Paschal troparion
The Paschal troparion or Christos anesti is the characteristic troparion for the celebration of Pascha (Easter) in the Byzantine Rite.
Like most troparia, it is a brief stanza often used as a refrain between the verses of a psalm, but is also used on its own. It is sung in the first plagal tone. Its author or date is unknown.
Text
| Greek | Transliteration | English translation | Poetic English translation by Vladimir Morosan |
θανάτῳ θάνατον πατήσας, καὶ τοῖς ἐν τοῖς μνήμασι, ζωὴν χαρισάμενος! | by death trampling death, and to those in the tombs granting life! | trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life! |
The first line paraphrases from 1 Corinthians 15:20. The troparion is part of the Paschal Divine Liturgy of the Byzantine Rite, and it was certainly in use in the 5th or 6th century. Its ultimate origin is unknown; Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev has suggested a 2nd-century origin.
| Language | Translation | Transliteration |
| Albanian | me vdékjé vdékjén shkéli édhé te varrosurvé u fali jéten! | |
| Arabic | ||
| Basque | Hilez garbaitu du herioa, piztuz ateratzen gaitzu gure hobietarik! | |
| Belarusian | Сьмерцю сьмерць зваяваў І тым, што ў магілах Жыцьцё дараваў! | |
| Belarusian | Śmierciu śmierć zvajavaŭ I tym, što ŭ mahiłach Zyćcio daravaŭ | |
| Bulgarian | като със смърт смъртта потъпка и на тия, които са в гробовете, дарува живот. | |
| Chinese | 他的死勝過死亡, 把生命賜給已埋葬 在墓中的人。 | |
| Church Slavonic | Смертiю смерть поправъ И сущимъ во гробѣхъ Животъ даровавъ. | |
| Church Slavonic Earlier version | Смертїю на смерть настѹпи, И грѡбным животъ дарова! | |
| Coptic | ⲫⲏⲉ̀ⲧⲁϥⲙⲟⲩ ⲁϥϩⲱⲙⲓ ⲉ̀ϫⲉⲛ ⲫ̀ⲙⲟⲩ ⲟⲩⲟϩ ⲛⲏⲉⲧⲭⲏ ϧⲉⲛ ⲛⲓⲙ̀ϩⲁⲩ ⲁϥⲉⲣϩ̀ⲙⲟⲧ ⲛⲱⲟⲩ ⲙ̀ⲡⲓⲱⲛϧ ⲛ̀ⲉ̀ⲛⲉϩ. | |
| Czech | smrtí smrt překonal a jsoucím ve hrobech, život daroval! | |
| Dutch | door Zijn dood vertreedt Hij de dood en schenkt het Leven aan hen in het graf! | |
| Eastern Armenian | ||
| Filipino | Sa pamamagitan ng kanyang kamatayan, nilupig niya ang kamatayan, At ang mga nasa himlayan Ay binigyan niya ng buhay! | |
| Finnish | kuolemallaan kuoleman voitti ja haudoissa oleville elämän antoi. | |
| French | par la mort, il a vaincu la mort; à ceux qui sont dans les tombeaux il a donné la vie! | |
| Georgian | სიკვდილითა სიკვდილისა დამთრგუნველი და საფლავების შინათა ცხოვრების მიმნიჭებელი! | |
| German | hat den Tod durch den Tod zertreten und denen in den Gräbern das Leben geschenkt! | |
| Hawaiian | e hehi ʻana i ka make ma o kona make a; i nā mea i loko o nā ilina e manawale'a ana aku i ke ola! | |
| Hungarian | legyőzte halállal a halált, és a sírban lévőknek életet ajándékozott! | |
| Indonesian | Dengan matinya t'lah menginjak-injak maut Dan pada mereka yang di kuburan hidup dianugerahkan! | |
| Italian | Con la morte ha vinto la morte, E a quelli nelle tombe Ha donato la vita! | |
| Japanese | 死を以て死を滅ぼし、 墓に在る者に 生命を賜へり。 | |
| Kapampangan | Qng panga'mate na menagumpe ya qng Camatayan, at bi'nie na ing bie careng Maca'cutcut. | - |
| Korean | 죽음으로 죽음을 멸하시고 무덤에 있는 자들에게 생명을 베푸셨나이다! | |
| Latin | Morte mortem calcavit, Et entibus in sepulchris Vitam donavit. | |
| Latvian | Nāvi ar nāvi iznīcinājis Un tiem, kas kapos, Dzīvību dāvinājis! | |
| Lithuanian | Savo mirtimi mirtį nugalėjo, Mirusiems gyvybę dovanojo | |
| Palauan | Sirreihi a kodall loba kodall, el kirel ar ngara debull el nguu a klengar. | |
| Pingelapese | kaluwehdiehr mehla pwehki ah pwoula, oh ketkiheng irail nan sousou mour. | |
| Polish | śmiercią podeptał śmierć i będącym w grobach życie dał! | |
| Portuguese | pisando a morte com a morte, e dando a vida aos sepultados. | |
| Romanian | Cu moartea pre moarte călcând, Şi celor din morminte, Viaţă dăruindu-le! | |
| Serbian | смрћу смрт уништи, и онима који су у гробовима, живот дарова! | Smrcu smrt unisti, I onoma koji su u grobovima, zivot darova! |
| Slovak | smrťou smrť premohol a tým, čo sú v hroboch život daroval! | |
| Slovenian | z vstajenjem je premagal smrt in tistim, ki so v grobovih, je daroval življenje! | - |
| Slovenian | z vstajenjem je premagal smrt, in dal življenje mrtvim v grobeh! | |
| Spanish | pisoteando la muerte por la muerte, y a los que están en los sepulcros dando la vida. | - |
| Spanish | por la muerte, la muerte hollando; y a los que están en las tumbas la vida dando. | |
| Turkish | ölüm ile ölümü tepeleyerek ve mezarda olanlara hayat bağışladı. | |
| Ukrainian | смертю смерть подолав, і тим, що в гробах, життя дарував! |
Usage
According to the testimony of the Jerusalem tropologion, the troparion was sung at the end of the Easter Vigil in the late ancient Jerusalem Easter liturgy. Based on the Typikon of the Great Church, the troparion was part of the non-monastic liturgy at the Hagia Sophia by the 10th century.In Finland, the Orthodox Church of Finland is a minority church. However, the Orthodox Easter Vigil has been broadcast on radio and television for decades, and so the troparion gradually became well-known to non-Orthodox Finns. In 1986, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland – the largest religious denomination in the country — added the troparion to its revised official hymnal, where it is hymn number 90, used for Easter. It is recommended to be sung three times in succession.
At Pope Francis' funeral, after the Litany of the Saints, the patriarchs, archbishops, and metropolitans of the Eastern Catholic Churches stood beside the coffin of Pope Francis for the Supplicatio Ecclesiae Orientalium. After thrice chanting the Paschal troparion and chanting prayers, one of the patriarchs censed the coffin. This ritual was also performed at the funeral of Pope John Paul II.