Holy Fire in Jerusalem

[TER]

Thousands of Orthodox celebrate holy fire ritual

(AP)

JERUSALEM — The sound of drumbeats and hymns and light from thousands of candles and torches filled Christianity's holiest shrine as Orthodox faithful celebrated Easter Week's holy fire ritual.

According to Christian belief, Jesus was crucified and buried at the site in Jerusalem's Old City where the Church of the Holy Sepulcher now stands.

Orthodox Christians believe a holy fire appears spontaneously from Jesus' tomb on the day before the Orthodox Easter. The fire is seen a message that Jesus has not forgotten his followers.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarch in the Holy Land descended Saturday with other Orthodox clergy into the tomb.

After the flame appeared there, he passed it to believers inside the church's main hall, who rushed to light their own candles and torches.

[TER]

Holy Fire burns strong

Published: Sat, April 3, 2010 @ 12:00 a.m.

The miracle of the Holy Fire, a ceremony that bewilders the souls of Christians, takes place in the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem. Holy Fire is the most renowned miracle in the world of Eastern Orthodoxy.

It has taken place at the same time, in the same manner, in the same place, every single year for centuries. No other miracle is known to occur so regularly and so steadily over time. It happens in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where Christ was crucified, entombed and rose from the dead.

The sepulcher is in the small chapel called Holy Ciborium, which is inside the Church of the Resurrection. This supernatural phenomenon occurs only on the eve of Orthodox Pascha.

Before the ceremony, a thorough public search of the sepulcher and of the patriarch are conducted by the Israeli police to guard against possible fraud.

The authorities, on this Holy Saturday, come and seal the tomb with wax. Before they seal the door, they follow a custom to enter the tomb and check for any hidden source of fire, which would defraud the miracle.

People of all faiths from the world over flock every year to the Holy City to witness this living connection between earthly and heavenly realms.

The patriarch enters the tomb and kneels in front of the place where Christ lay after his death and where he rose from the dead.

Here, he says certain prayers that have been handed down to us through the centuries. From the core of the very stone on which Jesus lay, an indefinable light pours forth.

It usually has a blue tint, but the color may change and take many different hues. It is hard to describe in human terms.

The light does not burn hot for a while. It has a different consistency than normal fire that burns in an oil lamp.

When the Holy Fire descends, it lights the lamp of the Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem. The patriarch then distributes the Holy Fire to all present.

When the patriarch comes out with the candles lighted by the Holy Fire, a roar of jubilee resounds in the church.

The holy light emits from the Holy Sepulcher and has a gleam different from natural light. The person who experiences the miracle usually leaves Jerusalem changed.

Orthodoxy has sealed the feast of feasts, the Pascha of the Lord, in her divine services with the words “today,” “now,” “this day,” “a sacred Pascha hath been shown forth to us today,” “now all things are filled with light,” “this chosen and holy day” and “this is the day which the Lord hath made.”

It is manifest that the Holy Scriptures, the Holy Canons and the divine services with one accord show that this day cannot be celebrated on any other date than that appointed by the Orthodox Church.

As with any miracle, there are people who believe it is a fraud. They suspect the patriarch has a lighter within the tomb.

Critics are confronted with problems. Matches and other means of ignition are relatively recent inventions.

Only a few hundred years ago, lighting a fire was an undertaking that lasted much longer than the few minutes during which the patriarch is inside the tomb.

The biggest arguments against fraud are not the testimonials of the patriarchs but the thousands of independent testimonies by pilgrims whose candles were lighted spontaneously without possible explanation.

A person who has experienced this can’t ignore it. This is an awe-inspiring event.

Two thousand years ago, Christ appeared on earth. He did not write down what he wants from us.

He showed us by example what to follow to enter the paradise of God. Since then, he has established his church in order to preserve the mysteries leading to our salvation. Today, he continues to talk to us, by means of the Holy Light. Here is my tomb. Here is where they crucified me and where I resurrected in order to prepare the way for you to come.

Rev. Andrew Gall is pastor of St. John Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Sharon, Pa.

[TER]

The Miracle of the Holy Fire in Jerusalem

by Niels Christian Hvidt

"On Holy Saturday believers gather in great crowds in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. For on this day fire comes down from Heaven and puts fire on lamps in the Church." Thus one reads in one of the many Easter itineraries to the Holy Land.

"The Miracle of the Holy Fire" by Christians from the Orthodox Churches is known as "The greatest of all Christian miracles". It takes place every single year, on the same time, in the same manner, and on the same spot. No other miracle is known to occur so regularly and for such an extensive period of time; one can read about it in sources as old as from the eighth Century AD. The miracle happens in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, to millions of believers the holiest place on earth. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre itself is an enigmatic place. Theologians, historians and archaeologists consider the church to contain both Golgatha, the little hill on which Jesus Christ was crucified, as well as the "new tomb" close to Golgatha that received his dead body, as one reads in the Gospels. It is on this same spot that Christians believe he rose from the dead.

One can trace the miracle throughout the centuries in the many itineraries to the Holy Land. The Russian abbot Daniel, in his itinerary, written in the years 1106-07, in very detailed manners presents the "Miracle of the Holy Light" and the ceremonies that frame it. He recalls how the Patriarch goes into the Sepulchre-chapel (the Anastasis) with two closed candles. The Patriarch kneels in front of the stone on which Christ was laid after his death and says certain prayers, upon which the miracle occurs. Light proceeds from the core of the stone a blue, indefinable light which after some time kindles closed oil lamps as well as the two candles of the Patriarch. This light is "The Holy Fire", and it spreads to all people present in the Church. The ceremony surrounding "The Miracle of the Holy Fire" may be the oldest unbroken Christian ceremony in the world. From the fourth century AD all the way up to our own time, sources recall the awe-awakening potent. From these sources it becomes clear that the miracle has been celebrated on the same spot, on the same feast day, and in the same liturgical frames throughout all these centuries. One can ask, if it would happen also in the year 1998.

In order to find out, I travelled to Jerusalem to be present at the ceremony in which the Miracle of the Holy Fire occurs, and I can testify that it did not only happen in the ancient Church and throughout the Middle Ages but also on the 18th of April, 1998. The Greek-Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Diodorus I, is the man who every year enters the tomb to receive the Holy Fire. He has been the Patriarch of Jerusalem since 1982 and thereby is the key-witness to the miracle. Prior to the ceremony of this year the Patriarch received us in private audience, where I had the opportunity to speak with him about the miracle in order to know exactly what happens in the tomb and what the miracle means for him personally in his spiritual life. Furthermore I was through his intervention admitted to the balconies in the dome of the Holy Sepulchre Church, from where I had a fine view over the masses that had gathered around the tomb in anticipation of the "Great Miracle of the Holy Fire".

But what exactly happens in the Holy Sepulchre Church on Easter Saturday? Why does it have such an impact on the Orthodox Tradition? Why does it seem as if nobody has heard anything about the miracle in the Protestant and Catholic countries?

One of the Most Famous Ceremonies in the Orthodox Church

The miracle occurs every year on the Orthodox Easter Saturday. There are many types of Orthodox Christians: Syrian, Armenian, Russian and Greek Orthodox as well as Copts. In the Holy Sepulchre Church alone there are 7 different Christian Denominations. The Orthodox Easter-date is fixed according to the Julian Calendar, and not the usual Western European Gregorian calendar, which means that their Easter normally falls on a different date than the Protestant and Catholic Easter.

Since Constantine the Great built The Holy Sepulchre Church in the middle of the fourth century it has been destroyed many times. The Crusaders constructed the Church that we see today. Around Jesus tomb was erected a little chapel with two rooms, one little room in front of the tomb and the tomb itself, which holds no more than five people. This chapel is the centre of the miraculous events, and being present at the celebration fully justifies the term "event" for on no other day of the year is the Holy Sepulchre Church so packed than on Easter Saturday. If one wishes to enter it, one has to reckon with six hours of cueing. Each year hundreds of people are not able to enter due to the crowds. Pilgrims come from all over the world, the majority from Greece but in recent years increasing numbers from Russia and the former Eastern European Countries.

In order to be as close to the tomb as possible, pilgrims camp around the tomb-chapel, waiting from Holy Friday afternoon in anticipation of the wonder on Holy Saturday. The miracle happens at 2:00 PM, but already around 11:00 AM the Church is a boiling pot.

Festival

From around 11:00 AM till 1:00 PM the Christian Arabs sing traditional songs with loud voices. These songs date back to the Turkish occupation of Jerusalem in the 13th Century, a period in which the Christians were not allowed to sing their songs anywhere but in the Churches. "We are the Christians, this we have been for centuries and this we shall be for ever and ever. Amen!" they sing at the top of their voices accompanied by the sound of drums. The drum-players sit on the shoulders of others who ferociously dance around the Sepulchre Chapel. But at 1:00 PM the songs fade out and after there is silence, a tense and loaded silence electrified by the anticipation of the great manifestation of the Power of God that all are about to witness.

At 1:00 PM a delegation of the local authorities elbows through the crowds. Even though these officials are not Christian, they are part of the ceremonies. In the times of the Turkish occupation of Palestine they were Moslem Turks; today they are Israelis. For centuries the presence of these officials has been an integrated part of the ceremony. Their function is to represent the Romans in the time of Jesus. The Gospels speak of Romans that went to seal the tomb of Jesus, so his disciples would not steal his body and claim he had risen. In the same way the Israeli authorities on this Easter Saturday come and seal the tomb with wax. Before they seal the door it is customary that they enter the tomb to check for any hidden source of fire, which could produce the miracle through fraud. Just as the Romans were to guarantee that there was no manipulation after the death of Jesus, likewise the Israeli Local Authorities are to guarantee that there be no trickery in 1998.

The Testimony of the Patriarch

When the tomb has been checked and sealed, the whole Church chants the Kyrie Eleison (Lord have mercy). At 1:45 PM the Patriarch enters the scene. In the wake of a large procession he encircles the Tomb three times, whereupon he is stripped of his royal liturgical vestments, carrying only his white alba, a sign of humility in front of the great potent of God, to which he is about to be the key witness. All the oil lamps have been blown out the preceding night, and now all remains of artificial light are extinguished, so that most of the Church is enveloped in darkness. With two big candles the patriarch enters the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre first into the small room in front of the tomb and from there into the tomb itself.

It is not possible to follow the events inside the tomb, so I asked the patriarch of Jerusalem, Diodorus, about the center of the events.

"Your Beatitude, what happens when you enter the Holy Sepulchre?"

"I enter the tomb and kneel in holy fear in front of the place where Christ lay after his death and where he rose again from the dead. Praying in the Holy Sepulchre in itself is for me always a very holy moment in a very holy place. It is from here that he rose again in glory, and it is from there that he spread his light to the world. John the Evangelist writes in the first chapter of his gospel that Jesus is the light of the World. Kneeling in front of the place where he rose from the dead, we are brought within the immediate closeness of his glorious resurrection. Catholics and Protestants call this Church "The Church of the Holy Sepulchre". We call it "The Church of the Resurrection". The Resurrection of Christ for us Orthodox is the center of our faith. In his resurrection Christ has gained the final victory over death, not just his own death but the death of all those who will stay close to him.

"I believe it to be no coincidence that the Holy Fire comes on exactly this spot. In Matthew 28:3, it says that when Christ rose from the dead, an angel came, dressed all in a fearful light. I believe that the striking light that enveloped the angel at the Lord's resurrection is the same light that appears miraculously every Easter Saturday. Christ wants to remind us that his resurrection is a reality and not just a myth; he really came to the world in order to give the necessary sacrifice through his death and resurrection so that man could be re-united with his creator.

Blue Light

"I find my way through the darkness towards the inner chamber in which I fall on my knees. Here I say certain prayers that have been handed down to us through the centuries and, having said them, I wait. Sometimes I may wait a few minutes, but normally the miracle happens immediately after I have said the prayers. From the core of the very stone on which Jesus lay an indefinable light pours forth. It usually has a blue tint, but the color may change and take many different hues. It cannot be described in human terms. The light rises out of the stone as mist may rise out of a lake it almost looks as if the stone is covered by a moist cloud, but it is light. This light each year behaves differently. Sometimes it covers just the stone, while other times it gives light to the whole sepulchre, so that people who stand outside the tomb and look into it will see it filled with light. The light does not burn I have never had my beard burnt in all the sixteen years I have been Patriarch in Jerusalem and have received the Holy Fire. The light is of a different consistency than normal fire that burns in an oil lamp.

"At a certain point the light rises and forms a column in which the fire is of a different nature, so that I am able to light my candles from it. When I thus have received the flame on my candles, I go out and give the fire first to the Armenian Patriarch and then to the Coptic. Hereafter I give the flame to all people present in the Church."

The Symbolic Meaning of the Miracle

"How do you yourself experience the miracle and what does it mean to your spiritual life?"

"The miracle touches me just as deeply every single year. Every time it is another step towards conversion for me. For me personally it is of great comfort to consider Christs faithfulness towards us, which he displays by giving us the holy flame every year in spite of our human frailties and failures. We experience many wonders in our Churches, and miracles are nothing strange to us. It happens often that icons cry, when Heaven wants to display its closeness to us; also we have saints, to whom God gives many spiritual gifts. But none of these miracles have such a penetrating and symbolic meaning for us as the miracle of the Holy Fire. The miracle is almost like a sacrament. It makes the resurrection of Christ present to us as if he had died only a few years ago."

While the patriarch is inside the chapel kneeling in front of the stone, there is darkness but far from silence outside. One hears a rather loud mumbling, and the atmosphere is very tense. When the Patriarch comes out with the two candles lit and shinning brightly in the darkness, a roar of jubilee resounds in the Church, comparable only to a goal at a soccer-match.

The Miracle Leads to Faith

The miracle is not confined to what actually happens inside the little tomb, where the Patriarch prays. What may be even more significant, is that the blue light is reported to appear and be active outside the tomb. Every year many believers claim that this miraculous light ignites candles, which they hold in their hands, of its own initiative. All in the church wait with candles in the hope that they may ignite spontaneously. Often closed oil lamps take fire by themselves before the eyes of the pilgrims. The blue flame is seen to move in different places in the Church. A number of signed testimonies by pilgrims, whose candles lit spontaneously, attest to the validity of these ignitions. The person who experiences the miracle from a close distance by having the fire on the candle or seeing the blue light usually leaves Jerusalem changed, and for everyone having attended the ceremony, there is always a "before and after" the Miracle of the Holy Fire in Jerusalem.

Unknown in the West

One can ask the question why the Miracle of the Holy Fire is hardly known in Western Europe. In the Protestant areas it may to a certain extent be explained by the fact that there is no real tradition for miracles; people dont really know in which box to place the miracles, and they dont take up much space in newspapers. But in the Catholic tradition there is vast interest for miracles. Thus, why is it not more known? For this it only one explanation suffices: Church politics. Only the Orthodox Churches attend the ceremony framing the miracle. It only occurs on the orthodox Easter date and without the presence of any Catholic authorities. By certain Orthodox this evidence proves the notion that the Orthodox Church is the only legitimate Church of Christ in the world, and this assertion obviously may cause certain apprehensions in Catholic circles.

The Question of the Authenticity of the Miracle

As with any other miracle there are people who believe it is fraud and nothing but a masterpiece of Orthodox propaganda. They believe the Patriarch has a lighter inside of the tomb. These critics, however, are confronted with a number of problems. Matches and other means of ignition are recent inventions. Only a few hundred years ago lighting a fire was an undertaking that lasted much longer than the few minutes during which the Patriarch is inside the tomb. One then could perhaps say, he had an oil lamp burning inside, from which he kindled the candles, but the local authorities confirm to have checked the tomb and found no light inside it.

The biggest arguments against a fraud, however, are not the testimonies of the shifting patriarchs. The biggest challenges confronting the critics are the thousands of independent testimonies by pilgrims whose candles were lit spontaneously in front of their eyes without any possible explanation. According to our investigations, it has never been possible to film any of the candles or oillamps igniting by themselves. However, I am in the possession of a video filmed by a young engineer from Bethlehem, Souhel Nabdiel. Mr. Nabdiel has been present at the ceremony of the Holy Fire since his early childhood. In 1996 he was asked to film the ceremony from the balcony of the dome of the Church. Present with him on the balcony were a nun and four other believers. The nun stood at the right hand of Nabdiel. On the video one can see how he films down on the crowds. At a certain point all lights are turned off it is time for the Patriarch to enter the tomb and take the Holy Fire. While he is still inside the tomb one suddenly hears a scream of surprise and wonder originating from the nun standing next to Nabdiel. The camera begins to shake, as one hears the excited voices of the other people present on the balcony. The camera now turns to the right, whereby it is possible to contemplate the cause of the emotion. A big candle, held in the hand of the Russian nun, takes fire in front of all people present before the patriarch comes out of the tomb. With shaking hands she holds the candle while over and over making the sign of the Cross in awe of the potent she has witnessed. This video appears to be the closest one gets to an actual filming of the miracle.

Miracles cannot be proved

The miracle is, as most miracles are, surrounded by unexplainable factors. As Archbishop of Tiberias Alexios said when I met him in Jerusalem:

"The miracle has never been filmed and most probably never will be. Miracles cannot be proved. Faith is required for a miracle to bear fruit in the life of a person and without this act of faith there is no miracle in the strict sense. The true miracle in the Christian tradition has only one purpose: to extend the Grace of God in creation, and God cannot extend his Grace without the faith on behalf of his creatures. Therefore there can be no miracle without faith."

[TER]

Miracle of the Holy Light of Jerusalem 2011

Daniel Estrin
April 23, 2011
Associated Press

The small doorway to the traditional site of Jesus' tomb cracked open to reveal a bright flame and tens of thousands of worshippers cheered ecstatically, marking the pinnacle of Easter Week's holy fire ceremony in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

The annual ritual has been practiced for at least the last 1,200 years on the day before Easter, which celebrates Jesus' resurrection.

Worshippers of various Orthodox Christian sects packed into the Jerusalem church — Christianity's most sacred shrine and revered as the site where Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected. In the ceremony, a flame believed to be miraculously lit emanates from the tomb.

"I'm all vibrating," said Romanian pilgrim Ivan Kurnia. "It's really, really impressive."

Hours before the ceremony, local Christians and pilgrims from around the world snaked through the narrow alleyways of Jerusalem's old city and filled the small courtyard outside the church. About a thousand Israeli police officers processed the crowds through police barricades that filtered access to the church's only entrance.

Inside gathered a colorful mix of clergymen and worshippers representing the different Orthodox Christian sects — from Armenian monks in black robes and pointed hoods to Russian Orthodox women wearing turquoise headscarves.

People crammed against each other in the dimly lit, cavernous church, and police broke up scuffles. One middle-aged American woman fainted, but she remained standing because people were pressed up against her in the densely packed crowd.

Despite the suffocating crowds, the throngs waited in anticipation for the ceremony to begin, clutching bundles of 33 slim candles signifying the years of Jesus' life.

Adorned with a golden crown encrusted with jewels and religious icons, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theofilos III, entered the Edicule, the small chamber at the core of the church marking the site of Jesus' tomb. Armenian clergymen entered as well, and the door was sealed, guarded by clergymen and an Israeli policeman.

Worshippers pass flame on

Then, the door was opened to reveal candles lit with the holy fire — said to be miraculously lit and interpreted as a message to the faithful from the heavens. The precise details of the flame's source are a closely guarded secret.

The flame was quickly passed on from one bunch of candles to another, and soon the dark church was filled with worshippers holding flickering torches and waving it around their faces. Bells rang and people cheered.

"Christos has risen. I feel amazing," said a Russian Orthodox pilgrim from San Francisco who identified himself only as Igor. "It came from God, from the sky."

Police spokesman Shmuel Ben Rubi said around a thousand police officers were deployed to direct foot traffic and keep the peace. He estimated tens of thousands of worshippers were in the church.

Asaf Abras, spokesman for Jerusalem's firefighting services, said about 10 firefighters with mobile units were stationed around the church in case of emergency.

Israeli officials have been worried since the late 1990s that a fire could erupt from the church during the ritual. In 1834, pilgrims in the church panicked, a stampede ensued, and several hundred people were crushed or suffocated to death.

Precious real estate means no emergency exit

But the six Christian sects that stake claim to different sections of the church have been reluctant to build an emergency exit or a fire escape. The sects zealously guard their portions of the church and brawls have erupted in recent years when clergymen of one sect encroach on another section, even when only sweeping the floor. None of the sects wants to give up an inch of precious real estate in the church to construct a second exit.

After the holy fire ceremony, the flame was immediately taken from the church and past an Israeli military barrier into the Palestinian Authority-controlled city of Bethlehem where it was received at the Church of the Nativity, the traditional site of Jesus' birthplace.

Palestinian Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad attended another holy fire ceremony in a central square in Ramallah, the seat of his government in the West Bank.

In the Gaza Strip, about fifty Christian worshippers attended a mass in one of Gaza's two churches.

[BlackTerrel]

This is pretty awesome. Would love to go one day.

[TER]

This is pretty awesome. Would love to go one day.

Me too, BT. Maybe we might plan a pilgrimage together one year!

[TER]

[TER]

30 minute video about the Holy Light

This 30 minute (multilingually subtitled) video contains testimonies and evidence about the miracle of the holy fire that does not burn. People narrate their experiences and we see video of the event…You can find more information about this miracle, which happens EVERY year, here: http://www.holyfire.org/eng/

[TER]

Today in Jerusalem the Holy Light, known in the West as Holy Fire, once again descended into the Tomb of Christ as Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem knelt in prayer within the Holy Sepulchre. With 33 candles in each hand he distributed the Holy Light to all the faithful, amidst great joy and celebration.

[TER]

Thousands of believers including Georgian pilgrims have witnessed the miracle of Holy Fire entering the Church of Holy Sepulture in Jerusalem. Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III brought out the holy fire.

Georgian pilgrims will bring Holy Fire to Georgia late at night, that will be spread to all temples during Easter Liturgy and believers will then be able to take it home.

The miraculous appearance of the Holy Fire occurs at different times. Sometimes it occurred immediately; sometimes several hours were needed for fire to come down.

The ceremony surrounding The Miracle of the Holy Fire may be the oldest unbroken Christian ceremony in the world. From the fourth century AD all the way up to our own time, sources recall the awe-awakening potent. From these sources it becomes clear that the miracle has been celebrated on the same spot, on the same feast day, and in the same liturgical frames throughout all these centuries. It is considered that if the fire doesn’t appear, it will be bad sign for the mankind and the temple itself will be ruined.

When the Greek Patriarch receives the flame on his candles, he gives the fire first to the Armenian Patriarch and then to the Coptic. Hereafter he gives the flame to all people present in the Church. The miracle first occurred in the 3rd century.

[RJB]

Thank you for these intimate glimpses into the Orthodox Faith.

[TER]

Thank you for these intimate glimpses into the Orthodox Faith.

You are welcome my brother. One day, I hope to go there. Jerusalem is a very holy place and everyone I know who has made a pilgrimage there have fascinating stories to tell!

[Miss Annie]

TER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is one of the MOST AMAZING things I have ever seen or heard of!! How beautiful!! Oh how I would love to be there!!

I had no idea! I had never heard of this before!! Thank you so much for sharing!!

WOOOOOOWWWWW!!!! The power of the Lord and the miraculous ways he encourages and uplifts his followers never ceases to amaze me!!

[TER]

One year, we will have to have a pilgrimage with some of the RPFers and celebrate Easter in Jerusalem.

[Terry1]

One year, we will have to have a pilgrimage with some of the RPFers and celebrate Easter in Jerusalem.

I want to go to Tinos.

[TER]

I want to go to Tinos.

We can celebrate Bright Week (the week after Pascha) in Greece on the way back home.

[TER]

Holy Fire Ceremony Draws Thousands in Jerusalem

JERUSALEM April 19, 2014 (AP)

By IAN DEITCH Associated Press
Associated Press

The dark hall inside Christianity's holiest shrine was illuminated with the flames from thousands of candles on Saturday as worshippers participated in the holy fire ceremony, a momentous spiritual event in Orthodox Easter rites.

Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected at the site where the Church of the Holy Sepulcher now stands in the Old City of Jerusalem. While the source of the holy fire is a closely guarded secret, believers say the flame appears spontaneously from his tomb on the day before Easter to show Jesus has not forgotten his followers.

The ritual dates back at least 1,200 years.

Thousands of Christians waited outside the church for it to open Saturday morning. Custody of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is shared by a number of denominations that jealously guard their responsibilities under a fragile network of agreements hammered out over the last millennia. In accordance with tradition, the church's doors were unlocked by a member of a Muslim family, who for centuries has been the keeper of the ancient key that is passed on within the family from generation to generation.

Once inside, clergymen from the various Orthodox denominations in robes and hoods jostled for space with local worshippers and pilgrims from around the world.

Top Orthodox clergymen descended into the small chamber marking the site of Jesus' tomb as worshippers eagerly waited in the dim church clutching bundles of unlit candles and torches.

After a while, candles emerged lit with "holy fire" — said to have been lit by a miracle as a message to the faithful from heaven.

Bells rang as worshippers rushed to use the flames to ignite their own candles.

In mere seconds, the bursts of light spread throughout the cavernous church as flames jumped from one candle to another. Clouds of smoke wafted through the crammed hall as flashes from cameras and mobile phones documented what is for many, the spiritual event of a lifetime.

Some held light from the "holy fire" to their faces to bask in the glow while others dripped wax on their bodies.Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri said tens of thousands of worshippers participated in the ceremony.

Many couldn't fit inside the church and the narrow winding streets of the Old City were lined with pilgrims.

The "holy fire" was passed among worshippers outside the Church and then taken to the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, where tradition holds Jesus was born, and from there to other Christian communities in Israel and the West Bank.

Later it is taken aboard special flights to Athens and other cities, linking many of the 200 million Orthodox worldwide.

[TER]

Miraculous Holy Fire lit in Jerusalem, to be delivered worldwide

Published time: April 19, 2014 15:47
RT
link here

Thousands of Christians have gathered in Jerusalem to light torches and candles from a holy flame that 'miraculously' emerged from the tomb of Jesus in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on the eve of Orthodox Easter.

The Holy Fire ignites, apparently of its own accord, from the tomb of Jesus Christ at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. It has been descending on the church for more than 1,500 years and it is believed that the year in which it doesn’t light will be the last year in the history of man.

The fire descends on Jerusalem during a prayer by the Patriarch of Jerusalem and All Palestine, who then passes the flame to pilgrims. The pilgrims light 33 candles –that have all been tied together - from the fire to symbolize every year of Christ’s life.

As the fire doesn’t burn during the first moments after its appearance, pilgrims wash their faces and heads in it, apparently suffering no injury.

A delegation from the St. Andrews foundation will be taking the Holy Fire from Jerusalem to Moscow and dozens of Russian cities - from Sevastopol to Yakutsk, in addition to other Orthodox churches abroad, including Rome and Tallinn.

A special flight to bring the flame to Moscow will leave from Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, arriving in the Russian capital at 10:30 pm local time.

Worshippers hold candles as they take part in the Christian Orthodox Holy Fire ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City April 19, 2014 (Reuters / Amir Cohen)

Worshippers hold candles as they take part in the Christian Orthodox Holy Fire ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City April 19, 2014 (Reuters / Amir Cohen)

This year marks the eleventh consecutive Easter that The Holy Fire, which symbolizes the miraculous light of the Resurrection, is being brought to Russia from Israel.

This year it will be taken for the first time to Crimea, the former Ukrainian region that became part of Russia in March.

The flame, described by Orthodox Christians as an annual miracle, was lit on Holy Saturday – the day preceding Orthodox Easter - after Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem delivered his prayer.

In the morning the room had been carefully checked for any possible sources of fire. After this, the room was sealed in the presence of Israeli police.

The patriarch then passed the fire over to believers.

Although the Holy Fire has been a major Eastern Orthodox ritual for so long, Western Catholic and Protestant churches do not recognize the practice.

[Terry1]

We can celebrate Bright Week (the week after Pascha) in Greece on the way back home.

I'm ready!

[heavenlyboy34]

We can celebrate Bright Week (the week after Pascha) in Greece on the way back home.

oooh! I wanna go!

[westkyle]

I am familiar with some recent miracles from other spiritual traditions, but this is the first time I have heard of this. Thank you.

[Terry1]

oooh! I wanna go!

We wouldn't leave you behind, we need someone to smuggle the Ouzo.

[TER]

Nice article in The Economist. link here

The fire every time

Apr 20th 2014, 11:36 by B.C.


WATER, soil, wind, the sun, salt... in religious language, all the primordial elements of human experience have taken on new layers of meaning, as prophets, preachers and scribes down the ages, inspired or otherwise, struggled to express their intimations of the divine. Often the same element (water, for example) has two or more opposing meanings, standing either for nurturing or for retribution. And so it is with fire.

Over this weekend, more than a billion Christians round the world are proclaiming their belief in the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth; this happens to be one of the years when the Christian West and the Christian East (which use different computational systems) are marking their faith's defining event on the same Sunday. And especially for Christians of the East, one of the defining symbols of Easter is fire—not the fire of retribution but the redeeming, death-conquering power of a God-man who, they believe, freely submitted to all the trials besetting humanity, including mortality, and overcame them.

And fire, if you think about it, has many associations besides punitive destruction: it can spread over any distance, it can penetrate many obstacles, it can bring light to the darkest and deepest of places—and it has an effect on the objects and people it approaches that varies a lot depending on the recipient's condition. It can warm, illumine and ignite new flames in an almost endless chain of transmission. No wonder religions (including pre-Christian ones, and very modern ones like the Olympic movement) have had a lot to say about fire.

All that by way of introduction to the fire that has somehow emerged from Jerusalem's Holy Sepulchre, the traditional burial place of Jesus, almost every Easter Saturday since early Christian times. For the local Christians and pilgrims from many countries who crowd into the Sepulchre for the ritual, it's a powerful, exhilarating experience and also a little frightening. Western visitors, like the British consuls who observed it in the 19th century, have dismissed it as an exotic and dangerous show; there was a fatal stampede in 1834. But for participants, it can be an overwhelming moment, generating enough transcendental experiences to occupy an army of religion scholars. People report that their candles ignite spontaneously, they say they can brush the flame against their faces with no effect, and that the flame seems to glow a mysterious blue, not yellow-white.

Then the flame (or rather lamps lit with the flame) is transmitted and transported across the world, in ways that reflect shifting earthly realities. To bring the flame the few miles to his native Bethlehem, the region's largest concentration of Christians, Father Issa Muslieh (pictured above) has to negotiate a wall and an Israeli checkpoint (pictured right); not many other Bethlehemites get permits to attend the ceremony in Jerusalem. Once the flame reaches their town, it is marched through the streets by scouts playing bagpipes and received with exuberance in local churches.

As in all recent years, the flame was whisked by air to Russia by an organisation with close presidential ties; this year it is also being taken to Crimea in celebration of its annexation. In Athens, a row broke out after a sceptical writer, Nikos Dimou, complained over the public funds that are used to air-lift the flame to Greece "with honours befitting a head of state", escorted by a government minister. Presumably the faithful managed to celebrate Easter before the age of air travel, added Stelios Kouloglou, another well-known journalist. But Mr Dimou resigned from a newly founded political movement after his words earned him a rebuke.

Meanwhile, in other places where the Jerusalem flame cannot easily be air-lifted, there were equally impressive celebrations as candle light cascaded through darkened churches and exhausted but eager choirs sang hymns like "Shine, shine, O New Jerusalem, the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you." In Damascus, Easter ceremonies were decently attended despite the muffled shell-fire in the background. In Kiev, Easter messages were mingled in some cases with denunciations of Moscow. In the Turkish-controlled Cypriot port of Famagusta, the holding of a Good Friday ceremony for the first time in over half a century offered a glimmer of inter-communal hope. And in the Ulster Protestant stronghold of Ballymena, Erasmus can report, about 200 Romanian migrants lit one another's candles at midnight with nostalgic pleasure. The flame remains the same, but the world it touches keeps changing.

[Sola_Fide]

I don't believe any of this.

[Nang]

I don't believe any of this.

Me either . . it only makes me think of Revelation 13:13-14.

[TER]

Thank you both for the bump!

Exodus 15:11 Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders!

[Sola_Fide]

Me either . . it only makes me think of Revelation 13:13-14.

Yes. It takes true discernment to know what are false signs.

[Sola_Fide]

Thank you both for the bump!

Exodus 15:11 Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders!

...

Mark 13:22

For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

[eduardo89]

I don't believe any of this.

[TaftFan]

I don't suppose anyone had a camera with them and took a picture, did they?