You were clad with purple,
you put on a scarlet cloak
as a sign of shame, in the thoughts
of Pontius Pilate's soldiers.
Take me from the haircloth of sin,
the red-purple, the color of blood,
and clothe me with the joyous garment
you once put on the first humans.
With the tearing of the veil
on account of Adam's debts
tear my ingrained meanness,
destroy the bond of my life's sins.
I believe with all my soul
and adore you, O only Son,
forgive me the faults I committed;
may my past sins not be remembered!
To the thief on your right
you opened the door of the Garden of Eden;
remember me also when you come back
with the royal power of your Father.
May I too hear what causes us to exult,
the answer pronounced by you:
"Today you will be with me in Paradise,
in your primordial homeland."
Nerses Snorhali, 12th-century monk and pastor
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