In his Homily III on the Mother of God, Jacob of Serug wrote:
“This one makes his light shine in Sheol amidst the
darkness,
and loosens and brings forth Adam who was bound in the
house of perdition. (Jacob of Serug, On the Mother of God [trans. Mary
Hansbury; Popular Patristic Series 19; Crestwood, N.Y.: St. Vladimir’s Seminary
Press, 1998], 75)
In
a footnote to the above, we read that:
In Syriac literature, the theme of Christ’s
descent into Sheol is found already in the 2nd century Odes of Solomon. As
depicted in the icon of the Resurrection, Christ in his descent frees Adam and
the righteous of the Old Testament, see 1 Pet 3:19. (Ibid., 75, 13)
