Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev, in his book Christ the Conqueror of Hell, makes this observation concerning Christ’s descent into Hades:
The Octoechos’ teaching can be systematized by the following questions:
- Who benefited from Christ’s saving accomplishments?
- To whom was his preaching in hell addressed?
- Whom did he resurrect from the dead?
- Whom did he free from the power of hell, and whom did he lead to paradise?
The Church Fathers answered these questions differently. St Gregory Nazianzen did not answer the question: “Will Christ save all or just the faithful?” (Homily 45,24). St. Amphilochius of Iconium believed that ALL those who were in hell followed Christ after his descent and preaching. (Homily 6, Against Heretics). Theologians of the Alexandrian Tradition were inclined to believe that God “redeemed and led ALL OF US out of hell, or rather, the entire human race from death.” (Paschal Epistle 10,10.) Clement even numbered the pagans among the saved (Stromateis 6,6). St. Romanos the Melodist and St Ephrem the Syrian maintained that after Christ’s descent into Hades “ALL TOMBS were opened, and ALL the dead came out of them and rejoiced.” (Kontakion 45,17).
Hilarion mentions that there were also saints who contradicted this view and narrowed the preaching in Hades only to the “souls of the saints” (On Christ and the AntiChrist [ St. Hippolystus of Rome]) and St. Cyril of Jerusalem believed only the righteous were redeemed. (Catachetical Homily 14,19)
A careful study of the writings in the hymns of the Octoechos demonstrates that in about ‘five out of one hundred cases’ only the “pious, and righteous” are among the only people delivered from hades. Even more rarely in the Octoechos ‘possibly in two or three out of one hundred cases’ Christ grants salvation to all the “faithful”. But this offers not specifics if the “faithful” are those who believed in God during their lives or if it is those who believed after Christ’s preaching in hell.
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