Christians in Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre celebrated the arrival of the Holy Fire on Saturday.
The streets of the Old City are locked off as Jerusalem prepared for the Holy Fire ceremony, arguably the most important Christian celebration in the Holy Land.
Thousands of worshippers marched towards the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where the most solemn moments of the day took place.
The Greek Patriarch and an Armenian priest entered Jesus’s tomb to pray. They then emerged to much fanfare, with the Greek Patriarch holding a flame, the central symbol of the day.
Thousands of pilgrims inside the church shouted in joy and some cried. Many believe that it is a miracle that lights the Patriarch’s torch.
The flame then lit other torches and spread across the church creating an astonishing sight that is the pinnacle of a joyful Easter.
Holy Fire is a miracle purported to take place every year in Jerusalem
The Holy Fire is a miracle purported to take place every year at Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre, just one day before Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter.
During the miracle, it is thought that a beam of blue light emanates from the tomb of Jesus, creating a fiery pillar from which candles are ignited. This phenomenon is known as the Holy Fire, and it is used to light the candles of the priests and worshipers who are there.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is one of the holiest sites in the world for Christian believers. It is believed to contain two holy sites: the place of Christ’s crucifixion and the location of the tomb where he was buried and resurrected.
The main custodians of the church are the Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Armenian Apostolic denominations. Other denominations and some secular bodies also play a role in taking care of the site.
Holy Fire to arrive in Greece
A special charter flight will bring the Holy Fire to Greece where it will travel throughout the country.
From Athens, the Holy Fire is distributed across Greece. AEGEAN and Olympic aircraft will take it to Alexandroupoli, Chania, Samos, Larissa, Lemnos, Ioannina, Corfu, and Kefalonia.
Holy Fire: A Miracle or a Scam?
Recently a Greek journalist who had been in a five-year legal battle with the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem for “fabricating evidence” to prove the Holy Fire in Jesus’s tomb does not ignite miraculously but through the use of matches, was acquitted.
Dimitris Alikakos published a book in which he gathered testimonies from people involved in the process of touching the light, such as guardians of the Holy Sepulcher and Patriarchs. These testimonies led to the conclusion, as some of them admit, that it is not a miracle but rather the touch is facilitated by human intervention.
In his book, Alikakos presents an interview with the skeuophylax Archbishop Isidoros of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem in which the latter admits that the “Sleepless Candle,” which he himself places in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre during the morning of the Holy Saturday, is ignited by him with a lighter.
