Knocking Down the Gates of Hell

The Swedish Lutheran theologian, Gustav Aulén, published a seminal work on the types of atonement theory in 1930 (Christus Victor). Though time and critical studies have suggested many subtler treatments of the question, no one has really improved on his insight. Especially valuable was his description of the “Classic View” of the atonement. This imagery, very dominant in the writings of the early Fathers and in the liturgical life of the Eastern Church, focused on the atonement as an act of invasion, the smashing of gates and bonds, and the setting free of those bound in hell. Aulén clearly preferred this imagery and is greatly responsible for its growing popularity in some segments of Western Christendom.

The language of the Classic View was obscured in the West by the later popularity of propitiatory suffering (and the various theories surrounding it). Aulen claimed that Luther tended to prefer this older imagery. I had opportunity to do a research paper in grad school on the topic. I surveyed all of the hundreds of hymns written by Luther and analyzed them for their atonement theology. All but about two used the Classic View. Aulén seems to have been right.

In Orthodoxy, this imagery is the coin of the realm in the hymns surrounding Pascha. All of Holy Week is predicated on the notion of Christ’s descent into hell and His dynamic actions in destroying death and setting free those held in captivity. St. John Chrysostom’s great Paschal Homily, read in every Orthodox Church on the night of Pascha, is an “Ollie, Ollie, in come free!” of salvation.1

I have written on this topic before. I thought, however, to share some of the verses from the hymns of the Matins of Holy Saturday. The language is a pure expression of the spirit of Orthodox Pascha and the atonement teaching of the Fathers.

Hell, who had filled all men with fear,
Trembled at the sight of Thee,
And in haste he yielded up his prisoners,
O Immortal Sun of Glory!

Thou hast destroyed the palaces of hell by Thy Burial, O Christ.
Thou hast trampled death down by thy death, O Lord,
And redeemed earth’s children from corruption.

Though thou art buried in a grave, O Christ,
Though Thou goest down to hell, O Savior,
Thou hast stripped hell naked, emptying its graves.

Death seized Thee, O Jesus,
And was strangled in Thy trap.
Hell’s gates were smashed, the fallen were set free,
And carried from beneath the earth on high.

O Savior, death’s corruption
Could not touch Thy holy flesh.
Thou hast bound the ancient murderer of man,
And restored all the dead to new life.

Thou didst will, O Savior,
To go beneath the earth.
Thou didst free death’s fallen captives from their chains,
Leading them from earth to heaven.

In the earth’s dark bosom
The Grain of Wheat is laid.
By its death, it shall bring forth abundant fruit:
Adam’s sons, freed from the chains of death.

Wishing to save Adam,
Thou didst come down to earth.
Not finding him on earth, O Master,
Thou didst descend to Hades seeking him.

O my Life, my Savior,
Dwelling with the dead in death,
Thou hast destroyed the iron bars of hell,
And hast risen from corruption.

These examples could be multiplied many times over. The section of Matins from which these are taken has over 100 verses! Orthodox Holy Week and Pascha has many ways of acting out this theology. Lights go up at the hint of victory, particularly as we sing the Song of Moses celebrating the drowning of Pharaoh’s army. In some parishes, bay leaves are tossed in the air by the priest in a fairly violent and joyous celebration of the victory. In yet others, at certain points during the Vesperal Liturgy of Pascha,  loud noises such as the banging of pots and pans are heard as the liturgy describes the smashing of hell’s gates. There is one village in Greece where two parishes have developed a custom of firing rocket fireworks at each other in the Paschal celebration.

Such antics completely puzzle the non-Orthodox and even seem comical. The Paschal celebration in Orthodoxy is far more akin to the wild street scenes in American cities when the end of World War II was announced – and for the same reason!

All of this also explains why many Orthodox are very reluctant to engage in “who’s going to hell” discussions with other Christians (though some Orthodox sadly seem to relish the topic). The services of Holy Week, as illustrated in these verses, are filled with references to hell. I daresay that no services elsewhere in all of Christendom make such frequent mention of hell. But the language is as illustrated above. It’s all about smashing, destruction and freedom. It is the grammar of Pascha. It is the grammar of true Christianity itself.

Hell is real. Jesus has come to smash it. It is the Lord’s Pascha. It is time to sing and dance.

Footnotes for this article

  1. “Ollie, Ollie, in come free!” and other similar phrases (“oxen free!”) is a children’s cry that ends the game of Hide ‘n Seek.

About Fr. Stephen Freeman

Fr. Stephen is a retired Archpriest of the Orthodox Church in America. He is also author of Everywhere Present: Christianity in a One-Storey Universe, and Face to Face: Knowing God Beyond Our Shame, as well as the Glory to God podcast series on Ancient Faith Radio.



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19 responses to “Knocking Down the Gates of Hell”

  1. Justin Brasfield Avatar
    Justin Brasfield

    Your post reminds me of my experience of Holy Week. I am an Inquirer who met you last year during a Lenten Retreat at Holy Trinity Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Birmingham, AL. This year, I made it to Holy Week at St. Symeon, a beautiful OCA parish, of which I’m sure your familiar (at least their beautiful choir music). Anyhow, the priest is a serious man, a wise man, and a well-respected man who is not particularly young, and is not a small built man. Anyhow, one my most memorable moments from the whole of Holy Week is when, about 25 hours into services (for the week) on Pascha night, about 2 hours in, Fr. Alexander proceeds to smile with great joy and starts running through the church and censing. He was quite fast, too! It made me think of St. Porphyrios, who, when he received his gift of grace, went running through the forest, shouting, Glory to thee, O God!

  2. Hal Freeman Avatar

    Great post! Thank you.

  3. Burwell Noyes Avatar
    Burwell Noyes

    Thanks Father. Metropolitan Alfeyev’s book Christ the Conqueror of Hell provides a beautiful tracing of this early Church take on atonement.

  4. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Justin,
    Fr. Alexander has done a marvelous over the years in Birmingham. He’s a steady rock in our diocese.

  5. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Burwell,
    That’s a wonderful book – lots of detail and well-researched. I re-read it recently.

  6. Matthew Avatar
    Matthew

    The Gospel. The Good News.
    I can say no more today except thank you Fr. Stephen.

  7. Bryan (Emmanuel) Elderkin Avatar
    Bryan (Emmanuel) Elderkin

    Thank you again for your always unique and deep(er) perspectives Fr Stephen! So much wisdom in the hymnology–I am inspired by it, but like Scripture, it needs many revisits.

  8. Mrs Mutton Avatar
    Mrs Mutton

    Driven by desperation, I joined an Anglican Bible study last year. At one point, the subject of the atonement came up, along with the standard Western reference to Jesus taking our punishment on Himself. The discussion that ensued when I put out the Orthodox viewpoint was heated but amicable, as the ladies were quite shocked to think that there was no punishment involved – just liberation. I am *so* grateful to be Orthodox.

  9. Katerina Dimopoulou Avatar
    Katerina Dimopoulou

    Christ is risen. Father, your blessing.
    I am sorry to be using this space, but I can see no other way to contact you.
    Could you please pray for my brother, Panayiotis and his family? An MRI has shown a brain tumor that is very hard to operate on without great risk to his life or his rational functions, my sister-in-law is struggling with depression and they have three underage children.
    Again, I apologize for using the comments space for something entirely personal.
    Thank you, your blessing,
    Katerina

  10. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Mrs Mutton,
    Your experience points to something important: many Christians have never heard any account of the Atonement other than a punishment model. It’s not that you never see any punishment language (as a metaphor) in Orthodox writings, but that it is pretty much absent from those places where it would be prominent had it been part of the thinking of the early Church. For example, in neither Chrysostom nor St. Basil’s Liturgies, where lengthy, poetic accounts of Christ’s death for our sins is related (the anaphora), it is simply not there.

  11. Greg Avatar
    Greg

    Can I ask what the Greek word is that is translated to Hell in the hymns quoted?

    And do you happen to know the Slavonic equivalent?

  12. Mallory Avatar
    Mallory

    Thank you, Fr. Stephen. Do you think someone can be a follower of Christ–pray, keep His commandments and strive for forgiveness etc but be without a church? And if not, what is the problem with not having a church but reading the Scriptures, praying, etc? Thank you for your writing as always.

  13. Dee of St Herman Avatar
    Dee of St Herman

    Mallory,
    One short answer is that the Orthodox life is not a psychological endeavor, but a whole body and soul-physical life. Church isn’t just a building but a body. We are in communion with each other, and that does not occur without true-real communion.

    Our lives are so intertwined and embedded (God willing) in Christ and in each other (hypostatic union) that the concept of individualism, so common in Western society (and Churches), is not the ethos received among the Orthodox. Nevertheless, there may well be variations of understanding and lives among the Orthodox, especially among those who have converted while living in Western societies.

    Sometimes, due to my workload, I miss going to services. I can feel the loss in my body. This isn’t sentimentality, but an ontological transition away from life-giving waters, communion with Christ, and His Body.

    Perhaps a previous article that father wrote might be helpful:
    https://glory2godforallthings.com/2023/08/30/are-we-connected-2/

  14. Régis Primo Avatar
    Régis Primo

    Father Stephen, Catholic Easter is very similar to Orthodox Easter in this regard. At no point do we celebrate Christ’s penal substitution. We celebrate Christ’s love for us, and how he freed us from sin (although we must carry our cross with joy and hope).

  15. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Greg,
    I suspect that it’s Hades, though I don’t have the Greek text. Hilarion Alfeyev’s book on Christ the Conqueror of Hell is an excellent reference.

  16. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Mallory,
    The things you mention are certainly salutary and worth doing – and have a benefit. The Church, however, is not a human invention – it is the gift of Christ. It presents its own difficulties – personalities, interactions, etc. – but, those things are an inherent part of our relationship with Christ. St. John says, “How can we say that we love God but hate our brother?” Christ gathered and ordained Apostles and commanded them to make disciples, Baptizing them, etc. Praying, forgiving, reading, could all be things we simply do in our heads – leading us, all too often, to a world of make-believe. The Church is what salvation looks like – as problematic as it might be at times.

  17. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Régis,
    I am not surprised. The texts for Pascha and Western Easter are quite old (when similarities were at their strongest).

  18. Dee of St Herman Avatar
    Dee of St Herman

    Regis,
    It’s my understanding (albeit incomplete, no doubt) that the penal substitution was a response to both Roman Catholic and Protestant beliefs concerning what sin is. Western understandings of original sin come from both Protestant and Roman Catholic beliefs. For example, this is why some Roman Catholic theologians (perhaps not all?) invoked the need for Mary, mother of Jesus, to have had an “immaculate” birth. As such I believe that there are penal substitution proponents in Roman Catholic teachings. And unfortunately, some Orthodox (perhaps converts?) seem to believe in this teaching also.

    Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches share a common history (and theology– although it wasn’t monolithic, per se) prior to the 1040s. After that, as you know, significant changes took place in the Roman Catholic Church, especially in its worship practices.

    However, lately, I believe that there might be changes within the Roman Catholic Church. There is a growing interest and perhaps a return to past (Patristic) theology. This may be related to the Eastern Roman Catholic Churches obtaining more latitude in their worship, where they might have explored what they had lost upon unification with the Western Roman Catholic Churches.

    As I understand it, there is some friction in the Roman Catholic Church among those in the Eastern Roman Catholic Churches concerning these changes back to historical traditions.

    Admittedly, my information has come from what I have read. Nevertheless, an essential distinction between the understandings about sin is observable in the understanding of Mary, Mother of God. There is more history about the Orthodox understandings and differences, so it’s best not to write extensively (this isn’t the place for it); however, another indicator is that babies are baptized and chrismated and receive the Holy Eucharist, whereas this is not the practice in the Roman Catholic Church. The distinction is founded on a difference in the understanding of what sin is.

    Since I’m no theologian, I ask for Father’s correction as needed in what I have written.

  19. Andrew Avatar
    Andrew

    It occurs to me that I need to pay closer attention to the hymns of the Church and to spend time re-reading them. So profound! It can be hard to catch it call during the course of a service.

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