def _element_find_from_root(root, element_path):
    """
    Find the element specified by the given path starting from the root element of the document.

    The first component of the element path is expected to be the name of the root element. Return
    None if the element is not found.
    """
    element = None
    element_names = element_path.split('/')
    if element_names[0] == root.tag:
        if len(element_names) > 1:
            element = root.find('/'.join(element_names[1:]))
        else:
            element = root
    return element
