In Orthodox Christian theology, the harrowing of Hades occurs immediately after the Resurrection. In order to understand this event, we first have to understand what Hades is.<p>For Jews that believed in an afterlife, many did not expect something that we would consider to be like Heaven or Hell. Rather, Hades was the destination of all those who died. Hades was, for lack of better words, a place of gloom, essentially a jail of all the dead. For those who lived good lives according to the Law, the best they could hope for was that they would find themselves in &quot;the bosom of Abraham&quot;: close to the religious they loved, but certainly not something like Heaven.<p>St. John the Baptist is also known as the Forerunner, the person who helped prepare the people for Jesus&#x27; message. He was the forerunner not only in life but also in death: he preached in Hades of the Messiah who, far from being a worldly conqueror, would truly liberate all humanity: He would liberate them from death and Hades.<p>To cut a long story short, the Resurrection is the death knell of Hades. The jail which kept the dead prisoner was destroyed in taking upon the Sinless One, God Himself. And those who were liberated were those who received the message of St. John.<p>It is of course not possible to know what form St. John&#x27;s message took. It must have been something that even the dead could perform, though. And the dead, lacking life, do not really have anything to give. So I will -- perhaps unwisely -- hazard a guess that it might have taken this form: love and forgive your enemies.