For the Cross was shorn of sadness
On the Resurrection day.
Let us worship and adore Him,
Come and let us bow before Him.
εἰ καὶ ἐν τάφῳ κατῆλθες ἀθάνατε
(κοντάκιον, Ἦχος πλ. δ1)
By St. John of Damascus, 780 A.D.
I
When, O King Immortal,
Thou didst seek the gloom,