Who ignites the blessed fire. Reasons for the appearance of a miracle only to Orthodox Christians

25.09.2019

In ancient Jerusalem, on Great Saturday - on the eve of Orthodox Easter - the ceremony of the Descent of the Holy Fire takes place. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is filled with pilgrims from all over the world. An Armenian archimandrite and a Greek patriarch enter the chapel (Edicule), built according to legend on the burial site of Christ. Soon a Fire appears, which is transmitted to believers. But how does it light up?

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For centuries, people have searched for the answer to this question. For Christians, the divine nature of Fire is unconditional. Atheists, on the other hand, keep talking about a grandiose hoax, Allegedly, in the tomb behind the icon there is a niche hidden from the eyes, in which a lamp is burning. It is from her that the so-called Holy Fire lights up. They also write about spontaneously igniting oil, which flares up when interacting with oxygen.

Like, this whole noisy ceremony is just a representation, like all other ceremonies Holy Week. More than two thousand years ago, the joyful news from the Tomb shone and lit up everything around. Here, too, a symbolic repetition of how the news of the Resurrection spread throughout the world is taking place.

A few years ago, employees of the Kurchatov Institute, engaged in physical problems, attended the ceremony of the descent of the Holy Fire and made special measurements. A few minutes before the fire was taken out, the device that recorded the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation caught a strange long-wavelength pulse, which no longer manifested itself. That is, an electrical discharge has occurred.

Such discharges often occur at the boundary of the fault of tectonic plates, and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher stands in such a unique place. Scientists were also interested in the property of the Holy Fire not to burn at first. This is how plasma behaves - a low-temperature ionized substance. Until now, it has been possible to obtain it only in laboratory conditions.

No one can give an exact answer about the nature of Fire. Yes, this is not necessary. It is much more important that it unites the believers of the whole planet, millions of Christians are waiting for its appearance. After all, according to legend, the day when a miracle does not happen will be a sign of the end of the world.

It is generally accepted that only people who adhere to the relevant beliefs believe in the existence of religious miracles. At the same time, not a single skeptic can explain the phenomenon of such a miracle as the Holy Fire, no matter what arguments he tries.

What is the Holy Fire?

An amazing phenomenon has been studied more than once by scientists and religious figures who could not find at least proof of the natural origin of the phenomenon called “the condescension of the Holy Fire”. It includes:

Ceremony preparing for the emergence of the flame. There is a special ritual without which the main event of Holy Saturday will not take place and the celebration will be ruined.
Checking the Patriarch and his entry into the temple. From this moment, the international broadcast of the ceremony by TV channels begins.
The appearance of the Holy Fire and its transfer to other clergy.
The beginning of the first celebrations in honor of .

How does the Holy Fire appear?

The process of the emergence of flames deserves special attention. At about 10 o'clock in the morning to the Jerusalem Orthodox Church begins to move procession, headed by the Patriarch and the highest ranks of the clergy. After they come close to Kuvuklia (the chapel of the Holy Sepulcher), events begin to unfold as follows:

So that the believers would not have doubts about where the Holy Fire comes from, the Patriarch undresses and remains in one white undershirt, under which nothing can be carried.
It is inspected by representatives of the Turkish and Israeli police, according to a tradition that has existed since the 14th century.
The Patriarch is approaching the entrance to Kuvukliya along with similar ranks from the Armenian, Coptic and Syrian Apostolic Churches. They will be the first to see the Holy Fire after the Patriarch.
The doors of the chapel are closed, and the faithful are left to wait for a miracle outside the doors.

How does the Holy Fire descend?

After the Patriarch and the priests remain behind the first doors of Kuvuklia, they appear in front of the room with the Tomb of Christ. The Metropolitan of Jerusalem will enter it alone, but a few steps from him there will be a representative of the Armenian Church. The convergence of the Holy Fire occurs in several stages:

The patriarch begins prayers praising Jesus Christ.
Turning to God can take both several hours and several minutes.
Lights flash on the stone slab, flowing down like drops.
The patriarch picks them up with a cotton ball and sets fire to a bunch of candles.

Why does the Holy Fire not burn?

The sheaf of candles held by the Patriarch consists of 33 pieces (according to the number of years Jesus spent on Earth). The only one who personally saw the secret of the Holy Fire takes the bundle out of Kuvuklia and hands it over to the Armenian Metropolitan. He shows it to the believers, and they light their candles from it. Weakened after fervent prayer, the Patriarch, as soon as he appears at the door, is lifted up in his arms and carried to the exit with hymns. Meanwhile, those who first visited Jerusalem are surprised to note the special properties of the flame:

Knowing where the Holy Fire actually comes from, experienced tourists fearlessly wash themselves with it, put candles to their faces and put their fingers to it.
The color of the fire varies from light blue to blue, which cannot be seen anywhere else in the world.
After 5-10 minutes after the convergence, the flame on all sheaves acquires its usual properties and heats up.

How to bring the Holy Fire home?

No less important for the believer is not only the opportunity to see the Fire, but also the desire to take away its particle with him. The Holy Fire at home can be placed in front of the iconostasis or lamps can be lit from it and placed in rooms on the eve of Easter. To implement the idea, you will need:

a small candle, which in churches is allowed to touch the flame from the Holy Sepulcher;
a small lamp with a lid that prevents the lampada from going out;
vaseline oil, which is used to support combustion.

What should be done with the Holy Fire?

Most spiritual guides do not recommend turning into idolaters and turning fire into a kind of cult. Believers should treat it accordingly: they can find the flame in the parishes to which it is brought by plane from Jerusalem. It is believed that the Holy Fire is what allows you to:

Orthodox, unable to come to the temple, personally see the miracle;
recall the bright holiday of Easter, which he marks;
gain spiritual strength for fasting on Great Saturday.

Holy Fire - true or false?

If church officials consider it sinful to doubt the sacred nature of the phenomenon, then journalists and scientists are not shy in the most daring assumptions that the descent of the Holy Fire has a completely earthly origin. Supporters of different versions are leading options such as:

Concealment of fire from those who inspect the Patriarch. Since on the day of Holy Saturday he does not have the opportunity to carry the flame with him, it can be decided that the Fire is carried and hidden at the Sepulcher in advance.
A chemical reaction caused by the special composition of the slab on the tomb of Christ. Esters of organic acids can give a cold fire, but its color will not be blue, but green.
Spontaneous combustion. Some natural substances at a certain temperature environment and humidity may flare up. This property is possessed by: white phosphorus, boric acid, jasmine oil.

Holy Fire - scientific explanation

In 2008, skeptics had a chance to find out the nature of the Holy Fire. Russian physicist Andrey Volkov was admitted to Edicule before Holy Saturday, who received the approval of the Orthodox Church to install equipment with sensitive sensors. Before him, no one knew the answer to the slippery question, how scientists explain the convergence of the Holy Fire, Andrei Volkov’s research gave mixed results:

A few seconds before the appearance of the flame at the Holy Sepulcher, the physicist recorded an unusual long-wave electrical impulse that arose spontaneously.
During the ignition of the cotton wool laid out on the lid of the tombstone, the pulse fluctuations increased many times over.
Power measurements showed that the flash of fire can be compared to the operation of a low-power welding machine.
Scientific diagnostics of a crack on a column at the entrance to Kuvuklia proved that such damage could occur solely under the influence of electricity.

Holy Fire - interesting facts

The mystical character of the nature of Fire in history has been repeatedly associated with curious events. It was worth breaking at least one tradition of his appearance, as the course of the ceremony changed in front of all the witnesses. The miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire underwent sharp interventions twice:

In 1101, the Latin Patriarch of Choque decided to take the reins of the greatest Christian miracle into his own hands. The desire to unravel his secret so captured the heretic that he tortured the monks and received from them all the details of the procedure for obtaining Fire. The flame never appeared after a day of futile attempts.
In 1578, a priest from Armenia decided that the secret of the Holy Fire would be revealed to him and obtained permission from the clergy to enter the Kuvuklia first. Orthodox priests did not protest and remained at the door. The column in front of the entrance to the Holy Sepulcher cracked and flames began to emanate from it.

"There are many substances that can ignite spontaneously"

The convergence of the Holy Fire is a great Easter miracle. This year, on April 7, thousands of pilgrims will be waiting for his appearance in the Church of the Resurrection of Christ. However, for many years skeptics have been arguing: is fire really of divine origin, or is it the work of human hands? The last scandal associated with the exposure of this miracle occurred almost a month before Easter: the representative of the Armenian Patriarchy, Samuil Agoyan, said that the patriarchs themselves light wax candles from an oil lamp.

"MK" decided to experiment and get the fire chemically - without matches, lighters or other attributes that the priest definitely cannot carry with him.

We note right away that we do not want to offend anyone's feelings with this text and do not set ourselves the goal of refuting the divine origin of fire. If a certain phenomenon can be imitated with the help of a trick or an experiment, this does not mean that the phenomenon itself is a trick. We show that with the help of simple chemical manipulations it is possible to reproduce something similar, to get fire. But is it a miracle the Holy Fire itself or the result chemical reaction- everyone decides for himself. In the end, each will be given according to his faith.

What do we know about the environment in which the fire descends? It is known that this is a closed phenomenon - only one person, the patriarch of the Jerusalem Greek Orthodox Church, enters the chapel above the Holy Sepulcher. What is happening inside cannot be seen even by those who stand directly at the walls of the cuvuklia. It is also known that the patriarch, before he goes inside to pray for the descent of the fire, is searched: he should not have any matches or lighters with him.

Fire - normal, human - can be obtained different ways. Mechanical: for example by friction, or with a magnifying glass, glasses or binoculars, or even by making a lens out of ice. However, it is unlikely that the priest will be able to carry some kind of device with him - then it’s easier to really hide the lighter. It is best to simulate the sudden spontaneous combustion of a candle using chemical methods.

There is a classic way that magicians used back in the 19th century. A piece of white phosphorus is dissolved in carbon tetrachloride, a volatile poisonous liquid. The wick is dipped into the solution. After the carbon tetrachloride evaporates, the phosphorus ignites itself and lights the candle. It is convenient that spontaneous combustion does not occur immediately - there is just enough time to move a candle or lamp to the right place.

There are many substances that can ignite spontaneously, such as alkali metals, - said Professor RKhTU im. Mendeleev Dmitry Mustafin. - If you take a piece of potassium or sodium and throw it into water, it will start to burn. In addition, alkali metal carbides burn. Quite a few active metals, especially if they are crushed into powders, aluminum, zinc, cobalt, all ignite spontaneously in air. Some immediately, others after a certain period of time. You can mix two substances - an oxidizing agent and a reducing agent. If you take saltpeter or potassium permanganate and mix it with alcohol, then the mixture should catch fire.

You can't just buy white phosphorus or other self-igniting substances in a store. We have chosen the simplest and relatively safe way getting fire - mixing glycerin and potassium permanganate, known as potassium permanganate. Warning: do not repeat this experience at home. This should be done only in specially designed rooms (for example, in chemical laboratories) and only with a fire extinguisher at the ready.

Potassium permanganate is a strong oxidizing agent. During the reaction, it decomposes to atomic oxygen, which oxidizes glycerol. The reaction is exothermic, that is, accompanied by a strong release of heat and ignition of the suspension.

Simple glycerin from a pharmacy will not work. In fact, this is not even glycerin, but glycerol - an 85% solution. This concentration of the active substance is not enough: the solution boils, but does not burn. Therefore, in a specialized chemical store, we bought a 99.5% solution of glycerin. Potassium permanganate, in turn, is simply not sold in a pharmacy - only by prescription. We got it from our old stocks.

It is necessary to conduct an experiment only in glass or porcelain dishes - in no case in plastic and preferably not in metal. We will not disclose the secret "how much to hang in grams". Glycerin is poured into glassware (in concentrated form - a viscous transparent liquid). Potassium permanganate powder is added - it is not necessary to dilute it before that. After some time, the reaction begins abruptly - everything boils, boils and burns with a bright bluish flame. Nearby we put a candle, the wick of which was lit from the chemical fire.

It is clear that no glassware will be carried into the Kuvukliya, and it is unlikely that members of the clergy are quietly chemistry in the corner. But there is a similar method, where concentrated sulfuric acid is taken instead of glycerin. From the components taken in a certain ratio, gruel is made. A small amount of it - literally a match head or less - is applied to the wick of a candle, which after a while lights up. For fidelity, a tiny piece of paper can be attached to the wick. Alas, when we experimented with glycerin, we needed a rather large amount of potassium permanganate, which it is definitely impossible to put on a candle imperceptibly.

There is one more property of the blessed fire - in the first minutes it does not burn, and pilgrims can even wash themselves with it. A similar phenomenon of chemical nature is used in their work by illusionists.

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

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

On the last day of Lent, on Great Saturday, a very unusual phenomenon occurs, which millions of Orthodox Christians are waiting for - this is the appearance of the Holy Fire in the Church of the Resurrection of Christ. Many people know 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 the special Grace that comes down to us from heaven, some believers even wash their faces, hands and bodies 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 a miracle without leaving Jerusalem, but even seeing how this miracle happens, people do not stop asking the question, -

The convergence of the blessed fire in history

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

Saint Gregory of Nyssa
Eusebius of Caesarea
Sylvia of Aquitaine

There are descriptions of 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, with the blessing of Patriarch Narcissus, it was ordered from the Siloam font to pour water into the lamps due to a lack of oil, then, miraculously, fire descended from heaven, from which the lamps ignited by themselves.
The Latin traveler monk Bernard described in his diary that on Holy Saturday during the service they sang “Lord have mercy”, until an angel appears and lights a fire in the lamps.

Searching the pockets of the Patriarch

At a 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, due to the fact that at different times they tried to expose the miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire for various reasons.

The Turkish authorities carried out the strictest search of Kuvuklia and everything temple complex. At the initiative of the Catholics, sometimes the pockets of the Patriarch were even searched to check for objects from which fire could be extracted.

Since then, before entering Cuvuklia, the Patriarch necessarily undresses, remaining only in one cassock, thus, as if proving that he has nothing with him. Of course, now, by and large, such actions are rather a ritual, however, during the reign of the Arabs, a search of the patriarch and Kuvuklia was a mandatory element, if something was suspected, or deceit, it was supposed the death penalty. The Israeli authorities are now watching the procession.

In front of the entrance to the Edicule of the Patriarch of Constantinople or Israel and the Armenian Catholicos, an oil lamp is placed on the Holy Sepulcher and a bunch of 33 candles is brought in. Their number is connected with the earthly life of Jesus Christ.
After the patriarchs enter the cave, the door is closed behind them and a large wax seal is placed, which is additionally fixed with a red ribbon.
The Patriarchs remain in the Tomb until the Holy Fire appears. The descent of the Holy Fire can be expected both for several minutes and for many hours. All this time, being in Kuvuklia, Patriarch of Constantinople kneeling and tearfully praying.

It is believed that if the fire does not come down in the last year of the Easter celebration, the temple will be destroyed, and all those who are in it will die.

The Holy Fire did not descend

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

On Holy Saturday 1579, the Patriarch of Jerusalem and the rest of the priests were forcibly not allowed into the temple, and they had to stay within its boundaries. The Armenian priesthood prayed to the Lord in the cave and asked him for the fire to descend. However, their prayers were not heard and the fire did not descend into the Tomb.

The Israeli patriarch and priests prayed on the street, it was then that the only descent of the Holy Fire outside the Temple took place, then one of the columns located to the left of the entrance to the Temple cracked, and Fire descended from it!

With great joy, then the patriarch lit 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, it is the Patriarch of Israel or Constantinople who has been participating in the process of receiving the fire, while the Armenian Catholicos is only present during the descent.

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

Another important element the presence of Orthodox Arab youth in the church is considered. Some time after the sealing of the Tomb - Kuvuklia, the Arabs enter the Temple with shouts, stomp, drums, dances and prayer songs. With such actions, the Arab youth glorifies Christ and the Mother of God. They ask the Mother of God for mercy so that the Son would send them the Holy Fire. It is impossible to accurately determine the history of the emergence of such a special Arabic ritual, but nevertheless such a rite still exists.

Once, not so long ago during the period of British rule over Israel, the governor tried to cut down the Arab tradition, believing that such behavior is "wild" and it is not allowed in the Holy Temple. However, that year the patriarch prayed for a long time in Kuvuklia, but the fire did not go down, then, of his own free will, the patriarch ordered that the Arabs be allowed into the Temple, and only after Arab dances and chants did the fire come down.

After the patriarch enters the tomb, there is a trembling expectation. The expectation of believers before the descent of Fire is accompanied by another interesting phenomenon. The temple begins to light 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 parishioners are witnesses of this phenomenon.

The Holy Fire is delivered all over the world

Eyewitnesses say that sometimes it happened that the flame was kindled by itself on the candles of some parishioners, as well as on Orthodox lamps hanging near Kuvuklia.

The kindling of Fire occurs only during the prayer of the Orthodox Patriarch, such a phenomenon reminds sinners of Great Saturday, that Christ is Risen and conquered hell. In other words, the meaning of this sacrament and phenomenon can be interpreted as follows: Lost sinners who cannot know the truth, or are simply confused 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 embark on the path of salvation.

For 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. To his opponents, Jesus Christ proves 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, Fire appears in Kuvukliya, at this moment the bells begin to ring. From the southern window of the Tomb, the Armenian Catholicos passes the fire to the Armenians, through the northern window the patriarch passes the fire to the Greeks, after which, with the help of special, so-called runners, the Fire quickly spreads to all the parishioners in the Temple.

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

The Secret of the Holy Fire

This miraculous phenomenon at different times had many critics, some of them, due to their unhealthy curiosity or disbelief, tried to expose and prove the artificial origin of fire. Even the Catholic Church was among those who disagreed. In 1238, Pope Gregory IX disagreed about the miraculous work of the Holy Fire, asking the same question that does not lose its relevance today - Where does the blessed fire come from?

Some Arabs, not understanding the true origin of the Holy Fire, tried to prove that the Fire is supposedly obtained using any means, substances and devices, but they have no direct evidence, in addition, they did not even witness this miracle.

Modern researchers also tried to study the nature of this phenomenon. It is, of course, possible to produce fire artificially, spontaneous combustion of chemical mixtures and substances is also possible, but none of them is similar to the appearance of the Holy Fire, especially with its amazing property when it does not burn and does not scorch in the first minutes of its appearance.

There have been attempts to get Holy Fire and representatives of other religious Christian denominations. These were the 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 Holy Saturday 1101 the Fire did not come down! This suggests that Orthodox Christians must be present!

Once, even before the birth of Christ, the question arose before people who believe in different gods, which faith is the most correct: Faith in the True God or faith in various pagan gods? The prophet Elijah embarked on the path of reconciliation. He came up with the easiest way to prove it.

The Prophet invited various confessors to call on the name of their God, and from whose prayers an answer would be received in the form of a 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 follow Him. People willingly accepted such an offer and offered prayers to their gods. And only the prayers of the prophet Elijah were answered, fire descended on the altar and burned it, then it became clear whose worship of God is true!

Here is the proof that the Holy Fire descends only on Orthodox prayers. Here it is, an undeniable miracle from God, which we observe from year to year on Great Saturday, on the eve of Easter! That is why the answer to the question - where does the blessed fire come from, there can be only one thing - this is a miracle, and whose, of nature or the Lord, has not yet been established exactly.

“Do not be deceived, Jew, get used to the saying of the prophets,
and understand that He is truly the Deliverer of the world, and all-powerful.”

(Stichera 6 at the “Lord I called” of the Sunday service of the 5th tone)

Our Lord Jesus Christ suffered and died on the Cross, was buried in the tomb that belonged to Nicodemus, and rose from the tomb on the third day after His death. Where was Mount Golgotha - the place of suffering of the Savior and the place of His burial? According to the Holy Tradition, in the gospel era, the rock called Golgotha, which exists to this day, on which the Crucifixion of Christ took place, was located almost immediately outside the walls of the then Jerusalem from the outside. The Holy Tomb - a cave in which the body of the Savior was located for three days, was carved into a small rock located at a distance of ten meters from Golgotha, which rises somewhat above the rock of the Holy Tomb. According to the internal arrangement, the Holy Tomb was a cave carved into the rock, in which there were two rooms: the far one, which was actually a burial chamber, with a bed - an arcosal - and an entrance room in front of it. In the 4th century, by order of St. Helena Equal to the Apostles, a magnificent church, the Basilica, was erected over the site of Calvary and the Holy Tomb, and both Calvary itself and the Holy Tomb were enclosed under its vaults. Until our time, the Basilica was rebuilt several times, even destroyed (614), restored and is now known as the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.

Directly above the burial cave of the Savior since ancient times there is a special chapel - Cuvuklia. The word "Edicule" means "royal bedchamber". To designate a tomb, this word is used in the only place on earth - in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where the "King of kings and Lord of lords" was laid for a three-day sleep. Here He is risen, the firstborn from the dead, opening the way to the Resurrection for all of us. Modern Edicule is a chapel, about eight meters long and six meters wide, located under the vaults of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. As in the gospel times, the Holy Sepulcher, the Holy Tomb currently consists of two rooms: a small "burial chamber" 2.07x1.93 meters, almost half occupied by a stone bed - arcosalium, and an entrance room (room), called a chapel Angel, size 3.4x3.9 meters. In the middle of the chapel of the Angel there is a pedestal with a part of the sacred stone, which was rolled away at one time from the Holy Tomb by the Angel and on which he sat, addressing the myrrh-bearing women.

The modern Church of the Holy Sepulcher is a huge architectural complex, including Golgotha with the place of the Crucifixion, the rotunda - an architectural structure with a huge dome, under which is directly located Cuvuklia, Katholikon, or Cathedral Temple, which is the cathedral for the Patriarchs of Jerusalem, the underground temple of the Finding Life-Giving Cross, Church of St. Helena Equal to the Apostles, several side-chapels - small churches with their own thrones. On the territory of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher there are several active monasteries, it includes many auxiliary premises, galleries, etc. Moreover, various parts of the Temple belong to several Christian denominations. For example, the Franciscan Church and the Altar of Nails - to the Catholic Order of St. Francis, Church of St. Helena Equal-to-the-Apostles, chapel of the "Three Marys" - Armenian apostolic church, grave of St. Joseph of Arimathea, an altar on the western part of Kuvuklia - the Ethiopian (Coptic) church. But the main shrines - Golgotha, Kuvukliya, Kafolikon, as well as the general management of the services in the Temple belong to the Jerusalem Orthodox Church. Since Jerusalem began to belong to Orthodox Christians, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher has been located within the city, surrounded by a high square wall; the length of exactly each of the four sides is exactly one kilometer.

From ancient times it is known about the Miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire on the Holy Sepulcher. The descended Fire possesses unique property: it does not burn the first minutes. Commanding the Fire to descend, the Lord testifies of His Resurrection. According to the testimony of St. Fathers, Apostle Peter. Running to the Sepulcher after the news of the Resurrection of the Savior, in addition to the burial sheets, as we read in the Gospel, he saw an amazing light inside the Sepulcher of Christ. “Having seen this, Peter believed, he saw not only with sensual eyes, but also with a high apostolic mind: the Tomb of light was filled, so that although it was night, he saw it in two images: internally, sensually and spiritually.” This is how St. Gregory of Nyssa informs us about this. The earliest written testimony of an eyewitness to the appearance of the Holy Fire on the Holy Sepulcher dates back to the 4th century and was preserved by the church historian Eusebius Pamphilus.

Although according to many, both ancient and modern evidence, the appearance of the blessed light can be observed in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher throughout the year, the most famous and impressive is the miraculous descent of the Holy Fire on the eve of the Feast of Light Christ's Resurrection on Holy Saturday. Throughout almost the entire time of the existence of Christianity, this miraculous phenomenon has been observed annually by both Orthodox Christians and representatives of other Christian denominations(Catholics, Armenians, Copts, etc.), as well as representatives of other non-Christian religions. To see the miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire, people have been gathering at the Holy Sepulcher since Good Friday; many people stay here immediately after the procession, which is performed in memory of the events of this day. The very descent of the Holy Fire takes place on Great Saturday afternoon. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is filled in such a way that on Saturday morning people stand close to each other, even in the most remote places of the Temple. Those who did not get inside the Temple fill the area and the entire nearby territory. According to the most conservative estimates, the capacity of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is up to 20 thousand people, the area around the Temple and the immediate surroundings of the Temple can accommodate another 50 thousand people. On Holy Saturday, both the Temple, and the square in front of the Temple, and the immediate surroundings are filled with people awaiting the descent of the Holy Fire. So it was, according to the descriptions of Russian pilgrims, one hundred, two hundred, and nine hundred years ago. One of the most ancient descriptions of the descent of the Holy Fire belongs to Father Superior Daniel, who visited the Holy Tomb in 1106-1107. Here is how he describes the event:

“And when it was seven o'clock on the Sabbath day (about 12-13 o'clock modern time. - Auth.), King Baldwin went (the Temple at that time belonged to the crusaders. - Auth.) with his army to the Holy Sepulcher from his house, everyone went on foot. The king sent messengers to the courtyard of the monastery of Savva the Sanctified and called the hegumen and the monks, they went to the Sepulcher, and I, thin, went with them. We came to the king and bowed to him. Then he also bowed to the abbot and all the monks and ordered the abbot of the Savva monastery and me, thin, to go near him, and ordered the other abbots and all the monks to go in front of him, and ordered his army to go behind. And they came to the western doors of the Temple of the Resurrection (the Temple in those days looked different from the modern one. - Auth.). And many people surrounded the church doors and could not then enter the Temple. Then King Baldwin ordered his soldiers to disperse the people by force, and a road was laid among the crowd, like a street, to the very Coffin. We went to the eastern doors of the Holy Sepulcher, the king went ahead and took his place, on the right side at the fence of the great altar, against the eastern doors and the doors of the Sepulcher. Here was the place of the king, created on a hill. The king commanded the abbot of the Savva monastery with his monks and Orthodox priests to stand over the Sepulcher. But he ordered me, thin, to be placed high above the very doors of the Tomb, opposite the great altar, so that I could see through the doors of the tomb. All three tomb doors (in modern Edicule one. - Auth.) were sealed with the royal seal.

Catholic priests stood in the great altar. And as the eighth hour of the day came, the Orthodox priests began the service at the top of the Tomb, and all the spiritual men and many hermits were there. The Catholics in the great altar began to squeal in their own way. So they all sang, and I stood there and diligently looked at the doors of the tomb. And as they began to read paroemias of Great Saturday, at the first reading of paremias, the bishop with the deacon came out of the great altar, went to the doors of the tomb, looked into the Sepulcher through the sacrum of the doors, did not see the light in the Sepulcher and returned back. And as they began to read the sixth proverb, the same bishop went up to the doors of the tomb and saw nothing. Then all the people cried out with tears: "Kyrie, eleison!" - which means "Lord, have mercy!". And when the ninth hour passed and they began to sing the passage song “Let us sing to the Lord,” then suddenly a small cloud came from the east and stood over the uncovered top of the Temple, a slight rain fell over the Tomb and very wet us standing at the Tomb. Then suddenly a light shone in the Holy Sepulcher, a bright brilliance emanated from the Sepulcher.

The bishop came with four deacons, opened the doors of the tomb, took a candle from King Baldwin, entered the Tomb, lit the royal candle first from the light of the saint, took this candle out of the Tomb and handed it to the king himself. The king stood up in his place, holding a candle with great joy.

From the king's candle we lit our candles, and from our candles all the people lit their candles. The holy light is not the same as earthly fire, but the miraculous one shines differently, its flame is red, like cinnabar, glows indescribably.

P Pretty much the same process is going on now. Only the modern Temple does not have a hole in the dome; the Israeli police and Turkish guards replaced the knightly guards. The entrance to the modern Temple is not from the east, but from the south, and Catholics now do not participate in the descent of the Holy Fire. Both historical and contemporary practice testify that three groups of participants must be present during the descent of Fire.

First of all - Patriarch of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church or one of the bishops of the Jerusalem Patriarchate with his blessing (as was the case in 1999 and 2000, when Metropolitan Daniel, the Keeper of the Sepulcher, received the Fire). Only through the prayers of this obligatory participant in the sacrament of the Holy Fire, the miracle of his descent is performed. This is an experience proven over centuries.

In 1578, when the Turkish mayor of Jerusalem was replaced, the Armenian priests agreed with the new mayor to transfer the right to receive the Holy Fire instead of the Jerusalem Orthodox Patriarch to a representative of the Armenian Church. The Orthodox Patriarch with the clergy in 1579 on Holy Saturday was not even allowed into the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. They stood in front of the closed doors of the Temple from the outside. The Armenian clergy entered Kuvukliya and began to pray to the Lord for the descent of Fire. But their prayers were not answered. standing by closed doors Temple Orthodox priests also turned to the Lord with prayers. Suddenly, a noise was heard, the column, located to the left of the closed doors of the Temple, cracked, Fire came out of it and lit candles in the hands of the Jerusalem Patriarch. With great joy, the Orthodox priesthood entered the Temple (the Turks immediately expelled the Armenian priests from Kuvuklia) and glorified the Lord. Traces of the convergence of Fire can still be seen on one of the columns located to the left of the entrance.

Since 1579, no one has challenged or made an attempt to receive the Holy Fire bypassing the Jerusalem Orthodox Patriarch. Representatives of other Christian denominations are always present in the Temple on Holy Saturday, but they receive the Fire from the hands of the Orthodox Patriarch.

Mandatory participants in the sacrament of the descent of the Holy Fire are hegumen and monks of the Lavra of St. Savva the Sanctified. Of all the ancient monasteries of the Judean Desert, which once flourished with great ascetics, only this Lavra has survived in its original form, seventeen kilometers from Jerusalem, in the Kidron Valley, not far from the Dead Sea. In 614, during the invasion of Shah Khasroy, the Persians killed fourteen thousand monks here. There are fourteen monks in the modern monastery, including two Russians. But the presence of the abbot of the monastery with the monks was obligatory both during the pilgrimage of abbot Daniel, and during the descent of Fire in modern times.

And finally, the third group of mandatory participants - local Orthodox Arabs. On Holy Saturday - twenty to thirty minutes after the sealing of Kuvukliya - shouting, stomping, drumming on top of each other bursts into the Temple and starts singing and dancing Arab Orthodox youth. There is no evidence of the time when this ritual was established. The cries and songs of the Arab youth are ancient prayers in Arabic, addressed to Christ and the Mother of God, Who is asked to beg the Son to send down Fire, to George the Victorious, especially revered in the Orthodox East. Young Orthodox Arabs loudly exclaim, literally shout out that they are "the most eastern, the most Orthodox, living where the sun rises, bringing with them candles to kindle the Fire." According to oral tradition, during the years of British rule over Jerusalem (1918-1947), the English governor once tried to ban "savage" dances. The Patriarch of Jerusalem prayed for two hours: The fire did not come down. Then the Patriarch ordered his will to let the Arab youth. After they performed the ritual, the Fire descended. All three of these groups necessarily take part in the modern litany of the Holy Fire.

IN our time, the descent of the Holy Fire occurs on Great Saturday, usually between 13 and 15 hours of Jerusalem time. Somewhere by ten o'clock in the afternoon of Holy Saturday, all candles and lamps in the entire huge architectural complex of the Temple are extinguished. After that, there is a procedure for checking Kuvukliya for the presence of sources of fire and sealing the entrance to Kuvukliya with a large wax seal. Representatives of the Jerusalem mayor's office, Turkish guards, Israeli police, etc., who carried out the check, put their personal seals on a large wax. Then you become a witness to a miraculous phenomenon. At first, occasionally, and then more and more strongly, the entire air space of the Temple is pierced by flashes of light, flashes of light. They have a bluish color, their brightness and size increase in waves. A short time after the sealing of Kuvuklia, young Orthodox Arabs, as already mentioned, begin to offer their prayers to Christ, the Most Holy Theotokos, St. George for the bestowal of the Holy Fire. Their emotional prayers, exclamations and dances, accompanied by drum beats, take place directly at Kuvuklia for 20-30 minutes. After some time, as a rule, about thirteen hours, the litany (in Greek, “prayer procession”) of the Holy Fire begins directly - a procession from the altar of the Katholikon through the entire Temple with access to the rotunda and a three-fold bypass of Kuvuklia. Ahead are banner-bearers with twelve banners, followed by youths with ripids, a crusader cleric, and finally, His Beatitude Patriarch of Jerusalem himself. The abbot with the monks of the monastery of Savva the Sanctified also participate in the procession. The patriarch stops just before the entrance to Kuvuklia, they expose him: they take off his festive robes, leave him in one white undershirt. At the same time, sometimes the Patriach is searched. Although this is not mandatory every time, but representatives of the authorities can use this right every time, which was often carried out in the past. It depends on the order of the direct authorities of Jerusalem: if the ruler hates Christians, they can search. Only in one vestment does the Patriarch enter Cuvuklia. Now everything depends on him, on his secret kneeling prayer. Voltage reaches highest point, many of those gathered are seized by the feeling that, due to his sins, the Great Miracle may not happen. After the Patriarch enters Kuvuklia, the intensity and frequency of bluish flashes of light increases. Bluish lightning strikes throughout the Temple, either from above from under the domes, down, or from below under the domes of the Temple. An unpredictable downpour of such bluish flashes of lightning permeates the entire space of the Temple, especially Kuvuklia during the kneeling prayer of the Patriarch at the three-day bed of the Savior for the descent of the Holy Fire. His prayer can take ten minutes, maybe more than an hour - sometimes. The faces of the people waiting for the descent of the Fire in the Temple are full of excitement and expectation. Someone sings prayers to Christ and the Mother of God, someone anxiously expects a miracle and is afraid that due to our sins it may not happen when the bluish flashes of lightning subside.

All those who are waiting are imbued with a sense of belonging to a great event that occurs no more than two thousand times in the entire history of mankind. During this time, the Roman, Abyssinian, Byzantine, Ottoman empires managed to develop, become famous and perish, huge changes took place in the ordinary way of life of people, but at the kneeling prayer of the Patriarchs of Jerusalem on Holy Saturday, in anticipation of a huge number of people, for almost two thousand years, this Great Miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire has been invariably performed.

And finally the fire goes down. Even before the Patriarch appears with candles lit from the Holy Fire at the door of Kuvukliya, the fast-walking priests who have received the Holy Fire through the windows in the chapel of the Angel are already spreading it throughout the Temple. And the joyful ringing of bells, sounding on Holy Saturday only after the descent of Fire, informs everyone present in the Temple and its environs about the miracle that has taken place. The fire is spreading at lightning speed throughout the Temple - everyone lights their candles from the candles of the messengers-bearers and from each other. Fire does not burn, and not only the Fire from the Patriarchal candle, but also from all ordinary candles bought not in the Temple (there is no trade here), but in ordinary Arab shops in the Old City.

Separately, it must be said about the intensity of the flame. The Easter candle of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is thirty-three connected candles. Basically, each of those present in the hands of three bunches of candles and candles from other places in the Holy Land. When the Fire has reached a person, we have in our hands a standing fire, from which strong heat emanates. It should be noted that in the Temple people stand so tightly that if the Fire were ordinary, someone would definitely catch fire, because everyone has more than one beam in their hands. However, people in front of each other are literally washed by the Holy Fire, which at first does not burn at all. Everyone's flame is so vast that you can see how it touches nearby people. The fire literally touches the clothes of nearby people, women's headscarves. And in the entire history of the descent of Fire - not a single accident, not a single fire.

P After that, a solemn procession with Fire begins in the Old City, which, by the way, is carried at the head of each column by Turkish Muslims. The population of Jerusalem is about 800,000 people; the entire Christian and Arab communities of Jerusalem (more than 300,000 people) participate in the processions, and even Muslim Arabs consider it necessary to bring the Holy Fire into the house and light household lamps from it. This day in Jerusalem is not celebrated only by the Jews, who prefer not to leave the house and the next day have sad faces. It is the Jews who mainly write about the imitation by “dishonest” priests of the descent of the Holy Fire (calling the phenomenon of the descent of Fire as Greek “tricks”), and in the last almost fifty years, the Jews have been participating both in the sealing of Kuvuklia and in the search of the Jerusalem Patriarch.

Little needs to be said about the possibility of fraud. The fact is that the very land on which the Temple is built belongs to a Turkish family. An interesting ritual takes place every morning: the priests standing in front of the main gate await the opening of the Temple, hand over the rent established a long time ago, and after that, accompanied by members of the Turkish family, they go to the Temple. Any procession in the Temple, for example, the Easter procession around Kuvuklia, is accompanied by kavas - Turks guarding the processions from the provocations of Muslims and Jews. Prior to entering the Edicule of the Jerusalem Patriarch, it stands sealed, under the supervision of two Turkish guards and the Israeli police. On Holy Saturday, as already mentioned, before entering Kuvuklia, the Patriarch undresses and is carefully searched, although not always. Preservation of the print entrance doors Kuvuklia is checked before the entrance of the Patriarch of Jerusalem with the Armenian High Priest. To receive the Fire, two enter Kuvuklia - the Patriarch of Jerusalem and a representative of the Armenian Church. The representative of the Armenian Church, who, together with the Patriarch of Jerusalem, enters Kuvukliya to receive the Fire, remaining in the chapel of the Angel, sees all the actions and has the opportunity to intervene. Considering the almost two thousand years of interest of non-Christian participants in this Great Miracle in exposing and disrupting at least one descent of the Holy Fire, the version of forgery can only cause a smile among people living in Jerusalem. Even Muslim Arabs, who consider it necessary to bring the Holy Fire home, any argument about forgery will be considered a deception. They have a legend that in the year when the Holy Fire does not descend, the end of the world will come.

The question of how the Holy Fire descends on the three-day bed of the Savior has long been of interest to the inquisitive. There is direct evidence of the painting of the burning of the Holy Fire. In the message of Aretha, Metropolitan of Caesarea of Cappadocia, to the Emir of Damascus (beginning of the 10th century), it is written: “Then suddenly lightning appears, and censers are kindled, all the inhabitants of Jerusalem take from this light and light a fire.” The cleric of Constantinople Nikita wrote (947): “About the sixth hour of the day, looking at the Divine Tomb of the Savior, the Archbishop sees the Divine light: for through the chapel of the Angel, the entrance to the door is available to him. Having seized the time to transmit this light to the polycandiles who are in the holy church of God, as he usually does, he had not yet stepped out of the Tomb, as it was already possible to suddenly see the whole church of God, filled with an incomparable and Divine light. Trifon Korobeinikov wrote (1583): “And then all people see the grace of God, who came from heaven to the Holy Sepulcher, walking fire on the board of the Holy Sepulcher like lightning and every color is seen in it: the Patriarch approaches the Sepulcher holding the candles open the Sepulcher , and fire will come down from the Holy Sepulcher on the patriarchal hands and on the candles. At the same time, the Christian censers themselves were kindled, even over the Holy Sepulcher. Hieromonk Meletios, who made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1793-1794, relates the story of the descent of Fire from the words of Archbishop Misail, Bishop of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, who received the Fire for many years. “When I entered,” he said, “inside to the holy Sepulcher, we see a shining light on the entire lid of the Tomb, like scattered small beads, in the form of blue, white, scarlet and other flowers, which then, copulating, blushed and turned over time into the substance of fire; but this fire, in the course of time, as soon as it is possible to read slowly fourty times “Lord, have mercy”, does not burn, and from this fire the prepared kandila and candles are kindled.

All the sources cited report either the condensation of liquid small drops of “fire beads” directly on the bed-arkosalia of the Holy Sepulcher with the existing dome over the Cuvuklia, or the fall of raindrops over the Cuvuklia and the presence of “small beads” on the lid of the Holy Sepulcher due to rain when the dome of the Temple is open and about bluish flashes - lightning, preceding the descent of the Holy Fire. Both of these phenomena simultaneously take place during the kneeling prayer of the Patriarch of Jerusalem and at the present time. His prayer leads to the kindling of the Holy Fire from small drops of liquid in the presence of flashes - lightning; at the same time, the wicks of candles or lamps on the lid of the Holy Sepulcher spontaneously ignite. It is also possible to light the wicks of Orthodox lamps hanging near Kuvuklia. So it was almost two thousand years ago, according to the descriptions of eyewitnesses, this is how the miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire is being performed according to the descriptions of eyewitnesses at the present time. Our Lord Jesus Christ commands the Fire to ignite from the droplets of “rain” on the lid of the Holy Tomb, or on the wick of the Orthodox lamp near the Kuvuklia, through the prayer of the Jerusalem Patriarch, as if reminding us, sinners, every year on Holy Saturday of his Resurrection and victory over hell. But sinful people differently perceive the fact of the descent of the Holy Fire. To those who seek and doubt, the Lord bears witness to the truth of His Resurrection precisely at this place in Jerusalem in the Gospel times and strengthens them in faith. To those who are indifferent and not striving for their own salvation and eternal life, he bears witness to His Resurrection and the coming Dread Judgment. He testifies to his conscious opponents of his victory over hell and eternal torment awaiting all his opponents after the Last Judgment. Accordingly, different religions interpret the fact of the descent of Fire in different ways. Practically all Christian denominations (including Catholics before the Great Schism of 1054 - that is, before the separation of Catholicism from Orthodoxy - who took an active part directly in the litany) are present in the Temple and receive the Holy Fire from the hands of the Patriarch of Jerusalem. Muslims are not officially present in the Temple, but they do not deny the fact of the descent of the Holy Fire, revering our Savior Jesus Christ as one of their Prophets. Deny the fact of the descent of the Holy Fire, as well as the fact of the Resurrection of Christ, only Jews and atheists. It is they who spread, including in the press, rumors about the "tricks" of dishonest priests. The officials who checked Kuvuklia, searched the Patriarch and thus were the guarantors that there were no forgeries, under Christian and Muslim control over Jerusalem, there were representatives of the authorities who could be executed for slander, and under the existing Israeli control of power, according to Israeli laws, libel can be subject to a hefty fine in court.

P for all options during the Miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire remain absolutely inexplicable from the point of view of modern science the following phenomena:

1. The presence of flashes of light preceding and accompanying the ignition of the Holy Fire. After the Patriarch entered Kuvuklia, an unusual phenomenon was observed in the Temple. Throughout the Temple, but mainly near the Katholikon and Kuvuklia area (the domes are located above them), bluish flashes begin to appear, reminiscent of lightning, similar topics, which everyone observed in the evening in the sky. These lightning flashes can flash in any direction - from top to bottom, and from left to right, not necessarily under domes. Flashes have characteristics: the light sparkles without a visible source, the flashes never blind anyone, there is no sound accompaniment (thunder), characteristic of ordinary lightning. All this gives eyewitnesses the impression that the source of the flashes is, as it were, outside our world. It is not difficult to distinguish them from camera flashes. Filming the waiting and convergence of Fire on his video camera, M. Shugaev was able to see clear differences. Using the frame-by-frame viewing mode and using freeze frames, you can easily differentiate them: the flashes from the camera are shorter in time and have White color, lightning flashes are longer in time and have a bluish color. According to the testimonies of the monks who perform obedience directly at Kuvuklia, bluish flashes can be seen in the Temple not only on Holy Saturday. But these flashes are one-time and short in time, but long in time and following one after another with small intervals, flashes of light occur only on Great Saturday, somewhere from twelve to sixteen or seventeen hours.

2. The phenomenon of the appearance of liquid droplets. To begin with, it should be noted that only people who are on official business can directly see the Holy Tomb on Holy Saturday: the clergy participating in the litany, and official representatives of the Jerusalem authorities, sealing Kuvuklia and ensuring order. The information that is available can come either directly from such people, or in the retellings of loved ones. In addition to the sources already cited, one can use the story of a 19th-century pilgrim who interviewed the Patriarch: “Where, your Beatitude, would you like to receive Fire in Kuvuklia?” The aged archpastor, not paying attention to what was heard in the tone of the question, calmly answered as follows (I almost wrote down what I heard word for word): Angela and behind me the doors were closed, twilight reigned there. The light barely penetrated through two holes from the rotunda of the Holy Sepulcher, also dimly lit from above. In the aisle of the Holy Sepulcher, I could not distinguish whether I was holding a prayer book or something else. "I could barely notice a whitish spot on the black background of the night: it was obviously the white marble plaque on the Holy Sepulcher. When I opened the prayer book, to my surprise, the seal became completely accessible to my vision without the help of glasses. Before I had time to read with three or four lines with deep emotional excitement, when, looking at the board, which was turning whiter and whiter and more and more so that all four of its edges were already clearly visible to me, I noticed on the board of this, as it were, small scattered beads of different colors, or rather, to pearls the size of a pinhead and even less, and the board began to positively emit, as it were, light. Unconsciously sweeping away these pearls with a fair piece of cotton, which began to merge like drops of oil, I felt a certain warmth in the cotton and just as unconsciously touched it with a candle wick. It flared up like gunpowder, and - the candle burned and illuminated the three images of the Resurrection, as it illuminated the face of the Mother of God and all the metal lamps above the Holy Sepulcher "" ( Nilus S. Shrine under the shadow. Sergiev Posad, 1911). There are no official documents on the study of the chemical composition of drops. Informal analytical studies conducted by modern enthusiasts speak of the essential oil content of the drops (similar compounds may be of a plant nature).

3. The phenomenon that the Fire does not burn and does not burn, despite the fact that the heat is spreading. An ordinary candle fire has a temperature of many hundreds of degrees, close to a thousand degrees Celsius. If you try to perform ablution with such a fire for more than five seconds, burns on your hands and face are guaranteed. Hair (beard, eyebrows, eyelashes) will light up or begin to smolder. In the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, more than ten thousand people light about twenty thousand bunches of candles for two or three minutes (most of the pilgrims light two or three bunches of candles). People stand close to each other. The volume of the Temple is limited. Try to light twenty thousand bunches of candles in a dense crowd of people within a few minutes with an ordinary fire. We think that the hair and parts of clothing in most women will definitely flare up. With a thousand-degree fire temperature and twenty thousand fire sources in a closed room, heat stroke and fainting will occur, especially in the elderly. The Holy Fire has a property that distinguishes it from the fire we are used to. He not only does not burn, but also does not burn for a time sufficient to say “Lord, have mercy” about forty times and while continuously washing a human face with him (without removing his hand with candles). Holy Fire warms, but does not burn! At the same time, it should be noted that candles are easily ignited from Fire and the Fire that does not burn a person spreads through the Temple due to the ignition of candles - one from the other. From the Patriarchal Candles, the Fire spreads throughout the Temple within a few minutes. Naturally, pilgrims with burning candles are in an emotional rapture, paying very little attention to the behavior of their neighbors. But neither hanging parts of clothing (kerchiefs, belts) nor long hair Fire does not set fire to women! The age of most pilgrims, as a rule, is above average, they spend almost a day in the Temple, but heat strokes and fainting are not observed. In the entire history of the convergence of Fire, there has not been a single fire.

4. The presence of the joint appearance of all the above-described miraculous phenomena precisely on Holy Saturday on the eve of the holiday Orthodox Pascha (in accordance with the Alexandrian Paschalia, which is currently followed only Orthodox Churches). It can be said that the phenomena observed during the descent of the Holy Fire partially occur in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and at ordinary times. According to the testimonies of the monks bearing obedience directly at Kuvuklia, bluish flashes can be seen in the Temple not only on Holy Saturday. But these are one-time flashes. Numerous outbreaks with a short time interval occur only on Holy Saturday, from about 12 to 16-17 hours. Self-ignition of lamps, also sometimes observed on other days, may be due to these flashes. But in ordinary times, such a spontaneously igniting fire does not have the property not to burn. It seems that any attempts to reproduce the convergence of the Holy Fire in a laboratory built in close proximity to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher will be forced to face the problem of reproducing the aforementioned miraculous properties of fire. Having worked hard, it is possible to recreate the chemical composition of the drops, and with the help of special modern equipment, to artificially recreate intense flashes of light (most likely accompanied by sound or thunder), but this property of Fire will never be reproduced! Yes, and the case that occurred in 1579, when the Fire descended from the column, indicates that the above description is a description of only the most common properties of the descent of Fire. But Fire can descend directly in another way. It is impossible not to see that the descent of Fire on Great Saturday on the Holy Sepulcher is the result of a direct Divine (in the language of science - transcendental) influence. The Lord has commanded every year for more than two thousand years, at the place of His suffering on the Cross and earthly death, the Fire descend, and He commands on the day before His Resurrection.

The descent of the Holy Fire is observed only the day before Orthodox Easter, on Orthodox calendar And only through the prayers of the Orthodox Patriarch; The fire is coming down only on the candles of the Orthodox Patriarch, that is an indisputable evidence of the undoubted truth and divine grace of Orthodoxy- unlike many other denominations that only call themselves Christian. History remembers two cases when representatives of other Christian denominations tried to get the Fire. The unsuccessful attempt of the Armenian clergy to receive the Fire has already been mentioned. In 1101, representatives of the Roman Catholic Church, who owned Jerusalem at that time, independently tried to get the Fire. The miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire in Kuvuklia did not happen until Orthodox Christians were invited to participate in this rite. “The first Latin Patriarch Arnold of Choquet started unsuccessfully: he ordered the sects of heretics to be expelled from their limits in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, then he began torturing Orthodox monks, seeking where they kept the Cross and other relics. A few months later, Arnold was replaced on the throne by Daimbert of Pisa, who went even further. He tried to expel all local Christians, even Orthodox Christians, from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and admit only Latins there, generally 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 Kuvuklia did not happen, until Eastern Christians were invited to participate in this rite. Then King Baldwin I took care of the return of the local Christians of their rights" ( Stephen Runciman. Eastern Schism. M.: Nauka, 1998. S. 69-70).

And since then, no one from the non-Orthodox has tried to repeat such attempts, fearing failure and the inevitable shame that follows.

H The udo of the Holy Fire is one of the few miracles of Orthodoxy, in principle accessible to everyone who wants to know the truth: “come and see!” Anyone who doubts, having paid 600-700 dollars (this is the price of a standard tourist trip to the Holy Land - Jerusalem, Tiberias - for 7 days), is quite able to personally verify the authenticity of the fact and all the above details of the descent of the Holy Fire. A miracle is happening in the face of the whole world, “of all progressive mankind” (and is even regularly broadcast on Russian television and on the Internet on the website of the Jerusalem Orthodox Patriarchy). But how many respond with their hearts to this obvious call, obvious to everyone? ..

Once upon a time, many hundreds of years before the birth of Christ, before His redemptive suffering and Resurrection, before the inhabitants of Israel (and in their person - before all mankind) the question arose of who is right: the servants of the True God or the servants of the pagan gods ? So it was when a dispute arose between the servants of the idol of Baal and the prophet of God, Elijah (see 1 Kings 18:21-39). And after much discussion, Elijah offered them a simple way to check who was right. We, the people of the 21st century, can rightly call this method the experimental method - in accordance with the exact criteria of the experimental method accepted in modern science. The proposal was this: “Let each of us call on the name of his God, and the God who will give an answer through fire is the true God. And if the Lord is God, then let us follow Him, and if Baal is God, then let us follow Baal.” And then, by the grace of God, it was revealed who is the true God and who is His true admirer, because then the fire came down only through the prayer of the prophet Elijah and burned both the sacrifice, and the firewood, and the stone altar itself, on which the priests of Baal encroached have been a complete fiasco. And then it became clear to everyone where the true worship of God is.

The situation of the convergence of the Holy Fire on the Holy Sepulcher annually practically reproduces this experimental situation that took place many hundreds of years before the birth of Christ. And here there are many praying representatives of different faiths, and here there is a true servant of the true God, through whose prayer (and only through his prayer!) Fire miraculously descends, possessing supernatural properties. Only now, aren't there ministers of other faiths who are trying to challenge their right to receive fire from God, as was the case under Elijah. Due to the fact that such attempts, as history shows, always end in failure, and there is no one else who wants to take risks and disgrace ... God is immutable, this is clearly evidenced by the biblical Old Testament text: I am the Lord your God, and I will not change(Mal. 3, 6). And just as then, in the distant times of Elijah, God, unchanging in nature, gives an answer to inquiring humanity, the answer to the question of where the true faith is, gives an answer through fire. The answer is not false, just as the answerer Himself is not false - The Lord is the truth(Jer. 10, 10). And anyone who accepts the biblical text as truth must, by virtue of their faith in the unchanging God and faith in the authenticity of the mentioned story about the descent of fire from heaven through the prayer of the prophet Elijah, with logical necessity, conclude that fire is sent by God only through the prayer of His true minister. But, as a rule, no one makes this conclusion ... In that ancient story about the descent of fire through the prayer of the prophet Elijah, perhaps the most striking thing was not even the miracle of its descent, but the fact that, having perceived at first with delighted with the miraculous testimony of the true God, the Israelites almost immediately fell back into apostasy. The sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, they have destroyed Your altars, and they have killed Your prophets with the sword; I was left alone, but they are also looking for my soul to take it away(1 Kings 19, 10) - this is how the prophet Elijah complains about them to God only a short time after the miracle of the descent of fire. This is what is most striking in all this ancient history.

A similar picture persists in our time - the joy of jubilation about the descent of the Holy Fire is replaced by a retreat into the darkness of lies for the majority of witnesses of its descent in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher ... The Fire descends, leaving unanswered fallen and blinding humanity, unanswerable in the face of the Righteous Judge. Did not accept the love of truth for their salvation(2 Thess. 2, 10) - such is the pattern of behavior of the human race drowning in sins, and with this vicious pattern, a conscious and arbitrary pattern, even an obvious miracle of God cannot do anything ...

From the editors of the Holy Fire magazine: In defense of the miracle of the Holy Fire, see articles