Is there evidence of the descent of the grace of fire? Descent of the Holy Fire

Begodatny Fire is considered one of the wonders of Orthodox Christianity. Now, in contrast to the old days, not only pilgrims who are in the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Jerusalem, where he appears, can follow his appearance, but also viewers around the world.

The earliest references to the descent of the Holy Fire on the eve of the Resurrection of Christ are found in Gregory of Nyssa, Eusebius, and Sylvia of Aquitaine, and are dated to the 4th century. However, they describe earlier convergence.
On the eve of the temple extinguish all the candles, lamps, chandeliers. The procedure for convergence of Fire is always closely monitored. The Turkish authorities, for example, at one time carried out a rigorous search inside the chapel; according to the slander of Catholics it even reached the revision of the pockets of the sacred patriarch. That is why, even now, the patriarch is stripping down to the cassock, so that it can be seen that he does not bring matches or anything that could light a fire into the cave. Of course, now it is rather a symbolic action, but during the rule of Muslim Arabs and Turks it was a real search, and the death penalty was relied on to bring any items to extract fire. At the time of the Turks, the patriarch was supervised by janissaries who searched him before entering Kuvukliya (the chapel over the place where, according to legend, Jesus was placed in a coffin), at the same time the Jewish police inspect the patriarch.

Shortly before the arrival of the patriarch, subdistricts introduced into the cave a large lamp, in which the main fire should flare up, and 33 candles - according to the number of years of the earthly life of Christ. Then, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople and the Supreme Patriarch, the Catholicos of All Armenians (the latter also exposes himself before entering the cave) enter inside. Then they are sealed there with a large piece of green wax and the door is fixed with a red tape. The Patriarch of Constantinople must remain in the cave until the very indulgence of the Holy Fire. By the way, the presence of the Armenian Patriarch during the rite is a tradition dating back to the time when Jerusalem was ruled by Muslims. Then, for a lot of money, the Armenians succeeded in buying out the right of the local Muslim ruler to single-handedly perform the ceremony preceding the indulgence of Fire, without the participation of representatives of other churches who were not even allowed into the temple and remained outside the square. The Armenian Patriarch stood in the Holy Sepulcher more than a day, but there was no miracle. At the same time, the Patriarch of Constantinople stood next to the temple and prayed for the appearance of Fire.

At one point, a beam struck from the sky, as is usually the case at the descent of Fire, and hit exactly the column, next to which stood the patriarch. Fire bursts of fire spattered from the column in all directions, and all those standing in the square with extinguished candles in the hands of people had these candles lit up.
After that, the ruler of Jerusalem commanded to carry out the ceremony only Constantinople patriarch, and the Armenian Catholicos for the edification of what happened - to stand next to them. Custom preserved to this day.

After sealing the Cuvuclia, young people run into the temple, whose presence is also a mandatory element of the Easter celebrations. Young people, like riders, sit on each other's shoulders. They ask the Mother of God and the Lord to give to the Orthodox Holy Fire. “There is no faith except Orthodox faith, Christ is the true God,” they chant.

All who are in the temple are waiting for the Patriarch to come out with Fire in his hands. According to legends, very much depends on the descent of Fire: it is believed that the day when the Holy Fire will not come down will be the last for people in the temple, and the temple will be destroyed. That is why the pilgrims take communion before coming to the holy place - no one knows how the service will end this year.

Agonizing wait lasts from five minutes to several hours. Before the descent of Fire, the temple begins to illuminate with bright flashes. They come from different places of the temple: from the icon hanging over the Edicule, from the dome, windows and from other places - and fill everything around with bright light.

After some time, which the pilgrims spend in suspense and prayer, a light appears inside the Cuvuclia, and a bell rings in the church.
Burning beams of candles appear from the windows of the Edicule, served by the Patriarch of Constantinople and the Armenian Catholicos. The doors of the Edicule are opened, and out of them comes the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, who blesses the audience and distributes the Blessed Fire.
From their candles the fire is lit by fast walkers, after which the fire quickly spreads through the temple. And not all pilgrims light the fire from the patriarchal candle, many of the people standing in the temple and on the square light up the candles themselves, and the lamps on the sides of the Cuvuclia also light up.
For the first 3-10 minutes, the lit fire has amazing properties - it doesn't burn at all, regardless of which candle it is and where it will be lit. The parishioners literally wash themselves with this Fire, lead them across their faces, their hands, scoop them up with handfuls, and it does not cause any harm, at first does not even scorch their hair.
Later, a special direct flight Fire is delivered to Cyprus and Greece, and from there it is transported around the world.

The service on Great Saturday is performed in accordance with a special statute established in 1852 by the former Turkish administration in Palestine, which all churches sharing the temple adhere to. In addition, a special calendar of Easter services in the Church of the Resurrection is issued annually; it is printed alternately by the Armenian and Greek Patriarchies. Strict regulation was introduced due to constant disagreements regarding the rights and powers between the various Christian churches that have long been here to serve. Today, each patriarchate has its own rights and duties, and every action of the clergy is clearly tied to the time specified in the regulations.
For several centuries, visitors to the Church of the Resurrection of Christ can see a marble column, cut by an unusual crack. This column is the middle of the three columns on the left side of the portal of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ. The crack itself, a little over a meter in length, goes along the column and expands downwards, reaching approximately 7-8 centimeters in width and depth. Many pilgrims worship this column, pray near it, leave notes in the crack.

There are various legends explaining the origin of such an unusual crack.

The oldest known legend about the Holy Fire and burned pillars, supported by the Armenian Apostolic Church, was recorded in writing no later than 1635 in the “Travel Notes” by Simeon Lekhatsi. This tradition links the miracle of the Holy Fire to the pillars of God's care shown in caring for the poor, as was the sign for the Gentiles who owned Jerusalem at that time and set a fee for Christians to enter the temple. The tradition is not tied to a specific date, but relates the event to an uncertain prescription.

This phenomenon from ancient times has numerous critics pointing to the artificiality of the appearance of fire.

Spontaneous combustion is inherent in many substances in nature. For example, the spontaneous combustion of white phosphorus in the open air is the principle of the “Molotov cocktail”.

The Catholic Church also does not recognize the miraculous nature of the Holy Fire. In 1238, Pope Gregory IX officially opposed the interpretation of the Rite of the Holy Fire as miraculous.

A number of Arab authors give their interpretation of this phenomenon. Ibn al-Kalanisi, who wrote about the events of the year 1007, left the following message: “When they are there for Easter ... then they hang lamps in the altar and arrange a trick for fire to reach them from the balsam of the tree and the fixtures from it, and its property is the occurrence of fire when combined with jasmine oil. It has a bright light and a brilliant shine. They manage to stretch an iron-like thread stretching from one to another between neighboring lamps, and rub it with balsam oil, hiding it from gaze, until the thread passes to all the lamps. When they pray and it is time to descend, the doors of the altar open; and they believe that there is the cradle of Isa, peace be upon him, and that from there he ascended to heaven. They enter and light a lot of candles, and in the house from the breath of many people it becomes hot. Someone from standing tries to bring the fire to the thread, he clings to it and goes through all the lamps from one to another, until it lights everything. Whoever looks at this, thinks that fire has come down from the sky and the lamps are lit. "
Al-Jaubari, an author of the thirteenth century, speaks of this phenomenon in the following way: “But the fact is that this lamp is the greatest of the tricks of the first generations; I will explain it to you and reveal the secret. The fact is that in the top of the dome there is an iron box connected to a chain on which it is suspended. It is strengthened in the very

the dome of the dome, and no one sees it except this monk. There is a box on this chain, inside which there is emptiness. And when the Sabbath evening of light comes, the monk rises to the casket and puts sulfur like a “sanbussek” into it, and under it is fire, calculated until the hour when he needs the descent of light. He lubricates the chain with the oil of a balsam tree, and when the time comes, the fire ignites the compound at the junction of the chain with this attached casket. Balsam oil is collected at this point and begins to flow along the chain, going down to the lampada. The fire touches the lamp wick, and it used to be saturated with balsam oil, and lights it. Consider it all. ”

But the description of Mujir-ad-din recorded around 1496: “They arrange tricks with him, so that the fools among their ignorant people think that the fire comes down from the sky. In fact, it comes from the lubrication of balsam oil with highly stretched silk threads, rubbed with sulfur and other things. ”

There are also critical reviews of our contemporaries. According to the candidate of chemical sciences Evgeny Barsukov, the miracle is easily explained: “The“ cold ”ignition itself is done quite simply. Chemistry here is possible different. Many esters of organic and inorganic acids have cold fire. In particular, one of these esters (ethyl boric acid ester) is easy to obtain at home. The boric acid ester burns with a very voluminous, slightly greenish flame, which not only does not burn, but does not even feel warm, you can safely hold your hand in it. By the way, this method of obtaining a cold flame echoes the "fire descent" in that after the boric acid ester has completely burned out, the alcohol can start to burn, and its flame really burns. "
However, according to eyewitnesses, the temperature of Fire is about 40-45 ° C. Chemistry is not known substances that burn under normal conditions with such a flame temperature. Pilgrims do not note the unusual smell characteristic of foreign substances. All space or some of its individual volumes do not ignite, but only candles and lamps burn, and many of them light up themselves.

Yes, and the long history of this phenomenon under the critical eye of opponents and skeptics is a good argument in favor of its inhumanity. Orthodox Christians took the Holy Fire for more than a thousand years, under the rule of hostile Muslim Arabs, Turks, Latins, Jews, but no one was able to catch the Orthodox clergy in any fraud.
For many centuries, the mystery of the Holy Fire has been the subject of study and controversy, and for many it is one of the testimonies of faith. If this riddle is of unearthly origin, it is unlikely to be given an exact answer - to that it is a miracle.

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In this section, I would like to publish photographs depicting the wonders of Orthodox life. Many unbelievers can say that this is a photomontage, fake, etc. But let us remember how such people were spoken by Christ: that even if "the dead rise and go, it will not be enough for their faith." Let us remember that for God there is nothing possible and perhaps these photographs are signs sent by God from above.

Miracle of the Holy Fire.

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

In the 4th century, on the orders of Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Helena, a magnificent church was erected over the site of the crucifixion and burial of our Lord Jesus Christ - the Basilica. Golgotha and the Holy Tomb were under her vaults. The basilica was rebuilt several times, destroyed (614), was restored and is now known as the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Directly above the burial cave of the Savior from ancient times is the chapel - Kuvukpiya, which means "royal bedchamber", where "the King of the reigning and Lord of lords" was laid for a three-day sleep. The Holy Tomb consists of two rooms: a small "burial chamber" almost half occupied by a stone bed - an arcosapy, and the entrance room, called the Angel's aisle. In the middle of the Angel Chapel is a pedestal with a part of the sacred stone, which was removed 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, which includes several temples and chapels belonging to different Christian denominations. For example, the Altar of Nails - the Catholic Order of St.. Francis, the church of Equal to the Apostles Helena and the chapel "Three Mary" - the Armenian Apostolic Church, the grave of St. Joseph of Arimathea - Ethiopian (Coptic) Church. But the main shrines - Golgotha, Kuvukliya, Kathopikon (cathedral Temple), as well as general management, services in the Temple, belong to the Jerusalem Orthodox Church.

At the descent of Fire, the presence of three groups of participants is necessary. First of all - the Patriarch of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church or one of the hierarchs of the Jerusalem Patriarchate with his blessing (as it was 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 is the miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire performed.

The history remembers two cases when representatives of other Christian denominations tried to receive Fire. "The first Latin Patriarch Arnopíd from Shock ordered the heretic sects to be expelled from their borders in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, then he began to torture Orthodox monks, seeking where they keep the Cross and other relics. A few months later, Arnold replaced the Dimbert throne from Pisa, which 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 revenge soon began: 1 year on Holy Saturday, the miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire in Cuvuclia did not happen until Eastern Christians were invited to participate in this rite. Then King Baldwin I took care of the return of their rights to local Christians. "

In 1578, Armenian priests agreed with the new mayor on the transfer of the right to receive the Holy Fire to the representative of the Armenian Church. The Orthodox Patriarch and the clergy in 1579 on Holy Saturday were not even allowed into the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Standing at the closed door of the Temple, Orthodox priests prayed to the Lord. Suddenly, a noise was heard, the column to the left of the closed doors of the Temple cracked, the 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 convergence of Fire can still be seen on one of the columns to the left of the entrance. Since then, more than one of the non-Orthodox is not trying to repeat such attempts, fearing the inevitable disgrace.

Mandatory participants in the sacrament of the descent of the Holy Fire are the abbot and the monks of the monastery of St. Sava the Sanctified. Of all the ancient monasteries of the Judean desert, which once flourished as great ascetics, only this laurel is preserved in its original form, seventeen kilometers from Jerusalem, in the valley of Kedron, not far from the Dead Sea. In the year 614, during the invasion of Shah Hasroy, the Persians killed fourteen thousand monks here. In the modern monastery there are fourteen monks, including two Russians.

And, finally, the third group of obligatory participants - local Orthodox Arabs. On Great Saturday, screaming, stomping, drumming, riding one another, breaks into the Temple and begins Arabic Orthodox youth songs and dances. There is no evidence about the time of the establishment of this "ritual." The exclamations and songs of the Arab youth are ancient prayers in Arabic addressed to Christ and the Mother of God, who are asked to implore the Son of the sending of Fire, to George the Victorious, especially honored in the Orthodox East. They literally shout out that they are "the most eastern, the most Orthodox, living where the sun rises, brought candles to light the fire." According to oral tradition, during the years of British rule over Jerusalem (1918-1947), the English governor pop tried to ban once "savage" dance. The Patriarch of Jerusalem prayed for two hours, but to no avail. Then the Patriarch ordered his will to let the Arab youth. After they performed the ritual, the Fire came down.

About ten o'clock in the afternoon of Great Saturday, all the candles and lamps are extinguished in the Temple. After this, the procedure for checking Kuvukpii for the presence of sources of fire and sealing the entrance to it with a large wax seal occurs. The representatives of the City Hall of Jerusalem, the Turkish guards, and the Israeli police put their personal stamps on the big wax wax. And soon, at first, from time to time, and then more and more strongly the entire space of the Temple is penetrated by light flashes. They have a bluish color, their brightness and size increase in waves. About thirteen o'clock the litany ("prayer procession") of the Holy Fire begins - the procession from the altar of Katholikon through the entire Temple with a triple bypass of Cuvuclia. Ahead are the horoscopes with twelve banners, behind them are youths with ripids, a cleric-crusader and, finally, His Beatitude the Patriarch of Jerusalem himself. The hegumen with the monks of the monastery of Sava the Sanctified also participate in the procession. Then the Patriarch exposes himself, remaining in one white substratum. The patriarch is searched and he enters the Edicule. Voltage reaches the highest point. The intensity and frequency of light flashes increases.

Finally, the Fire is coming down. Even before the Patriarch appears in the doorway of the Cuvukpia with candles lit from the Holy Fire, the clergy-fast walkers, who received the Fire through the window in the angel’s chapel, are already spreading it throughout the Temple. And the joyful ringing of the bell tells everyone about the miracle. The fire spreads like lightning throughout the Temple. And the fire does not burn: not only from the Patriarch's candle, but from all ordinary candles, bought not in the Temple (there is no trade here), but in the usual Arab shops of the Old City.

The Easter candle of the Temple of the Holy Sepulcher is thirty-three connected candles. Those present are often in the hands of two or three beams, candles from other places of the Holy Land. In the Temple, people stand so tightly that if the fire were ordinary, someone would surely catch fire. However, people are literally washed by the Holy Fire, which at first does not burn at all. The flames of all are so vast that it can be seen how it concerns 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 Fire, which, by the way, is carried by Muslim Turks at the head of each column. The entire Christian and Arab community of Jerusalem (more than 300 thousand people) participates in processions, and even Muslim Arabs consider it necessary to bring the Holy Fire into the house and light home lamps from it. They have a legend that in the year when the Fire does not come down, the end of the world will come. This day in Jerusalem is not celebrated only by the Jews, who prefer not to leave the house. It is the Jews who mainly write about the imitation by “dishonest” priests of the convergence of the Holy Fire, calling it Greek “tricks”. And despite the fact that in the last fifty petitions, the Jews also participate in the sealing of the Cuvuclia and in 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. Every morning an interesting ritual takes place: the priests deliver the rent set a long time ago and then accompanied by members of the Turkish family go to the Temple. Any procession in the Temple, including the procession at Easter, takes place accompanied by Kawas - the Turks guarding the procession from provocations of Muslims and Jews. Prior to entering the Jerusalem Patriarch's Edicule, she stands sealed, under the supervision of two Turkish guards and the Israeli police. The safety of the seal on the doors of the Cuvuclia is checked in front of the entrance of the Patriarch of Jerusalem with the Armenian high priest. To get the Fire in the Edicule includes a double - the Jerusalem Patriarch 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 cause a smile to people living in Jerusalem. 00 "hspace =" 20 "\u003e

The question of how the Holy Fire descends interests many. In the message of Arefah, Metropolitan of Caesarea Cappadocia, to the emir of Damascus (early 10th century) it is written: "Then suddenly there is lightning, and censer is kindled, from that light ~ 5 all the inhabitants of Jerusalem burn and light the fire." Hieromonk Meletius, who made the pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1793-1794, reports on the descent of Fire from the words of Archbishop Misaip, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, who received the Fire for many years. "I went inside to the Holy Sepulcher, we see a be on the whole" cover of the Tomb Shining light, like scattered small beads in the form of blue, white, scarlet and other colors, which later, when copulating, reddened and turned into the substance of fire; but this fire for a time, as soon as one can read slowly four times, “God, have mercy,” does not burn, and from this fire the prepared candiles and fires are burned. "

All sources report either condensation of liquid small droplets of "fire beads" directly on the arch of the Holy Sepulcher at the existing dome over the Cuvuklia, or about raindrops falling above the Cuvukley and the presence of "small beads" due to rain on the Holy Sepulcher with the open dome of the Temple and about bluish flashes - lightning preceding the descent of the Holy Fire. Both of these phenomena occur simultaneously during the kneeling prayers of the Patriarch of Jerusalem and at the present time. In this case, the wicks of candles or lamps on the lid of the Holy Sepulcher spontaneously ignite. It is also possible to ignite the wicks of Orthodox lamps hanging near the Cuvuclia. With all possible options during the Miracle of the Convergence of the Holy Fire, the following phenomena are completely inexplicable from the point of view of modern science.

The presence of light flashes. These flashing lightning flashes can flash in any

the board and sparkle without a visible source, never dazzle anyone, do not have sound, characteristic of ordinary lightning. All this creates an impression among eyewitnesses that the source of flashes is, as it were, outside our world. To distinguish them from the camera flashes is easy. I took the waiting and convergence of Fire on the video camera, and using the frame-by-frame viewing mode, I noticed that the camera flashes are shorter in time and have a white color, and the light flashes are longer in time and have a bluish color.

The phenomenon of the appearance of droplets of liquid. On Holy Saturday, only clergymen participating in the litany and official representatives of the Jerusalem authorities can see the Holy Tomb, sealing the Earthenware and providing order. Therefore, information can come either directly from them, or in the retellings of relatives. Let us write the records of the 19th century pilgrim, word for word of the Patriarch who wrote the story: “I, dear sir, kindly know, is no longer a reader without glasses. When I first entered the chapel of the Angel and the doors closed behind me, twilight reigned there. openings from the rotunda of the Holy Sepulcher, also dimly lit from above. In the aisle of the Holy Sepulcher, I could not tell if I had a prayer book in my hands or anything else. I barely noticed a whitish spot on the black background of the night: the marble was obviously white plaque on the Holy Sepulcher. When did I open To my surprise, the prayer book became quite accessible to my sight without the help of glasses. I did not have time to read three or four lines with deep emotional excitement, as I looked at the blackboard that whitened more and more and more so that four of its edges, I noticed on the board of it as if small scattered beads of different colors, or rather, as if pearls with a pinhead and even less, and the board began to produce positively like light. Unconsciously sweeping away these pearls with a fair amount of cotton, which began to wallow like drops of oil, I felt a certain warmth in the cotton and just as unconsciously touched it with a candle candle. It flared up like gunpowder, and - a candle burned and three images of the Resurrection illuminated, as it illuminated both the face of Our Lady and all the metal lamps above the Holy Sepulcher "(Nilus S. Shrine under a bushel. Sergiev Posad, 1911).

Convergence of the Holy Fire - This is a miracle that happens every year and which everyone can see.

The Resurrection of Christ is Easter, before which the described event takes place - the greatest event for Christians, which is the sign of the Savior’s victory over sin and death and the beginning of the world being redeemed and sanctified by the Lord Jesus Christ.

For nearly two thousand years, Orthodox Christians and representatives of other Christian denominations celebrate their greatest holiday - the Resurrection of Christ (Easter) in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (Resurrection) in Jerusalem. In this greatest shrine for Christians, there is the Sepulcher, where Christ was buried and then resurrected; Holy Places where the Savior was condemned and executed for our sins.

Every time, everyone who is inside and close to the Temple on Easter becomes witnesses convergence Blame of Fire (Sveta).

History of the Convergence of the Holy Fire

Holy Fire is not the first millennium in the temple. The earliest references to the descent of the Holy Fire on the eve of the Resurrection of Christ are found in Gregory of Nyssa, Eusebius, and Sylvia of Aquitaine, and are dated to the 4th century. They have a description of earlier convergences. According to the testimony of the Apostles and Holy Fathers, the uncreated Light illuminated the Holy Sepulcher shortly after the Resurrection of Christ, which one of the apostles saw: "Peter believed, saw not only with his sensual eyes, but also the high Apostolic mind - the coffin of light was executed, so, although and the night was, however, two of the images seen inward - sensually and soulfully, "- we read at the church historian Gregory of Nyssa. “Peter is a Tomb and the light is in vain in a tomb terrified,” writes St. John of Damascus. Eusebius Pamphilus narrates in his “Church History” that when once there was not enough lamp oil, Patriarch Narcissus (2nd century) blessed to pour water from the Siloam font into the lamps, and the fire that came down from the sky turned on the lamps that then burned throughout the Easter service . Among the early references are testimonies of Muslims, Catholics. The Latin monk Bernard (865) writes in his hiterarii: "On Holy Saturday, which is Easter Eve, service begins early and when the service is done, God bless my soul until, with the coming of the Angel, the light comes on in the lamps hanging over the coffin. "

Ceremony of the Convergence of the Holy Fire

Litany (church ceremony) Holy Fire begins about a day before the beginning of Orthodox Easter, which, as is known, is celebrated on a different day than other Christians. Pilgrims begin to gather in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, wishing to see with their own eyes convergence of the Holy Fire. There are always many non-Orthodox Christians, Muslims, atheists among those present, the Jewish police are following the ceremony. Up to 10 thousand people can be accommodated in the church itself, the whole square in front of it and the enfilade of the surrounding buildings are also filled with people - the number of people who want is much more than the capacity of the temple, which is why pilgrims can be hard.

"On the eve of the temple, all the candles, lampads, chandeliers were extinguished. Even in the not-distant past (at the beginning of the 20th century - ed.) It was carefully observed: the Turkish authorities carried out a rigorous search inside the chapel; in the slander of the Catholics they even reached the revision the pockets of the sacred metropolitan, the vicar of the Patriarch ... "

In the middle of the bed of the Life-Giving Coffin a lamp is placed, filled with oil, but without fire. Pieces of cotton are laid out around the box, and a ribbon is laid along the edges. So prepared, after inspecting the Turkish guards, and now the Jewish police, the Cuvuclia (the Chapel over the Holy Sepulcher) is closed and sealed with a local Muslim key (see the interview).

"And in the morning of Great Saturday, at 9 o'clock local time, the first signs of Divine power began to appear: the first rumble of thunder was heard, while on the street it was clear and sunny. They continued for three hours (up to 12). The temple began to be lit up with bright flashes of light. Now, in one, now in another place, heavenly lightning flashes shone, foreshadowing the descent of the Heavenly Fire, "writes one of the eyewitnesses.

"At half past one, a bell rings in the patriarchy and a procession begins from there. The long black ribbon enters the Greek clergy into the temple, preceding his Beatitude, the Patriarch. He is in full attire, shining miter and panagia. The clergy slowly steps past the anointing stone, goes to the platform connecting the kuvukliya to the cathedral, and then between two rows of armed Turkish troops, barely restraining the onslaught of the crowd, disappears into the large altar of the cathedral "- tells the medieval pilgrim.

"At a time when Jerusalem was under the British mandate, the English governor tried to ban once these" savage "dances. The patriarch prayed for two hours at Cuvuclia: the fire did not come off. Then the Patriarch ordered the Arabs to be allowed in ... And the fire descended." The Arabs seem to appeal to all nations: the Lord confirms the correctness of our faith by rejecting the Holy Fire on the eve of orthodox Easter. What do you believe in?

"Suddenly, a small cloud appeared from inside the temple above Cuvukliya, from which a small rain began to drizzle. I was standing not far from Cuvuklia, therefore, I, a sinner, fell several times a few drops of dew. I thought it was thunderstorm, rain and roof in the temple is not tightly closed, so the water penetrates inside. But then the Greeks shouted: "Dew, dew ..." The grace of dew descended on the Edicule and dipped cotton wool on the Holy Sepulcher. It was the second manifestation of God's Power. " - the pilgrim writes.

The procession is included in the Temple - the hierarchs of the celebrating Easter denominations. At the end of the procession is the Orthodox Patriarch of one of the local Orthodox churches (Jerusalem or Constantinople), accompanied by the Armenian Patriarch and priests. In its procession, the procession passes all the memorial sites in the temple: the sacred grove where Christ was betrayed, the place where he was beaten by Roman legionaries, Golgotha, where He was crucified, the Stone of Anointing - where the body of Christ was prepared for burial.

The procession approaches Kuvukliya and bypasses it three times. After this, the Orthodox Patriarch stops in front of the entrance to the Edicule; he is exposed from his robe and he remains in one linen cassock so that it can be seen that he does not bring matches into the cave or anything that can ignite the fire. During the rule of the Turks, the Turkish janissaries, who searched him before entering the Convukliya, carried out an intent "control" of the patriarch.

Hoping to catch the Orthodox on a fake, the city Muslim authorities put Turkish warriors all over the temple, and they uncovered the scimitar, ready to cut off the head to anyone who was seen bringing in or lighting a fire. However, in the entire history of Turkish rule no one was caught in this. At the present time, the Patriarch is examined by Jewish police officers.

Shortly before the patriarch, the subdistrictist introduces into the cave a large lamp, in which the main fire should flare up and 33 candles - according to the number of years of the earthly life of the Savior. Then the Orthodox and Armenian Patriarchs (the latter also exposes before entering the cave) enter inside. They are sealed with a large piece of wax and a red ribbon is put on the door; Orthodox ministers put their seals. At this time, the light in the temple turns off and there is a tense silence - waiting. Those present pray and confess their sins, asking the Lord to grant Holy Fire.

All people in the temple are patiently waiting for the release of the patriarch from By fire in hand. However, in the hearts of many people there is not only patience, but also the thrill of expectation: according to the tradition of the Jerusalem Church, it is believed that the day when the Holy Fire will not come down will be the last for people in the Temple, and the Temple will be destroyed (see traditions ). Therefore, pilgrims usually take communion before coming to a holy place.

The prayer and the rite continue until the expected miracle happens to all. In different years, a tedious wait lasts from five minutes to several hours.

Miracle - Convergence of the Holy Fire

Before descending, the temple begins to illuminate the bright flashes of the Grace of Light, here and there small lightning flashes. In slow motion, you can clearly see that they emanate from different places of the temple - from the icon hanging over 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 without any harm through standing people.

A moment later, the whole temple is surrounded by lightning and glare, which snake along its walls and columns down, as if flowing down to the foot of the temple and spread throughout the area among the pilgrims. At the same time, the candles standing in the church and on the square light up, the lampads themselves located on the sides of the Cuvuclia light up themselves (except for the 13 Catholic ones), as well as some others within the temple. "And suddenly a drop falls on the face, and then in the crowd there is a cry of delight and shock. The fire burns in the altar of Katholikon! The flash and the flame are like a huge flower. And Cuvuclia is still dark. Slowly - slowly, by candlelight the Fire from the altar begins to descend to us And then a thunderous scream makes you look back at the Dummy. It shines, the whole wall shimmers with silver, white lightning streams through it. The fire pulses and breathes, and a vertical wide column of light descends from the sky into the Coffin from the sky, ". The temple or its separate places are filled with an unparalleled radiance, which is believed to have first appeared during the Resurrection of Christ.

At the same time, the doors of the Tomb open and the Orthodox Patriarch comes out, who blesses the audience and distributes the Holy Fire.

How to light up Holy Fire tell the patriarchs themselves. "I saw how the metropolitan leaned over the low entrance, entered the den and fell on his knees before the Holy Sepulcher, on which nothing stood and which was completely naked. Not a minute later, how the darkness lit up with light and the metropolitan came to us with a burning beam candles. " Hieromonk Meletius quotes the words of Archbishop Misail: "Come in to me inside the Holy Sepulcher, seeing the entire cover of the Tomb, the light shines, like scattered small beads, in the form of white, blue, scarlet and other colors, which then copulate, turn red and transform into the substance of fire ... and from this fire the prepared bracelets and candles are lit. "

However, not everyone lights the fire from the patriarchal candle, for some it lights up itself. "Brighter and stronger than the flash of Heavenly Light. Now the Holy Fire began to fly all over the temple. Crumbled with bright blue beads over the Cuvukliya around the icon of the Resurrection of the Lord, and then one of the lamps flashed. It burst into the church chapels, on Golgotha (lit on she also had one of the lamps), sparkled over the Stone of Confirmation (the lamp also lit here.) Someone had candle wicks charred, some had their own lamps flashed, wisps of candles. The flashes intensified more and more, sparks spread here and there. candles. " One of the witnesses said how the woman standing next to him three times lit the candles themselves, which she tried to extinguish twice.

The first time - 3-10 minutes, ignited the fire It has amazing properties - it does not burn at all, regardless of which candle it is and where it will be lit. You can see how the parishioners literally wash themselves with this Fire - they run them across their faces, their hands, they draw in handfuls, and it does not cause any harm, at first does not even scorch their hair. "I lit 20 candles in one place and my brother burned them with all the svesch, and neither edinag nor crouched or burned; and extinguished all the bubbles and then burned from other people, they also heated them in the third and I also , and then the wife of the throne did not scorch, the single Vlas was not scorched ... "- one of the pilgrims wrote four centuries ago. Wax droplets that parishioners call down from candles are Blessed dew. As a reminder of the Miracle of the Lord, they will remain on the clothes of the witnesses forever, no powders and washings will take them.

The people who are at this time in the temple are overwhelmed with an indescribable and incomparable in their depth feeling of joy and spiritual tranquility. According to those who visited the square and in the temple itself during the descent of fire, the depth of the feelings of overflowing people at that moment was fantastic - eyewitnesses came out of the temple as if brought up, as they say, spiritually cleansed and begun to see. What is particularly remarkable is not even indifferent to those who are uncomfortable with this God-given sign.

More rare miracles happen. Shooting on one of the videotapes indicates the ongoing healings. The camera visually demonstrates two such cases: in a person with a mutilated rotting chick, the wound smeared with Fire is tightened right in front of his eyes and the ear takes on a normal appearance, and the case of a blind man’s insight is shown (according to external observations a person had a eyesore on both eyes). "By fire).

In the future, from the fertile Fire, lamps will be lit throughout Jerusalem, with special flights, the Fire will be delivered to Cyprus and Greece, from where it will be delivered around the world. Recently, the direct participants in the events began to bring it to our country. In the neighborhoods of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the city’s districts, candles and lamps in the temples light up on their own. "

About the miracle of the Holy Fire

Many non-Orthodox when they first hear about Holy Fire trying to reproach the Orthodox: how do you know that it is granted to you? and what if he was accepted by a representative of a different Christian denomination? However, attempts by force to challenge the right to receive the Holy Fire from the representatives of other denominations have been and have happened more than once.

For only a few centuries, Jerusalem was under the control of Eastern Christians, most of the time, as now, the city was ruled by representatives of others who were unfriendly or completely hostile to Orthodoxy teachings.

In 1099 Jerusalem was conquered by the Crusaders, the Roman church and local town leaders honoring the Orthodox for apostates, boldly began to trample their rights. The English historian Stephen Ransimen cites in his book the chronicler of the western church: “The first Latin Patriarch Arnold from Shock began unsuccessfully: he ordered the heretic sects to be expelled from their borders in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, then he began to torture Orthodox monks, trying to find where they were They keep the Cross and other relics ... A few months later, Arnold replaced the Dimbert from Pisa, who went even further. He tried to expel all local Christians, even Orthodox, from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and admission s there only Latins generally prevent remaining church buildings in Jerusalem and around it ... Soon did not come for God's vengeance: in 1101 on Holy Saturday is not accomplished the descent of a miracle Holy fire in Cuvuclia, until Eastern Christians were invited to participate in this rite. Then King Baldwin I took care of the return of their rights to local Christians ... "

The chaplain of the Jerusalem crusader kings, Fulk, says that when Western worshipers (from among the crusaders) visited St. a hail before the taking of Caesarea, for the celebration of St.. Easter came to Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, because the holy fire did not appear and the faithful remained in vain expectations for a whole day in the temple of the Resurrection. Then, as if according to heavenly suggestion, the Latin clergy and the king with their whole court went ... to the temple of Solomon, which they had recently converted to the church from the mosque of Omar, and in the meantime the Greeks and Syrians, who remained with St. The tomb, tearing its clothes, cried out with the cry of the grace of God, and then, finally, came down St. The fire."

The Turkish authorities were very angry at the arrogant Armenians, and at first even wanted to execute the hierarch, but later they were sorry and decided to follow the Orthodox Patriarch for the edification of what happened at the Easter ceremony and continue not to directly participate in obtaining the Holy Fire. Although the power has changed a long time ago, 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 cc.) Writes: "... once the governor ordered to replace copper wire wicks, hoping that the lamps would not light up and the miracle itself would not happen. But then when the fire went off, the copper caught fire" .

It is difficult to list all the numerous events that occur before the descent of the Holy Fire and during it. However, one deserves special mention. Several times a day or immediately before the descent of the Holy Fire, icons or frescoes depicting the Savior began to flow to the Temple in the Temple.

"Christ is Risen!" - "Truly Risen!" So we used to hear this Easter greeting of believers, filled with joy and happiness in honor of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ!

Every year, in spring, believers celebrate the holiday called Easter. Before the celebration, believers prepare very thoroughly, for some time they observe strict fasting, thereby repeating Christ’s feat, when He was in the desert after baptism for 40 days and He was tempted by the devil.

On the last day of the fast, Great Saturday, a very unusual phenomenon takes place that is expected of millions of Orthodox Christians - this is the appearance of the Holy Fire in the Church of the Resurrection of Christ. Many are aware of the extraordinary properties of this fire. It is believed that in the first minutes of its appearance, it does not burn, such a miracle is explained by a special Grace that comes down to us from heaven, some believers even wash their face, hands and body with a wonderful flame without causing themselves any harm.

Now, thanks to television and the Internet, the descent of the Holy Fire can be watched live from any corner of our planet, so you can watch the miracle without going to Jerusalem, but even seeing how this miracle happens, people do not stop asking the question, -

Convergence of the Holy Fire in History

The historical mention of the descent of fire begins at least from the 4th century, evidenced by it:

Saint Gregory of Nyssa
Eusebius of Caesarea
Silvia Aquitaine

There are descriptions and earlier evidence, for example:

Gregory of Nyssa wrote that the Apostle Peter saw how, after the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, His tomb was consecrated with a bright light.
Eusebius of Caesarea wrote that in the second century, Patriarch Narcissus was ordered by the blessing of the Siloam font to pour water into the lampads because of a lack of oil, and then fire burned from the sky in a most wonderful way, from which the lampads lit up by themselves.
A Latin traveler monk, Bernard, described in his diary that on Great Saturday during the service they sang "Lord, have mercy," until such time as the angel comes and lights a lamp in the lamps.

Search the pockets of the Patriarch

At the crucial moment, on the eve of the celebration, all the lamps and candles are extinguished in the temple - this is due to the historical past, because at various times they tried to expose the miracle of the Convergence of the Holy Fire for various reasons.

The Turkish authorities carried out a rigorous search of Cuvuklia and the entire Temple complex. On the initiative of Catholics, sometimes the Patriarch’s pockets were searched in order to check for the presence of objects from which fire could be fired.

Since then, before entering the Cuvuklia, the Patriarch necessarily exposes himself, remaining only in one cassock, thereby proving, as it were, that he has nothing with himself. Of course, now, by and large, such actions are more likely a ritual, but during the reign of the Arabs - a search of the patriarch and Cuvuclia was an indispensable element if they suspected something was wrong, or a deception - the death penalty was relied upon. Now the procession is monitored by the Israeli authorities.

In front of the entrance to the Edicule of Constantinople or the Israeli Patriarch and the Armenian Catholicos, a lampad with oil is placed on the Holy Sepulcher and a bunch of 33 candles is brought in. Their number is associated with the earthly life of Jesus Christ.
After the patriarchs enter the cave, the door behind them closes and a large wax seal is placed, which is additionally fixed with a red tape.
Patriarchs remain in the Tomb until the appearance of the grace of fire. The Descent of the Holy Fire, can be expected as a few minutes, and many hours. All this time, while in Cuvuklia, the Patriarch of Constantinople kneels and prays tearfully.

It is believed that if the fire does not come down in the last year of the Passover Celebration, the temple will be destroyed, and everyone in it will die.

Holy Fire did not come down

By the way, the presence of two patriarchs in Cuvuklia also has a historical character. In 1578, the Armenian priests with the new head of Jerusalem agreed on the right to transfer the reception of the Holy Fire by them, and not by the Jerusalem Patriarch, to which consent was given.

On Holy Saturday of 1579, the Patriarch of Jerusalem and the rest of the priests were not allowed to go to the temple by force, and they had to stay outside of it. The Armenian priesthood prayed in the cave to the Lord, and begged him for the fire to come down. However, their prayers were not heard and the fire at the Tomb did not come down.

The Israeli patriarch and the priests prayed on the street, it was then that the only thing that happened during the whole time was the descent of the Holy Fire outside the Temple, then one of the columns to the left of the entrance to the Temple cracked, and the Fire came down from it!

With great joy, then the patriarch lit the candles from this column passing it to the rest of the believers. The Arabs immediately expelled the Armenians from the Tomb, and the Israeli patriarch was allowed to enter the temple.

Since then, the Israeli or Constantinople patriarch has been involved in the process of taking fire, and the Armenian Catholicos is only present at the time of the descent.

In addition, in anticipation of the descent of the Holy Fire, the monks and the abbot of the Monastery of Savva the Sanctified must be present in the temple. This has been observed since the times of the pilgrimage of Abbot Daniel in the twelfth century.

Another important element is the presence in the temple of the Orthodox Arab youth. Some time after the sealing of the Tomb-Cuvukli, the Arabs enter the Temple with shouts, stomping, drums, dances and prayer songs. Arab youth glorifies Christ and the Virgin Mary with such actions. They ask mercy from the Mother of God for the Son to send them the Holy Fire. It is impossible to accurately determine the history of the emergence of such a special Arab ritual, but nevertheless such a ritual still exists.

Once, not so long ago, during the period of British domination over Israel, the governor tried to squat the Arab tradition, considering that such behavior was “wild” and it was not permissible in the Holy Temple. However, that year the patriarch prayed for a long time in the Cuvuclia, but the fire did not descend, then, at his own will, the patriarch ordered the Arabs to be allowed into the Temple, and only after the Arabian dances and chants the Fire came down.

After the patriarch's entrance into the tomb comes the quivering expectation. Waiting for believers before the descent of Fire is accompanied by another interesting phenomenon. The temple begins to be lit up with bright flashes and flashes, and, before the appearance of the Holy Fire, the intensity of the flashes increases. These outbreaks occur throughout the Temple, and all worshipers witness this phenomenon.

Holy Fire is delivered worldwide

Eyewitnesses claim that sometimes it happened that the flame was lit by itself on the candles of some parishioners, as well as on Orthodox lamps hanging near the Cuvuclia.

The kindling of Fire takes place only during the prayer of the Orthodox Patriarch, such a phenomenon reminds the sinners of the Great Sabbath, that Christ is Risen and conquered hell. In other words, the meaning of this sacrament and manifestation can be interpreted as: Lost sinners who cannot know the truth, or simply become entangled in their life path The Lord testifies to them about his Resurrection on the land of Israel as a miracle that can help sinners to believe and get on the path salvation.

To those people who do not seek to embark on the true path of soul salvation, the Lord warns of his Second Coming and the Last Judgment. Jesus Christ proves to his opponents His power over hell and victory over it, warning the infidels about the hellish torments that await them after the Last Judgment.

After some waiting, the Fire appears in the Cuvuclia, at this moment the bells begin to ring. From the south window of the Tomb, the Armenian Catholicos passes the fire to the Armenians, through the north window the patriarch passes the fire to the Greeks, then with the help of special, so-called fast walkers, the Fire is quickly spread to all parishioners in the Temple.

In our modern time, the Holy Fire is delivered around the world with the help of special flights, with which it is brought to various countries. At airports he is greeted with special honor and joy. The ceremony is attended by both high-ranking officials, and clergy and just believers experiencing joy in their souls!

Mystery of the Holy Fire

This miraculous phenomenon at various times had many critics, some because of their unhealthy curiosity or unbelief tried to expose and prove the artificial origin of the fire. Among those who did not agree were even catholic Church. In 1238 Pope Gregory IX made a disagreement about the miraculousness of the Holy Fire, asking all the same question that does not lose its relevance today, - Where does blissful fire come from?

Some Arabs, not understanding the true origin of the grace-filled fire, tried to prove that the Fire was allegedly mined by any means, substances and devices, but they have no direct evidence, moreover, they have not even witnessed this miracle.

Modern researchers also tried to study the nature of this phenomenon. Artificial fire can be obtained, of course, it is possible, and spontaneous combustion of chemical mixtures and substances is possible, but not one of them is the same as the appearance of the Holy Fire, especially with its amazing property, when it does not burn and scorch in the first minutes of its appearance.

There were attempts to receive the Holy Fire and representatives of other religious Christian denominations. They were Armenians and in 1101 the Catholics, who at that time dominated Jerusalem after the first Crusade. Then all Christians who were not Latins were expelled, the Temple was captured, and on Great Saturday of 1101 the Fire did not come down! This suggests that Orthodox Christians must be present!

One day, even before the birth of Christ, before the people who believe in different gods, the question arose, what is the most correct faith: faith in the True God or faith in various pagan gods? The path of reconciliation was taken by the prophet Elijah. He came up with the easiest way to prove.

The prophet suggested that various confessors call upon the name of their God, and from whose prayers they would receive an answer in the form of the descent of fire, that is the true God. If Baal is God, then we will believe and follow Baal, if the Lord is God, then we will follow Him. People willingly accepted such an offer and offered up prayers to their gods. And only to the prayers of the Prophet Elijah, an answer was received, the fire came down on the altar and burned it, then it became clear whose worship is true!

This is proof that the Holy Fire descends only by orthodox prayers. Here it is, an undeniable miracle from God, which we observe from year to year on Holy Saturday, on the eve of Easter! That is why the answer to the question - where does the sacred fire come frommaybe there is only one thing - it is a miracle, and so far whose nature, or the Lord, hasn’t been established yet.

Every time everyone who is inside and close to the Temple on Easter becomes the witnesses of the descent of the Blessed Fire (Light).

Story

Ceremony

The litany (church ceremony) of Holy Fire begins about a day before the beginning of Orthodox Easter, which, as you know, is celebrated on a different day than other Christians. Pilgrims begin to gather in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, who want to see with their own eyes the descent of the Holy Fire. There are always many non-Orthodox Christians, Muslims, atheists among those present, the Jewish police are following the ceremony. Up to 10 thousand people can be accommodated in the church itself, the whole square in front of it and the enfilade of the surrounding buildings are also filled with people - the number of people who want is much more than the capacity of the temple, which is why pilgrims can be hard.

In the middle of the bed of the Life-Giving Coffin a lamp is placed, filled with oil, but without fire. Pieces of cotton are laid out around the box, and a ribbon is laid along the edges. So prepared, after examining the Turkish guards, and now - the Jewish police, Cuvuklia (Chapel over the Holy Sepulcher) is closed and sealed with a local Muslim key.

20-30 minutes after sealing the Cuvuclia, Orthodox Arab youth, whose presence is also a mandatory element of Easter celebrations, rush into the temple. Young people like riders sit on the shoulders of each other. They ask the Mother of God and the Lord to bestow the Blessed Fire on the Orthodox; “Ilya Din, Ilya wil El Messiah” (“there is no faith, except the Orthodox faith, Christ is the true God”) - they are chanting. For parishioners of Europeans who are accustomed to other forms of expression of feelings and calm worship services, it is very unusual to see such behavior of local youth. However, the Lord reminded us that He accepts such a childishly naive, but sincere appeal to God.

The procession is included in the Temple - the hierarchs of the celebrating Easter denominations. At the end of the procession there is an Orthodox Patriarch of one of the local Orthodox churches (Jerusalem or Constantinople), accompanied by the Armenian Patriarch and clergy. In its procession, the procession passes all the memorial sites in the temple: the sacred grove where Christ was betrayed, the place where he was beaten by Roman legionaries, Golgotha, where He was crucified, the Stone of Anointing - where the body of Christ was prepared for burial.

The procession approaches Kuvukliya and bypasses it three times. After this, the Orthodox Patriarch stops in front of the entrance to the Edicule; he is exposed from the robe and he remains in one linen casket, so that it can be seen that he does not bring matches into the cave or anything that can light a fire. During the rule of the Turks, the Turkish janissaries, who searched him before entering the Convuklius, carried out an intent “control” of the patriarch.

All people in the temple are waiting patiently 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 the thrill of expectation: in accordance with the tradition of the Jerusalem Church, it is believed that the day when the Holy Fire will not come down will be the last for people in the Temple, and the Temple will be destroyed. Therefore, pilgrims usually take communion before coming to a holy place.

The prayer and the rite continue until the expected miracle happens to all. In different years, a tedious wait lasts from five minutes to several hours.

Convergence

The Patriarchs themselves tell about how the Holy Fire lights up. "I saw how the metropolitan leaned over the low entrance, entered the den and fell on his knees before the Holy Sepulcher, on which nothing stood and which was completely naked. Not a minute later, how the darkness lit up with light and the metropolitan came to us with a burning beam candles. " Hieromonk Meletius quotes the words of Archbishop Misail: "Come in to me inside the Holy Sepulcher, seeing the entire cover of the Tomb, the light shines, like scattered small beads, in the form of white, blue, scarlet and other colors, which then copulate, turn red and transform into the substance of fire ... and from this fire the prepared bracelets and candles are lit. "

The messengers, even when the Patriarch is in the Cuvuclia, spread fire through special openings throughout the temple, the circle of fire is gradually spreading through the temple.

However, not everyone lights the fire from the patriarchal candle, for some it lights up the samkhram. It was scattered with bright blue beads over the Earthenware around the icon of the Resurrection of the Lord, and one of the lamps flashed after it. He broke into the temple chapels, on Golgotha (he also lit one of the lamps on it), glittered over the Confirmation Stone (here also the lamp was lit). Someone's candle wicks charred, some had their own lights, wisps of candles. The flashes became more and more intense, the sparks here and there were spreading in bunches of candles. ”One of the witnesses notes how the women standing next to him three times lit up the candles themselves, which she tried to extinguish twice.

The first time - 3-10 minutes, the lit fire has amazing properties - it does not burn at all, regardless of which candle it is and where it will be lit. You can see how the parishioners literally wash themselves with this Fire - they run them across their faces, their hands, they draw in handfuls, and it does not cause any harm, at first does not even scorch their hair. "I lit 20 candles in one place and my brother burned them with all the svesch, and neither edinag nor crouched or burned; and extinguished all the bubbles and then burned from other people, they also heated them in the third and I also , and then the wife of the throne did not scorch, the single Vlas was not scorched ... "- one of the pilgrims wrote four centuries ago. Wax droplets that parishioners call down from candles are Blessed dew. As a reminder of the Miracle of the Lord, they will remain on the clothes of the witnesses forever, no powders and washings will take them.

Is it only Orthodox?

Many non-Orthodox when they first hear about the Holy Fire try to reproach the Orthodox: how do you know that it is granted to you? and what if he was accepted by a representative of a different Christian denomination? However, attempts by force to challenge the right to receive the Holy Fire from the representatives of other denominations have been and have happened more than once.

But the most significant event occurred in 1579. The owners of the Temple of the Lord are at the same time representatives of several Christian Churches. Contrary to tradition, the priests of the Armenian church managed to bribe Sultan Murat the Truth and local government to allow them to solemnly celebrate Easter and receive the Holy Fire. At the call of the Armenian clergy, from all over the Middle East many of their co-religionists came to Jerusalem, in order to celebrate Easter by one. The Orthodox, together with Patriarch Sophronius IV, were removed not only from the cuvuklii, but also generally from the Temple. There, at the entrance to the shrine, they remained to pray for the descent of Fire, grieving for separation from Grace. The Armenian Patriarch prayed for about 24 hours, however, despite his prayer efforts, no miracle followed. At one moment, a beam struck from the sky, as is usually the case with the descent of Fire, and hit exactly the column at the entrance, next to which was the Orthodox Patriarch. Fiery splashes of fire splashed out of it and a candle was lit by the Orthodox Patriarch, who handed over the Holy Fire to co-religionists. This was the only case in history when the descent occurred outside the Temple, in fact, through the prayers of the Orthodox, and not the Armenian high priest. “Everyone was delighted, and the Orthodox Arabs began to jump and shout for joy:“ You are one God, Jesus Christ, our true faith is one - the faith of Orthodox Christians, ”wrote the monk Parthenius. At the same time, on the suites of buildings adjacent to the temple square were Turkish soldiers. One of them, named Omir (Anvar), saw what was happening and exclaimed: "One Orthodox Faith, I am a Christian" and jumped down onto stone slabs from a height of about 10 meters. However, the youth did not break - the plates under his feet melted like wax, imprinting his traces. and the adoption of Christianity, the Muslims executed the brave Anwar and tried to scrape off the traces, so clearly indicating the triumph of Orthodoxy, but they did not succeed, and those who come to the Temple can still see them, as well as the dissected column at the door of the temple. The martyr's body was burned, but The Greeks collected the remains, which until the end of the XIX century were in the convent of the Great Panagia, exuding fragrance.

It is difficult to list all the numerous events that occur before and during the descent of the Holy Fire. However, one deserves special mention. Several times a day or immediately before the descent of the Holy Fire, icons or frescoes depicting the Savior began to flow to the Temple in the Temple. For the first time it happened on Great Friday in 1572. Two Frenchmen became the first witnesses, a letter about this of one of them is kept in the Central Paris Library. After 5 months - on August 24, Charles IX staged the St. Bartholomew Massacre in Paris. In two days, a third of the population of France was destroyed. In 1939, on the night of Good Friday on Great Saturday, she again pacified. Several monks living at the Jerusalem monastery became witnesses. Five months later, on September 1, 1939, World War II began. In 2001, this happened again. Christians saw nothing wrong with that ... but the whole world knows about what happened on September 11 of this year - five months after the outflow of the world.

For those who are interested in this topic there is a site on which a large amount of information about this miracle is presented. Its address is http://www.holyfire.org.