Scientists managed to get to the Holy Sepulcher and conduct research, the results 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 evidences of miracles indicated in the Bible is the Holy Fire descending on the Holy Sepulcher on the eve of Easter. On Holy Saturday, anyone can see it - just come to the square in front of the Church of the Resurrection. But the longer this tradition exists, the more hypotheses journalists and scientists build. All of them refute the divine origin of fire - but can you trust at least one of them?
History of the Holy Fire
The descent of fire can be seen only once a year and in the only place on the planet - the Jerusalem Temple of the Resurrection. Its huge complex includes: Golgotha, 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 Holy Sepulcher - it is called Edicule.
At ten o'clock on the morning of Holy Saturday, all candles, lamps and other light sources in the temple are extinguished every year. The highest church dignitaries personally monitor this: the last test is the Edicule, after which it is sealed with a large wax seal. From this 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 on top of 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 led by the patriarch: having walked around the Edicule three times, he stops in front of its doors.
“The Patriarch dresses in white robes. With him, 12 archimandrites and four deacons put on white vestments at the same time. Then clerics in white surplices with 12 banners depicting the passion of Christ and His glorious resurrection come out of the altar in pairs, followed by clerics with ripids and a life-giving cross, then 12 priests in pairs, then four deacons, also in pairs, with the last two of them in front of the patriarch holding bunches of candles in their hands in a silver stand for the most convenient transmission of the holy fire to the people, and, finally, the patriarch with a staff in right hand. With the blessing of the patriarch, the singers and all the clergy, singing: “Thy Resurrection, Christ the Savior, the angels sing in heaven, and grant us on earth to glorify You with a pure heart,” go from the Church of the Resurrection to the edicule and circle it three times. After the third circumambulation, the patriarch, clergy and singers stop with the banner bearers and the crusader in front of the holy life-giving tomb and sing the evening hymn: “Quiet Light,” recalling that this litany was once part of the rite of the evening service.”
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 search the Patriarch, after which he enters the Edicule. An Armenian archimandrite remains at the entrance doors to offer prayers to Christ for the forgiveness of the sins of the human race.
“The Patriarch, standing before the doors of the holy tomb, with the help of the deacons, takes off his miter, sakkos, omophorion and club and remains only in the vestment, epitrachelion, belt and armbands. Dragoman then removes the seals and cords from the door of the holy tomb and lets the patriarch inside, who has the aforementioned bundles of candles in his hands. Behind him, one Armenian bishop immediately goes inside the edicule, dressed in sacred robes and also holding bunches of candles in his hands to quickly transfer the holy fire to the people through the southern hole of the edicule in the chapel of the Angel.”
When the Patriarch is left alone, behind closed doors, the real sacrament begins. On his knees, His Holiness 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 observe their result! Blue and red flashes appear on the walls, columns and icons of the temple, reminiscent of reflections during a fireworks display. At the same time, blue lights appear on the marble slab of the Coffin. The priest touches one of them with a cotton ball - and the fire spreads to her. The Patriarch lights the lamp using cotton wool and hands it to the Armenian bishop.
“And all those people in the church and outside the church say nothing else, only: “Lord, have mercy!” they cry unremittingly and shout loudly, so that the whole place hums and thunders from the cry of those people. And here the tears of the faithful people flow in streams. Even with heart of stone the person may 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 ... hastens in spiritual joy to light them from the primary light, through clergymen from the Orthodox and Armenian clergy specially appointed for this purpose, standing near the northern and southern holes of the edicule and the first to receive holy fire from the holy tomb. From numerous boxes, from windows and wall cornices, similar bundles of wax candles are lowered on ropes, since the spectators occupying 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 whatever you want 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 normal properties. Several centuries ago, one of the pilgrims wrote:
“He lit 20 candles in one place and burned his candle with all those lights, and not a single hair curled or burned; and having extinguished all the candles and then lit them with other people, he lit those candles, and on the third day I lit those candles, and then I touched my wife with nothing, not a single hair was scorched or curled.”
Conditions for the appearance of the sacred fire
There is a belief among Orthodox Christians that in the year when the fire does not ignite, the apocalypse will begin. However, this event already happened once - then a follower of a different denomination of Christianity tried to remove the fire.
“The first Latin Patriarch Harnopid of Choquet ordered the expulsion of the heretical sects from their territory in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, then he began to torture Orthodox monks, trying to find out where they kept the Cross and other relics. A few months later Arnold was succeeded on the throne by Daimbert of Pisa, who went even further. He attempted to expel all local Christians, even Orthodox Christians, from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and admit only Latins there, completely 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 in Edicule did not happen until Eastern Christians were invited to participate in this rite. Then King Baldwin I took care of returning their rights to local Christians.”
Fire under the Latin Patriarch and a crack in the column
In 1578, clergy from Armenia, who had not heard anything about the attempts of their predecessor, tried to repeat them. They obtained permission to become the first to see the Holy Fire, prohibiting the Orthodox Patriarch from entering the church. He, along with other priests, was forced to pray at the gate on Easter Eve. The minions of the Armenian Church never managed to see the miracle of God. One of the columns of the courtyard, in which the Orthodox prayed, cracked, and a pillar of fire emerged from it. Traces of its descent can still be observed by any tourist today. Believers traditionally leave notes in it with their most cherished requests to God. 
Series mystical events forced Christians to sit down at the negotiating table and decide that God wants 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 abbot and the monks of the Lavra of St. Savva the Sanctified, the Armenian Apostolic and Syrian Church. Local Orthodox Arabs must be the last to enter the temple. On Holy Saturday they appear in the square singing and dancing, and then enter the chapel. In it they say ancient prayers on Arabic, in which they address Christ and the Mother of God. This condition is also mandatory 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 her Son to send Fire to St. George the Victorious, especially revered in the Orthodox East. They literally shout that they are the most eastern, the most Orthodox, living where the sun rises, bringing with them candles to light the Fire. 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, but to no avail. Then the Patriarch ordered with his will to let in the Arab youth. After they performed the ritual, the Fire descended"
Have attempts to find a scientific explanation for the Holy Fire been successful?
It is impossible to say that skeptics managed to defeat believers. Among the many theories that have physical, chemical and even alien justification, only one deserves attention. In 2008, physicist Andrei Volkov managed to get into Edicule 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 the Edicule, a device recording the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation detected a strange long-wave pulse in the temple, which no longer appeared. I don’t want to refute or prove anything, but this is the scientific result of the experiment. An electrical discharge occurred - either lightning struck, or something like a piezo lighter turned on for a moment.”
Physicist about the Holy Fire
The physicist himself did not set the goal of his research to expose the shrine. He was interested in the very process of the descent of fire: the appearance of flashes on the walls and on the lid of the Holy Sepulcher.
« So, it is 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 Andrey comments on what happened. It turns out that modern technology cannot solve the mystery of the sacred Holy Fire...
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 in the old way, 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 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 praying 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 the miraculous property of not burning at first. 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 to closed doors temple, the Armenians were waiting for the descent of the Holy Fire in Edicule. 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
The 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 above 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. 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.
The Holy Fire is an insoluble and mysterious mystery for scientists all over the world. But not for Christians! We know that the Holy Fire is an Easter symbol, which is given to us by the Lord himself from heaven! And the descent of this great and wonderful gift from God has been happening since ancient times.
The Holy Fire has been appearing in the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Jerusalem for more than the first millennium. Earliest mentions of convergence Holy Fire on the eve of the resurrection of Christ are found in Gregory of Nyssa, Eusebius and Silvia of Aquitaine and date back to the 4th century. They also contain descriptions of earlier convergences.
The day before, all candles, lamps, and chandeliers in the church are extinguished. Back at the beginning of the 20th century. This was carefully monitored: the Turkish authorities carried out a strict search inside the chapel; according to the slander of Catholics, they even went so far as to inspect the pockets of the officiating metropolitan, the vicar of the patriarch... because of suspicion, the patriarch was forced to strip down to his cassock, so that it would be clear that he was not bringing matches or anything else into the cave that could light a fire. During the reign of the Turks, close “Control” of the patriarch was carried out by Turkish Janissaries, who searched him before entering the Edicule, but currently the Patriarch is examined by Jewish police.
Shortly before the arrival of the patriarch, the sacristan 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 unmasked before entering the cave) go inside. They are sealed with a large piece of wax and a red tape is placed on the door; Orthodox ministers put their seals. At this time, the lights in the temple turn off.
After sealing the edicule, Orthodox Arab youth run into the temple, whose presence is also mandatory element Easter celebrations. Young people sit on each other’s shoulders like riders. They ask the Mother of God and the Lord to grant the Orthodox the Holy Fire. “There is no Faith Except the Orthodox Faith, Christ is the True God,” they chant. For European parishioners, accustomed to other forms of expression of feelings and calm worship services, it can be very unusual to see such behavior of local youth. However, the Lord reminded us that he accepted such childishly naive, but sincere appeal to him. During the time when Jerusalem was under the British Mandate, the English governor once tried to ban these “Savage” dances. The Patriarch prayed in the Edicule for two hours: the fire did not go down. Then the patriarch, by his own will, ordered the Arabs to be allowed in... And the fire descended." The Arabs seem to be addressing all nations: the Lord confirms the correctness of our faith by bringing down the Holy Fire on the eve of Orthodox Easter. What do you believe in?
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 a thrill 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 the holy place. IN different years The tedious wait lasts from five minutes to several hours.
Before the descent, the temple begins to be illuminated with bright flashes of blessed light, small lightning flashes here and there. When filming in slow motion, it is clearly visible that they come from different places in the temple - from the icon hanging above the edicule, from the dome of the temple, from the 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 through standing people without any harm.
A moment later, the entire temple turns out to be surrounded by lightning and glare, which snake down its walls and columns, as if flowing down to the foot of the temple and spreading across the square among the pilgrims. At the same time, the candles of those standing in the temple and in the square light up, the lamps on the sides of the edicule light up themselves (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. The fire in the altar of the catholicon is blazing! The flash and flame are like a huge flower. And the edicule is still dark. Slowly, slowly, along the candles, the fire from the altar begins to descend towards us ". And then a thunderous cry makes you look back at the Edicule. It shines, the entire wall shimmers with silver, white lightning streams along it. The fire pulsates and breathes, and from the hole in the dome of the temple a wide vertical column of light descended from the sky onto the coffin." 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, blesses those gathered and distributes the Holy Fire.
However, not everyone lights the fire from the patriarchal candle; for some, it lights up on its own. "The flashes of heavenly light became brighter and stronger. Now the blessed fire began to fly throughout the entire temple. It scattered in bright blue beads over the edicule around the icon of the "Resurrection of the Lord", and after that one of the lamps flared up, burst into the temple chapels, onto Calvary (lit on also one of the lamps), sparkled over the stone of anointing (here a lamp was also lit. For some, the wicks of candles were charred, for others, lamps and bunches of candles flared up on their own. The flashes became more and more intensified, sparks spread here and there through the bunches of candles One of the witnesses notes how the candles of the woman standing next to him lit up on their own 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 what candle and where it is lit. You can see how parishioners literally wash themselves with this fire - they rub it over their faces, over their hands, scoop up handfuls of it, and it does not cause any harm, at first it does not even singe their hair.
Indeed, this is one of the greatest miracles of both past centuries and the modern 21st century! The Lord shows all his followers, all Christians, that he is with us!
In Russia, the Holy Fire is delivered to many, many cities for the Easter service, and the joyful holiday of Easter intensifies and ascends to heaven, to the birthplace of the Holy Fire!
“Do not be deceived, O Jew, become accustomed to the prophetic speech,
and understand that He is truly the Savior of the world, and the omnipotent one.”
(Stichera 6 on “I cried to the Lord” of the Sunday service, 5th tone)
Our Lord Jesus Christ suffered and died on the Cross, was buried in a tomb that belonged to Nicodemus, and rose from the tomb on the third day after His death. Where was Mount Golgotha - the place of the Savior’s suffering and the place of His burial? According to Holy Tradition, in the Gospel era, a rock called Golgotha, which exists to this day, on which the Crucifixion of Christ took place, was located almost immediately outside the walls of what was then Jerusalem with outside. The Holy Tomb - the cave in which the body of the Savior was located for three days, was carved into a small rock located at a distance of ten meters from Golgotha, which rises somewhat above the rock of the Holy Tomb. By internal structure The Holy Tomb was a cave carved into the rock, in which there were two rooms: the far one, which was the actual burial chamber, with a bed - arcosalium - and the entrance room in front of it. In the 4th century, by order of Saint Helen Equal to the Apostles, a magnificent temple was erected over the site of Golgotha and the Holy Tomb - the Basilica, and both Golgotha itself and the Holy Tomb were enclosed under its arches. Until our time, the Basilica was rebuilt several times, even destroyed (614), restored and is now known as the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.
Since ancient times, directly above the burial cave of the Savior there has been a special chapel - the Edicule. The word "Edicule" means "royal bedchamber." To designate a tomb, this word is used in the only place on earth - in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where the “King of kings and Lord of lords” was laid down for a three-day sleep. Here He rose again, the firstborn from the dead, opening the way to the Resurrection for us all. The modern Edicule is a chapel measuring about eight meters in length and six meters in width, located under the arches of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. As in evangelical times, the Holy Sepulcher, the Holy Tomb currently consists of two rooms: a small “burial chamber” 2.07x1.93 meters, almost half occupied by a stone bed - arcosalium, and an entrance room (room) called the chapel Angel, size 3.4x3.9 meters. In the middle of the Angel's chapel there is a pedestal with a part of the sacred stone, which was rolled away at one time from the Holy Tomb by the Angel and on which he sat, addressing the myrrh-bearing women.
The modern Church of the Holy Sepulcher is a huge architectural complex, including Golgotha with the site of the Crucifixion, the rotunda - an architectural structure with a huge dome, under which the Edicule is directly located, the Catholicon, or cathedral Temple, which is the cathedral for the Patriarchs of Jerusalem, the underground Church of the Finding of the Life-Giving Cross, the Holy Temple Equal to the Apostles Helena, several chapels - small churches with their own altars. There are several active monasteries on the territory of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher; it includes many auxiliary rooms, galleries, etc. Moreover, various parts of the Temple belong to several Christian denominations. For example, the Church of the Franciscans and the Altar of Nails - to the Catholic Order of St. Francis, the Church of Equal-to-the-Apostles Helen, the chapel of the “Three Marys” - the Armenian Apostolic Church, the grave of St. Joseph of Arimathea, altar on the western part of the Edicule - Ethiopian (Coptic) church. But the main shrines - Golgotha, Edicule, Catholicon, as well as the general management of services in the Temple belong to the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem. Since the time Jerusalem began to belong to Orthodox Christians, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher has been located within the city, surrounded by a high square wall under Sultan Suleiman; The length of exactly each of the four sides is exactly one kilometer.
Since ancient times it has been known about the Miracle of the Descent of the Holy Fire on the Holy Sepulcher. The Fire that descended has a unique property: it does not burn in the first minutes. By commanding the Fire to descend, the Lord testifies to His Resurrection. The first witness to the descent of the Holy Light into the Holy Sepulcher was, according to the testimony of St. Fathers, Apostle Peter. Having run to the Tomb after the news of the Resurrection of the Savior, in addition to the burial shrouds, as we read in the Gospel, he saw an amazing light inside the Tomb of Christ. “Having seen this, Peter believed, he saw not only with sensual eyes, but also with a high apostolic mind: the Sepulcher was filled with light, so that although it was night, he saw it in two images: internally, sensually and spiritually.” This is how Saint Gregory of Nyssa tells us about this. The earliest written testimony of an eyewitness to the appearance of the Holy Fire on the Holy Sepulcher dates back to the 4th century and was preserved by the church historian Eusebius Pamphilus.
Although according to many, both ancient and modern testimonies, the appearance of the blessed light can be observed in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher throughout the year, the most famous and impressive is the miraculous descent of the Holy Fire on the eve of the Feast of the Holy Resurrection of Christ on Holy Saturday. 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, etc.), as well as representatives of other non-Christian religions. To see the miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire, people have been gathering at the Holy Sepulcher since Good Friday; many stay here immediately after the procession of the Cross, which takes place in memory of the events of that day. The descent of the Holy Fire itself takes place on Holy Saturday in the afternoon. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is so filled that people stand close to each other on Saturday morning, even in the most remote places of the Temple. Those who do not get inside the Temple fill the square and the entire surrounding area. According to the most conservative estimates, the capacity of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is up to 20 thousand people, the area around the Temple and the immediate surroundings of the Temple can accommodate another 50 thousand people. On Holy Saturday, the Temple, the square in front of the Temple, and the immediate surroundings are filled with people awaiting the descent of the Holy Fire. This is how it was, according to the descriptions of Russian pilgrims, a hundred, two hundred, and nine hundred years ago. One of the most ancient descriptions of the descent of the Holy Fire belongs to Abbot Daniel, who visited the Holy Tomb in 1106-1107. This is how he describes this event:
“And when it was seven o’clock on the Sabbath day (about 12-13 o’clock modern time. - Auto.), King Baldwin went (the Temple at that time belonged to the Crusaders. - Auto.) with his army to the Holy Sepulcher from his house, everyone went on foot. The king sent messengers to the courtyard of the monastery of Sava the Sanctified and called the abbot and the monks, they went to the Sepulcher, and I, thin, went with them. We came to the king and bowed to him. Then he bowed to the abbot and all the monks and ordered the abbot of the Sava monastery and me, the thin one, to go near him, and he ordered the other abbots and all the monks to go in front of him, and ordered his army to go behind. And they came to the western doors of the Temple of the Resurrection (The Temple in those days looked different from the modern one. - Auto.). And many people surrounded the church doors and could not then enter the Temple. Then King Baldwin ordered his soldiers to disperse the people by force, and a road was built among the crowd, like a street, all the way to the Sepulcher. We walked to the eastern doors of the Holy Sepulcher, the king went ahead and took his place, on the right side of the fence of the great altar, opposite the eastern doors and the doors of the Sepulcher. Here was the seat of the king, created on an eminence. The king ordered the abbot of the Sava monastery with his monks and Orthodox priests to stand over the Tomb. He ordered me, a thin man, to be placed high above the very doors of the Tomb, opposite the great altar, so that I could see through the doors of the tomb. There are all three grave doors (in the modern Edicule there is one. - Auto.) were sealed with the royal seal.
Catholic priests stood in the great altar. And when the eighth hour of the day arrived, the Orthodox priests began the service at the top of the Sepulchre, all the spiritual men and many hermits were there. The Catholics in the great altar began to squeal in their own way. So they all sang, and I stood here and diligently looked at the tomb doors. And as they began to read the proverbs of Holy Saturday, at the first reading of the proverbs, the bishop and the deacon came out of the great altar, approached the tomb doors, looked into the Tomb through the sacrum of the doors, saw no light in the Tomb and returned back. And as they began to read the sixth proverb, the same bishop approached the tomb doors and saw nothing. Then all the people screamed with tears: “Kyrie, eleison!” - which means “Lord, have mercy!” And when the ninth hour had passed and they began to sing the passage song “We sing to the Lord,” then suddenly a small cloud came from the east and stood over the uncovered top of the Temple, a little rain began to fall over the Sepulcher and very wet us standing at the Sepulcher. Then suddenly the light shone in the Holy Sepulchre, a bright brilliance emanated from the Sepulcher.
The bishop came with four deacons, opened the tomb doors, took a candle from King Baldwin, entered the Tomb, lit the first royal candle from the light of the saint, took this candle out of the Tomb and handed it to the king himself. The king stood in his place, holding the candle with great joy.
From the king's candle we lit our candles, and from our candles all the people lit their candles. The holy light is not the same as earthly fire, but the wonderful light glows differently, its flame is red, like cinnabar, glows unspeakably.”
P Almost the same procedure is happening now. Only the modern Temple does not have a hole in the dome; the knightly guards were replaced by Israeli police and Turkish guards. The entrance to the modern Temple is not from the east, but from the south, and Catholics now do not participate in the descent of the Holy Fire. Both historical and modern practice indicate that during the descent of Fire, three groups of participants must be present.
First of all - Patriarch of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church or one of the bishops of the Jerusalem Patriarchate with his blessing (as was the case in 1999 and 2000, when the Fire was received by the Guardian of the Sepulcher, Metropolitan Daniel). Only through the prayers of this obligatory participant in the sacrament of the Holy Fire is the miracle of its descent performed. This is an experience proven over centuries.
In 1578, when the Turkish mayor of Jerusalem was replaced, the Armenian priests agreed with the new mayor to transfer the right to receive the Holy Fire instead of the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem to a representative of the Armenian Church. The Orthodox Patriarch and the clergy in 1579 on Holy Saturday were not even allowed into the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. They stood in front of the closed doors of the Temple from the 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 the closed doors of the 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, the Orthodox priesthood entered the Temple (the Turks immediately expelled the Armenian priests from Edicule) 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.
Since 1579, no one has challenged or attempted to receive the Holy Fire bypassing the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem. Representatives of other Christian faiths are necessarily present in the Temple on Holy Saturday, but receive the Fire from the hands of the Orthodox Patriarch.
Mandatory participants in the sacrament of the descent of the Holy Fire are Abbot and monks of the Lavra of St. Savva the Sanctified. Of all the ancient monasteries of the Judean Desert, which once flourished with great ascetics, only this monastery, seventeen kilometers from Jerusalem, in the Kidron Valley, not far from the Dead Sea, has been preserved in its original form. In 614, during the invasion of Shah Hasroi, the Persians killed fourteen thousand monks here. There are fourteen monks in the modern monastery, including two Russians. But the presence of the abbot of the monastery with the monks was mandatory both during the pilgrimage of abbot Daniel, and during the descent of Fire in modern times.
And finally, the third group of mandatory participants - local Orthodox Arabs. On Holy Saturday - twenty to thirty minutes after the sealing of the Edicule - Arab Orthodox youth, shouting, stomping, and beating drums, riding on top of 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 in Arabic addressed to Christ and Mother of God, Who is asked to beg the Son to send Fire to St. George the Victorious, especially revered in the Orthodox East. Young Orthodox Arabs loudly exclaim, literally shout, that they are “the most eastern, the most Orthodox, living where the sun rises, bringing with them candles to light the Fire.” 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. All three of these groups necessarily take part in the modern litany of the Holy Fire.
IN In our time, the descent of the Holy Fire occurs on Holy Saturday, usually between 13 and 15 hours Jerusalem time. Around ten o'clock on Holy Saturday, all the candles and lamps in the entire huge architectural complex of the Temple are extinguished. After this, the procedure for checking the Edicule for the presence of sources of fire and sealing the entrance to the Edicule with a large wax seal takes place. Representatives of the Jerusalem mayor's office, Turkish guards, Israeli police, etc., who carried out the inspection, put their personal seals on the large wax seal. Then you become a witness to a miraculous phenomenon. At first, occasionally, and then more and more, the entire air space of the Temple is pierced by flashes of light, flashes of light. They have a bluish color, their brightness and size increase in waves. A short time after the sealing of the Edicule, young Orthodox Arabs, as already mentioned, begin to offer their prayers to Christ, the Most Holy Theotokos, and Saint George for the granting of the Holy Fire. Their emotional prayers, exclamations and dancing, accompanied by beating the drums, take place directly at the Edicule for 20-30 minutes. After some time, usually about thirteen o’clock, the litany itself begins (in Greek, “prayer procession”) of the Holy Fire - a procession of the cross from the altar of the Catholicon through the entire Temple with access to the rotunda and a three-fold circumambulation of the Edicule. In front are the banner bearers with twelve banners, behind them are the youths with ripids, the crusader cleric, and finally, His Beatitude the Patriarch of Jerusalem himself. The abbot and the monks of the Monastery of Saint Sava the Sanctified also take part in the procession. The Patriarch stops just before the entrance to the Edicule; he is unmasked: his festive vestments are removed and he is left in one white vestment. At the same time, sometimes the Patriach is searched. Although this is not done every time mandatory, but government officials can always exercise this right, which was often done in the past. This depends on the order of the immediate authorities of Jerusalem: if the ruler hates Christians, they can search. In only one vesture the Patriarch enters the Edicule. Now everything depends on him, on his secret kneeling prayer. The tension reaches its highest point, many of those gathered are seized by the feeling that, due to his sins, the Great Miracle may not happen. After the Patriarch enters the Edicule, the intensity and frequency of bluish light flashes increases. Bluish lightning strikes throughout the Temple, either from above from under the domes, down, or from below under the domes of the Temple. An unpredictable shower of such bluish flashes of lightning permeates the entire space of the Temple, especially the Edicule during the kneeling prayer of the Patriarch at the three-day bed of the Savior for the descent of the Holy Fire. His prayer can take ten minutes, maybe more than an hour - depending on how it turns out. The faces of the people in the Temple awaiting the descent of the Fire are full of excitement and expectation. Someone sings prayers to Christ and the Mother of God, someone is anxiously awaiting a miracle and is afraid that, due to our sins, it may not happen when the bluish flashes of lightning subside. All those waiting are imbued with a sense of participation in a great event that occurs no more than two thousand times in the entire history of mankind. During this time, the Roman, Abyssinian, Byzantine, Ottoman empires managed to develop, become famous and perish; enormous changes took place in the ordinary way of life of people, but according to the kneeling prayer of the Patriarchs of Jerusalem on Holy Saturday, in anticipation of a huge number of people, for almost two thousand For years this Great Miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire has been invariably performed.
And finally the Fire goes down. Even before the Patriarch appears with candles lit from the Holy Fire at the door of the Edicule, the speed-walking candle-bearers, who received the Holy Fire through the windows in the chapel of the Angel, are already carrying it throughout the entire Temple. And the joyful ringing of bells, sounding on Holy Saturday only after the descent of the Fire, informs everyone present in the Temple and the surrounding area about the miracle that has taken place. The fire spreads with lightning speed throughout the Temple - everyone lights their candles from the candles of the messengers-candidates and from each other. Fire doesn't burn, and not only the Fire from the Patriarchal Candle, but also from all ordinary candles bought not in the Temple (there is no trade here), but in ordinary Arab shops in the Old City.
Separately, it is necessary to say about the intensity of the flame. The Easter candle of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is thirty-three connected candles. Basically, each of those present holds three bunches of candles and candles from other places in the Holy Land. When the Fire has reached a person, there is a standing fire in our hands, from which intense heat emanates. It should be noted that in the Temple people stand so densely that if the Fire were ordinary, someone would definitely catch fire, because everyone has more than one bunch in their hands. However, before each other’s eyes, people are literally washed by the Holy Fire, which at first does not burn at all. Everyone's flame is so vast that it can be seen touching nearby people. The fire literally touches the clothes of nearby people and the headscarves of women. And in the entire history of the descent of Fire - not a single accident, not a single fire.
P After this, a solemn procession with Fire begins in the Old City, which, by the way, is carried at the head of each column by Muslim Turks. The population of Jerusalem is about 800,000 people; the entire Christian and Arab communities of Jerusalem (more than 300,000 people) participate in the processions, and even Muslim Arabs consider it necessary to bring the Holy Fire into the house and light household lamps from it. This day in Jerusalem is not celebrated only by Jews who prefer not to leave their homes and have sad faces the next day. It is the Jews who mainly write about the imitation of the descent of the Holy Fire by “dishonest” priests (calling the phenomenon of the descent of the Fire Greek “tricks”), and in the last almost fifty years the Jews have participated in both the sealing of the Edicule and the search of the Patriarch of Jerusalem.
A little needs to be said about the possibility of forgery. The fact is that the land itself on which the Temple is built belongs to a Turkish family. Every morning an interesting ritual takes place: priests standing in front of the main gate await the opening of the Temple, hand over the rent that was established a long time ago, and then, accompanied by members of the Turkish family, enter the Temple. Any procession in the Temple, for example, the Easter procession around the Edicule, is accompanied by kavas - Turks who protect the processions from provocations of Muslims and Jews. Before entering the Edicule of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, it remains sealed, under the supervision of two Turkish guards and the Israeli police. On Holy Saturday, as has already been said, before entering the Edicule, the Patriarch is unmasked and thoroughly searched, although not always. Safety of the seal on entrance doors The Edicule is checked before the Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Armenian High Priest enter it. To receive the Fire, two people enter the Edicule - the Patriarch of Jerusalem and a representative of the Armenian Church. The representative of the Armenian Church, entering together with the Patriarch of Jerusalem into the Edicule to receive the Fire, remaining in the chapel of the Angel, sees all the actions and has the opportunity to intervene. Considering the almost two-thousand-year interest of non-Christian participants in this Great Miracle in exposing and disrupting at least one descent of the Holy Fire, the version of forgery can only bring a smile to people living in Jerusalem. Even Muslim Arabs who consider it necessary to bring the Holy Fire home will consider any discussion of forgery to be a deception. They have a legend that in the year when the Holy Fire does not descend, the end of the world will come.
The question of how the Holy Fire descends on the Savior’s three-day bed has long been of interest to the curious. There is direct evidence of the painting of the lighting of the Holy Fire. In the letter of Arefa, Metropolitan of Caesarea of Cappadocia, to the Emir of Damascus (beginning of the 10th century) it is written: “Then suddenly lightning appears and censers are lit, all the inhabitants of Jerusalem take from this light and light a fire.” The Constantinople cleric Nikita wrote (947): “About the sixth hour of the day, looking at the Divine Tomb of the Savior, the Archbishop sees the Divine manifestation of light: for through the chapel of the Angel he has access to the door. Having seized the time to transmit this light to the polycandiles located in the holy church of God, as he usually does, he had not yet emerged from the Tomb when one could suddenly see the entire church of God, filled with invincible and Divine light.” Trifon Korobeinikov wrote (1583): “And then all people see the grace of God coming from heaven to the Holy Sepulcher, fire walking along the board of the Holy Sepulcher like lightning and every color is seen in it: the Patriarch approaches the Tomb holding candles on the side of the Tomb , and fire will descend from the Holy Sepulcher onto the patriarchal hands and candles. At the same time, the Christian incense burned itself, like that over the Holy Sepulcher.” Hieromonk Meletius, who made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1793-1794, recounts the story of the descent of Fire from the words of Archbishop Misail, Epitrope of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, who received the Fire for many years. “When I entered,” he said, “inside the Holy Tomb, we saw on the entire lid of the Tomb a shining light, like scattered small beads, in the form of blue, white, scarlet and other colors, which then, copulating, turned red and transformed over time into substance of fire; but this fire, for as long as one can slowly read “Lord, have mercy” fourty times, does not burn, and from this fire the prepared candlesticks and candles are kindled.”
All of the above sources report either the condensation of liquid small drops of “fire beads” directly on the bed-arcosalia of the Holy Sepulcher with the existing dome above the Edicule, or the fall of rain drops above the Edicule and the presence of “small beads” on the lid of the Holy Sepulcher due to rain when the dome of the Temple is open and about bluish flashes - lightning that precede the descent of the Holy Fire. Both of these phenomena simultaneously take place during the kneeling prayer of the Patriarch of Jerusalem and at the present time. His prayer leads to the ignition of the Holy Fire from small drops of liquid in the presence of flashes - lightning; at the same time, the wicks of candles or lamps on the lid of the Holy Sepulchre are spontaneously lit. It is also possible to light the wicks of Orthodox lamps hanging near the Edicule. This is how it happened almost two thousand years ago, according to the descriptions of eyewitnesses, and this is how the miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire takes place, according to the descriptions of eyewitnesses, even today. Our Lord Jesus Christ commands Fire to ignite from droplets of “rain” on the lid of the Holy Tomb, or on the wick of an Orthodox lamp near the Edicule, at the prayer of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, as if reminding us, sinners, annually on Holy Saturday of our Resurrection and victory over hell. But sinful people They perceive the fact of the descent of the Holy Fire differently. To those who seek and doubt, the Lord testifies to the truth of his Resurrection precisely at this place in Jerusalem in Gospel times and strengthens them in faith. To those who are indifferent and not striving for their salvation and eternal life, He testifies to His Resurrection and the upcoming Last Judgment. He testifies to His conscious opponents of His victory over hell and the eternal torment that awaits all His opponents after the Last Judgment. Accordingly, different religions interpret the fact of the descent of Fire differently. Almost all Christian denominations (including Catholics up to Great Schism 1054 years - that is, before the separation of Catholicism from Orthodoxy - those who took an active part directly in the litany) are present in the Temple and receive the Holy Fire from the hands of the Patriarch of Jerusalem. Muslims are not officially present in the Temple, but they do not deny the fact of the descent of the Holy Fire, honoring our Savior Jesus Christ as one of their Prophets. Only Jews and atheists deny the fact of the descent of the Holy Fire, as well as the fact of the Resurrection of Christ. It is they who spread, including in the press, rumors about the “cunning” of dishonest priests. The officials who checked the Edicule, searched the Patriarch and were thus guarantors that there were no forgeries, under Christian and Muslim control over Jerusalem were representatives of the authorities who could execute for slander, and under the existing Israeli control of the authorities, according to Israeli laws, For libel, they can be subject to a substantial fine in court.
P For all possible options during the Miracle, the descent of the Holy Fire remains absolutely inexplicable from the point of view modern science the following phenomena:
1. The presence of flashes of light preceding and accompanying the ignition of the Holy Fire. After the Patriarch entered the Edicule, an extraordinary phenomenon was observed in the Temple. Throughout the Temple, but mainly near the area of the Katholikon and Edicule (the domes are located above them), flashes of a bluish color begin to appear, reminiscent of lightning, similar topics, which everyone observed in the evening sky. These lightning flashes can flash in any direction - from top to bottom, and from left to right, not necessarily under domes. Flashes have characteristics: light sparkles without a visible source, flashes never blind anyone, absent sound accompaniment(thunder), characteristic of ordinary lightning. All this creates the impression among eyewitnesses that the source of the flashes is, as it were, beyond the boundaries of our world. It is not difficult to distinguish them from camera flashes. Filming the anticipation and descent of Fire on his video camera, M. Shugaev was able to see clear differences. Using the frame-by-frame viewing mode and using still images, you can easily differentiate them: camera flashes are shorter in time and have a white color, lightning flashes are longer in time and have a bluish color. According to the testimonies of the monks serving obedience directly at the Edicule, bluish flashes can be seen in the Temple not only on Holy Saturday. But these are one-time and short-term flashes, long-lasting flashes of light that follow each other at short intervals occur only on Holy Saturday, somewhere from twelve to sixteen or seventeen hours.
2. The phenomenon of the appearance of liquid droplets. To begin with, it should be noted that only people on official business can see the Holy Tomb directly on Holy Saturday: clergy participating in the litany, and official representatives of the Jerusalem authorities sealing the Edicule and ensuring order. The information that is available may come either directly from such people, or in retellings from loved ones. In addition to the sources already cited, you can use the story of a 19th-century pilgrim who interviewed the Patriarch: “Where, your Beatitude, do you deign to receive the Fire in the Edicule?” The elderly archpastor, not paying attention to what was heard in the tone of the question, calmly answered as follows (I wrote down almost word for word what I heard): “I, dear sir, if you please know, am no longer a reader without glasses. When I first entered the chapel Angela and the doors closed behind me, twilight reigned there. Light barely penetrated through two holes from the rotunda of the Holy Sepulcher, also dimly lit from above. In the chapel of the Holy Sepulchre, I could not discern whether I had a prayer book in my hands or anything else. Barely "I could barely notice a whitish spot on the black background of the night: that, obviously, was the white marble plaque on the Holy Sepulchre. When I opened the prayer book, to my surprise, the seal became completely accessible to my vision without the help of glasses. I did not have time to read it with with deep emotional excitement, lines three or four, when, looking at the board, which was becoming more and more white and so that all four of its edges were clearly visible to me, I noticed on the board there were, as it were, small scattered beads different colors, or rather, it looked like pearls the size of a pinhead and even smaller, and the board began to positively emit light. Unconsciously sweeping away these pearls with a large piece of cotton wool, which began to merge like drops of oil, I felt a certain warmth in the cotton wool and just as unconsciously touched it with a candle wick. It flared up like gunpowder, and - the candle burned and illuminated three images of the Resurrection, as it illuminated the face of the Mother of God and all the metal lamps above the Holy Sepulchre" ( Nilus S. The shrine is hidden. Sergiev Posad, 1911). There are no official documents studying the chemical composition of droplets. Informal analytical studies conducted by modern enthusiasts indicate the essential oil content of the drops (similar compounds may be of a plant nature).
3. The phenomenon that Fire does not burn or scorch, despite the fact that the heat spreads. An ordinary candle fire has a temperature of many hundreds of degrees, close to a thousand degrees Celsius. If you try to perform ablution with such fire for more than five seconds, burns on your hands and face are guaranteed. Hair (beard, eyebrows, eyelashes) will catch fire or begin to smolder. In the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, more than ten thousand people light about twenty thousand bunches of candles for two or three minutes (most pilgrims light two or three bunches of candles). People stand close to each other. The volume of the Temple is limited. Try lighting twenty thousand bunches of candles in a dense crowd of people within a few minutes with ordinary fire. We think that most women's hair and clothing will definitely catch fire. With a thousand-degree fire temperature and twenty thousand fire sources in a closed room, heat strokes and fainting will occur, especially in the elderly. Holy Fire has a property that distinguishes it from the fire we are used to. Not only does it not burn, but it also does not burn for a period of time sufficient to say “Lord, have mercy” approximately forty times and during continuous washing with it. human face(without removing the hand with candles). Holy Fire heats, but does not burn! It should be noted that candles are easily lit by Fire and the Fire, which does not burn a person, spreads throughout the Temple due to the ignition of candles - one from the other. From the Patriarchal Candles, the Fire spreads throughout the entire Temple within a few minutes. Naturally, pilgrims with burning bundles of candles are in emotional delight, paying very little attention to the behavior of their neighbors. But no hanging parts of clothing (kerchiefs, belts) long hair Fire does not set women on fire! The age of most pilgrims, as a rule, is above average; they spend almost a day in the Temple, but heat strokes and fainting are not observed. In the entire history of the descent of Fire there has not been a single fire.
4. The presence of a joint appearance of all the above-described miraculous phenomena precisely on Holy Saturday on the eve of the holiday Orthodox Easter (in accordance with the Alexandrian Easter, which is currently followed only Orthodox Churches). We can say that the phenomena observed during the descent of the Holy Fire partially occur in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and in ordinary times. According to the testimonies of the monks who perform obedience directly at the Edicule, bluish flashes can be seen in the Temple not only on Holy Saturday. But these are one-time flashes. Numerous outbreaks with a short time interval occur only on Holy Saturday, from approximately 12 to 16-17 hours. The spontaneous lighting of lamps, also sometimes observed on other days, may be due to these flashes. But in ordinary times, such spontaneously igniting fire does not have the property of not burning. It seems that any attempts to reproduce the descent of the Holy Fire in a laboratory built in close proximity to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher will be forced to face the problem of reproducing the above-mentioned miraculous property of fire. With a lot of effort, it is possible to recreate and chemical composition drops, and with the help of special modern equipment, artificially recreate intense flashes of light (most likely accompanied by sound or thunder), but this property of Fire can never be reproduced! And the incident that occurred in 1579, when Fire descended from a column, indicates that the above description is a description of only the most common properties of the descent of Fire. But the Fire itself can descend in another way. It is impossible not to see that the descent of Fire on Holy Saturday on the Holy Sepulcher is the result of a direct Divine (in the language of science - transcendental) influence. The Lord has commanded every year for more than two thousand years that Fire should descend at the site of His suffering on the Cross and earthly death, and He commands it on the day before His Resurrection.
The descent of the Holy Fire is observed only on the eve of Orthodox Easter, on Orthodox calendar And only according to the prayers of the Orthodox Patriarch; The fire is going down only on the candles of the Orthodox Patriarch, that is indisputable evidence of the undoubted truth and divine grace of Orthodoxy- unlike many other denominations that only call themselves Christian. History remembers two cases when representatives of other Christian denominations tried to obtain Fire. The unsuccessful attempt of the Armenian clergy to obtain Fire has already been mentioned. In 1101, representatives of the Roman Catholic Church, who owned Jerusalem at that time, independently tried to obtain the Fire. The miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire in Edicule did not happen until Orthodox Christians were invited to participate in this rite. “The first Latin Patriarch Arnold of Choquet started unsuccessfully: he ordered the expulsion of the heretical sects from their territory in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, then he began to torture Orthodox monks, trying to find out where they kept the Cross and other relics. A few months later Arnold was succeeded on the throne by Daimbert of Pisa, who went even further. He attempted to expel all local Christians, even Orthodox Christians, from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and admit only Latins there, completely 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 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" ( Stephen Runciman. Eastern schism. M.: Nauka, 1998. pp. 69-70).
And since then, none of the non-Orthodox has tried to repeat such attempts, fearing failure and the shame that inevitably follows.
H The sight of the Holy Fire is one of the few miracles of Orthodoxy, in principle accessible to everyone who wants to know the truth: “come and see!” Any doubter, having paid 600-700 dollars (this is the price of a standard tourist trip to the Holy Land - Jerusalem, Tiberias - for 7 days), is fully able to personally verify the authenticity of the fact and all the above-described details of the descent of the Holy Fire. The miracle occurs in front of the whole world, “all progressive humanity” (and is even regularly broadcast on Russian television and on the Internet on the website of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem). But how many people respond with their hearts to this obvious call, obvious to everyone?.. Once upon a time, many hundreds of years before the birth of Christ, before His redemptive suffering and Resurrection, the inhabitants of Israel (and through them - before all humanity) faced the question of who was right: the servants of the True God or the servants pagan gods? This was the case when a dispute arose between the servants of the idol of Baal and the prophet of God Elijah (see 1 Kings 18, 21-39). And after much debate, Elijah offered them a simple way to check who was right. We, people of the 21st century, can rightly call this method an experimental method - in accordance with the exact criteria of the experimental method accepted in modern science. The proposal was this: “Let each of us call on the name of his God, and the God who gives the answer through fire is the true God. And if the Lord is God, then let us follow Him, and if Baal is God, then let us follow Baal.” And then, by the grace of God, it was revealed who the true God is and who is His true admirer, because the fire came down then only through the prayer of the prophet Elijah and burned the sacrifice, the wood, and the stone altar itself, which the priests of Baal encroached on were a complete fiasco. And then it became clear to everyone where true worship of God was.
The situation of the descent of the Holy Fire on the Holy Sepulcher every year practically reproduces this experimental situation that took place many hundreds of years before the Nativity of Christ. And here there are many praying representatives of different faiths, and here there is a true servant of the true God, through whose prayer (and only through his prayer!) Fire miraculously descends, possessing supernatural properties. But aren’t there now ministers of other faiths trying to dispute their right to receive fire from God, as was the case under Elijah? Due to the fact that such attempts, as history shows, always end in failure, and there is no one else willing to take risks and be disgraced... God is unchangeable, this is clearly evidenced by the biblical Old Testament text: I am the Lord your God, and I will not change(Mal. 3, 6). And just as then, in the distant times of Elijah, God, unchangeable in nature, gives an answer to questioning humanity, the answer to the question of where true faith is, gives an answer through fire. The answer is not false, just as the answerer himself is not false - The Lord is the truth(Jer. 10, 10). And anyone who accepts the biblical text as truth must, by virtue of his faith in the unchangeable God and faith in the authenticity of the mentioned story about the descent of fire from heaven through the prayer of the prophet Elijah, with logical necessity, draw the conclusion that fire is sent by God only through the prayer of His true minister. But, as a rule, no one draws this conclusion... In that ancient history about the descent of fire through the prayer of the prophet Elijah, perhaps the most amazing thing was not even the miracle of its descent itself, but the fact that, having at first received with delight the miraculous testimony of the true God, the Israelites almost immediately fell back into apostasy. The children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, destroyed Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword; I am left alone, but they are looking for my soul to take it away(3 Kings 19:10) - this is how the prophet Elijah complains to God about them only a short time after the miracle of the descent of the fire. This is what is most striking in all this ancient history.
A similar picture remains in our time - the joy of rejoicing at the descent of the Holy Fire is replaced by a retreat into the darkness of lies for the majority of witnesses of its descent in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre... The Fire descends, leaving fallen and blind humanity unrequited, unrequited in the face of the Righteous Judge. They did not accept the love of the truth for their salvation(2 Thess. 2:10) - this is the pattern of behavior of the human race drowning in sins, and even an obvious miracle of God cannot do anything with this vicious pattern, a conscious and voluntary pattern...
From the editors of the magazine "Holy Fire": In defense of the miracle of the Holy Fire, see the articles
In ancient Jerusalem, on Holy Saturday - the eve of Orthodox Easter - the ceremony of the Descent of the Holy Fire takes place. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is filled with pilgrims from all over the world. The Armenian archimandrite and the Greek patriarch enter the chapel (Edicule), built according to legend at the burial site of Christ. Soon Fire appears and is transmitted to believers. But how does it light up?
ON THIS TOPIC
For centuries, people have been looking for the answer to this question. For Christians, the divine nature of Fire is unconditional. Atheists talk about a grandiose hoax. Allegedly, in the tomb behind the icon there is a niche hidden from view in which a lamp burns. It is from this that the so-called Holy Fire ignites. They also write about spontaneously combustible oil, which flares up when interacting with oxygen.
They say that this whole noisy ceremony is just a representation, like all other ceremonies of Holy Week. More than two thousand years ago, the joyful news from the Sepulcher shone and illuminated everything around. And now there is a symbolic repetition of how the news of the Resurrection spread throughout the world.
Several years ago, employees of the Kurchatov Institute, dealing with physical problems, attended the ceremony of the descent of the Holy Fire and made special measurements. A few minutes before the fire was removed, a device recording the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation detected a strange long-wave pulse, which no longer appeared. That is, an electrical discharge occurred.
Such discharges often occur at fault boundaries tectonic plates, and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher stands in such a unique place. Scientists were also interested in the property of the Holy Fire not to burn at first. This is how plasma behaves - a low-temperature ionized substance. Until now it has only been possible to obtain it in laboratory conditions.
No one can give an exact answer about the nature of Fire. Yes, this is not necessary. What is more important is that it unites believers all over the planet; millions of Christians are waiting for its appearance. After all, according to legend, the day when a miracle does not happen will become a sign of the end of the world.