When there is a blessed fire. Where does the Holy Fire come from?

In this section I would like to publish photographs that depict the miracles of Orthodox life. Many non-believers may say that this is a photo montage, a fake, etc. But let us remember how Christ spoke about such people: that even if “a dead man gets up and walks, it will not be enough for their faith.” Let us remember that nothing is impossible for God and perhaps these photographs are signs sent by God from above.

Miracle of the Holy Fire.

The Descent of Fire on Easter has been happening for about 2 thousand years. It is believed that the year when the Fire does not ignite will be the last in the history of mankind.

In the 4th century, by order of Saint Helen Equal to the Apostles, a magnificent temple, the Basilica, was erected over the site of the crucifixion and burial of our Lord Jesus Christ. Under its arches were both Golgotha ​​and the Holy Tomb. The basilica was rebuilt several times, destroyed (614), restored and is now known as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Since ancient times, directly above the burial cave of the Savior there has been a chapel - Kuvukpia, which means “royal bedchamber”, where the “King of kings and Lord of lords” was laid up for a three-day sleep. The Holy Tomb consists of two rooms: a small “burial chamber” almost half occupied by a stone bed - arcosapium, and an entrance room called the chapel of the Angel. In the middle of the Angel's chapel there is a pedestal with a part of the sacred stone, which was rolled away from the Holy Tomb by the Angel and on which he sat, addressing the myrrh-bearing women.

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is a huge architectural complex that includes several churches and chapels belonging to different Christian denominations. For example, the Altar of Nails - to the Catholic Order of St. Francis, the Church of Equal-to-the-Apostles Helen and the chapel of the "Three Marys" - Armenian apostolic church, grave of St. Joseph of Arimathea - Ethiopian (Coptic) Church. But the main shrines - Golgotha, Edicule, Kaphopicon (cathedral Temple), as well as the general management of services in the Temple, belong to the Jerusalem Orthodox Church.

During the descent of Fire, the presence of three groups of participants is necessary. First of all, the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem 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 does the miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire take place.

History remembers two cases when representatives of other Christian denominations tried to obtain Fire. "The first Latin Patriarch Arnopid 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 replaced on the throne by Daimbert of Pisa, who went even further. He tried to expel all local Christians, even Orthodox ones, from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and allow only Latins there, completely depriving the rest of the church buildings in or near Jerusalem. God's retribution soon struck: already in 1101, on Holy Saturday, the miracle of the descent did not occur. Holy Fire in Edicule, until Eastern Christians were invited to participate in this rite. Then King Baldwin I took care of returning their rights to local Christians."

In 1578, the Armenian priests agreed with the new mayor to transfer the right to receive the Holy Fire 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 Sepulchre. standing at closed doors Temple Orthodox priests prayed to the Lord. 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 and glorified 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 then, none of the non-Orthodox has attempted to repeat such attempts, fearing inevitable shame.

Mandatory participants in the sacrament of the descent of the Holy Fire are the abbot and the monks of the Lavra Saint Sava 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. IN modern monastery fourteen monks, including two Russians.

And finally, the third group of obligatory participants are local Orthodox Arabs. On Holy Saturday, shouting, stomping, and beating drums, Arab Orthodox youth rush into the Temple on top of each other and begin singing and dancing. There is no evidence about the time when this “ritual” was established. The exclamations and songs of Arab youth represent ancient prayers on Arabic turned 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. 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.

Around ten o'clock on Holy Saturday, all the candles and lamps in the Temple are extinguished. After this, the procedure for checking Kuvukpiya for the presence of sources of fire and sealing the entrance to it with a large wax seal takes place. The representatives of the Jerusalem mayor's office, the Turkish guards, and the Israeli police who carried out the inspection put their personal seals on the large wax plaque. And soon, first occasionally, and then more and more, the entire space of the Temple is pierced by flashes of light. They have a bluish color, their brightness and size increase in waves. At about thirteen o'clock the litany ("prayer procession") of the Holy Fire begins - religious procession from the altar of the Katholikon through the entire Temple, going around the Edicule three times. 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. Then the Patriarch is unmasked, remaining in only a white cassock. The Patriarch is searched, and he enters the Edicule. The tension reaches its highest point. The intensity and frequency of light flashes increases.

Finally, the Fire descends. Even before the Patriarch appears at the door of Kuvukpia with candles lit from the Holy Fire, the light-bearers-fast-walkers, who received the Fire through the windows in the chapel of the Angel, are already spreading it throughout the Temple. And the joyful ringing of the bell informs everyone about the miracle that has taken place. The fire spreads like lightning throughout the Temple. Moreover, Fire does not burn: and not only 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.

The Easter candle of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is thirty-three connected candles. Those present often carry two or three bunches of candles from other places in the Holy Land. In the Temple, people stand so densely that if the Fire were ordinary, someone would definitely catch fire. However, 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. And in the entire history of the descent of Fire - not a single accident, not a single fire.

Then in the Old City a solemn procession begins with the Fire, which, by the way, is carried at the head of each column by Muslim Turks. The entire Christian and Arab community of Jerusalem (more than 300 thousand people) participates in the processions, and even Muslim Arabs consider it necessary to bring the Holy Fire into the house and light household lamps from it. They have a legend that in the year when Fire will come down, the end of the world will come. This day in Jerusalem is not celebrated only by Jews who prefer not to leave their homes. It is the Jews who mainly write about the imitation of the descent of the Holy Fire by “dishonest” priests, calling it Greek “tricks.” And this despite the fact that in the last almost fifty years the Jews have been participating in both the sealing of the Edicule and the search of the Patriarch of Jerusalem.

It should be noted here that the land on which the Temple is built belongs to a Turkish family. Happens every morning interesting ritual: the priests hand over the rent established long ago and are then accompanied by the members Turkish family go to the Temple. Any procession in the Temple, including the procession of the cross on Easter, 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 stands sealed, under the supervision of two Turkish guards and the Israeli police. 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 latter, waiting for the Fire, remains in the Angel’s chapel, sees all the actions and has the opportunity to intervene. Therefore, the version of forgery can only bring a smile to people living in Jerusalem.00" hspace="20">

The question of how the Holy Fire descends interests many. 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, from this light all the inhabitants of Jerusalem flee and light a fire.” Hieromonk Meletius, who made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1793-1794, conveys the story of the descent of the Fire from the words of Archbishop Misaip, Epitrope of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, who received the Fire for many years. “When I went inside to the Holy Sepulcher, 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 the substance of fire; but this fire does not burn over the course of time, as soon as one can slowly read “Lord, have mercy” fourty times, and from this fire the prepared candlesticks and candles are kindled.”

All sources report either the condensation of liquid small drops of “fire beads” directly on the 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 with the open dome of the Temple 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. At the same time, the wicks of candles or lamps on the lid of the Holy Sepulcher are also spontaneously lit. It is also possible to light the wicks of Orthodox lamps hanging near the Edicule. In front of everyone possible options during the Miracle, the descent of the Holy Fire remains absolutely inexplicable from the point of view modern science the following phenomena.

The presence of flashes of light. These lightning flashes can flare up in any

rule and sparkle without a visible source, never blind anyone, and do not have the sound characteristic of ordinary lightning. All this gives eyewitnesses the impression that the source of the flashes is, as it were, outside our world. It is not difficult to distinguish them from camera flashes. I filmed the waiting and descent of Fire on a video camera, and, using the frame-by-frame viewing mode, I noticed that the flashes from the camera were shorter in time and had white, and lightning flashes last longer and have a bluish color.

The phenomenon of the appearance of liquid droplets. On Holy Saturday, only the clergy participating in the litany can see the Holy Tomb, and official representatives Jerusalem authorities, sealing the Edicule and ensuring order. Therefore, information can come either directly from them, or in retellings from loved ones. Let us cite the notes of a pilgrim of the 19th century, who wrote down the Patriarch’s story word for word: “I, dear sir, if you please know, am no longer a reader without glasses. When I first entered the chapel of the Angel and the doors closed behind me, twilight reigned there. The light barely penetrated through two openings 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 something else. I could barely see a whitish spot on the black background of the night: it was obviously white marble. board 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. Before I could read three or four lines with deep emotional excitement, I looked at the board, which was becoming more and more white. 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 dry off like drops of oil, I felt a certain warmth in the cotton wool and just as unconsciously touched it with the candle wick. It flared up like gunpowder, and - the candle burned and illuminated three images of the Resurrection, just as it illuminated the face of the Mother of God and all the metal lamps above the Holy Sepulcher" (Nilus S. Shrine under a Hidden. Sergiev Posad, 1911).

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 THE 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 is taken out, a device that records the spectrum electromagnetic radiation, caught a strange long-wave pulse, which no longer appeared. That is, an electrical discharge occurred.

Such discharges often occur at the boundaries of tectonic plate faults, 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.

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

Ancient time

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

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

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

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

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

A few months later, Arnold was succeeded on the throne by Daimbert of Pisa, who went even further. He tried to expel all local Christians, even Orthodox Christians, from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and allow only Latins there, generally depriving the rest of the church buildings in or near Jerusalem...

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

Middle Ages

In 1578, after the next change of the Turkish mayor of Jerusalem, the Armenian priests agreed with the newly-minted “mayor” that the right to receive the Holy Fire instead of the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem would be given to a representative of the Armenian Church. At the call of the Armenian clergy, many of their fellow believers came to Jerusalem from all over the Middle East to celebrate Easter alone...

On Holy Saturday 1579, Orthodox Patriarch Sophrony IV and the clergy were not allowed into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. They stood in front of the closed doors of the Temple 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.

The Orthodox priests standing at the closed doors of the Temple 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 and glorified the Lord. Traces of the descent of Fire can still be seen on one of the columns located to the left of the entrance.

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

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

Although the government has long since changed, the custom continues to this day. By the way, this was not the only attempt by the Muslim authorities to prevent the descent of the Holy Fire. Here is what the famous Islamic historian al-Biruni (IX-X centuries) writes: “...once the governor ordered the wicks of copper wire to be replaced, hoping that the lamps would not light up and the miracle itself would not happen. But then, when the fire died down, the copper caught fire.”
XX century

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

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

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

Representatives of the Kremenchug city authorities and clergy will specially go to the Boryspil airport to pick him up. The Holy Fire will be delivered to the Holy Dormition cathedral(Kryukov), where he will be met by Bishop Nikolai of Kremenchug and Lubensky, as well as priests Orthodox churches cities. As the press service of the diocese reported, it is assumed that the Fire will be brought before the start of the festive service, i.e. around 10-11 pm. After the meeting, the priests - representatives of the churches - will light special lamps from him and take the Fire to other churches of the diocese.

Why is it so important for the Holy Fire to descend? What happens if this doesn't happen? We asked Bishop Nikolai of Kremenchug and Lubensky to answer these and other questions.

— Vladyka, every year believers watch with transfixation the miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. When did this first happen?

There are references to the descent of heavenly fire in Old Testament. There are several cases described there when the Lord sent fire from heaven as a sign that the sacrifice was pleasing to Him, that He accepted it. Nowadays, in the days of the New Testament, the very first information about the descent of the Holy Fire is found in Gregory of Nyssa, Eusebius and Silvia of Aquitaine. They date back to the 4th century. Although there are earlier mentions. According to the testimony of the Apostles and Holy Fathers, the uncreated Light illuminated the Holy Sepulcher shortly after the Resurrection of Christ. One of the apostles, Peter, saw this. However, it is impossible to name a specific date. We can only say that the Fire began to descend from the time of the first Christians, and this is already more than two thousand years ago.

- What does the very fact of the descent of the Holy Fire mean?

With this miracle, the Lord seems to confirm the favor and grace of God towards people. This is when God favors us, our prayers, our repentance.

- If the Fire does not come down, could this mean the end of the world is approaching?

Actually, there are three beliefs that can foretell the approaching end of the world. And we can say that the end of the world is near only if all three come true. The first is if Noah's Ark is found on Mount Ararat. The second is when the Oak of Mamre, under which Abraham met the Three Angels - the Holy Trinity, dries up. And third - if not Blagodatny will do fire. There is already historical evidence that Noah's Ark has been found. As for the Mamre oak, there was a time when it dried up. However, in the 90s, during the revival Orthodox faith, when churches opened and services began to be fully conducted, the oak tree came to life again. So in 1996, green leaves were seen on it, and in 1998, living shoots appeared near the root trunk. But this tree is already about 5000 years old. Now the oak trunk, unfortunately, has dried up; it is supported by metal supports.

The third evidence of the approaching end of the world will be if on the eve of Easter, on Holy Saturday, Heavenly fire does not descend on the Holy Sepulcher. But everything depends on us. While people in churches pray and repent, the Lord endures and sends Grace, as evidenced by the descent of the Holy Fire.

- And yet, if the Fire suddenly does not come down, what should the world expect?

Today you can no longer ask anyone and you cannot clarify what will happen if the miracle of the descent of Fire does not happen. There are church traditions, there is Holy Letter. According to Holy Scripture, if the Fire does not descend, it will be a sign that the end of the world is near, that the Antichrist will reign. Terrible days will come for the people of God, for those who do not want to worship darkness. As the Scripture says, all the signs that we receive about the approaching end of the world will be confirmation last days life on earth.

The descent of the Holy Fire occurs only on Orthodox Easter and only in the presence and prayer of the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem. How do you explain this?

Only the truth of the Orthodox faith. There is evidence that one day the Orthodox Patriarch was kicked out of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, closing the doors to the church. The Patriarch remained on the porch at the entrance. He stood with candles in his hands and prayed. And through his prayer, the Fire of God descended on the column near which the patriarch stood. This happened in 1579. Now this column still stands at the entrance.

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

Shortly before 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 and tense silence sets in—waiting. Those present pray and confess their sins, asking the Lord to grant the Holy Fire.

All the people in the temple are patiently waiting for the patriarch to come out with Fire in his hands. However, in the hearts of many people there is not only patience, but also 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.

The prayer and ritual continue until the expected miracle occurs. IN different years The tedious wait lasts from five minutes to several hours.

Convergence

Before the descent, the temple begins to be illuminated by bright flashes of the Holy Light, small lightning flashes here and there. 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 located 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 from the crowd. The fire burns in the altar of the Catholicon! The flash and flame are like a huge flower. And 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 Edicule. It shines, the whole 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 Tomb.” The temple or its individual places are filled with an unparalleled radiance, which is believed to have first appeared during the Resurrection of Christ. At the same time, the doors of the Tomb open and the Orthodox Patriarch emerges, blessing those gathered and distributing the Holy Fire.

The patriarchs themselves talk about how the Holy Fire ignites. “I saw how the Metropolitan bent over the low entrance, entered the den and knelt before the Holy Sepulcher, on which nothing stood and which was completely naked. Not even a minute had passed before the darkness was illuminated with light and the Metropolitan came out to us with a flaming bunch of candles.” Hieromonk Meletius quotes the words of Archbishop Misail: “When I entered inside the Holy Sepulcher, I saw light shining on the entire lid of the Tomb, like scattered small beads, in the form of white, blue, scarlet and other colors, which then copulated, turned red and turned into the substance of fire ... and from this fire the prepared kandil and candles are lit.”

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

However, not everyone lights the fire from the patriarchal candle; for some, it lights up on its own. "Everything is brighter and stronger flash Heavenly Light. Now the Holy Fire began to fly throughout the entire temple. It scattered with bright blue beads over the Edicule around the icon of the “Resurrection of the Lord,” and one of the lamps flared up after it. He burst into the temple chapels, onto Golgotha ​​(he also lit one of the lamps on it), sparkled over the Stone of Confirmation (a lamp was also lit here). 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 a 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 scorch their hair. “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, I lit those candles, and on the third day I lit those candles, and I didn’t touch my wife with anything, not a single hair was singed or curled…” wrote one of the pilgrims four centuries ago. Parishioners call the droplets of wax that fall from the candles the Graceful Dew. As a reminder of the Miracle of the Lord, they will remain on the clothes of witnesses forever; no amount of powder or washing will remove them.

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

Rarer miracles also happen. One of the videotapes shows the healings taking place. Visually, the camera demonstrates two such cases - in a person with a disfigured rotting ear, the wound, smeared with Fire, heals right before our eyes and the ear returns to normal appearance, and also shows a case of the sight of a blind man (according to external observations, the person had cataracts on both eyes before “washing” himself with Fire).

In the future, lamps will be lit from the Holy Fire throughout Jerusalem, and the Fire will be delivered by special flights to Cyprus and Greece, from where it will be transported throughout the world. Recently, direct participants in the events began to bring it to our country. In areas of the city close to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, candles and lamps in churches light up on their own.”

Is it only the Orthodox?

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

Only for several centuries was Jerusalem under the control of Eastern Christians; most of the time, as now, the city was ruled by representatives of other teachings that were unfriendly or even hostile to Orthodoxy.

In 1099, Jerusalem was conquered by the crusaders, the Roman church and local city officials, considering the Orthodox as apostates, boldly began to trample on their rights. The English historian Stephen Runciman cites in his book a story about this chronicler of the Western Church: “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 were. keep 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, from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and allow only Latins there, completely depriving the rest of the church buildings in or near Jerusalem... God's retribution soon struck: already in 1101 on Holy Saturday the miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire did not happen in Edicule, until Eastern Christians were invited to participate in this ritual. Then King Baldwin I took care of returning their rights to local Christians...”

The chaplain of the Crusader kings of Jerusalem, Fulk, says that when Western admirers (from among the crusaders) visited St. city ​​before the capture of Caesarea, for the celebration of St. Easter came to Jerusalem, the whole city was in confusion, because the holy fire did not appear and the faithful remained in vain expectations all day in the Church of the Resurrection. Then, as if by heavenly inspiration, the Latin clergy and the king with their entire court went... to the Temple of Solomon, which they had recently converted into a church from the Omar Mosque, and meanwhile the Greeks and Syrians who remained with St. The coffins, tearing their clothes, called upon the grace of God with cries, and then, finally, St. descended. Fire".

But the most significant incident occurred in 1579. The owners of the Temple of the Lord are simultaneously representatives of several Christian Churches. Priests Armenian Church, contrary to tradition, they managed to bribe Sultan Murat the Truthful and the local mayor to allow them to individually celebrate Easter and receive the Holy Fire. At the call of the Armenian clergy, many of their co-religionists came to Jerusalem from all over the Middle East to celebrate Easter alone. The Orthodox, together with Patriarch Sophrony IV, were removed not only from the edicule, but also from the Temple in general. There, at the entrance to the shrine, they remained to pray for the descent of the Fire, grieving over their separation from Grace. The Armenian Patriarch prayed for about a day, however, despite his prayer efforts, no miracle followed. At one moment, a ray struck from the sky, as usually happens during the descent of Fire, and hit the column at the entrance, next to which the Orthodox Patriarch was located. Splashes of fire splashed out from it in all directions and a candle was lit by the Orthodox Patriarch, who passed on the Holy Fire to his co-religionists. This was the only case in history when the descent took place outside the Temple, actually through the prayers of the Orthodox, and not the Armenian high priest. “Everyone rejoiced, and the Orthodox Arabs began to jump for joy and shout: “You are our one God, Jesus Christ, our one true faith is the faith of Orthodox Christians,” writes monk Parthenius. At the same time, there were Turkish soldiers in the enfilades of buildings adjacent to the temple square. One of them, named Omir (Anwar), seeing what was happening, exclaimed: “ One Faith Orthodox, I am a Christian” and jumped down onto the stone slabs from a height of about 10 meters. However, the young man did not crash - the slabs under his feet melted like wax, imprinting his traces. For the adoption of Christianity, Muslims executed the brave Anwar and tried to scrape off the traces that so clearly testified to the triumph of Orthodoxy, but they failed, and those who come to the Temple can still see them, as well as the dissected column at the door of the temple. The body of the martyr was burned, but the Greeks collected the remains, which until late XIX centuries were in the convent of Great Panagia, exuding fragrance.

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

It is difficult to list all the numerous events that occur before and during the descent of the Holy Fire. However, one thing deserves special mention. Several times a day or immediately before the descent of the Holy Fire, icons or frescoes depicting the Savior began to stream myrrh in the Temple. This first happened on Good Friday in 1572. The first witnesses were two Frenchmen; a letter about this from one of them is kept in the Central Paris Library. 5 months later, on August 24, Charles IX carried out the St. Bartholomew's Massacre in Paris. In 1939 on the night of good friday On Holy Saturday she again cast myrrh. Witnesses were several monks living at Jerusalem Monastery. Five months later, on September 1, 1939, II began world war. In 2001 it happened again. Christians did not see anything terrible in this... but the whole world knows about what happened on September 11 of this year in the USA - five months after the myrrh-streaming.

Over the years, different people Other names were also used for the miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire: Gracious Light, Sacred Light, miraculous Light, Grace.