A scandal erupted in the Orthodox world on the eve of Easter. The Armenian priest stated that Holy Fire does not descend to people from heaven, but is lit from an ordinary lamp. According to legend, the absence of this miracle foreshadows the imminent end of the world. What is the meaning of the Holy Fire, whether there is a basis for the priest’s words and how representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church reacted to them - in the material “360”.

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The Miracle of the Oil Lamp

The Holy Fire is one of the main miracles for Orthodox Christians, which symbolizes the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is believed that this is a miraculous light, and on the eve of Easter candles and lamps are lit from it in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. This is one of the main Easter ceremonies, for which thousands of pilgrims come to Jerusalem. And so one of the priests declared that the miraculous nature of the Holy Fire is a fiction, and there is nothing mystical in it.

The representative of the Armenian Patriarchate in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Samuil Agoyan, spoke on the Israeli TV channel Hadashot 2, the Israel News website reports. The priest stated that he was in the Edicule three times - that is, the chapel where the Holy Sepulcher is located - during the lighting of the Holy Fire. He saw the patriarchs lighting wax candles from an oil lamp. “God works miracles, but not for the amusement of people,” Agoyan said.

These words outraged a representative of the Coptic Church, who was nearby at the time of the interview. The priest accused Agoyan of lying and demanded to stop filming. The Armenian priest retorted that a representative of the Coptic Church cannot know how the descent of the Holy Fire occurs, because the Copts are not present at this sacrament.

“360” talked with the Archpriest of the Russian Orthodox Church, Father Oleg, who explained that Armenians do not enter the place where the Holy Fire descends. They stand only in the Angel's porch - at the pedestal with part of the sacred stone rolled away by the angel. Representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church are also not present at the lighting of the Holy Fire.

“In general, a miracle is not something decisive in Christianity. A miracle is a crutch for those who doubt. And there is a danger - when people chase miracles, they can run away: when the main miracle worker - the Antichrist - comes, fire will fall from heaven,” the clergyman added.

It is believed that the day when the Holy Fire does not descend will be the last for the people who are in the temple. The temple itself will be destroyed. According to legend, this will also become one of the signs of the approaching end of the world.

Scandal before Easter

The Russian Orthodox Church considered the statement of the Armenian priest a provocation. Deputy Chairman of the Synodal Department for Relations between the Church and Society and the Media Vakhtang Kipshidze told “360” that Agoyan’s words are an attempt on Easter.

We deeply regret that during Lent, when many believers belonging to the Orthodox Church in Russia and other countries are preparing to celebrate the great event of Easter, attempts are being made to compromise the spiritual tradition of the Descent of the Holy Fire. We believe that these attempts result in a disruption of the prayer structure that accompanies many believers during Lent

— Vakhtang Kipshidze.

The archpriest of the Church of Theodore the Studite at the Nikitsky Gate, Vsevolod Chaplin, in a conversation with “360”, said that Agoyan succumbed to the provocation of the Israeli TV channel. According to Chaplin, many want to downplay the significance of the Holy Fire. “There are forces in Israel and in the world who would like to belittle the descent of the Holy Fire in every possible way, but, on the other hand, this is not the first time that some people who serve or previously served in Jerusalem say that the fire is lit from a lamp,” - he said.

He called on the Jerusalem Patriarchate to comment on these rumors and give a clear answer where the Holy Fire comes from.

I am convinced that the miracle took place for many centuries, but if what the Armenian cleric said is true, and what I heard regarding the lighting of the Holy Fire from some people who served in Jerusalem is true, then a very serious question arises: did it take away Does our Lord have this miracle, seeing how the world retreats from him. If indeed the Holy Fire does not descend for many years, it means that something is wrong with our world, which means that God’s mercy is being taken away from it.<…>If a miracle is taken away from us, then our world is doomed

- Vsevolod Chaplin.

What is the Holy Fire?

The descent of the Holy Fire takes place on Holy Saturday in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This is a symbolic image of the passion of Christ, the Burial and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The ceremony is conducted by priests of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church, the Jerusalem Patriarchate of the Armenian Apostolic Church, representatives of the Syrian and Coptic churches.

On the eve of the sacrament, all candles and lamps in the church are extinguished, and shortly before the arrival of the patriarch, the main lamp is brought in. The Holy Fire and 33 candles should burn in it. The number of candles is equal to the age of Christ.

Chairman of the Patriarchal Commission on Family Issues Dmitry Smirnov told “360” how the sacrament of the descent of the Holy Fire occurs and what events accompany it.

Those priests whom I know well, who were there on Holy Saturday, observed the following phenomenon: fire appeared in the atmosphere of the Edicule in the form of lightning and radiance. And we observed the self-lighting of candles. This is not every year, but it was told by those who went to Jerusalem for Easter. The fire was not just local at one point, but throughout the entire temple

— Dmitry Smirnov.

Orthodox Christians come from all over the world to meet the Holy Fire. Near the Edicule, they, together with the clergy, are waiting for the patriarch to come out with fire. Having appeared, he distributes the flame from his candle. It is believed that for the first few minutes the fire does not burn or scorch the hair, so believers seem to wash themselves with it.

Later, the Holy Fire is delivered by plane to Orthodox countries, where it is greeted with honor and used at Easter services.

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“Why does the Holy Fire descend only on Orthodox Easter?” - some people are interested. The Easter fire, which is also called the Holy Fire, symbolizes the light of God, enlightening all nations after the Resurrection of Christ.

How and where does the Holy Fire come from at Easter? Every year on the eve of Holy Saturday on Orthodox Easter, this fire is lit during a service held in the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Jerusalem. In 2019, this will happen on April 27.

This church service carried out by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Armenian, Coptic and Syriac Orthodox clergy. Believers pray, and after some time light appears inside the Edicule, then a bell rings in the temple.

This service is broadcast live in many countries, including Russia. Then the fire is delivered by plane to Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Serbia, Greece and other countries.

The Holy Fire is greeted church leaders and government leaders. After arriving from Jerusalem, it is solemnly carried to Orthodox churches in major cities. The lamps that are lit from this fire are carried home by believers.

Why does the Holy Fire descend only on Orthodox Easter?

In earlier times, before the expulsion of the Crusaders from Jerusalem in 1187, Catholic priests also took “participation in the ceremony of the descent of the Holy Fire and, simultaneously with the Orthodox, conducted their service in the temple.”

A similar ritual still exists today. Roman Catholic Church. In Catholic churches, before the start of services during Easter week, the Paschal candle is lit. All believers light candles from it.

In Germany, Easter bonfires are lit for the symbolic burning of Judas. This bonfire is also a symbol of the fire by which the Apostle Peter warmed himself, so anyone can warm himself near it.

The first evidence of the appearance of miraculous fire in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher dates back to the 9th century. Many believers believe that this fire, appearing supernaturally, comes down from above.

However, this is not confirmed by official sources of the churches holding the festive ceremony. Catholic Church also does not recognize the miraculous nature of the descent of the Holy Fire.

One of the reasons for believing in the descent of the Holy Fire on Orthodox Easter is the belief in the correctness of the Julian calendar.

In the Orthodox Church, Easter is always celebrated after the Jewish Passover, since Jesus Christ was resurrected on the first Sunday after it. According to the Gregorian calendar, adopted in Catholicism, Christian Easter is sometimes celebrated on the same day as the Jewish one or even earlier.

There is no documentary evidence of where and how the Holy Fire descends on Easter. However, many pilgrims who visited the temple in Jerusalem on Easter testified to miraculous phenomena occurring on Holy Saturday: spontaneous combustion of candles, flashes, lightning, etc. Such stories have been passed on from mouth to mouth for centuries.

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 convergence 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 handled their duties Ottoman Empire). 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 emerge from the altar in pairs, followed by clerics with ripids and life-giving cross, then 12 priests in pairs, then four deacons, also in pairs, and the last two of them, in front of the patriarch, hold bunches of candles in their hands in a silver stand for the most convenient transfer of the holy fire to the people, and, finally, the patriarch with a rod in right hand. With the blessing of the patriarch, the singers and all the clergy while singing: “Thy Resurrection, O Christ the Savior, the angels sing in heaven, and vouchsafe us on earth with a pure heart Glory to you” they go from the Church of the Resurrection to the edicule and go around it three times. After the third circumambulation, the patriarch, clergy and choristers 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 clothes 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 alone, for closed doors, the real mystery 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 are lowered on ropes wax candles, 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 anything with it: believers wash themselves with it and touch it with their hands without fear of getting burned. After a few minutes, the fire turns from cold to warm and acquires its 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.

A series of mystical events forced Christians to sit down at the negotiating table and decide that God wanted 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 in Arabic, in which they address Christ and the Mother of God. This condition is also mandatory for the appearance of fire.

“There is no evidence of the first performance of this ritual. The Arabs ask the Mother of God to beg 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 electromagnetic radiation, detected a strange long-wave pulse in the temple, which no longer manifested itself. 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 an electrical discharge, and we, by 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...

Non-burning “holy” fire in your apartment

Learn chemistry... :)

Initially, the ceremony dedicated to the so-called. The Holy Fire was celebrated at night from Saturday to Sunday. Constant fights between believers forced the Muslim authorities in Jerusalem to move the divine miracle from night time to day time. Prof. AA Dmitrievsky, referring to prof. AA Olesnitsky writes: “Once upon a time, the festival of fire at the Holy Sepulcher was connected directly with Easter Matins, but due to some disturbances that occurred during this celebration, at the request of the local authorities, it was moved to the previous day” (*_*).
In ancient times, the first whistleblowers (devout Muslims) did not particularly bother to seriously research work. They believed that fire appears with special device filled with compositions for spontaneous combustion.
This is how the 12th century historian Ibn al-Kalanisi described this technology: “When they are there on Easter... they hang lamps in the altar and arrange a trick so that the fire reaches them through the oil of balsam wood and devices made from it, and its property is the appearance of fire when combined with jasmine oil. It has a bright light and brilliant shine. They manage to pass a stretched iron wire like a thread between neighboring lamps, running continuously from one to another, and rub it with balsam oil, hiding it from view, until the thread passes to all the lamps” (*_*).

According to Islamic writers, there is an agreement between Muslim authorities and priests on mutually beneficial cooperation and fair distribution of funds received from donations from pilgrims. So al-Jaubari (d. 1242) writes: “Al-Melik al-Mu'azzam, the son of al-Melik al-Adil entered the Church of the Resurrection on the day of the Sabbath of Light and said to the monk (attached) to it: “I will not leave until I see this light go away." The monk said to him: “Which is more pleasing to the king: this wealth that flows to you in this way, or familiarity with this (business)? If I reveal its secret to you, then the government will lose this money; leave it hidden and receive this great wealth.” . When the ruler heard this, he understood the hidden essence of the matter and left him in his previous position” (*_*).

The income from the miracle is really big, prof. Dmitrievsky writes: “...Palestine feeds almost exclusively on the gifts that are brought to it by the admirers of the holy tomb from Europe. Thus, the Feast of the Holy Sepulcher is a holiday of happiness and prosperity of the country” (*_*). Muslims even thought of charging an entrance fee to Orthodox church, the case is truly unique. By the way, tickets are still being sold, only the profit goes to the Israeli treasury (*_*).
Around the 13th century, the ceremony of finding BO underwent an important change; if earlier fire was expected outside the Edicule and its appearance was judged by the white flash of light coming out from there, then after the 13th century they began to enter inside the Edicule to find fire. All past revelations talking about a special mechanism have lost their relevance. However, after such a change, the priests were very quickly caught in the act by a meticulous Muslim researcher (Ibn al-Jawzi (d. 1256)), who decided to independently find out how fire appears: “I lived in Jerusalem for ten years and went to the Temple of the Resurrection on their Easter and other days. I researched how the lamp is lit on Sunday - the festival of light. (...) When the sun sets and it becomes dark, one of the priests takes advantage of his inattention, opens a niche in the corner of the chapel, where no one can see him, lights his candle from one of the lamps and exclaims: “The light has come and Christ has had mercy.”. . "(*_*).

In other words, the fire is lit from a lamp hidden in a niche behind the icon. Naturally, such a trifle did not touch the greedy hearts of the local rulers, and this revelation was simply forgotten. The presence of niches behind icons is no longer a secret; they can even be seen in photographs of pilgrims posing against the backdrop of the slab of the Holy Sepulcher.

In principle, with some exceptions, Muslims did not doubt the fraud in connection with BO; only greed and other vices, the required funding, allowed them to calmly coexist with their religious competitors. In rare cases, when fanaticism and pure faith prevailed, the Muslims did not bother themselves with revelations, but simply destroyed the temple on the basis of suspicion alone, which, as we know among fanatics, is the queen of evidence (*_*).

The next exposer of the BO fraud was Polotsk Archbishop Melety Smotrytsky. His tossing soul tried to try on Catholics and Orthodox, which led him to the union. The devil pulled him to visit Jerusalem and join in the sacrament of the appearance of the Holy Fire to strengthen the Orthodox faith. To his former teacher, the Patriarch of Constantinople Cyril Lucaris in 1627, he writes: “Your Eminence, probably remember that I once asked you why your predecessor Meletius wrote against the new Roman calendar and tried to prove the superiority of the old before the new one, cites various miracles to confirm his opinion, not excluding those that are no longer repeated, but does not mention at all about this famous, annual miracle in Jerusalem. Did your Eminence answer this question to me in the presence of two of your household? dignitaries, protosyncellus Hieromonk Leontius and archdeacon Patriarch of Alexandria, that if this miracle had really happened in our time, then all the Turks would have believed in Jesus Christ long ago.

The Patriarch of Jerusalem, the same one who takes this fire, takes it out and distributes it to the people, spoke even more harshly about this. Thus, it is sad to say that our Orthodox co-religionists, regarding this miraculous fire, which once really appeared, but now, for our sins, has ceased to appear, prefer to be at one with the heretics, such as the Eutychians, Dioscorites and Jacobites, rather than with the Catholics, who are the miracle of this They are not allowed for very respectful reasons, especially when they see what the Abyssinian heretics are doing at the tomb at that time. This is what worries me, these are the four worms that, having sunk into my soul during my stay in the East, still do not stop sharpening and gnawing at it"(*_*).
Throughout all the centuries of the existence of the miracle of BO, Christians could not calmly perform this ritual without hurting each other’s faces. This shame is even recorded in Mark Twain’s book, “Innocents Abroad”: “Every Christian sect (with the exception of Protestants) under the roof of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher has its own special chapels, and no one dares to cross the boundaries of other people’s possessions. It has long been and definitively proven that Christians are not able to pray peacefully all together at the tomb of the Savior" (*_*).

Not only ordinary priests fight, but also the Greek patriarch and the Armenian archimandrite who entered the Edicule to wait for the fire (). Because of this, the Israeli authorities decided that at the moment of the fire, an Israeli policeman must be present in the Edicule to maintain order; in one of the videos, it is seen how the policeman first enters the Edicule, then the Greek patriarch, and then the Armenian archimandrite ( Video, 1.20-1.28). In a word, they were outrageous.

It was the outrages in the temple that caused the loudest revelation of the Holy Fire.
In 1834, a fight in the temple escalated into a brutal massacre, in which the Turkish army had to intervene. About 300 pilgrims died (*_*). The English traveler left memories of a conversation with the local chief Ibrahim Pasha, which describes the ruler’s determination to publicly expose this deception, but also his fear that this action could be perceived as oppression of Christians in the holy land (*_*)
We learn about the actions taken by Ibrahim Pasha after 15 years from the diaries of a prominent scientist and leader of the Orthodox Church, founder of the Russian Orthodox Mission in Jerusalem, Bishop Porfiry (Uspensky). Porfiry kept a diary, where he recorded his impressions of events of historical scale, thoughts on abstract topics, descriptions of monuments and various little things. They were published in 8 volumes by the Imperial Academy of Sciences at the expense of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society under the editorship of P. A. Syrku after the death of Uspensky, the third volume was published in 1896. Here's the exact quote:

“In that year, when the famous lord of Syria and Palestine Ibrahim, Pasha of Egypt, was in Jerusalem, it turned out that the fire received from the Holy Sepulcher on Holy Saturday is not a blessed fire, but a kindled one, just as any fire is kindled. This Pasha decided to make sure whether the fire really suddenly and miraculously appeared on the lid of the Tomb of Christ or was lit by a sulfur match. What did he do? He announced to the patriarch’s governors that he wanted to sit in the edicule itself while receiving the fire and vigilantly watch how he appears, and added that in the case of the truth they would be given 5,000 pungs (2,500,000 piastres), and in the case of a lie, let them give him everything money collected from deceived fans, and that he will publish in all the newspapers of Europe about the vile forgery. The governors of Petro-Arabia, Misail, and Metropolitan Daniel of Nazareth, and Bishop Dionysius of Philadelphia (currently of Bethlehem) came together to consult what to do. During the minutes of deliberation, Misail admitted that he was lighting a fire in a cuvuklia from a lamp hidden behind a moving marble icon of the Resurrection of Christ, which is near the Holy Sepulcher. After this confession, it was decided to humbly ask Ibrahim not to interfere in religious affairs and a dragoman of the Holy Sepulcher monastery was sent to him, who pointed out to him that there was no benefit for his lordship to reveal the secrets of Christian worship and that the Russian Emperor Nicholas would be very dissatisfied with the discovery of these secrets. Ibrahim Pasha, having heard this, waved his hand and fell silent. But from that time on, the Holy Sepulcher clergy no longer believed in the miraculous appearance of fire. Having told all this, the Metropolitan said that God alone is expected to stop (our) pious lies. As he knows and can, he will calm the peoples who now believe in the fiery miracle of the Great Saturday. But we cannot even begin this revolution in minds; we will be torn to pieces right at the chapel of the Holy Sepulchre. “We,” he continued, “notified Patriarch Athanasius, who was then living in Constantinople, about Ibrahim Pasha’s harassment, but in our message to him we wrote instead of “holy light,” “sanctified fire.” Surprised by this change, the most blessed elder asked us: “Why did you start calling the holy fire differently?” We revealed to him the real truth, but added that the fire lit on the Holy Sepulcher from a hidden lamp is still sacred fire, received from a sacred place” (*_*).

In this post, it is important to pay attention to the following points:
1. The recognition was made in a close circle of the highest hierarchs of the Orthodox Church.
2. A direct participant in the events told Uspensky what happened. An eyewitness to the confession of forgery.
3. Ibrahim was threatened with aggravation of relations with Russia. I note Crimean War showed how dangerous it is for the authorities to interfere in the religious life of the Orthodox Church in the Holy Land.
4. “But from that time on, the Holy Sepulcher clergy no longer believed in the miraculous appearance of fire.” This means that the result of the recognition was the loss of faith in the miracle of the Holy Sepulcher clergy. Bishop Porfiry himself has already witnessed this.
After 500 years, nothing has changed. The same lamp behind the icon.
Several decades later, doubt spread beyond Palestine, as the famous orientalist I. Yu. Krachkovsky writes in 1914:
“The best representatives of theological thought in the East also notice the interpretation of the miracle that Prof. allows. A. Olesnitsky and A. Dmitrievsky talk about “the triumph of the consecration of fire at the Holy Sepulcher”” (*_*).

The most complete Orthodox criticism of BO was revealed by an outstanding figure of the Orthodox Church, professor of the Leningrad Theological Academy ND Uspensky (a student of Dmitrievsky AA) and reported at a church meeting in an assembly speech on October 9, 1949. Having analyzed ancient evidence, Uspensky comes to the following conclusion:
“Your Eminence, Your Eminence, dear colleagues and dear guests! (...) We can agree with the explanation of Metropolitan Dionysius of Bethlehem, “that the fire lit on the Holy Sepulcher from a hidden lamp is still sacred fire, received from a sacred place,” and add our own to these words of the Vicar of the Patriarch of Jerusalem “that for us this fire is, was and will be sacred also because it preserves the ancient Christian and universal tradition” ().
A former professor at the Leningrad Theological Academy, who broke with religion and became one of the most prominent atheists and critics of religion, A. A. Osipov, left notes on the reaction to this report by the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church.
“Having studied ancient manuscripts and texts, books and testimonies of pilgrims,” writes A. A. Osipov about Uspensky, “he proved with exhaustive accuracy that there was never any “miracle”, but there was and is an ancient symbolic rite of burning over the coffin by the clergy themselves Lamps. (...) And as a result of this whole matter, the now deceased Metropolitan of Leningrad Gregory, also a man with a theological degree, gathered a number of theologians of Leningrad and told them (many of my former colleagues probably remember): “I also know that this is only a legend ! What... (here he named the author of the speech and research by name and patronymic) is absolutely right! But don’t touch the pious legends, otherwise faith itself will fall! ”(*_*).

Before continuing with further revelations, I want to describe the sequence of actions during the ceremony.

1. They examine the Edicule (two priests and a representative of the authorities).


2. Sealed entrance doors Edicule with a large wax seal.


3. The keeper of the coffin appears and brings a large, capped lamp inside the coffin. The seal is removed in front of him and he goes inside Kuklii, and after a few minutes he comes out.


4. A solemn procession appears, led by the Greek patriarch, and circles the Edicule three times. The patriarch is stripped of his robes of patriarchal dignity and he, together with the Armenian archimandrite (and the Israeli policeman) enters the Edicule.


5. After 5-10 minutes, the Greek patriarch and the Armenian archimandrite come out with fire (before this they managed to distribute fire through the windows of the Edicule).

So, after the search and before entering the Edicule of the Patriarch, a priest enters there with a lamp (perhaps the same one that is unquenchable) and places it on the coffin (or in a niche behind the icon), which is uncertain.

As I already noted, the Armenian archimandrite enters the Edicule. Although in his recent interview this Armenian church leader did not directly talk about the forgery, he noted an important fact.
“Tell me, how do you pray? Is this a special prayer according to a prayer book, or an impromptu prayer, the one that comes from the soul? How does the Greek Patriarch pray?
- Yes, the prayer is read according to the prayer book. But, in addition to the prayers from the prayer book, I also offer my heartfelt prayer. At the same time, we have a special prayer for this day, which I recite by heart. The Greek patriarch reads his prayer from a book, this is also a special prayer for the Ceremony of Light.
- But how do you read prayers from a prayer book if it’s dark there?
- Yes. It’s not easy to read because of the darkness” ().
Indeed, it is impossible to read without light; there must be a source.
To correctly understand this hint, you can turn to the information disseminated by another priest of the Armenian Church, the abbot of the Monastery of the Holy Archangels (AAC) Hieromonk Ghevond Hovhannisyan, who was present at the ceremony of consecrating the fire for 12 years, and is personally acquainted with the priests of the Armenian Apostolic Church entering inside the Edicule for consecration of the fire together with the Greek patriarch. He writes:
“By one o’clock in the afternoon the doors of the Coffin are sealed with wax. Where there are 2 clergymen: an Armenian and a Greek. By two o'clock, the doors are torn off and the Greeks bring in a closed (lit) Lamp and place it on the Tomb. After which the procession of the Greeks around the Tomb begins, on the 3rd circle the Armenian archimandrite joins them and together they move towards the doors. The Greek patriarch enters first, followed by the Armenian. And both enter the Tomb, where both kneel down and pray together. After the first, the Greek lights the candle from the lit lamp, and then the Armenian. Both go and serve candles to the people through the holes, the first to emerge from the coffin is the Greek, followed by the Armenian, who is carried in his arms to our abbot’s room” (). You can chat with Ghevond in his LiveJournal.
It remains to be stated that the Armenian church, although a direct participant in the ceremony, does not support the belief in the miraculous appearance of fire.
The words of Patriarch Theophilus about the Holy Fire are interesting:
“Patriarch Theophilus of Jerusalem: This is a very ancient, very special and unique ceremony Jerusalem Church. This ceremony of the Holy Fire takes place only here in Jerusalem. And this happens thanks to the very Tomb of our Lord Jesus Christ. As you know, this Holy Fire ceremony is, so to speak, an enactment that represents the first good news, the first resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. This representation- like all sacred ceremonies. As in Good Friday We have a burial ceremony, don't we? How we bury the Lord, etc.
So, this ceremony is taking place in a holy place, and all the other Eastern Churches that share the Holy Sepulcher would like to take part in this. People like Armenians, Copts, Syrians come to us and receive our blessing, because they want to receive the Fire from the Patriarch.
Now, the second part of your question is actually about us. This is an experience, which, if you like, is similar to the experience that a person experiences when he receives Holy Communion. What happens there also applies to the Holy Fire ceremony. This means that a certain experience cannot be explained or expressed in words. Therefore, everyone who takes part in this ceremony - priests or laymen, or laywomen - each has their own indescribable experience.”
Protodeacon A. Kuraev commented on his words:
“His answer about the Holy Fire was no less frank: “This is a ceremony that is a representation, like all other ceremonies of Holy Week. Just as the Easter message from the Tomb once shone and illuminated the whole world, so now in this ceremony we perform a representation of how the news of the Resurrection from Kuvukpia spread throughout the world.” There was neither the word “miracle”, nor the word “convergence”, nor the words “Holy Fire” in his speech. He probably couldn’t have spoken more openly about the lighter in his pocket” (). A real political struggle unfolded around these words of the patriarch, including a new “interview” with Theophilus, where he, using quotes from articles by Russian apologists of the Holy Fire, confirms the miraculous nature of fire. Kuraev declared this material to be fake. Details of this story have been collected.

By the way, during the gift between the Armenian priest and the Greek patriarch, the Armenian’s candles were extinguished inside the Edicule and he had to light them with a lighter (*_*). So rumors that the Armenians will not be able to get fire on their own are baseless.

Indirect evidence of the kindling of fire from the already burning lamp is the text of the patriarch’s prayer, which he reads inside the Edicule. This text is discussed in the article “The Myth and Reality of the Holy Fire” by Protopresbyter George Tsetsis:
“..The prayer that the patriarch offers before lighting the Holy Edicule is completely clear and does not allow for any misinterpretation.
The Patriarch does not pray for a miracle to happen.
He only “remembers” the sacrifice and three-day resurrection of Christ and, turning to Him, says: “Having reverently accepted this kindled (*******) fire on Your luminous Tomb, we distribute the true light to those who believe, and we pray to You, You showed him the gift of sanctification."
The following happens: the patriarch lights his candle from the unquenchable lamp, which is located on the Holy Sepulchre. Just like every patriarch and every cleric on the day of Easter, when he receives the light of Christ from the unquenchable lamp, which is on the holy throne, symbolizing the Holy Sepulcher” (*_*).

Wonderful flashes, non-burning fire, spontaneous combustion of candles.
Thanks to cinema, we can see everything that happens with our own eyes. Unlike pilgrims who are in a crowd and find it difficult to distinguish anything, we will be shown everything from the most advantageous positions, we can reconsider interesting points, and even in slow motion. I have 7 recordings of video broadcasts at my disposal, two Orthodox films, not very good quality and a quality secular film about the Holy Fire. That is, 10 films about 9 ceremonies. At various forums where I participated in discussions about the Holy Fire, I asked for video materials proving the miraculous spontaneous combustion of candles or the non-burning properties of fire. No one has ever managed to do this.

Unburning Fire.

Pilgrims write in their testimonies that the fire does not burn for a period of time, which lasts from 5 minutes to several months. You can find evidence in which pilgrims tell how the Holy Fire brought to Moscow (their temple) still did not burn, or how they washed themselves with the Holy Fire when visiting Jerusalem in winter. Mostly they write about not burning the Holy Fire during the first 5 - 10 minutes. A huge number of videos watched of pilgrims washing themselves with fire show that they simply move their hands through the fire, scoop fire with their hands, or move fire in front of their face and beard. The same thing is easy to repeat using a burning bunch of candles with regular fire (as I do). By the way, the wicks of the Holy Fire candles are lit quite easily, which would be strange if the fire were warm.

About interesting experiment wrote by LJ user Andronic (andronic) @ 2007-04-08 07:40:00:
“Yesterday, on the daily news on NTV, a few minutes after the descent of the Holy Fire, Evgeniy Sandro, live, slowly moved his hand in the candle flame and confirmed that it practically does not burn. I became interested, and at midnight, when my wife, at the start of the procession of the Cross (where I went with her “for company”), lit a Jerusalem thirty-three candle bundle in front of the church, I also put my hand into the fire, and slowly stirred it there too. Although this flame was not lit from the Holy Fire, the hand did not immediately become hot. I repeated Sandro’s trick a couple more times, and was so carried away that I did not notice how my actions attracted the attention of those around me who came to the Easter procession. The believers ran up, began to light their candles from our thirty-three candlestick, joyfully thrust their hands into its flame and shouted “It doesn’t burn!” It doesn’t burn!” Some tried to “catch” the fire, like water, with their hands folded into a “ladle” and wash themselves with it. The influx of people wishing to take part in the miracle was so great that we could not move and the procession left without us. Thus, I unwittingly became the culprit of an outbreak of religious enthusiasm. It is curious that the “affection” of fire towards those who partake of it depended in a rather amusing way on the degree of faith. Those who doubted it cautiously brought their palms to the upper tip of the flame and fearfully pulled it back. The enthusiastic ones (like me before) boldly put their hands directly into the center of the flame, where the temperature of the fire is significantly lower, and did not get burned. As a result, everyone received it according to faith”().

Of all that I have seen, and this is about a hundred washings with the Holy Fire, I can repeat all the washings with fire, except one. In only one video, the pilgrim held his hand over the Holy Fire for a full 2.2 seconds, which is difficult to repeat without getting burned. My record is 1.6 seconds.
Two explanations for this case can be put forward: firstly, religious ecstasy allows one to reduce pain sensitivity. Many have seen how people in a state of religious stupefaction beat themselves with iron-tipped whips, crucify their bodies and commit many other disgusting acts, while their faces are illuminated by grace. Hence the pilgrims do not feel the burning properties of the fire. The second explanation is a draft in the temple. Thanks to the wind, the flame is deflected and an air cushion is created between the hand and the fire; if you “catch the wind,” you can simulate holding your hand over the fire for 3 seconds.
I spoke with many pilgrims who attended the ceremony and not all of them testify to the burning flame:

Hieromonk Flavian (Matveev):
“Unfortunately, it sets fire. In 2004, an acquaintance of mine, literally five minutes after receiving the fire of the flame (we didn’t even leave the temple), tried to “wash ourselves with fire.” The beard seemed to be small, but it began to flare up noticeably. I had to shout at him to put it out. I had a video camera in my hands, so this sad incident remained documented. (...) He himself took an example from others, held his hand over the fire. Fire like fire. It burns!” (The post was deleted from the forum).

Solovyov Igor, Orthodox Christian (novice):
“I don’t know how much time passed since the Holy Fire descended, but when the fire reached me and I tried whether it burned or not, I singed the hair on my arm and felt a burning sensation. (...) In my opinion, the burning sensation was normal. From our group, some people were quite close to the Holy Sepulcher, but none of them said that fire does not burn” ().

Alexander Gagin, Orthodox Christian:
“When the fire went down and it was handed over to us (a few minutes later), it burned as usual, I didn’t notice anything special, I didn’t see any men putting their beards into the fire for a long time” ().

In the article “In Defense of the Holy Fire,” Y. Maksimov writes:
“If we look at least at the video footage posted online, we will see, for example, that in one case a pilgrim holds his hand in the flame from a whole bunch of candles for three seconds, in the second case another pilgrim holds his hand over the flame for five seconds, but the third shot where another elderly pilgrim holds his hand in the flame for five seconds" ().

However, in the video offered in the text of the article, people just pass their hands through the fire, but do not hold parts of their body over the fire for 2 or 3 or 5 seconds. At the Orthodox forum of A. Kuraev, this point was raised in a topic with the same article title, and an Orthodox Christian was the first to draw attention to this discrepancy when he bothered to check Maksimov’s words (). It’s amazing how an Orthodox apologist can present video fragments that do not correspond to the caption in the article, and this can be easily found out by just watching the video. Why do people so easily accept words without checking?

Wonderful flashes.
There are dozens of journalists with special equipment for taking photographs in darkened rooms and hundreds of amateur photographers in the temple. That's why there are a lot of flashbulbs there. Usually on high-quality video The flash trail is 1 - 2 frames long and has a white or slightly bluish color. On 5 well-made live broadcasts, and in a secular film, all the flashes of light are exactly like that. On video of poorer quality, color may vary depending on defects in video setup, development quality and video processing features. As a result, photo flashes on different videos will look different colors. The worse the quality of the video, the more varied in time and color the flash can be displayed on it. It is interesting that the criteria put forward by apologists for distinguishing a flash from a photographic flash fit into the possibilities of the “trace” of a regular photographic flash on videos of different quality. Hence the impossibility, using the criteria of apologists, to distinguish a miraculous flash from a flash trace by color, especially after video processing. Thus, it is difficult to refute or prove the presence of flashes based on video.

What do the evidence left behind in the years when there were no cameras give?
It is especially interesting to compare the testimonies of modern pilgrims and the testimonies of pilgrims of 1800 - 1900, written down in a language understandable to contemporaries and quite detailed. There is nothing in these testimonies about flashes of light in the temple during the ceremony. And for some reason the whistleblowers don’t try to explain them at all, as if they don’t know about them, but only talk about the deception of lighting the fire in the Edicule. Although such flashes would be an even greater miracle.
Apologists for the miracle were able to find evidence that seemed to confirm the flashes, for example, pilgrims until the 13th century said that the ignition of a fire was accompanied by a bright white flash. The single flash at the moment the fire appeared is explained by the peculiarity of the ceremony of that time - they did not enter the Edicule and the ignition of the fire inside was accompanied by a bright flash. This is how the 12th century Islamic historian Ibn al-Qalanisi, already quoted here, describes the spontaneous combustion substances used in the ceremony:
“...so that fire can reach them through the oil of balsam tree and devices made from it, and its property is the emergence of fire when combined with jasmine oil, it has a bright light and brilliant radiance.”

"Holy" fire in hands

Cold Fire - Salicylic Acid.

Potato + toothpaste with fluorine + salt = Holy Fire

Who needs deception with the so-called and why? Holy Fire in Jerusalem

JERUSALEM, April 7 – RIA Novosti, Anton Skripunov. After several hours of tense waiting at the chapel of the Holy Sepulcher, tens of thousands of people witnessed what they believed was a miracle. A RIA Novosti correspondent was present at the ceremony and saw everything with his own eyes.

Rogues

Getting to church on Holy Saturday is not easy. Usually members of official delegations from different countries peace. Even at the entrance to the old part of the city, Israeli police give them name badges - every year different designs in order to avoid fakes.

At the Jaffa and Zion gates stand those who came on their own. In addition to the miracle of the Holy Fire, they hope for one more thing - to get inside the temple. Chernivtsi native Larisa has been able to do this for six years now.

“Every year I get there in different ways. I usually ask some official delegation to take me with them. Sometimes I go through an unreal crush - with people like me,” she opens up.

Screams in the temple

Father Fyodor Konyukhov is wearing a shirt and vest today, not a cassock. This is his first time at the ceremony of the descent of the Holy Fire. This famous traveler, who has faced danger more than once, is clearly worried.

“The land itself is awe-inspiring. When you walk on it, you feel awe,” he admits.

Together with other members of the delegation of the St. Andrew the First-Called Foundation, he quickly walks along the narrow streets of the Armenian Quarter towards the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. More than a hundred Russians came to Jerusalem for the Holy Fire. Members of the delegation will take the shrine to different cities and countries, including Abkhazia, Italy and Great Britain.

And now part of the delegation, led by the Chairman of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees, Vladimir Yakunin, is standing right next to the Edicule - the chapel over the Holy Sepulcher. And the other part of it waits nearby, in the Greek part of the temple.

The temple, with a capacity of over ten thousand people, is crowded from 10 o’clock, although the ceremony itself does not begin until two. “I remember a few years ago I saw a pilgrim who stood on a stone bench against the wall on one leg for six hours. Six hours! He, poor thing, kept shifting from foot to foot, but survived,” says Vadim Zelenev, a member of the Russian delegation. It's also very stuffy. And water doesn't help much. Unlike faith - in the resurrection of the Lord.

"Cheyshmariat ahthga!" - Georgians echo them.

"Christos anestis!" - the Cypriots pick up.

"Adevarat a inviat!" - the Romanians respond.

Arab ringleaders

After a couple of hours, the Easter roll call fades away. There is silence in the temple. Suddenly there is the ringing of tambourines and a rolling, ringing crackling sound - like something out of a movie about African tribes. Gradually the sounds intensify and drums join them. Two guys in white T-shirts burst into the temple, one sits on the shoulders of the other and shouts, waving a scarf: “Hey! Hey! Salaam!”

One day, Orthodox Arabs, living mainly in the Palestinian Authority, were not allowed to attend the ceremony. And the Holy Fire... did not appear. “And when they were finally allowed inside the temple and they began to shout, praising the Lord, the fire came down,” says nun Seraphima, a resident of the Gornensky Monastery in Jerusalem.

The Arabs bang drums, shout and wave their arms like rock stars or football fans do to get the crowd going. The legs forget about fatigue and begin to stomp to the beat. And they, without stopping for a minute, first walk around the perimeter of the entire temple, and then around the Edicule.

"We're all going to die!"

The main participant in the ceremony is the Patriarch of Jerusalem. He enters the temple to the sound of sticks held in the hands of Kavas Turks, symbolic guards of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. By the way, an Arab holds the key to the doors to the shrine.

A long procession slowly enters the temple through its Greek part and circles the Edicule three times with prayers and chants. After this, all liturgical clothes are removed from the Patriarch of Jerusalem, leaving him only in a cassock. Then he and the Armenian priest go inside. The priest remains in the Angel's chapel - the room preceding the Holy Sepulcher - only the head of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church can be in front of the stone where the body of Christ lay.

All the lights in the temple go out. A frightening silence sets in, even the Arabs became silent. “I get very scared at such moments. I’m afraid that the fire won’t go away. Do you know what will happen in that case?” — I remember the words of Larisa from Chernivtsi.

According to legend, if the fire does not go down, then everyone present in the temple will die instantly. Believers, knowing this, pray intensely.

Five minutes pass, ten. There is still no fire. The tension is rising. Someone, as if trying to summon him, constantly shouts: “Christ is risen!” And now - a cry of jubilation. The multifaceted crowd of ten thousand shouts with joy and relief: “He has come down! He has come down! Christ has risen!”

After twenty minutes, people begin to put out the candles and disperse from the lamps lit from them. The whole church is in smoke. Pilgrims are organizing a crowd again - they need to have time to bring the fire to their homeland before the start of the Easter service.

Father Fyodor Konyukhov looks tired, but very, very blissful.

“At first it was exciting. And then joyful. This means that the Lord still does not forget about us,” he tells RIA Novosti.

Ben Gurion Airport is ahead. Now the Holy Fire will be delivered to the patriarchal service in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow and to churches in the capital and Moscow region, St. Petersburg, Tula, Yekaterinburg, Tver, Vladimir and other Russian cities. And tens of thousands of Orthodox believers will be able to see this symbolic confirmation that Christ has risen. And testify: “Truly he is risen!”