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Where the sacred fire burns. The Shocking Truth About the Holy Fire in Jerusalem

God gave the whole world a great sign of the truth of the Orthodox faith - the Holy Fire in Jerusalem, which appears from heaven in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on the last day of Holy Week, before Easter. A sign of God's grace to the Orthodox Church - the fire at Easter in Jerusalem appeared during the life of the first apostles.

Every year, thousands of people come to Jerusalem to be present at the Descent of a bright Light, from which candles sometimes ignite themselves. Millions of viewers around the world are waiting with bated breath for God's miracle.

What is Holy Fire

The Holy Fire, translated from Greek, means the Holy Light, which arises over the Holy Sepulcher at different times, but its appearance invariably on Holy Saturday before Easter.

Descent of the Holy Fire in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem

The Light of God, taken out of Kuvuklia before the celebration of Easter, is a symbol of the resurrected Jesus Christ for all Christians.

The Apostle Peter was the first to see the non-hand-made Light when he ran into an empty tomb. It was night, but Peter was struck by the bright radiance he saw emanating from the Tomb of Jesus Christ.

The uniqueness of the Holy Fire lies in the fact that in the first minutes after the descent it does not burn.

Many people who are in Jerusalem at this time are truly washed by fire, accepting the grace of the resurrected Son of God.

Descent of the Holy Fire in Jerusalem

Church of the Holy Sepulcher: history and modern style

The territory of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is represented by a whole complex of architectural buildings, which include:

  • Golgotha ​​and the place of the Crucifixion;
  • Edicule;
  • Katholikon - the cathedral, intended for the Jerusalem patriarchs;
  • Temple of the Finding of the Life-Giving Cross, located underground;
  • Cathedral of Saint Helena;
  • monasteries;
  • galleries.

God's love united different churches in one territory. The Jerusalem Orthodox Church leads services in its shrines, Golgotha, Edicule and Katholikon. Order of St. Francis possesses a Franciscan church and an altar of nails. The Armenian Apostolic Church presides in the Cathedral of St. Helena, the chapel of the "Three Marys".

The Ethiopian Church conducts services over the grave of St. Joseph and an altar located on the western side of Kuvuklia. The wall enclosing the Temple from the whole city was built by Sultan Suleiman even before the time when Orthodox Christians appeared there. Calvary - a rock, a place of suffering and the Crucifixion of Jesus, in those ancient times was located outside the walls of the city.

The Holy Tomb - the cave in which the Savior was buried, is located a few meters from Golgotha. Initially, it had two chambers - the entrance and the burial room itself, in which there was a bed - an arcosolium, a place of ritual burials.

In the fourth century, Equal-to-the-Apostles Helena ordered that two shrines be covered with vaults of the Basilica, which now bears the name of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Temple of the Thunder of the Lord in Jerusalem

The chapel of Kuvukliy, or in translation - the royal bedchamber, "covers" the burial cave of Jesus. Nowhere else in the world is there such a chapel, Cuvuklia is a unique place on earth that keeps memories of the King of kings, the Lord of lords, who was buried and resurrected in this place.

As in ancient times, there are two chambers in Edicule, in the first one you can see a large bed - arcosolium, the entrance room is known in the modern world as the Angel's Chapel. In the Angel's Chapel, a part of a stone block is kept, which an angel rolled off. It was from this stone that the Angel sitting on it addressed the women who brought the world to the tomb of the Teacher.

Church of the Holy Sepulcher - a modern view of Golgotha

The history of the convergence of the Holy Fire

The history of the Church keeps all the information about the descent of the Holy Fire for several centuries.

  • The Jerusalem church, according to the evidence described in the Lectionary, as early as the fifth century began its Sabbath services only after the Evening Light appeared.
  • In the ninth century, according to the testimony of the pilgrim Bernard the Monk (867), the appearance of the Holy Light is perceived as a miracle of God. According to the description of the pilgrim, during the morning church service, as soon as, according to the charter of the church, “Lord, have mercy” was pronounced, the lamps located above the Sepulcher were lit by an angel, without outside help. The Holy Light was transmitted by Patriarch Theodosius, known for his piety, through the bishop to all the people, who carried the Fire to their homes.
  • From the tenth to twelfth centuries, much more memories of the spontaneous combustion of candles and lamps over the Holy Sepulcher have been preserved just at the time when the room was completely abandoned by people, they all stand outside the Temple. The Emir of Jerusalem in the tenth century received the Holy Fire, which descended from lightning, standing outside the temple, as reported by Metropolitan Kesari Arfa.
  • According to the testimony of the Byzantine cleric Nikita, who visited Jerusalem in 947, the Divine Radiance appeared after long prayers. During the service, the archbishop looked into the Holy Sepulcher several times, but did not find the Radiance there. After that, he stood for several hours with his hands raised high, following the example of Moses in prayer to Jesus Christ, and only at six o'clock in the evening did the Divine Light begin to be seen through the Angel's Chapel.
  • For the first time, a description of the Jerusalem miracle in Russian was made by Abbot Daniel in the twelfth century. According to the testimony of the Abbot, at that time there was still no roof over Kuvuklia. All the people present at the morning service stood under the open sky, from which it suddenly began to rain, lightning shone terribly, illuminating everything around, and the Holy Light came down, from which all the lamps lit up by themselves.
  • In 1420, Hierodeacon Zosim, a representative of Sergievsky Posad, wrote about his presence at the invisible lighting of a lamp with many candles, standing in the center of the Temple.
  • During his journey to Jerusalem in 1708, Hieromonk Hippolytus was present at the descent of Heavenly Light, but was indignant at the behavior, according to him, of the Urmen heretics. Most likely, these were the Arabs, who are still behaving very loudly in the Temple of the Lord.
  • Minister of Education Abraham Norov was present in the chapel, standing in the Angel's Chapel, waiting for a miracle. In 1835, according to his recollections, all the candles were extinguished in the room, only weak illumination came into the Aisle through the cracks from the outside. The entrance to Kuvukliya had no doors, so the minister saw how the Armenian bishop, who was honored to accept the miracle, stood in prayer in front of the absolutely clean surface of the Tomb. Everyone was frozen in unsettling silence both inside and outside the buildings. Literally a few minutes later, a bright light illuminated the chapel, the Metropolitan brought out a flaming bunch of candles, there are 33 of them.
  • Archbishop Gabriel, who worked in Jerusalem in 1967-1968 with the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission, shared his impressions. Being directly near the entrance to the Angel's Chapel, after the Patriarch came out with the candles of the Holy Fire, the Russian archbishop literally "dived" to the Coffin and saw the Tongues of Flame on the marble. Blue, heavenly fire literally spilled over the entire surface of the Tomb, Gabriel began to wash himself with it.
Important! In the first minutes of Its appearance, the Holy Fire does not burn anyone.

Litany of the Holy Light

Every year, on Holy Saturday, the entire Christian world, with bated breath, awaits the miracle of the appearance of the Holy Fire. The temple ceremony or litany of the Holy Light begins on Saturday morning. Pilgrims, and among Orthodox Christians there are atheists, Muslims, believers of other faiths, from the early morning take a turn.

In the Temple of the Lord, all the candles are extinguished, this is strictly monitored by representatives of different churches. After verification, Kuvuklia is sealed with a large seal by the keeper of the keys, who is a Muslim.

There are three groups of people whose presence is mandatory in the process of preparing for the descent of the Holy Fire. The Lord chose the Patriarch of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church to be present at the sacrament of the appearance of the Holy Fire.

Important! Only a representative of the Orthodox Church can receive the Holy Light, and this is not the choice of Orthodoxy itself. This is God's choice.

Representatives of the Armenian Church in 1579, by agreement with the mayor, entered the temple, leaving the Orthodox priesthood behind the doors of the temple. For a long time the Armenian representatives prayed, but the Light did not descend. Orthodox priests were also in tremulous prayer. Suddenly, a strong thunder sounded in the Temple, the column standing to the left of the entrance door to Kuvuklia cracked, and Fire appeared from there, lighting the candles at the Orthodox Patriarch.

Traces of this miracle can be seen to this day.

Traces of the Holy Fire in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher

Since that time, no one was willing to challenge the right of the Orthodox Church to receive the Holy Fire. Representatives of various Christian denominations may be present at the appearance of the Grace of God - the descent of God's Fire. They receive the Holy Light from candles lit by the Jerusalem Orthodox Patriarch.

The second group of people, without whose presence the miracle of the descent of Light does not occur, is monasticism, representing the Lavra of St. Savva the Sanctified. This tradition dates back to 614, when 14,000 monks died at the hands of the Persian conquerors. Currently, 14 monks constantly serve in the Lavra.

Many pilgrims are surprised and even outraged by the loud behavior of Arab Christians. The guys sit on top of each other and loudly praise God, dance. The timing of this tradition is not known, but when the Arabs were banned from the Temple during English rule, the Fire did not appear until the Arab youths were allowed to perform their rituals.

Arab Christians Praise God

Despite the weather, even on sunny days, from 9 o'clock in the morning, pilgrims can hear sounds resembling thunder. In some years, around noon, the temple and the courtyard begin to light up with heavenly lightning, which are harbingers of the descent of the Holy Light.

At this time, the prayers of the Arab youth are loudly heard. Close to 13.00, the litany begins, during which the clergy, led by His Beatitude the Patriarch of Jerusalem, bypass Kuvukliya three times, stopping in front of its entrance.

The patriarch is exposed to the underwear, sometimes there is a demonstrative search, showing that His Beatitude does not have the means to light a fire.

In the strongest excitement, the Patriarch enters Kuvukliya, kneels down and lifts up a prayer of petition to God, on which it depends whether the Lord will have mercy on His people. The air is saturated with hope and anxiety, and when the excitement reaches its peak, the air is pierced by frequent flashes of heavenly color, the bright Holy Light literally breaks out of Kuvuklia, from 33 candles lit by God himself, transmitted by the Patriarch. Fire spreads in fiery streams throughout the Temple and beyond. People rejoice, dance, sing.

His Beatitude Patriarch of Jerusalem

Many pilgrims testify that at this moment they felt a real purification, like a second birth.

Miracles of the Holy Light

Repeatedly, during their stay in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, after washing with the Holy Light, people receive healing. Surveillance cameras recorded the complete cleansing of the man's face, disfigured by festering wounds that practically “ate” his ear. The miracle of healing consisted in the fact that literally before the eyes of those present, the face was cleansed, and the ear took on its natural form.

The second case of a temple miracle occurred with a man who, after washing, both eyesores disappeared, because of them the man was practically blind.

Bright lightning and the Holy Light did not harm a single person, did not singe a single hair. Only the flowing wax from candles, which is called dew drops, leaves a trace, it cannot be washed off with any powders.

Representatives of various faiths, having received the Holy Fire, rush to deliver it to their countries.

Descent of the Holy Fire in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher

Every year, with the advent of Easter, the Orthodox public is seized with a craving for miracles. And once again such a miracle is shown to her - the descent of the Holy Fire. With live broadcast of federal Russian channels. The functionaries of the St. Andrew the First-Called Foundation organize the distribution of the Holy Fire on an all-Russian scale.

The fact that the Holy Fire is the work of human hands has been said more than once, starting from the early Middle Ages. The first debunkers of the miracle were, of course, Muslims who were interested in discrediting Christianity (and Muslims owned Jerusalem for a little less than twelve centuries - from 637 to 1917 with two breaks). Islamic theologians and travelers have left such testimonies.

Ibn-al-Kalanisi (mid-12th century): “When they are there for Easter ... they hang lamps in the altar and arrange a trick so that the fire reaches them through the oil of the balsam tree and accessories from it, and its property is the appearance of fire when combined with jasmine oil. It has a bright light and brilliant radiance. They manage to pass a stretched iron wire between adjacent lamps… and rub it with balsam oil, hiding it from their eyes… When they pray and the time of descent comes, the doors of the altar open… They enter and light many candles… Some of those standing try to bring the fire closer to the thread , he ... goes through all the lamps from one to another until he lights everything. Whoever looks at this thinks that fire has descended from heaven ... "

Al-Jawbari (first half of the 13th century): “The fact is that at the top of the dome there is an iron box connected to a chain on which it is suspended. It is fortified in the very vault of the dome, and no one sees it... And when the evening of the Sabbath of light comes, the monk rises to the casket and puts sulfur in it... and under it is fire, calculated until the hour when he needs the descent of light. He anoints the chain with balsam oil, and when the time comes, the fire ignites the composition at the junction of the chain with this attached casket. The balsam oil collects at this point and begins to flow down the circuit down to the lamp. The fire touches the wick of the lamp ... and lights it.

Ibn-al-Jawzi (mid-13th century): “I studied how the lamp is lit on Sunday - the feast of light ... When the sun sets and becomes dark, one of the priests takes advantage of inattention, opens a niche in the corner of the chapel, where no one sees him, lights his candle from one of the lamps and exclaims: “The light came down and Christ had mercy”…”

The “moving marble icon” mentioned by the governor Misail closes the “niche in the corner of the chapel”, about which Ibn al-Jauzi wrote six centuries earlier.

Of course, for a Christian, the testimony of a non-Christian is not expensive. But even in the Christian world, the attitude towards the miracle of the Holy Fire was also skeptical in places. In 1238, Pope Gregory IX refused to recognize its miraculous nature, and since then the Roman Catholic Church has been of the opinion that the Holy Fire is the "tricks of Eastern schismatics."

Orthodox hierarchs themselves avoid making statements about the nature of the Holy Fire, giving “ordinary people” an opportunity to speak out. But even people of a spiritual rank wrote about the man-made fire. So, the founder and first head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, Bishop Porfiry (Uspensky), wrote down two stories: “Hierodeacon, having climbed into the chapel of the Sepulcher at a time when, according to common belief, the Holy Fire descends, he saw with horror that the fire was lit simply from the lamp which never goes out, and so the Holy Fire is not a miracle. He himself told me about this today, ”according to Hierodeacon Gregory, "The Book of My Genesis", part 1.

“When the famous master of Syria and Palestine, Ibrahim, Pasha of Egypt, was in Jerusalem ... This pasha took it into his head to make sure that fire really suddenly and miraculously appeared on the lid of the Tomb of Christ ... What did he do? He announced to the deputies of the patriarch that he liked to sit in the cuvuklia itself while receiving the fire and vigilantly watch how he was, and added that in case of truth they would be given 5,000 pungs (2,500,000 piastres), and in case of a lie, let them give to him all the money collected from deceived fans, and that he will publish in all the newspapers of Europe about the vile forgery. The governors of Petroarabia, Misail, and the Nazarene Metropolitan Daniel, and the Philadelphian Bishop Dionysius (now of Bethlehem) agreed to consult what to do. During the minutes of the meetings, Misail confessed that he was lighting a fire in the cuvuklia from the lamp, hidden behind the moving marble icon of the Resurrection of Christ, which is right next to the Holy Sepulcher.

After this confession, it was decided to humbly ask Ibrahim not to interfere in religious affairs, and the dragoman of the Holy Sepulcher Monastery was sent to him, who made it appear to him that it was of no use to his lordship to reveal the secrets of Christian worship and that the Russian Emperor Nicholas would be very dissatisfied with the discovery of these secrets. Ibrahim Pasha, having heard this, waved his hand and fell silent ... Having told all this, the Metropolitan added that God alone is expected to stop (our) pious lies. As he knows and can, so he will calm the peoples who now believe in the fiery miracle of the great Saturday. And we can’t even begin this revolution in the minds, we will be torn to pieces at the very chapel of the Holy Sepulcher ... ”- from the words Metropolitan Dionysius, "The Book of My Genesis", part 3.

We already have evidence Theophilus, Patriarch of Jerusalem- in whose jurisdiction is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. In April 2008, while receiving a delegation from the St. Andrew the First-Called Foundation, he, among other things, answered the question about the nature of the Holy Fire. This is how Deacon Andrei Kuraev, who participated in the meeting, describes it: “His answer about the Holy Fire was no less frank: “This is a ceremony that is a representation, like all other ceremonies of Holy Week. Just as once the Easter message from the tomb shone and illuminated the whole world, so now in this ceremony we make a representation of how the message of the resurrection from the cuvuklia spread throughout the world. Neither the word "miracle", nor the word "descent", nor the words "blessed fire" were in his speech. He probably could not have been more frank about the lighter in his pocket.

Why do the Fathers of the Church refuse to recognize the man-made nature of fire and continue to talk about "an unusual and wonderful phenomenon"? Apparently, they see a miracle as a means of strengthening faith and increasing the number of the flock. Meanwhile, true faith has no reasons and, as a result, does not need miracles as a means of strengthening. A few years ago, representatives of the Foundation for Christian Education and Mercy named after St. Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky) turned to Patriarch Kirill with a request to give a "theological, liturgical and historical assessment of both the "fire of the Great Saturday" kindled in Jerusalem, and the widespread practice of its excessive veneration during the celebration of the Bright Resurrection of Christ." There was no answer.

The secret of the place.Edicule is not the Holy Sepulcher at all

Whatever the nature of the Holy Fire, it may be of value just because it was lit at the Holy Sepulcher. The problem, however, is that Kuvuklia is not the Holy Sepulcher at all.

As you know, after being removed from the cross, the body of the Savior was placed in a cave located on a site that belonged to Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin, a friend of Pilate and a secret follower of Christ. Joseph bought this plot in the gardens outside the city wall for the future burial of his family members, but by the time of the crucifixion no one had yet been buried there.

In the year 41 - less than 10 years after the crucifixion of Jesus - Herod Agrippa started another expansion of Jerusalem. By the year 44, both the Holy Sepulcher and all the burials closest to it were inside the new - third - city wall. Since, according to the then Jewish ideas, the cemetery could not be located inside the city, the burials were moved to a new place, and the vacant territory began to be intensively built up.

In the year 66 - 33 years after the crucifixion of Jesus, the famous Jewish War began, which was an intricate combination of the liberation war of the Jews against the Romans and the civil war of the Jews among themselves - the secarii with the Zealots engaged in mutual extermination, killing along the way everyone who fell under the arm. During civil strife, they burned most of Jerusalem. The Romans, who took the city, broke the little that remained. Even then, the location of the Holy Sepulcher could only be indicated very approximately. But this was not the end of the matter.

In 132, the Bar Kokhba uprising broke out. In 135 it was suppressed. Jerusalem was once again burned, and its population - including those who could keep the memory of the location of the Holy Sepulcher - was slaughtered. After that, under pain of death, Jews were forbidden to even approach the place where the city was located. The very name Jerusalem was forbidden. On its ruins, by order of the emperor Publius Elius Hadrian, a new city of Elia Capitolina began to be built. The area between the remains of the second and third walls was set aside for the construction of barracks. The area was leveled - the elevations were cut off, the recesses were covered, the space between the buildings was paved with stone. On the site where once - presumably - was the Holy Sepulcher, the temple of Venus was built, next to it was the central street of the new city - Cardo Maximus.

Was it possible after all this to find the burial place of Christ?

Empress Elena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, the founder of the Byzantine Empire, decided that it was possible. In 325, she organized excavations aimed at finding the Holy Sepulcher. In 326, a cave was discovered, which was decided to be considered the Holy Sepulcher.

On the site of the Holy Sepulcher, or rather, above this place, an impressive temple complex was built. But in 637, the Muslims captured Jerusalem. For more than three years they demonstrated incredible religious tolerance, but in 1009 the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was destroyed, and the Holy Sepulcher itself was completely destroyed: a small stone elevation with a niche - the very cave where the body of Christ once rested - was split into many stones, stones broken into rubble, rubble crushed into dust, dust scattered in the wind ...

Thus, it is not known whether Empress Elena found the place, and if so, it means that the real Holy Sepulcher was destroyed ten centuries ago.

Maxim Troshichev

The descent of the Holy Fire takes place every year on Great Saturday, on the eve of the Orthodox Easter. An early evidence of the convergence of fire in Jerusalem dates back to the 4th century and belongs to the pilgrim Etheria. The fire descends only on the eve of Easter, celebrated according to the old, Julian calendar, and we know that the celebration of the Resurrection of Christ falls on different days every year. The Holy Fire descends only through the prayers of the Orthodox Patriarch.

Jerusalem Church of the Resurrection covers Mount Golgotha ​​with its roof, and the cave of the Holy Sepulcher, and the garden where the first appearance of the resurrected Christ the Savior to Mary Magdalene took place. This temple was erected in the 4th century by the holy emperor Constantine and his mother, Saint Helena.

In our days, the miracle of the descent of heavenly fire takes place like this. Around noon, the Patriarch of Jerusalem with the clergy and those praying in the procession goes from the Patriarchate to the Church of the Resurrection. The procession enters the temple and, having three times bypassed the chapel of the Holy Sepulcher, located inside the temple, stops near the entrance to it. Pilgrims from all over the world gather in the temple, all the candles and lights in the temple are extinguished.

Every year, several thousand of those present in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher see: the patriarch, whose clothes were specially examined, enters Kuvuklia, which has been checked and sealed. Every year, representatives of other Christian denominations and police officers participate in the examination of Kuvuklia, in its sealing and examination of the patriarch. The inspection is carried out to prove that the patriarch cannot bring a source of fire to Cuvuklia. This custom was established by the Turks, who took possession of Palestine in 1517. After a search in Kuvuklia, they sealed it and placed guards until the entrance of the patriarch.

The patriarch, dressed in one linen cassock, with thirty-three unlit candles in his hand, enters the chapel. On bended knee, he prays before the tomb of the Lord for the sending of the Holy Fire.

The convergence of fire is preceded by flashes in the form of bluish lightning, piercing the entire air space of the temple. Then, on the marble slab of the Holy Sepulcher, fiery balls of blue flame appear, as if in the form of drops of rain or dew. Sometimes the Holy Fire itself lights the lamps at the tomb. The patriarch lights cotton wool from them and then sets fire to candles with this fire. Leaving the chapel, he passes the fire to the Armenian Patriarch and the people. The whole temple is filled with jubilation, the fire is passed to each other, lighting it from already burning candles. People hold bundles of thirty-three candles in their hands - according to the number of years of the Savior's earthly life. The Holy Fire at first has a wonderful property - not to burn. Those standing in the temple spend the flame on their face and hair, “wash themselves”: for the first few minutes, the fire does not burn the skin and does not scorch the hair.

The miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire precisely on Orthodox Easter after the prayer of the Jerusalem Orthodox Patriarch is proof of the truth of our faith. In 1579, the Armenian community obtained from the Turkish authorities that their primate, and not the Orthodox patriarch, be allowed into the chapel. (It must be said that the Armenians, although they are Christians, distorted the Orthodox faith back in the 4th century and adhere to the Monophysite heresy, that is, they recognize in Christ only one - the Divine - nature.) The Orthodox humbly prayed at the closed doors of the temple, the Armenians were waiting for the descent of the Holy Fire in Kuvuklia. And the Lord performed a miracle: the Holy Fire descended, but not on the tomb of the Lord. Lightning struck the column next to which the Orthodox were praying, and fire came out of it. The scorched marble column still testifies to this miracle.

eyewitness account

The famous traveler Abraham Sergeevich Norov was present at the descent of the holy fire. Norov traveled to Jerusalem in 1835, was in the chapel. From the chapel, Angela saw Metropolitan Misail taking the fire: “Thus, we reached the chapel of the Holy Sepulcher in the midst of a wonderful spectacle of the people, agitated or hanging from all the arcades and cornices.

Only one of the Greek bishops entered the chapel of the Holy Sepulcher, the Bishop of Armenia (who had recently received the right to do so), the Russian consul from Jaffa, and we three travelers. The doors closed behind us. The never-extinguishing lamps over the tomb of the Lord were already extinguished, only weak illumination passed to us from the church through the side openings of the chapel. This moment is solemn: the excitement in the temple has subsided; everything was expected. We stood in the chapel of the Angel, in front of a stone that had been rolled away from the den; only the Metropolitan entered the den of the Holy Sepulcher. I have already said that the entrance there has no doors. I saw how the aged metropolitan, bowing before the low entrance, entered the nativity scene and knelt before the holy tomb, before which nothing stood and which was completely naked. Less than a minute passed, when the darkness was illuminated with light, and the Metropolitan came out to us with a flaming bunch of candles.

A scandal erupted in the Orthodox world on the eve of Easter. The Armenian priest said that the Holy Fire does not descend to people from heaven, but is lit from an ordinary lamp. According to legend, the absence of this miracle portends the imminent end of the world. What is the meaning of the Holy Fire, do the words of the priest have any basis and how did the representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church react to them - in the material "360".

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Oil Lamp Miracle

The Holy Fire is one of the main miracles for Orthodox Christians, which symbolizes the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is believed that this is a miraculous light, and on the eve of Easter, candles and lamps are lit from it in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. This is one of the main Easter ceremonies, for which thousands of pilgrims come to Jerusalem. And then one of the priests said that the miraculousness of the Holy Fire is an invention, and there is nothing mystical in it.

The representative of the Armenian Patriarchate in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher Samuil Agoyan spoke on the Israeli TV channel Hadashot 2, the Israel News website reports. The priest said that he was three times in Cuvuklia - that is, the chapel where the Holy Sepulcher is located - when the Holy Fire was lit. He saw the patriarchs lighting wax candles from an oil lamp. “God works miracles, but not for the amusement of people,” Agoyan said.

These words outraged the representative of the Coptic Church, who was nearby at the time of the interview. The priest accused Agoyan of lying and demanded to stop filming. The Armenian priest retorted that the representative of the Coptic Church cannot know how the Holy Fire descends, because the Copts are not present at this sacrament.

"360" talked with the archpriest of the Russian Orthodox Church Father Oleg, who explained that the Armenians do not go to the place where the Holy Fire descends. They stand only in the porch of the Angel - at the pedestal with a part of the sacred stone, rolled off by the angel. Representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church are also not present at the lighting of the Holy Fire.

“In general, a miracle is not something decisive in Christianity. A miracle is a crutch for the doubters. And there is a danger - when people are chasing miracles, they can run away: when the main miracle worker - the Antichrist - comes, fire will fall from heaven, ”added the clergyman.

It is believed that the day when the Holy Fire does not descend will be the last for the people who are in the temple. The temple itself will be destroyed. According to legend, this will also be one of the signs of the approaching end of the world.

Scandal before Easter

The Russian Orthodox Church considered the statement of the Armenian priest a provocation. Vakhtang Kipshidze, deputy chairman of the synodal department for relations between the Church, society and the media, told 360 that Agoyan’s words were an attempt at Easter.

We deeply regret that during Great Lent, when many believers belonging to the Orthodox Church in Russia and other countries are preparing to celebrate the great event of Easter of Christ, attempts are being made to compromise the spiritual tradition of the descent of the Holy Fire. We believe that these attempts have as a consequence the disruption of the structure of prayer, which accompanies many believers during Great Lent.

— Vakhtang Kipshidze.

Vsevolod Chaplin, Archpriest of Theodore the Studite Church at the Nikitsky Gate, said in an interview with 360 that Agoyan succumbed to the provocation of the Israeli TV channel. According to Chaplin, many want to belittle the significance of the Holy Fire. “There are forces in Israel and in the world who would like to belittle the descent of the Holy Fire in every possible way, but, on the other hand, this is not the first time that some people who serve or used to serve in Jerusalem say that the fire is lit from a lamp,” he said.

He called on the Jerusalem Patriarchate to comment on these rumors and give a clear answer as to where the Holy Fire comes from.

I am convinced that the miracle has been performed for many centuries, but if what the Armenian cleric said is true, and what I heard about the lighting of the Holy Fire from some people who served in Jerusalem is true, then a very serious question arises: did not take away whether our Lord is a miracle, seeing how the world retreats from him. If indeed the Holy Fire does not descend for many years, it means that something is wrong with our world, it means that God's grace is taken away from it.<…>If a miracle is taken away from us, then our world is doomed

— Vsevolod Chaplin.

What is the Holy Fire?

The Holy Fire descends on Holy Saturday in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This is a symbolic image of the Passion of Christ, the Burial and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The ceremony is conducted by priests of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church, the Jerusalem Patriarchate of the Armenian Apostolic Church, representatives of the Syrian and Coptic churches.

On the eve of the sacrament, all candles and lamps in the church are extinguished, and shortly before the arrival of the patriarch, the main lamp is brought in. The Holy Fire and 33 candles should flare up in it. The number of candles is equal to the age of Christ.

Dmitry Smirnov, Chairman of the Patriarchal Commission on Family Affairs, told 360 how the sacrament of the descent of the Holy Fire takes place and what events accompany it.

Those priests whom I know well, who were there on Holy Saturday, they observed such a phenomenon: fire appeared in the atmosphere of Kuvuklia in the form of lightning and aurora. And observed the self-ignition of candles. This is not at all every year, but it was told by those who went to Jerusalem for Passover. The fire was not just locally at one point, but throughout the temple

— Dmitry Smirnov.

Orthodox people come to meet the Holy Fire from all over the world. Near Kuvuklia, they, together with the clergy, are waiting for the patriarch to come out with fire. Appearing, he distributes the flame from his candle. It is believed that the fire does not burn or scorch the hair for the first few minutes, so the believers seem to wash themselves with it.

Later, the Holy Fire is delivered by plane to Orthodox countries, where it is met with honor and used in the Easter service.

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Hoping to catch the Orthodox on a fake, the city Muslim authorities placed Turkish soldiers throughout the temple, and they unsheathed scimitars, ready to cut off the head of anyone who was seen bringing in or lighting fire. However, in the entire history of Turkish rule, no one has been convicted of this. At present, the Patriarch is being examined by Jewish police officers.

Shortly before the Patriarch, the underling brings a large lamp into the cave, in which the main fire and 33 candles should flare up - according to the number of years of the Savior's earthly life. Then the Orthodox and Armenian Patriarchs (the latter is also undressed before entering the cave) enter inside. They are sealed with a large piece of wax and a red ribbon is placed on the door; Orthodox ministers put their seals. At this time, the lights turn off in the temple and there is a tense silence - waiting. Those present pray and confess their sins, asking the Lord to grant the Holy Fire.

All the people in the temple are patiently waiting for the patriarch to come out with Fire in his hands. However, in the hearts of many people there is not only patience, but also awe of expectation: in accordance with the tradition of the Jerusalem Church, it is believed that the day when the Holy Fire does not descend will be the last for the people in the Temple, and the Temple itself will be destroyed. Therefore, pilgrims usually take communion before coming to a holy place.

Prayer and ritual continue until the expected miracle happens. In different years, the agonizing wait lasts from five minutes to several hours.

Convergence

Before the descent, the temple begins to be illuminated by bright flashes of the Blessed Light, small lightning flashes here and there. In slow motion, it is clearly seen that they come from different places in the temple - from the icon hanging over Kuvuklia, from the dome of the Temple, from windows and from other places, and fill everything around with bright light. In addition, here and there, between the columns and walls of the temple, quite visible lightning flashes, which often pass without any harm through standing people.

A moment later, the whole temple turns out to be belted with lightning and glare, which snake down its walls and columns, as if flowing down to the foot of the temple and spreading over the square among the pilgrims. At the same time, candles are lit at those standing in the temple and on the square, the lamps themselves are lit, located on the sides of Kuvuklia, they light up on their own (with the exception of 13 Catholic ones), like some others within the temple. “And suddenly a drop falls on the face, and then a cry of delight and shock is heard in the crowd. Fire burns in the altar of the Katholikon! Flash and flame - like a huge flower. And Kuvuklia is still dark. Slowly, slowly, by candlelight, the fire from the altar begins to descend towards us. And then a thunderous cry makes you look back at Cuvuklia. It shines, the whole wall shimmers with silver, white lightning streams over it. The fire pulsates and breathes, and from the hole in the dome of the Temple, a vertical wide column of light descended from the sky onto the Tomb. The temple or its individual places are filled with an unparalleled radiance, which is believed to have first appeared during the Resurrection of Christ. At the same time, the doors of the Tomb open and the Orthodox Patriarch comes out, who blesses those gathered and distributes the Holy Fire.

The patriarchs themselves tell about how the Holy Fire lights up. “I saw how the Metropolitan bent over the low entrance, entered the den and knelt before the Holy Sepulcher, on which nothing stood and which was completely naked. In less than a minute, the darkness was illuminated with light and the Metropolitan came out to us with a flaming bunch of candles. Hieromonk Meletios cites the words of Archbishop Misail: “When I entered the Holy Sepulcher of the Lord, seeing that on the entire lid of the tombs, light shines, like scattered small beads, in the form of white, blue, scarlet and other flowers, which then copulated, blushed and turned into the substance of fire ... and from this fire the prepared kandila and candles are kindled.

Messengers, even when the Patriarch is in Kuvukliya, through special openings spread Fire throughout the temple, the circle of fire gradually spreads throughout the temple.

However, not everyone lights a fire from a patriarchal candle; for some, it lights up on its own. “Brighter and stronger flash of Heavenly Light. Now the Holy Fire began to fly all over the temple. It scattered with bright blue beads over Kuvukliya around the icon of the Resurrection of the Lord, and one of the lamps flared up after it. He burst into the temple chapels, to Golgotha ​​(he also lit one of the lamps on it), sparkled over the Stone of Anointing (the lamp was also lit here). Someone's candle wicks were charred, someone's lamps, bunches of candles flared up by themselves. The flashes became more and more intensified, sparks here and there spread through the bunches of candles. One of the witnesses notes how a woman standing next to him lit up candles three times, which she twice tried to extinguish.

The first time - 3-10 minutes, the ignited Fire has amazing properties - it does not burn at all, regardless of which candle and where it will be lit. You can see how the parishioners literally wash themselves with this Fire - they drive it over their faces, over their hands, scoop it up in handfuls, and it does no harm, at first it does not even scorch their hair. “He lit 20 candles in one place and burned his brother with all those candles, and not a single hair writhed or burned; and having extinguished all the candles and then lit them with other people, I lit those candles, and I also lit those candles on the third day, and then touching my wife with nothing, I didn’t scorch a single hair, nor writhed ... ”- wrote four centuries ago one of the pilgrims. The droplets of wax that fall from the candles are called the blessed dew by the parishioners. As a reminder of the Miracle of the Lord, they will remain on the clothes of witnesses forever, no powders and washings will take them.

The people who are at this time in the temple are overwhelmed with an indescribable and incomparable in its depth feeling of joy and spiritual peace. According to those who visited the square and the temple itself during the descent of fire, the depth of feelings of overwhelmed people at that moment was fantastic - eyewitnesses left the temple as if reborn, as they themselves say - spiritually cleansed and enlightened. What is especially remarkable is that even those who are uncomfortable with this God-given sign do not remain indifferent.

There are also rarer miracles. Filming on one of the videotapes testifies to the healings taking place. Visually, the camera demonstrates two such cases - in a person with a disfigured, rotting ear, a wound smeared with Fire closes up right before his eyes and the ear takes on a normal appearance, and a case of a blind man’s insight is also shown (according to external observations, a person had thorns in both eyes before “washing "Fire).

In the future, from the Holy Fire, lamps will be lit throughout Jerusalem, and the Fire will be delivered by special flights to Cyprus and Greece, from where it will be transported all over the world. Recently, direct participants in the events began to bring it to our country. In the areas of the city adjacent to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, candles and lamps in churches light up by themselves.

Is it only Orthodox?

Many non-Orthodox, when they first hear about the Holy Fire, try to reproach the Orthodox: how do you know that it was bestowed on you? But what if he was received by a representative of another Christian denomination? However, attempts by force to challenge the right to receive the Holy Fire on the part of representatives of other denominations have been and have happened more than once.

For only a few centuries, Jerusalem was under the control of Eastern Christians, but most of the time, as now, the city was ruled by representatives of other teachings that were unfriendly or even hostile to Orthodoxy.

In 1099, Jerusalem was conquered by the crusaders, the Roman and local mayors, revering the Orthodox as apostates, boldly began to trample on their rights. The English historian Stephen Runciman cites in his book the story of this chronicler of the Western Church: “The first Latin patriarch Arnold of Choquet began unsuccessfully: he ordered the expulsion of heretic sects from their limits in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, then he began to torture Orthodox monks, seeking where they were keep the Cross and other relics ... A few months later, Arnold was replaced on the throne by Daimbert from Pisa, who went even further. He tried to expel all local Christians, even Orthodox Christians, from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and allow only Latins there, generally depriving the rest of the church buildings in or near Jerusalem ... God's retribution soon struck: already in 1101 on Holy Saturday, the miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire did not happen in Kuvuklia, until Eastern Christians were invited to participate in this rite. Then King Baldwin I took care of the return of their rights to the local Christians…”.

The chaplain of the Crusader Kings of Jerusalem, Fulk, relates that when Western worshipers (from among the Crusaders) visited St. city ​​before the capture of Caesarea, for the celebration of St. Easter came to Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, because the holy fire did not appear and the faithful remained in vain waiting all day in the Church of the Resurrection. Then, as if by heavenly inspiration, the Latin clergy and the king with all his court went ... to the temple of Solomon, recently converted by them from the mosque of Omar, and meanwhile the Greeks and Syrians, who remained at St. Tomb, tearing their clothes, with cries called for the grace of God, and then, finally, came down St. Fire".

But the most significant event occurred in 1579. The owners of the Temple of the Lord are simultaneously representatives of several Christian Churches. The priests of the Armenian Church, contrary to tradition, managed to bribe Sultan Murat the Truthful and the local city authorities to allow them to celebrate Easter alone and receive the Holy Fire. At the call of the Armenian clergy, many of their fellow believers came to Jerusalem from all over the Middle East to celebrate Easter alone. The Orthodox, together with Patriarch Sophrony IV, were removed not only from the Kuvuklia, but from the Temple in general. There, at the entrance to the shrine, they remained to pray for the descent of Fire, mourning the separation from Grace. The Armenian Patriarch prayed for about a day, however, despite his prayerful efforts, no miracle followed. At one moment, a ray struck from the sky, as is usually the case with the descent of Fire, and hit exactly the column at the entrance, next to which was the Orthodox Patriarch. Fiery bursts splashed from it in all directions and a candle was lit at the Orthodox Patriarch, who handed over the Holy Fire to the fellow believers. This was the only case in history when the descent took place outside the Temple, in fact, through the prayers of an Orthodox, and not an Armenian high priest. “Everyone rejoiced, and the Orthodox Arabs began to jump and shout for joy: “You are our one God, Jesus Christ, our true faith is one - the faith of Orthodox Christians,” writes Monk Parthenius. At the same time, Turkish soldiers were in the enfilades of buildings adjacent to the temple square. One of them, named Omir (Anvar), saw what was happening and exclaimed: “The only Orthodox faith, I am a Christian” and jumped down onto stone slabs from a height of about 10 meters. However, the young man did not crash - the slabs under his feet melted like wax, imprinting his footprints. For the adoption of Christianity, the Muslims executed the brave Anvar and tried to scrape off the traces that so clearly testify to the triumph of Orthodoxy, but they did not succeed, and those who come to the Temple can still see them, like the dissected column at the doors of the temple. The body of the martyr was burned, but the Greeks collected the remains, which until the end of the 19th century were in the convent of Great Panagia, exuding fragrance.

The Turkish authorities were very angry with the arrogant Armenians, and at first even wanted to execute the hierarch, but later they had mercy and ordered him to always follow the Orthodox Patriarch as a warning about what had happened at the Easter ceremony and henceforth not to take a direct part in receiving the Holy Fire. Although the government has changed a long time ago, the custom is still preserved,. However, this was not the only attempt by Muslims, denying the Passion and the Resurrection of the Lord, to prevent the descent of the Holy Fire. Here is what the famous Islamic historian al-Biruni (IX-X centuries) writes: “...once the governor ordered to replace the wicks with copper wire, hoping that the lamps would not light up and the miracle itself would not happen. But then, when the fire came down, copper caught fire.

It is difficult to enumerate all the numerous events that take place before the descent of the Holy Fire and during it. However, one thing deserves special mention. Several times a day or immediately before the descent of the Holy Fire, icons or frescoes depicting the Savior began to stream myrrh in the Temple. This happened for the first time on Good Friday in 1572. The first witnesses were two Frenchmen, a letter about this from one of them is kept in the Central Library of Paris. After 5 months - on August 24, Charles IX staged the Massacre of Bartholomew in Paris. In 1939, on the night from Good Friday to Good Saturday, she again began to stream myrrh. Several monks living at the Jerusalem monastery became witnesses. Five months later, on September 1, 1939, World War II began. In 2001 it happened again. Christians did not see anything terrible in this ... but the whole world knows about what happened on September 11 this year in the USA - five months after the myrrh streaming.

In different years, different people used other names for the miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire: Blessed Light, Sacred Light, Light not made by hands, Grace.