www.byzcath.org Forums News & Events Church News Jerusalem: Holy Fire Descends Yet Again!

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Saturday, April 10, 2004 � Last updated 12:38 p.m. PT

Orthodox Christians celebrate holiday

By AARON KEITH HARRIS
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

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JERUSALEM -- A sea of candles and torches illuminated Christianity's holiest
shrine, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, as thousands of pilgrims
participated in Saturday's holy fire ceremony, a key ritual of Easter Week.

The shrine, marking the site where tradition says Jesus was crucified and
buried, was especially packed because Western and Orthodox churches, which
follow different calendars, celebrate Easter on the same day this year.

Only the Orthodox churches traditionally participate in the ceremony.

At the start of the ceremony, church leaders descended into the underground
burial area. The faithful clutched their bundles of unlit candles and
torches while waiting in the darkened church for a flame to emerge from the
tomb.

Some Christians believe the flame appears spontaneously, as a message from
Jesus that he has not forgotten his followers.

When church leaders emerged with a lighted torch, a cheer arose, and the
flames were passed around, illuminating the church within seconds.

Many believers held their hands in the fire from their candles, some even
"washed" their faces with the holy flames without wincing as the church
bells pealed to signify the miracle had again occurred.

Security around the church was tight, with dozens of police officers
guarding the event and hundreds of worshippers forced to wait behind police
barricades.

Greek TV showed pictures of Israeli police and Greek guards scuffling
briefly. The guards were surrounding the Greek Orthodox patriarch, Eireneos,
and representatives of the Greek government, including Deputy Foreign
Minister Panayiotis Skandalidis, the TV report said.

Police limited attendance fearing that overcrowding could be a fire hazard
to the ancient basilica.

But those outside eventually received their fire and some carried their
candles through the streets, with melting candle wax covering their hands.

Angelo Stergiou, 28, a Greek Orthodox physician from Hagen, Germany, was
still holding his lit candle as he left the Old City through the Jaffa Gate.
"It's a memorable experience that every Christian should experience at least
once in his lifetime," Stergiou said.

During the ceremony two years ago, the Greek patriarch and an Armenian
clergyman designated to enter the tomb began to exchange blows following a
dispute over who should exit the chamber first.

Custody of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is shared by a number of
denominations that jealously guard their responsibilities under a fragile
network of agreements hammered out over the last millennia.

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http://newsfromrussia.com/world/2004/04/10/53349.html
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004.04.10/16:37

Believers to watch Holy Fire descent on Holy Saturday

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Thousands of believers will gather near the Holy Sepulchre Church in Jerusalem in the anticipation of the miraculous descent of the Holy Fire.

According to a RIA Novosti correspondent, among the believers will be Russian political, religious and public figures who had arrived in Jerusalem within the delegation of the Social Fund of Andrew the First Called Apostle. They will deliver the Holy Fire to Moscow from Jerusalem just in time for the Easter church service to begin in the Church of Christ the Savior at 11 p.m. Moscow time.

The Holy Fire has been descending in the Holy Sepulchre Church for more than one millenium. The famous Church Father St. Gregory of Nyssa is believed to be one of the first to mention the miracle on the eve of the Resurrection of Christ back in the 4th century.

The church service of the Holy Fire begins about 24 hours before the Orthodox Easter begins. This year it coincides with the Easter celebrations of other Christian confessions.

Inside the Church above the Holy Sepulchre, there is a small chapel called Kuvuklia. As tradition has it, at 10-11 a.m. on Holy Saturday a priest clad in inner-rason brings a big icon lamp where the Holy Fire is expected to descend and 33 candles (the number of the years of Christ's earthly life) into the cave. Then Kuvuklia is sealed.

After a series of rituals, the Orthodox Patriarch stops opposite the entrance to the chapel. His chasuble is taken off, and he is left wearing the linen chimer only for everyone to see that he is not taking any matches or other fire making devices with him. The Patriarch goes inside, and the doors behind him are sealed with a big piece of wax and a red ribbon.

Then light is switched off in the church and anticipatory silence follows.

The believers pray, confess their sins and ask God to grant them the Holy Fire.

After a while, the entire Church becomes covered with lightning lines that seem to be sliding down the walls and columns. In parallel, the candles held by those inside the Church and on the square are miraculously lit up. Witnesses say that Kuvuklia then begins to shine, and a vertical broad column of light descends on the Holy Sepulchre through the hole in the church's dome. Then the doors of the church open and the Patriarch comes out to bless the believers and gives them the Holy Fire.

Notably, in the beginning the fire has a miraculous feature - it does not burn at all.

Thanks for the post. There is more about it with pictures etc. on the pages of the Holy Sepulchre Church webpage at

http://www.orthodoxphotos.com/Orthodox_Miracles/Pascha_Holy_Light/index.shtml

Christ is Risen! Thanks for the blessed news. May the Holy Light illumine us all, however far we may be from Jerusalem.
Incognitus