Every year, with the advent of Easter, the Orthodox public is seized by a craving for miracles. And her in Once again such a miracle is shown - the descent of the Holy Fire. Broadcast to live 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.
That Holy Fire is the work of human hands, it has been said more than once, starting with early medieval. 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 fixed 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 oil of balsam wood, 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 his miraculous nature, and since then the Roman Catholic Church is of the opinion that the Holy Fire is "tricks of Eastern schismatics."
Orthodox hierarchs themselves avoid statements about the nature of the Holy Fire, giving them the opportunity to speak out " ordinary people". 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 appeared, 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 a cuvuklia from a lamp hidden behind a 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 look 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 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 on the days of the celebration of the Bright Christ's Resurrection". There was no answer.
The secret of the place.Cuvuklia 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 taken down 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 civil war Jews among themselves - secarii with the Zealots were 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 banned. On its ruins, by order of the emperor Publius Aelius Hadrian, began to build new town Elia Capitolina. 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 Helena is the mother of Emperor Constantine, the founder of Byzantine Empire, I decided 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 same 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
Scientists managed to get to the Holy Sepulcher and conduct research, the result of which shocked believers.
Regardless of whether a person considers himself a believer or not, at least once in his life he was interested in real evidence of the existence higher powers that every religion talks about.
In Orthodoxy, one of the testimonies of the miracles indicated in the Bible is the Holy Fire descending on the Holy Sepulcher on the eve of Easter. On Great Saturday, anyone can look at it - just come to the square in front of the Church of the Resurrection. But the longer this tradition exists, the more hypotheses are built by journalists and scientists. All of them refute the divine origin of fire - but can one of them be trusted?
History of the Holy Fire
The convergence of fire can be seen only once a year and in the only place on the planet - the Jerusalem Church of the Resurrection. Its huge complex includes: Calvary, a cave with the Cross of the Lord, a garden where Christ was seen after the resurrection. It was built in the 4th century by Emperor Constantine and the Holy Fire was seen there during the first service on Easter. Around the place where this happened, they built a chapel with the tomb of the Lord - it is called Cuvuklia.
At ten o'clock in the morning of Great Saturday, all candles, lamps and other sources of light are extinguished in the temple every year. The highest church ranks personally monitor this: Kuvuklia passes the last test, after which it is sealed with a large wax seal. From that moment on, the protection of holy places falls on the shoulders of the Israeli police (in old times Janissaries coped with their duties Ottoman Empire). They also put an additional seal over the seal of the Patriarch. What is not proof of the miraculous origin of the Holy Fire?
Edicule
At twelve o'clock in the afternoon, a procession of the cross begins to stretch from the courtyard of the Jerusalem Patriarchate to the Holy Sepulcher. It is headed by the patriarch: having bypassed Kuvuklia three times, he stops in front of her doors.
“The patriarch dresses in white clothes. With him, at the same time, 12 archimandrites and four deacons put on white vestments. Then clerics in white surplice with 12 banners depicting the Passion of Christ and His glorious Resurrection come out of the altar in pairs, followed by clergy with ripids and a life-giving cross, then 12 priests in pairs, then four deacons also in pairs, the last two of them in front of the patriarch they hold bunches of candles in their hands in a silver stand for the most convenient transfer of the holy fire to the people, and, finally, the patriarch with a rod in right hand. With the blessing of the patriarch, the singers and all the clergy, while singing: “Thy Resurrection, Christ the Savior, the angels sing in heaven, and make us on earth glorify you with a pure heart” go from the Church of the Resurrection to the Kuvuklia and bypass it three times. After the third circumambulation, the patriarch, the clergy and the chanters stop with the banner-bearers and the crusader in front of the holy life-giving tomb and sing the evening hymn: “Quiet Light”, reminiscent of the fact that this litany was once part of the rite of evening worship.
Patriarch and Holy Sepulcher
In the courtyard of the temple, the Patriarch is watched by thousands of eyes of pilgrims-tourists from all over the world - from Russia, Ukraine, Greece, England, Germany. The police officers search the Patriarch, after which he enters Kuvuklia. At entrance doors the Armenian archimandrite remains to offer prayers to Christ for the forgiveness of the sins of the human race.
“The patriarch, having stood at the door of the holy tomb, with the help of the deacons, takes off his miter, sakkos, omophorion and club and remains only in the vestment, stole, belt and handrails. The dragoman then removes the seals and cords from the door of the holy tomb and lets in his patriarch, who has the aforementioned bunches of candles in his hands. One Armenian bishop immediately follows him inside the cuvuklia, dressed in sacred clothes and also holding bunches of candles in his hands for the speedy transfer of the holy fire to the people through the southern opening of the cuvuklia in the chapel of the Angel.
When the Patriarch is left alone, for behind closed doors, the real mystery begins. On his knees, the Holy One prays to the Lord for the message of the Holy Fire. His prayers are not heard by people outside the doors of the chapel - but they can see their result! Blue and red flashes appear on the walls, columns and icons of the temple, reminiscent of reflections during fireworks. At the same time, blue lights appear on the marble slab of the Coffin. The clergyman touches one of them with a cotton ball - and the fire spreads to her. The patriarch lights a lampada with a cotton wool and hands it over to the Armenian bishop.
“And all those people in the church and outside the church say nothing else, only: “Lord, have mercy!” they call unremittingly and shout loudly, so that the whole place buzzes and thunders from the cry of those people. And here tears are shed in streams from faithful people. Even with a stone heart, a person can then shed a tear. Each of the pilgrims, holding in his hand a bunch of 33 candles, according to the number of years of the life of our Savior ... hurries in spiritual joy to kindle them from the primary light, through the clergy deliberately appointed for this from the Orthodox and Armenian clergy, standing near the northern and southern openings of the cuvuklia and the first to receive holy fire from the holy tomb. From numerous lodges, from windows and cornices of walls, similar bundles descend on ropes. wax candles, since the spectators, who occupy their places at the top of the temple, immediately strive to partake of the same grace.
Transfer of the Holy Fire
In the first minutes after receiving fire, you can do anything with it: believers wash themselves with it and touch it with their hands without fear of getting burned. After a few minutes, the fire turns from cold to warm and acquires its usual properties. Several centuries ago, one of the pilgrims wrote:
“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 kindled them with other people, I kindled those candles, and I also kindled those candles on the third day, and then touching my wife with nothing, I didn’t singe a single hair, nor writhed.
Conditions for the appearance of the sacred fire
Among the Orthodox, there is a belief that in the year when the fire does not light up, the apocalypse will begin. However, this event has already happened once - then a follower of a different confession of Christianity tried to extract the fire.
“The first Latin Patriarch Arnopd of Choquet ordered the expulsion of heretic sects from their limits in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, then he began torturing Orthodox monks, seeking where they kept the Cross and other relics. A few months later, Arnold was replaced 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 admit only Latins there, generally depriving the rest of the church buildings in or near Jerusalem. God's retribution soon struck: already in 1101, on Great Saturday, the miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire in Kuvuklia did not take place, until Eastern Christians were invited to participate in this rite. Then King Baldwin I took care of the return of the local Christians of their rights.
Fire under the Latin Patriarch and a crack in the column
In 1578, the clergy from Armenia, who had not heard anything about the attempts of their predecessor, tried to repeat them. They obtained permission to be the first to see the Holy Fire by forbidding the Orthodox Patriarch to enter the church. He, along with other priests, was forced to pray at the gate on the eve of Easter. The henchmen of the Armenian Church did not manage to see the miracle of God. One of the columns of the courtyard, in which the Orthodox prayed, cracked, and a pillar of fire appeared from it. Traces of its convergence can be observed by any tourist today. Believers traditionally leave notes in it with the most cherished requests to God. 
A series of mystical events forced Christians to sit down at the negotiating table and decide that God is pleased to pass the fire into his hands Orthodox priest. Well, he, in turn, goes out to the people and gives the sacred flame to the hegumen and the monks of the Lavra of St. Savva the Sanctified, the Armenian Apostolic and Syrian Church. The last to enter the temple must be the local Orthodox Arabs. On Holy Saturday, they appear in the square with songs and dances, and then enter the chapel. In it, they say ancient prayers in Arabic, in which they turn to Christ and Mother of God. This condition is also required for the appearance of fire.
conditions for the appearance of the sacred fire
“There is no evidence of the first performance of this ritual. The Arabs ask the Mother of God to beg the Son to send Fire to George the Victorious, who is especially revered in the Orthodox East. They literally shout out that they are the most eastern, the most Orthodox, living where the sun rises, bringing candles with them to kindle the Fire. According to oral tradition, 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, but to no avail. Then the Patriarch ordered his will to let the Arab youth. After they performed the ritual, the Fire descended"
Were attempts to find a scientific explanation for the Holy Fire successful?
It is impossible to say that the skeptics managed to defeat the believers. Among the many theories that have physical, chemical and even alien justification, only one deserves attention. In 2008, physicist Andrey Volkov managed to get into Kuvuklia with special equipment. There he was able to make the appropriate measurements, but their results were not in favor of science!
“A few minutes before the removal of the Holy Fire from Kuvuklia, a device that fixes the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation detected a strange long-wave impulse in the temple, which no longer manifested itself. I do not want to refute or prove anything, but such scientific result experiment. There was an electric discharge - either lightning struck, or something like a piezo lighter turned on for a moment.
Physicist about blessed fire
The physicist himself did not set the goal of his research to expose the shrine. He was interested in the very process of convergence of fire: the appearance of flashes on the walls and on the lid of the Holy Sepulcher.
« So, it is quite likely that the appearance of Fire is preceded by electrical discharge, and we, measuring the electromagnetic spectrum in the temple, tried to catch it.
This is how Andrei comments on what happened. It turns out that to unravel the mystery of the sacred Holy Fire is beyond the power of modern technology ...
On Holy Saturday, tens of thousands of pilgrims flock to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher from all over the world to wash themselves in its blessed light and receive God's blessing.
© photo: Sputnik / Alexander Imedashvili
The greatest miracle is awaited with excitement not only by Orthodox Christians, but also by representatives of various denominations.
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 with scientific point vision.
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 Great Saturday, on the eve of the Bright Resurrection of Christ.
Throughout almost the entire time of the existence of Christianity, this miraculous phenomenon has been observed annually by both Orthodox Christians and representatives of other Christian denominations (Catholics, Armenians, Copts and others), as well as representatives of other non-Christian religions.
© photo: Sputnik / Alexey Kudenko
The miracle of the descent of the blessed fire on the Holy Sepulcher has been known since ancient times, the descended fire has unique property— it does not burn the first minutes.
The first witness to the convergence of 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 with 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 references to 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, and the cave in which the Lord taken down from the cross was laid, and the garden where Mary Magdalene was the first of the people to meet His resurrected.
Convergence
Around noon, a religious procession led by the Patriarch leaves the courtyard of the Jerusalem Patriarchate. The procession enters the Church of the Resurrection, goes to the chapel erected over the Holy Sepulcher, and, after going around it three times, stops in front of its gates.
All the lights in the temple are extinguished. Tens of thousands of people: Arabs, Greeks, Russians, Romanians, Jews, Germans, Englishmen - pilgrims from all over the world - are watching the Patriarch in tense silence.
The patriarch undresses, the police carefully search him and the Holy Sepulcher itself, looking for at least something that can make fire (during Turkish rule over Jerusalem, Turkish gendarmes did this), and in one long flowing chiton, the primate of the Church enters.
On his knees in front of the Tomb, he prays to God for the sending down of 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, a kind of 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 lampada and candles, which he then takes out to the temple and passes to the Armenian Patriarch, and then to the people. At the same moment, dozens and hundreds of bluish lights flash in the air under the dome of the temple.
It is difficult to imagine what kind of jubilation seizes the crowd of many 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 miraculous phenomenon different times there were many critics who tried to expose and prove artificial origin fire. The Catholic Church was among those who disagreed. In particular, Pope Gregory IX in 1238 spoke out with disagreement 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 is allegedly obtained using any means, substances and devices, but they have no direct evidence. At the same time, they did not even witness this miracle.
Modern researchers also tried to study the nature of this phenomenon. In their opinion, it is possible to produce fire artificially. Spontaneous combustion is also possible. chemical mixtures and substances.
© AFP / Ahmad Gharabli
But none of them is similar to the appearance of the Holy Fire, especially with its amazing property - not to burn in the first minutes of its appearance.
Theologians, representatives of various faiths, including the Orthodox Church, have repeatedly stated that the ignition of candles and lamps in the Temple from the supposedly "sacred fire" is a falsification.
The most famous are the statements in the middle of the last century by professor of the Leningrad Theological Academy Nikolai Uspensky, who believed that in Cuvuklia 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 at this time are extinguished.
At the same time, Uspensky argued that "the fire lit on the Holy Sepulcher from a hidden lamp is still a sacred fire received from a sacred place."
Russian physicist Andrey Volkov allegedly managed to take some measurements at the Holy Fire ceremony a few years ago. According to Volkov, a few minutes before the removal of the Holy Fire from Kuvuklia, a device that fixes the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation detected a strange long-wave impulse in the temple, which no longer manifested itself. That is, an electrical discharge has occurred.
In the meantime, scientists are trying to find scientific confirmation of this phenomenon, and in contrast to the complete unsubstantiated claims of skeptics, the miracle of the convergence 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.
© photo: Sputnik / Valery Melnikov
Every year, several thousand of those present in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher see: the patriarch, whose clothes were specially examined, entered Kuvuklia, which was checked and sealed, with a bunch of candles. 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 be only one answer - it's 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 all the days until 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.
From the early Middle Ages, a custom appeared. according to which, on the eve of Easter, the hierarchs of the Orthodox Church lit a fire in Jerusalem and blessed it in honor of the main holiday of believers. However, from the end of the first millennium, judging by the reports of religious historians of that time, there appeared a descent of the sacred fire, that is, that the fire on the eve of Easter is given to the believing God. Numerous testimonies of the convergence of fire date back to the 10th century, and not only Christians, but also historians wrote about this miracle. Initially, the fire was lit in the morning, and the rite itself is described in different ways, most often the appearance of lightning is mentioned. Only the place remains unchanged - the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.
Some eyewitnesses of the events of the X century wrote that the fire was brought directly by an angel.
Modern rite of convergence of fire
TO XIX century the ceremony of the descent of the Holy Fire acquired modern features. It was even enshrined in a special document issued by the government of the Ottoman Empire. This was done in order to avoid conflict between representatives of various Orthodox Christians, as well as Orthodox Christians with Muslims.
The keys to the chapel of the Holy Sepulcher have been kept for many generations in one Arab family, whose representative passes the keys to the patriarch once a year.
The service on the day of the convergence of fire is conducted by the Jerusalem Patriarch. Priests of other Orthodox churches, for example, Armenian. Priests put on festive white clothes, and then go around the procession around the temple, offering prayers. After that, the patriarch, together with a representative of the clergy, can go to a small ancient chapel, over which the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was built. They take candles with them, which will later be lit from the Holy Fire. The patriarch offers a special prayer directly at the Holy Sepulcher. At this time, believers are waiting for the convergence of fire both in the temple itself and outside it. There is also a television broadcast in many countries, including Russia. After the appearance of fire, the patriarch lights candles from it, from which, in turn, anyone can light a fire. After the Holy Fire ceremony
Scientists managed to get to the Holy Sepulcher and conduct research, the result of which shocked believers.
Regardless of whether a person considers himself a believer or not, at least once in his life he was interested in real evidence of the existence of higher powers, which every religion talks about.
In Orthodoxy, one of the testimonies of the miracles indicated in the Bible is the Holy Fire descending on the Holy Sepulcher on the eve of Easter. On Great Saturday, anyone can look at it - just come to the square in front of the Church of the Resurrection. But the longer this tradition exists, the more hypotheses are built by journalists and scientists. All of them refute the divine origin of fire - but can one of them be trusted?
History of the Holy Fire
The convergence of fire can be seen only once a year and in the only place on the planet - the Jerusalem Church of the Resurrection. Its huge complex includes: Calvary, a cave with the Cross of the Lord, a garden where Christ was seen after the resurrection. It was built in the 4th century by Emperor Constantine and the Holy Fire was seen there during the first service on Easter. Around the place where this happened, they built a chapel with the tomb of the Lord - it is called Cuvuklia.
At ten o'clock in the morning of Great Saturday, all candles, lamps and other sources of light are extinguished in the temple every year. The highest church ranks personally monitor this: Kuvuklia passes the last test, after which it is sealed with a large wax seal. From that moment on, the protection of holy places falls on the shoulders of the Israeli police (in ancient times, the Janissaries of the Ottoman Empire handled their duties). They also put an additional seal over the seal of the Patriarch. What is not proof of the miraculous origin of the Holy Fire?
Edicule
At twelve o'clock in the afternoon, a procession of the cross begins to stretch from the courtyard of the Jerusalem Patriarchate to the Holy Sepulcher. It is headed by the patriarch: having bypassed Kuvuklia three times, he stops in front of her doors.
“The patriarch dresses in white clothes. With him, at the same time, 12 archimandrites and four deacons put on white vestments. Then clerics in white surplice with 12 banners depicting the Passion of Christ and His glorious Resurrection come out of the altar in pairs, followed by clergy with ripids and a life-giving cross, then 12 priests in pairs, then four deacons also in pairs, the last two of them in front of the patriarch they hold bunches of candles in their hands in a silver stand for the most convenient transfer of the holy fire to the people, and, finally, the patriarch with a staff in his right hand. With the blessing of the patriarch, the singers and all the clergy, while singing: “Thy Resurrection, Christ the Savior, the angels sing in heaven, and make us on earth glorify you with a pure heart” go from the Church of the Resurrection to the Kuvuklia and bypass it three times. After the third circumambulation, the patriarch, the clergy and the chanters stop with the banner-bearers and the crusader in front of the holy life-giving tomb and sing the evening hymn: “Quiet Light”, reminiscent of the fact that this litany was once part of the rite of evening worship.
Patriarch and Holy Sepulcher
In the courtyard of the temple, the Patriarch is watched by thousands of eyes of pilgrims-tourists from all over the world - from Russia, Ukraine, Greece, England, Germany. The police officers search the Patriarch, after which he enters Kuvuklia. An Armenian archimandrite remains at the front door in order to offer prayers to Christ for the forgiveness of the sins of the human race.
“The patriarch, having stood at the door of the holy tomb, with the help of the deacons, takes off his miter, sakkos, omophorion and club and remains only in the vestment, stole, belt and handrails. The dragoman then removes the seals and cords from the door of the holy tomb and lets in his patriarch, who has the aforementioned bunches of candles in his hands. One Armenian bishop immediately follows him inside the cuvuklia, dressed in sacred clothes and also holding bunches of candles in his hands for the speedy transfer of the holy fire to the people through the southern opening of the cuvuklia in the chapel of the Angel.
When the Patriarch is alone, behind closed doors, the real sacrament begins. On his knees, the Holy One prays to the Lord for the message of the Holy Fire. His prayers are not heard by people outside the doors of the chapel - but they can see their result! Blue and red flashes appear on the walls, columns and icons of the temple, reminiscent of reflections during fireworks. At the same time, blue lights appear on the marble slab of the Coffin. The clergyman touches one of them with a cotton ball - and the fire spreads to her. The patriarch lights a lampada with a cotton wool and hands it over to the Armenian bishop.
“And all those people in the church and outside the church say nothing else, only: “Lord, have mercy!” they call unremittingly and shout loudly, so that the whole place buzzes and thunders from the cry of those people. And here tears are shed in streams from faithful people. Even with a stone heart, a person can then shed a tear. Each of the pilgrims, holding in his hand a bunch of 33 candles, according to the number of years of the life of our Savior ... hurries in spiritual joy to kindle them from the primary light, through the clergy deliberately appointed for this from the Orthodox and Armenian clergy, standing near the northern and southern openings of the cuvuklia and the first to receive holy fire from the holy tomb. From the numerous boxes, from the windows and cornices of the walls, similar bunches of wax candles descend on ropes, as the spectators, who occupy their places at the top of the temple, immediately strive to partake of the same grace.
Transfer of the Holy Fire
In the first minutes after receiving fire, you can do anything with it: believers wash themselves with it and touch it with their hands without fear of getting burned. After a few minutes, the fire turns from cold to warm and acquires its usual properties. Several centuries ago, one of the pilgrims wrote:
“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 kindled them with other people, I kindled those candles, and I also kindled those candles on the third day, and then touching my wife with nothing, I didn’t singe a single hair, nor writhed.
Conditions for the appearance of the sacred fire
Among the Orthodox, there is a belief that in the year when the fire does not light up, the apocalypse will begin. However, this event has already happened once - then a follower of a different confession of Christianity tried to extract the fire.
“The first Latin Patriarch Arnopd of Choquet ordered the expulsion of heretic sects from their limits in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, then he began torturing Orthodox monks, seeking where they kept the Cross and other relics. A few months later, Arnold was replaced 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 admit only Latins there, generally depriving the rest of the church buildings in or near Jerusalem. God's retribution soon struck: already in 1101, on Great Saturday, the miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire in Kuvuklia did not take place, until Eastern Christians were invited to participate in this rite. Then King Baldwin I took care of the return of the local Christians of their rights.
Fire under the Latin Patriarch and a crack in the column
In 1578, the clergy from Armenia, who had not heard anything about the attempts of their predecessor, tried to repeat them. They obtained permission to be the first to see the Holy Fire by forbidding the Orthodox Patriarch to enter the church. He, along with other priests, was forced to pray at the gate on the eve of Easter. The henchmen of the Armenian Church did not manage to see the miracle of God. One of the columns of the courtyard, in which the Orthodox prayed, cracked, and a pillar of fire appeared from it. Traces of its convergence can be observed by any tourist today. Believers traditionally leave notes in it with the most cherished requests to God.
A series of mystical events forced Christians to sit down at the negotiating table and decide that it is pleasing to God to transfer the fire into the hands of an Orthodox priest. Well, he, in turn, goes out to the people and gives the sacred flame to the hegumen and the monks of the Lavra of St. Savva the Sanctified, the Armenian Apostolic and Syrian Church. The last to enter the temple must be the local Orthodox Arabs. On Holy Saturday, they appear in the square with songs and dances, and then enter the chapel. In it, they say ancient prayers in Arabic, in which they turn to Christ and the Mother of God. This condition is also required for the appearance of fire.
“There is no evidence of the first performance of this ritual. The Arabs ask the Mother of God to beg the Son to send Fire to George the Victorious, who is especially revered in the Orthodox East. They literally shout out that they are the most eastern, the most Orthodox, living where the sun rises, bringing candles with them to kindle the Fire. According to oral tradition, 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, but to no avail. Then the Patriarch ordered his will to let the Arab youth. After they performed the ritual, the Fire descended"
Were attempts to find a scientific explanation for the Holy Fire successful?
It is impossible to say that the skeptics managed to defeat the believers. Among the many theories that have physical, chemical and even alien justification, only one deserves attention. In 2008, physicist Andrey Volkov managed to get into Kuvuklia with special equipment. There he was able to make the appropriate measurements, but their results were not in favor of science!
“A few minutes before the removal of the Holy Fire from Kuvuklia, a device that fixes the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation detected a strange long-wave impulse in the temple, which no longer manifested itself. I do not want to refute or prove anything, but such is the scientific result of the experiment. There was an electric discharge - either lightning struck, or something like a piezo lighter turned on for a moment.
Physicist about blessed fire
The physicist himself did not set the goal of his research to expose the shrine. He was interested in the very process of convergence of fire: the appearance of flashes on the walls and on the lid of the Holy Sepulcher.
“So, it is quite likely that the appearance of Fire is preceded by an electrical discharge, and we, by measuring the electromagnetic spectrum in the temple, tried to catch it.”
This is how Andrei comments on what happened. It turns out that to unravel the mystery of the sacred Holy Fire is beyond the power of modern technology ...
