he might set free all who had been shut up."

- ST. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA . 5th century "And wandering down even to Hades he has emptied the dark, secret, invisible treasures." "Through Christ has been saved the holy crowd of the Fathers, nay, the whole human race altogether which was earlier in time (than Christ's death) for He died for all, and the death of all was done away in Him."

And here's some Bulgarian Orthodox music which always makes me think of Holy Saturday: