Melito of Sardis - a Christological affirmation in his work ON PASCHA (translated by Alistair Stewart)

 From a revised version of the POPULAR PATRISTICS SERIES volume (2nd edition, 2016) SVS Press

On Pascha (section 66): pages 69-72 both Greek text and translation into English verse

"This is the one who comes from heaven onto the earth by means of the suffering one

and wraps himself into the suffering one by means of the virgin womb,

and comes forth a human being.

He accepted the suffering of the suffering one through suffering in a body

which could suffer, and set free the flesh from suffering.

Through the Spirit which cannot die

he slew the manslayer death.

He is the one led like a lamb

and slaughtered like a sheep;

he ransomed us from the worship of the world

as from the land of Egypt,

and he set us free from the slavery of the devil

as from the hand of Pharaoh,

and sealed our souls with his own Spirit,

and the members of our body with his blood.

This is the one who clad death in shame and,

as Moses did to Pharaoh, made the devil grieve.

This is the one who struck down lawlessness

and made injustice childless, as Moses did to Egypt.

This is the one who delivered us from slavery to freedom,

from darkness into light,

from death into life,

from tyranny into an eternal Kingdom,

and made us a new priesthood, and a people everlasting for himself.

This is the Pascha (PASSOVER) of our salvation:

this is the one who in many people endured many things.

This is the one who was murdered in Abel,

tied up in Isaac,

exiled in Jacob,

sold in Joseph,

exposed in Moses, 

slaughtered in the lamb,

hunted down in David,

dishonored in the prophets.

This is the one made flesh in a virgin,

who was hanged on a tree,

who was buried in the earth,

who was raised from the dead,

who was exalted to the heights of heaven.

This is the lamb slain,

this is the speechless lamb,

this is the one born of Mary the fair ewe,

this is the one taken from the flock, and led to slaughter.

Who was sacrificed in the evening,

and buried at night;

who was not broken on the tree,

who was not undone in the earth,

who rose from the dead and resurrected humankind from the grave below. . .