Dmitry Merezhkovsky
Christ has risen

"Christ has risen" — they chant in the temple,
But I feel sad... my soul is silent;
The world is full of blood and tears,
And this hymn in front of the altars
Sounds so insulting.

If He were among us and could see,
What our glorious age has achieved,
How brothers have learned to hate each other,
How humans are disgraced,

And if here, in this luxurious temple,
He heard, "Christ is risen",
How bitter would be the tears He would shed
In front of the crowd!

Oh brethren, let it come to pass
That in this world there would not be any masters or slaves,
The groans and curses would fall silent,
And so would the clatter of swords, and the ringing of shackles, —

Oh, then, and only then, as a hymn of freedom,
Let it thunder: "Christ has risen!"
And all the peoples will answer us:
"Christ has risen indeed!"

Translated by unknown author