On what holiday does the Holy Fire descend? How does the Holy Fire actually light up in Jerusalem?

16.10.2019

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In Three cases when the Holy Fire did not want to descend according to the will and ambitions of individual individuals.

Ancient time

Disagreements between the Pope and the Patriarch of Constantinople began long before 1054, but it was in 1054 that Pope Leo IX sent legates led by Cardinal Humbert to Constantinople to resolve the conflict. It was not possible to find a path to reconciliation, and on July 16, 1054, in the Cathedral of Hagia Sophia, the papal legates announced the deposition of Patriarch Michael Kirularius and his excommunication from the Church.

In response to this, on July 20, the patriarch anathematized the legates. There was a split christian church, into the Roman Catholic Church in the West, centered in Rome, and the Orthodox Church in the East, centered in Constantinople.

For several centuries, Jerusalem was under the control of the Eastern Church. And there was not a single case when the Holy Fire did not descend on Christians.

In 1099, Jerusalem was conquered by the Crusaders. The Roman Church, having received the support of dukes and barons and considering the Orthodox to be apostates, began to literally trample on their rights and Orthodox faith. Orthodox Christians were forbidden to enter the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, they were expelled from churches, property and church buildings were taken away from them, they were humiliated and oppressed, even to the point of torture.

This is how the English historian Stephen Runciman describes this moment in his book “The Fall of Constantinople”: “The first Latin patriarch Arnold of Choquet started unsuccessfully: he ordered the expulsion of the sects of heretics (ed: Orthodox Christians) from their territory in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, then he became torture Orthodox monks, trying to find out where they keep the Cross and other relics...”

A few months later, Arnold was succeeded on the throne by Daimbert of 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, completely depriving the rest of the church buildings in or near Jerusalem...

God's retribution would soon strike. In 1101, on Holy Saturday, the miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire in Edicule did not occur until Eastern Christians were invited to participate in this rite. Then King Baldwin I took care of returning their rights to local Christians.

Middle Ages

In 1578, after the next change of the Turkish mayor of Jerusalem, the Armenian priests agreed with the newly-minted “mayor” that the right to receive the Holy Fire instead of the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem would be given to a representative Armenian Church. 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...

On Holy Saturday 1579, Orthodox Patriarch Sophrony IV and the clergy were not allowed into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. They stood in front of the closed doors of the Temple with outside. The Armenian clergy entered the Edicule and began to pray to the Lord for the descent of the Fire. But their prayers were not heard.

Standing at closed doors Temple Orthodox priests also turned to the Lord with prayers. Suddenly a noise was heard, the column located to the left of the closed doors of the Temple cracked, Fire came out of it and lit candles in the hands of the Patriarch of Jerusalem. With great joy Orthodox priesthood entered the Temple and praised the Lord. Traces of the descent of Fire can still be seen on one of the columns located to the left of the entrance.

This was the only case in history when the descent took place outside the Temple, actually through the prayers of the Orthodox, and not the Armenian high priest. “Everyone rejoiced, and the Orthodox Arabs began to jump for joy and shout: “You are our one God, Jesus Christ, our one true faith is the faith of Orthodox Christians,” wrote the monk Parthenius.

The Turkish authorities were very angry with the arrogant Armenians, and at first they even wanted to execute the hierarch, but later they had mercy and decided to edify him about what happened at the Easter ceremony to always follow the Orthodox Patriarch and henceforth not take direct part in receiving the Holy Fire.

Although the government has long since changed, the custom continues to this day. By the way, this was not the only attempt by the Muslim authorities 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 the wicks to be replaced copper wire, hoping that the lamps will not light up and the miracle itself will not happen. But then, when the fire died down, the copper caught fire.”
XX century

According to traditions that have taken root over 2000 years, the obligatory participants in the sacrament of the descent of the Holy Fire are the abbot and the monks of the Lavra Saint Sava Sanctified and local Orthodox Arabs.

On Holy Saturday, half an hour after the sealing of the Edicule, Arab Orthodox youth, screaming, stomping, drumming, sitting astride each other, rush into the Temple and begin singing and dancing. There is no evidence about the time when this ritual was established. The cries and songs of the Arab youth represent ancient prayers on Arabic turned to Christ and Mother of God, Which is asked to beg the Son to send Fire to St. George the Victorious, especially revered in the Orthodox East.

According to oral traditions, during the years of British rule over Jerusalem (1918-1947), the English governor once tried to ban “savage” dances. The Patriarch of Jerusalem prayed for two hours: The fire did not go down. Then the Patriarch ordered with his will to let in the Arab youth. After they performed the ritual, the Fire descended...

The Descent of the Holy Fire is a miracle that occurs every year on the eve of Orthodox Easter in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. In 2018, Orthodox Christians celebrate the Holy Resurrection of Christ on April 8.

On Holy Saturday, tens of thousands of pilgrims from all over the world flock to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher to wash themselves with its blessed light and receive God's blessing.

Not only Orthodox Christians, but also representatives of various faiths are excitedly awaiting the greatest miracle.
For many hundreds of years, people have been trying to understand where the Holy Fire comes from. Believers are sure that this is a real miracle – God’s gift to people. Scientists do not agree with this statement and try to find an explanation for this phenomenon from a scientific point of view.

Holy Fire
According to many testimonies, both ancient and modern, the appearance of the Holy Light can be observed in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher throughout the year, but the most famous and impressive is the miraculous descent of the Holy Fire on Holy Saturday, the day before Happy Resurrection Christ's.

Throughout almost the entire existence of Christianity, this miraculous phenomenon has been observed annually by both Orthodox Christians and representatives of other Christian faiths (Catholics, Armenians, Copts and others), as well as representatives of other non-Christian religions.

The miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire on the Holy Sepulcher has been known since ancient times; the descending fire has unique property- it doesn’t burn you in the first minutes.
The first witness to the descent of the fire was the Apostle Peter - having learned about the Resurrection of the Savior, he hurried to the tomb and saw an amazing light where the body had previously lay. For two thousand years this light has descended every year on the Holy Sepulcher as the Holy Fire.

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher was erected by Emperor Constantine and his mother Queen Helena in the 4th century. And the earliest written mentions of the descent of the Holy Fire on the eve of the Resurrection of Christ date back to the 4th century.

The temple with its huge roof covers Golgotha, the cave in which the Lord was laid down from the cross, and the garden where Mary Magdalene was the first of the people to meet His resurrection.

Convergence
At approximately noon, a procession led by the Patriarch leaves the courtyard of the Jerusalem Patriarchate. The procession enters the Church of the Resurrection, heads to the chapel erected over the Holy Sepulcher, and, having walked around it three times, stops in front of its gates.

All the lights in the temple have been extinguished. Tens of thousands of people: Arabs, Greeks, Russians, Romanians, Jews, Germans, British - pilgrims from all over the world - watch the Patriarch in tense silence.

The Patriarch is unmasked, the police carefully search him and the Holy Sepulcher itself, looking for at least something that can produce fire (during Turkish rule over Jerusalem, Turkish gendarmes did this), and in one long flowing tunic, the Primate of the Church enters.

Kneeling in front of the Tomb, he prays to God to send down the Holy Fire. Sometimes his prayer lasts a long time, but there is interesting feature- The Holy Fire descends only through the prayers of the Orthodox Patriarch.

And suddenly, on the marble slab of the coffin, fiery dew appears in the form of bluish balls. His Holiness touches them with cotton wool, and it ignites. With this cool fire, the Patriarch lights the lamp and candles, which he then takes into the temple and hands over to the Armenian Patriarch, and then to the people. At the same moment, tens and hundreds of bluish lights flash in the air under the dome of the temple.

It’s hard to imagine the jubilation that filled the crowd of thousands. People shout, sing, the fire is transferred from one bunch of candles to another, and a minute later the whole temple is on fire.

Miracle or trick
This miraculous phenomenon in different times there were many critics who tried to expose and prove artificial origin fire. Among those who disagreed was Catholic Church. In particular, Pope Gregory IX in 1238 disagreed about the miraculous nature of the Holy Fire.

Not understanding the true origin of the Holy Fire, some Arabs tried to prove that the Fire was allegedly produced using any means, substances and devices, but they had no direct evidence. At the same time, they did not even witness this miracle.

Modern researchers have also tried to study the nature of this phenomenon. In their opinion, it is possible to produce fire artificially. Spontaneous combustion of chemical mixtures and substances is also possible.

But none of them are similar to the appearance of the Holy Fire, especially with its amazing property of not burning in the first minutes of its appearance.
Scientists and theologians, representatives of various faiths, including Orthodox Church It has been stated more than once that the burning of candles and lamps in the Temple from the supposed “sacred fire” is a falsification.

The most famous statements in the middle of the last century were made by professor of the Leningrad Theological Academy Nikolai Uspensky, who believed that in the Edicule the fire is lit from a secret hidden lamp, the light of which does not penetrate open space The temple, where all the candles and lamps are extinguished at this time.

At the same time, Uspensky argued that “the fire lit on the Holy Sepulcher from a hidden lamp is still sacred fire, received from a sacred place.”

Russian physicist Andrei Volkov allegedly managed to take some measurements at the Holy Fire ceremony several years ago. According to Volkov, a few minutes before the removal of the Holy Fire from the Edicule, a device recording the spectrum electromagnetic radiation, detected a strange long-wave pulse in the temple, which no longer manifested itself. That is, an electrical discharge occurred.

In the meantime, scientists are trying to find scientific confirmation of this phenomenon, and in contrast to the complete lack of evidence of the skeptics’ statements, the miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire is an annually observed fact.

The miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire is available to everyone. It can be seen not only by tourists and pilgrims - it takes place in front of the whole world and is regularly broadcast on television and the Internet, on the website of the Jerusalem Orthodox Patriarchate.

Every year, several thousand people present in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher see: the Patriarch, whose clothes were specially inspected, entered the Edicule, which had been checked and sealed. He came out of it with a burning torch of 33 candles and this is an indisputable fact.
Therefore, the answer to the question of where the Holy Fire comes from can only be one answer - it is a miracle, and everything else is just unconfirmed speculation.

And in conclusion, the Holy Fire confirms the promise of the Risen Christ to the apostles: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

It is believed that when the Heavenly Fire does not descend on the Holy Sepulcher, this will be a sign of the onset of the power of the Antichrist and the imminent end of the world.

On Holy Saturday, tens of thousands of pilgrims from all over the world flock to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher to wash themselves with its blessed light and receive God's blessing.

Not only Orthodox Christians, but also representatives of various faiths are excitedly awaiting the greatest miracle.

For many hundreds of years, people have been trying to understand where the Holy Fire comes from. Believers are sure that this is a real miracle - God's gift to people. Scientists do not agree with this statement and try to find an explanation for this phenomenon from a scientific point of view.

Holy Fire

According to many testimonies, both ancient and modern, the appearance of the Holy Light can be observed in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher throughout the year, but the most famous and impressive is the miraculous descent of the Holy Fire on Holy Saturday, on the eve of the Holy Resurrection of Christ.

The miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire on the Holy Sepulcher has been known since ancient times; the fire that descended has a unique property - it does not burn in the first minutes.

The first witness to the descent of the fire was the Apostle Peter - having learned about the Resurrection of the Savior, he hurried to the tomb and saw an amazing light where the body had previously lay. For two thousand years this light has descended every year on the Holy Sepulcher as the Holy Fire.

The temple with its huge roof covers Golgotha, the cave in which the Lord was laid down from the cross, and the garden where Mary Magdalene was the first of the people to meet His resurrection.

Convergence

At approximately noon, a procession led by the Patriarch leaves the courtyard of the Jerusalem Patriarchate. The procession enters the Church of the Resurrection, heads to the chapel erected over the Holy Sepulcher, and, having walked around it three times, stops in front of its gates.

Kneeling in front of the Tomb, he prays to God to send down the Holy Fire. Sometimes his prayer lasts a long time, but there is an interesting feature - the Holy Fire descends only through the prayers of the Orthodox Patriarch.

It’s hard to imagine the jubilation that filled the crowd of thousands. People shout, sing, the fire is transferred from one bunch of candles to another, and in a minute the whole temple is on fire.

Miracle or trick

This wonderful phenomenon at different times had many critics who tried to expose and prove the artificial origin of fire. The Catholic Church was also among those who disagreed. In particular, Pope Gregory IX in 1238 disagreed about the miraculous nature of the Holy Fire.

But none of them are similar to the appearance of the Holy Fire, especially with its amazing property of not burning in the first minutes of its appearance.

Scientists and theologians, representatives of various faiths, including the Orthodox Church, have repeatedly stated that the lighting of candles and lamps in the Temple from the supposed “sacred fire” is a falsification.

The most famous statements in the middle of the last century were made by professor of the Leningrad Theological Academy Nikolai Uspensky, who believed that in the Edicule the fire is lit from a secret hidden lamp, the light of which does not penetrate into the open space of the Temple, where all the candles and lamps are extinguished at this time.

At the same time, Uspensky argued that “the fire lit on the Holy Sepulcher from a hidden lamp is still sacred fire, received from a sacred place.”

Russian physicist Andrei Volkov allegedly managed to take some measurements at the Holy Fire ceremony several years ago. According to Volkov, a few minutes before the removal of the Holy Fire from Edicule, a device recording the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation detected a strange long-wave pulse in the temple, which no longer appeared. That is, an electrical discharge occurred.

Therefore, the answer to the question of where the Holy Fire comes from can only be one answer - it is a miracle, and everything else is just unconfirmed speculation.

And in conclusion, the Holy Fire confirms the promise of the Risen Christ to the apostles: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

It is believed that when the Heavenly Fire does not descend on the Holy Sepulcher, this will be a sign of the onset of the power of the Antichrist and the imminent end of the world.

The material was prepared on the basis of open sources.

The descent of the Holy Fire occurs every year on Holy Saturday, the eve of the Orthodox Easter. The earliest evidence of the descent 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 every year on different days. The Holy Fire descends only through the prayers of the Orthodox Patriarch.

Jerusalem Church of the Resurrection covers with its roof Mount Golgotha, and the Cave of the Holy Sepulcher, and the garden where the first appearance of the risen 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.

Nowadays, the miracle of the descent of heavenly fire happens like this. Around noon, the Patriarch of Jerusalem with the clergy and worshipers procession goes from the Patriarchate to the Church of the Resurrection. The procession enters the temple and, having walked three times around the Chapel of the Holy Sepulcher, located inside the temple, stops near its entrance. Pilgrims from all over the world gather in the temple; all the candles and lights in the temple are extinguished.

Every year, several thousand people present in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher see: the Patriarch, whose clothes were specially examined, enters the Edicule, which has been checked and sealed. Representatives of other Christian denominations and police officers participate in the inspection of the Edicule, its sealing and the inspection of the Patriarch every year. The inspection is carried out to prove that the patriarch cannot possibly bring a source of fire to Edicule. This custom was established by the Turks, who captured Palestine in 1517. After searching the Edicule, they sealed it and placed a guard until the patriarch entered.

The Patriarch in one linen cassock, with thirty-three unlit candles in hand enters the chapel. Kneeling, he prays in front of the Holy Sepulcher for the sending of the Holy Fire.

The descent of the 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 lights candles with this fire. Coming out of the chapel, he passes the fire to the Armenian Patriarch and the people. The entire temple is filled with rejoicing, the fire is passed on to each other, lit from already burning candles. People hold in their hands bunches of thirty-three candles - according to the number of years of the Savior’s earthly life. The Holy Fire has for the first time wonderful property- do not burn. Those standing in the temple pass the flame over their face and hair and “wash themselves”: for the first few minutes the fire does not burn the skin or singe the hair.

The miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire on Orthodox Easter after the prayer of the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem 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 - Divine - nature.) The Orthodox humbly prayed at the closed doors of the temple, the Armenians waited for the descent of the Holy Fire in Kuvuklia. And the Lord performed a miracle: the Holy Fire descended, but not on the Holy Sepulcher. 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

Famous traveler Abraham Sergeevich Norov was present at the descent of the holy fire. Norov traveled to Jerusalem in 1835 and was in the chapel. From the chapel of the Angel I saw Metropolitan Misail receiving the fire: “Thus, we reached the Chapel of the Holy Sepulcher in the midst of a wonderful sight of people, agitated or hanging from all the arcades and cornices.

Only one of the Greek bishops, the Armenian bishop (who had recently received the right to do so), the Russian consul from Jaffa and we, three travelers, entered the chapel of the Holy Sepulcher behind the metropolitan. The doors closed behind us. The never-fading lamps over the Holy Sepulcher were already extinguished, one low lighting passed to us from the temple through side holes chapels. This moment is solemn: the excitement in the temple has subsided; everything came true as expected. We stood in the Angel's chapel, in front of the stone rolled away from the den; Only the metropolitan entered the den of the Holy Sepulcher. I already said that the entrance there has no doors. I saw how the elderly metropolitan, bowing before the low entrance, entered the den and knelt before the holy tomb, in front of which there was nothing 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.

Part 1 – Source of the Holy Fire
Orthodox critics of the miraculous appearance of fire

Jerusalem, Saturday on the eve of Orthodox Easter. A ceremony is held in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher - the Litany of the Holy Fire. The Temple is filled with pilgrims, in the middle of the Temple a chapel (Edicule) is built, into which two priests (Greek Patriarch and Armenian Archimandrite) enter. After some time, they emerge from the Edicule with fire, which is passed on to the believers (see photo and video section ). In the Orthodox community, there is widespread belief in the miraculous appearance of fire and various things are attributed to it. amazing properties. However, even at the beginning of the last century, even among the Orthodox, doubts arose about the miraculous nature of the emergence of fire and the presence of some special properties. These doubts were so widespread in society that it allowed the leading orientalist of the last century, IY Krachkovsky in 1915 to conclude: “U best representatives Theological thought and in the East the interpretation of the miracle that allows Prof. is noticeable. A. Olesnitsky andA. Dmitrievsky talk about the “triumph of the consecration of fire at the Holy Sepulchre”" ( 1 ). Founder of the Russian spiritual mission in Jerusalem, bishopPorfiry Uspensky , summarizing the consequences of the scandal with the Holy Fire, which led to the Metropolitan’s admission of forgery, left the following note in 1848: “But from that time on, the Holy Sepulcher clergy no longer believes in the miraculous appearance of fire” ( 2 ). A student of Professor Dmitrievsky mentioned by Krachkovsky, he is an Honored Professor of the Leningrad Theological AcademyNikolai Dmitrievich Uspensky in 1949, he gave an assembly speech at the annual report of the Council of the Leningrad Theological Academy, in which he described in detail the history of the Holy Fire, and based on the material presented, he made the following conclusion: “Obviously, once, without giving a timely energetic explanation to his flock about the true meaning of the rite St. fire in the future, they were unable to raise this voice in front of the ever-increasing fanaticism of the dark masses due to objective conditions. If this was not done in a timely manner, then later it became impossible to do without risking personal well-being and, perhaps, the integrity of the shrines themselves. All that remained for them was to perform the ritual and remain silent, consoling themselves with the fact that God “as He knows and is able, He will bring understanding and calm the nations” ( 3 ). There are quite a lot of doubters about the miraculous nature of the Holy Fire among modern Orthodox believers. Here we can mention Protodeacon A. Kuraev, who shared his impressions of the meeting of the Russian delegation with the Greek Patriarch Theophilus in the following words: “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 the Easter message from the tomb once shone and illuminated the whole world, so now in this ceremony we perform a representation of how the news of the resurrection from the edicule spread throughout the world.” There was neither the word “miracle”, nor the word “convergence”, nor the words “Holy Fire” in his speech. He probably couldn’t have spoken more openly about the lighter in his pocket." ( 4 ), another example is an interview about the Holy Fire with Archimandrite Isidore, head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, where he in particular recalled the words of the locum tenens of the Patriarchal Throne of the Church of Jerusalem, Metropolitan Cornelius of Petra: “... This is a natural light that is lit from the Unquenchable Lamp, kept in the sacristy of the temple Resurrection" ( 5 ). Now disgraced Russian Orthodox Church, deacon Alexander Musin (doctor historical sciences, candidate of theology) co-authored with a church historianSergei Bychkov (Doctor of Historical Sciences) published a book: "THE HOLY FIRE: MYTH OR REALITY ?”, where they write in particular: “In order to lift the veil over this centuries-old, but by no means pious myth, we decided to publish a small work by the famous St. Petersburg professor Nikolai Dmitrievich Uspensky (1900-1987), dedicated to the history of the rite of the holy fire of Great Saturday, as well as a forgotten article by the world famous orientalist academician Ignatius Yulianovich Krachkovsky (1883-1951) “The Holy Fire” based on the story of Al-Biruni and other Muslim writers of the 10th-13th centuries.”
A series of works by the protopresbyter of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, George Tsetsis, is devoted to exposing the myth of the miraculous appearance of the Holy Fire; he writes: “The prayer that the patriarch offers before lighting the Holy Fire in the Holy Edicule is completely clear and does not allow for any misinterpretations. The Patriarch does not pray for a miracle to happen. He only “remembers” the sacrifice and three-day resurrection of Christ and, turning to Him, says: “Having reverently accepted this kindled (*******) fire on Your luminous Tomb, we distribute the true light to those who believe, and we pray to You, You have shown him the gift of sanctification." The following happens: the patriarch lights his candle from the unquenchable lamp, which is located on the Holy Sepulchre. Just like every patriarch and every cleric on the day Happy Easter, when he receives the light of Christ from the unquenchable lamp, which is located on the holy throne, symbolizing the Holy Sepulcher" ( 6 ).
The younger generation of theologians is not lagging behind; in 2008, a thesis on Liturgics was defended on the topic “The rite of the descent of the Holy Fire in Jerusalem,” completed by P. Zvezdin, a 5th year student at the Institute of Theology of BSU, in which he also dispels the myth of the miraculous appearance of fire ( 7 ).
However, one has only to accept the correctness of the Orthodox figures mentioned here, who have earned honor and respect for their service, and one will have to admit that many Greek patriarchs and no less noble Orthodox clergy hypocritically deceived believers, talking about the miraculous appearance of fire and its unusual properties. This is probably why in apological articles written by famous Russian theologians, seemingly honored Orthodox figures are so often thrown mud at, attributing to them heretical views, a craving for collecting fables to please their preconceived opinions and lack of scientific approach in his critical works regarding the Holy Fire (8 a, b; 9 ).

What arguments do critics make? wonderful nature appearance of the Holy Fire?
Almost all skeptics are confused by the clear definiteness of the time of receiving fire and the ability to change this time by order of local authorities.
Due to constant strife between Christian denominations, in 1852, through the efforts of the authorities, a document appeared, the so-called STATUS-QUO, where the sequence of actions of all rituals for all denominations in the city was thoroughly recorded. The service of the Holy Fire is also scheduled minute by minute, in particular, to find the fire, the priests who entered the Edicule are given time from 12.55 to 13.10 ( 10 ). And now, for 8 years of live broadcasts, this time has been impeccably observed. Only in 2002, due to a fight between the patriarch and the archimandrite inside the Edicule, fire began to be distributed much later than a certain time ( 11 ). Those. the delay was due to the priests, and not due to lack of fire. This fight had serious consequences; for several years now, an Israeli policeman has been the first to enter the Edicule inside the Edicule, together with the Armenian archimandrite and the Greek patriarch, vigilantly ensuring that high-ranking clergy do not fight again in this holy and revered place ( 12 ). Skepticism is also betrayed by another fact related to the time of appearance of the fire, which is narrated by Prof. AA Dmitrievsky, referring to prof. AA Olesnitsky, in 1909 he writes: “Once upon a time the feast of fire at the Holy Sepulcher was connected directly with Easter Matins, but due to some disturbances that occurred during this celebration, at the request of the local authorities it was moved to the previous day” ( 13 ). It turns out that the time of the appearance of a divine miracle can also be determined by the orders of the Islamic administration.
In principle, God is able to carry out any order of any administration, since He is omnipotent and can do anything and plan His miracles in any way. However, such a clearly defined miracle in time is the only example. Let’s say in the Gospel example of the bath, which is referred to by miracle apologists (John 5: 2-4), healings do not occur at a strictly defined time, but as the evangelist writes: “<…>for the angel of the Lord from time to time went into the pool and disturbed the water, and whoever entered it first after the water was disturbed was healed<…>" Also other annual Orthodox miracles, for example, the descent of the Blessed Cloud on Mount Tabor on the day of the Transfiguration of the Lord or the appearance poisonous snakes in the Church of the Assumption Holy Mother of God(on the Island of Kefalonia) on the day of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, I also do not have a strictly defined time period. By the way, the descent of the cloud on Mount Tabor and the appearance of poisonous snakes occurs in full view of people, while the fire occurs in Edicule, which is closed from pilgrims. Such accessibility greatly contributes to clarifying the true nature of these phenomena; for example, it turns out that the clergy themselves bring snakes and they are not at all poisonous ( 14 ). Regarding Mount Tabor, everything is also relatively simple. At this time of year, fogs form on the mountain almost every day, and pilgrims only witness the birth of such fog ( 15 ). The spectacle is truly beautiful, and having increased religiosity, it is easy to attribute miraculous properties to what you see.

Skeptics' version of the appearance of fire
From the point of view of skeptics, the Greek patriarch and the Armenian archimandrite light their candles from an unquenchable lamp, which is brought in by the guardian of the coffin shortly before the patriarch's entrance. Perhaps the lamp is not placed on the coffin, but in a niche behind the icon from which the patriarch takes it out; perhaps some additional manipulations are taking place inside. Unfortunately, we are not allowed to see this.
Let us recall the sequence of actions during the ceremony ( 16 , link to video).

1. Examine the Edicule (two priests and a representative of the authorities).
2. Sealed entrance doors Edicule with a large wax seal.
3. The keeper of the coffin appears and brings a large lamp, covered with a cap, inside the coffin. The seal is removed in front of him, he goes inside Kuklii, and after a few minutes comes out.
4. A solemn procession appears, led by the Greek patriarch, and circles the Edicule three times. The patriarch is stripped of his robes of patriarchal dignity and he, together with the Armenian archimandrite (and the Israeli policeman) enters the Edicule.
5. After 5-10 minutes, the Greek patriarch and the Armenian archimandrite come out with fire (before this they managed to distribute fire through the windows of the Edicule).

Naturally, a man with a lamp covered with a cap will interest skeptics. By the way, there are holes for air in the lamp's cap, so that a fire can burn in it. Unfortunately, apologists for the miracle practically do not explain in any way the insertion of this lamp into the Edicule. They pay attention to the inspection of the Edicule by government officials and priests before sealing. Indeed, after inspection there should be no fire inside. Then the miracle apologists pay attention to the search of the Greek patriarch before his entry into the Edicule. True, the video clearly shows that only Greek priests remove his clothes and do not search their patriarch, but this is not important, due to the fact that earlier another representative of the Greek Orthodox Church entered there to put a lamp on the slab of the Tomb and no one does not examine.

The words of Patriarch Theophilus about the Holy Fire are interesting:
“Patriarch Theophilus of Jerusalem: This is a very ancient, very special and unique ceremony Jerusalem Church. This ceremony of the Holy Fire takes place only here in Jerusalem. And this happens thanks to the very Tomb of our Lord Jesus Christ. As you know, this Holy Fire ceremony is, so to speak, an enactment that represents the first good news, the first resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. This representation- like all sacred ceremonies. How in Good Friday We have a burial ceremony, don't we? How we bury the Lord, etc.
So this ceremony takes place in a holy place, and all the others Eastern Churches who share the Holy Sepulcher would like to take part in this. People like Armenians, Copts, Syrians come to us and receive our blessing, because they want to receive the Fire from the Patriarch.
Now, the second part of your question is actually about us. This is an experience, which, if you like, is similar to the experience that a person experiences when he receives Holy Communion. What happens there also applies to the Holy Fire ceremony. This means that a certain experience cannot be explained or expressed in words. Therefore, everyone who takes part in this ceremony - priests or laymen, or laywomen - each has their own indescribable experience.”

The apologist for the miracle did not like this answer so much that, in my opinion, there was even a fake interview with Patriarch Theophilus ( ).

The most important evidence of the miraculous appearance of fire.
Once again, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that by trusting Orthodox skeptics, we thereby recognize the deception on the part of the Greek patriarchs and a number of prominent Russian Orthodox figures. I will present this evidence.
- Monk Parthenius, recorded the stories of those who talked with the Metropolitan of Transjordan (1841-1846 or 1870-1871), in which he talks about the spontaneous combustion of the lamp: “Sometimes I go up, and it’s already burning; then I’ll soon take it out, and sometimes I’ll go up, and the lamp is not yet burning; then I will fall to the ground in fear and with tears begin to ask for mercy from God. When I get up, the lamp is already burning, and I light two bunches of candles, take them out and serve them" (24).
- Viceroy Peter Meletius, whose words are conveyed to us by the pilgrim Barbara Brun de Sainte-Hippolyte, traveling around 1859, who left the following note: “Now grace has already descended on the Savior’s Tomb when I ascended into the Edicule: apparently, you all prayed earnestly, and God heard your prayers. I used to pray for a long time with tears, and the fire of God did not descend from heaven until two o’clock, but this time I already saw it, as soon as they locked the door behind me” (24).
- Hieromonk Meletius quotes the words of Archbishop Misail, who received the fire: “When he came in, he told me, inside to St. To the Tomb, we see on the entire roof of the Tomb a shining light, like scattered small beads, in the form of white, blue, alago and other flowers, which then copulated reddened, and transformed over time into the substance of fire; but this Fire, over the course of time, as soon as you can slowly read forty times “Lord have mercy!” And because of this, the fire does not burn the prepared candlesticks and candles” (24).
- Patriarch Diodorus in 1998 says: « I'm making my way through the darkness interior space, and I fall to my knees there. Here I offer special prayers that have come down to us through the centuries and, having read them, I wait. Sometimes I wait a few minutes, but usually the miracle happens as soon as I say the prayers. From the midst of the very stone on which Jesus lay, an indescribable light pours out. It is usually blue in color, but the color can vary and take on many different shades. It cannot be described in human words. Light rises from the stone like mist rises from a lake - it almost looks like the stone is covered in a damp cloud, but it is light. This light behaves differently every year. Sometimes it covers only the stone, and sometimes it fills the entire Edicule, so that if people standing outside looked inside, they would see it filled with light. The light does not burn - I have never burned my beard in all sixteen years that I have been the Patriarch of Jerusalem and received the Holy Fire. The light is of a different consistency than ordinary fire burning in an oil lamp.
- At a certain moment, the light rises and takes the form of a column, in which the fire is of a different nature, so that I can already light candles from it. When I light candles with fire in this way, I go out and hand over the fire first to the Armenian Patriarch, and then to the Coptic Patriarch. Then I pass the fire to all the people present in the temple" ( 25 ).
- Abraham Sergeevich Norov, former minister People's Enlightenment in Russia, a famous Russian writer who traveled to Palestine in 1835:
“Only one of the Greek bishops, an Armenian bishop (who had recently received the right to do so), the Russian consul from Jaffa and we three travelers entered the chapel of the Holy Sepulcher behind the metropolitan. The doors closed behind us. The never-fading lamps over the Holy Sepulcher were already extinguished; only weak lighting passed to us from the temple through the side openings of the chapel. This moment is solemn: the excitement in the temple has subsided; everything came true as expected. We stood in the Angel's chapel, in front of the stone rolled away from the den; Only the metropolitan entered the den of the Holy Sepulcher. &

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