Get your FREE 8-Day Prayer and Scripture Guide - Praying Through the Holy Week HERE. It is not clear, whether her words refer to an alleged miraculous occurrence or to the bishop, who emerged from the tomb with the flame, possibly ignited from a perpetual flame inside the sepulchre chapel. This break in communion lasts to this day and the ongoing Holy Fire miracle is taken by some as evidence that God is at work in the Orthodox East, not in the Catholic West. But it wasnt always this way. I have attended the ceremony of the Holy Fire during all these years, and have thus been a witness to the miracle 61 times. Station master arrested: A scapegoat for Greeces chronic problems? Western Christianity does not speak about God or the Christian life in these terms. Tradition dictates that a disgruntled priest who was bitter at being passed over for promotion had told the ruling Muslim caliph that a priest simply greased the chain of iron that held the lamp over the tomb with oil of balsam and, once the shrine had been sealed, applied a match through the roof to the other extremity of the chain so that the fire descended immediately to the wick of the lamp and lighted it. The American Ideas Institute is a nonprofit, non-partisan 501(c)(3) organization based in Washington, D.C. 2022 The American Conservative, a publication of The American Ideas Institute. "Your Beatitude, what actually occurs when you enter the tomb on Holy Saturday during the ceremony of the Holy Fire? F-16s should not be used by Turkey to challenge Greek sovereignty, US Congressmen tell Blinken, Greek FM condemns party in historic Izmir church Saint Voukolos (videos), Greeces government receives confidence vote, Greece to receive first batch of SeaHake Mod4 torpedoes for submarines, Rhodes: Child found unconscious in hotel pool; owner arrested, Police officer shoots and kills 20-year-old in car chase; arrested and later released, Zakynthos: Young British tourist dies in accident with ATV-vehicle, Twelve young hooligans found guilty of murdering Alkis Kambanos in Thessaloniki, Alexis Tsipras resigns as SYRIZA leader. We experience many wonders in our churches, and miracles are nothing strange to us.It happens often that icons cry, when Heaven wants to display its closeness to us; likewise we have saints, to whom God gives many spiritual gifts. Praying in the Holy Sepulchre in itself for me is always a very holy moment in a very holy place. A regular flame would burn you just after a second, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1N50uWhwho. If Bishop Theophanis version is to be accepted then there is no actual miracle. "The Chapel with the tomb where the fire first proceeds. If the fire is shown to spread and the fire is shown to be hot enough that you can't let it get close enough to you, then all these Orthodox Christians are pulling your legs. I have cued the livestream below to just before the moment with the patriarch comes out with the fire: Whats happening here? How I wish that this awareness of the oneness of Christ and his wondrous creativity would be an incentive towards full unity between us Christians. Otherwise, naturally I will reject the claims. The Miraculous Holy Fire Arrives in Greece from Jerusalem After sundown on Friday, the chief priests and Pharisees visited Pontius Pilate. Then Theofilos entered the Holy Supulchre alone. The miracle is almost like a sacrament. ", "How do you yourself experience the miracle and what does it mean to your spiritual life? As Jesus died, He called out, It is finished! No further atonement was required; sin had been redeemed with Christ's sacrifice on the cross. A veteran of three decades of magazine and newspaper journalism, hehas also written three New York Times bestsellersLive Not By Lies, The Benedict Option, andThe Little Way of Ruthie Lemingas well asCrunchy ConsandHow Dante Can Save Your Life. Support L'Osservatore Romano with a donation. I believe it is in memory of this most central element of our faith that the Lord gives this marvelous sign, and so that it may never be forgotten!". Oh fuck how do I explain a miracle when we already assume it's a miracle that can't be explained?! The crowd of pilgrims was cheering Worthy!. First of all, the Holy Fire is a potent sign of the continuity of the faith of the Church in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the Biblical writings, light often accompanies great miraculous works of God. In the Protestant areas it may be explained by the fact that there is little traditional teaching regarding miracles; people don't really know how to approach them, and they . If the rules are the fire doesn't burn for 33 minutes and people are getting burnt/hurt then the miracle isn't real in my view. Then he takes off his royal liturgical vestments, leaving upon himself only his white alba as a sign of humility and respect in front of the portent of God that he is about to witness. Miracle of the Holy Fire . Go, make it as secure as you can." John the Evangelist writes in the first chapter of his gospel that Jesus is the light of the World.Kneeling in front of the place where he rose from the dead, we are brought within the immediate closeness of his glorious resurrection. It is this chapel that is the centre of the miraculous events.Being present at the celebration fully justifies the term "event," for on no other day of the year is the Holy Sepulchre Church so packed than on Orthodox Easter Saturday. His Beatitude Patriarch Diodorus I was born in 1923. The number of similar testimonies have increased along with the growing number of pilgrims going to the Holy Land, producing in an uninterrupted flow of first-hand accounts right to our times. Again, this happens at the end of the video then it (conveniently) cuts out. ~ 1 Corinthians 15:17, "And Jesus said to them, "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Tongues of Fire and the Fullness of God | Desiring God That boxed chapel the edicule was constructed over the cave where Jesus lay in the tomb, and returned to life. In another of the many testimonies, Archimedes Pendaki of Athens, Greece, reports that the experience of the miracle became the impetus that eventually led him to become an Orthodox priest. May Jesus Christ be our focus this season. "We believe the flame to be holy", says Archbishop Alexios, "almost as a sacrament, ontologically related directly to God himself. It is considered by many to be the longest attested annual miracle in the Christian world. As far as I can tell, there is no credible evidence whatsoever. Notably, Christians hold a ceremony of the fire's consecration in the chapel above the Holy Sepulcher known as the Tabernacle. Daniel mentions a blue incandescence descending from the dome to the edicula where the patriarch awaits the Holy Fire. 4. But this sign was so clear that I today can never doubt God's miraculous interventions. There are many types of Orthodox Christians: Syrian, Armenian, Russian and Greek Orthodox as well as Copts.In the Holy Sepulchre Church alone there are seven different Christian Denominations, and all, except the Catholics, take part in the ceremony. Many times I passed the Holy Flame under my beard it was not burned. (Op-Ed), Train crash 10 days later: Greeces ministers appear devastated at cabinet meeting. For some it proves the authenticity of Eastern Orthodoxy and demonstrates that God only works through the Orthodox Church. If one wishes to enter it, one has to reckon with six hours of queuing, and each year hundreds of people cannot enter because the crowds are so large. Arab-speaking locals and Orthodox Christians from Greece, Russia, Georgia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Poland, Cyprus, took the Holy Fire and carried through the streets of the Old City of Jesusalem. . October 14, 1990 Tongues of Fire and the Fullness of God Resource by John Piper Scripture: Acts 2:1-13 Topic: The Holy Spirit Subscribe Apple Spotify When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. The Miracle of Holy Fire (or Holy Light) is the most important ritual in Christianity and it happens year after year in the Tomb of Christ, inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in. "Pilgrims express profound joy over the yearly arrival of the Holy Fire.". The natural is transformed into the supernatural. The true goal of the ecumenical journey is the restoration of the common Chalice to all those who are the followers of Christ. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfpptufXn3s Right at the end of the video, the moment the fire makes actual decent contact with this woman's skin for less than a second she winces back in pain because she unexpectedly let it get too close to her. Furthermore she was not able to produce the portent herself. Patriarch Theofilos entered the Holy Sepulcher with two bundles of 33 candles each one representing years of age of Jesus Christ. This is how important the spreading of the flame is to us. They suggest that the Patriarch has a lighter or matches inside of the tomb and lights his candles himself. A very active subreddit to debate and pose arguments to atheists. Orthodox Christians cherish it as the greatest of miracles and see it as a continuous reminder of the Lord's resurrection.The author and his companions travelled to Israel to be present at this ceremony and to speak to some of the persons who have witnessed the miracle and whose lives it has inspired. Thus in the year 2000 the Orthodox Easter fell one week after the Easter of the West.Since the schism between East and West in 1054 the "Two lungs of the Body of Christ," as Pope John Paul II describes the Orthodox and Catholic communities, have lived separate existences. No other miracle is known to occur so regularly and so steadily over time. By using this title the Church links Holy Saturday with the creative act of God. Each year, pilgrims have reported to have seen the blue flame moving and acting freely, igniting closed candles and oil lamps in the Church. You can't just ignore all the times it failed in favor of other instances which are debatable. Follow. Tags Church of Holy Supulchre Easter 2023 Greek-Orthodox Holy Fire live. Language like uncreated fire is totally foreign to Western Christian experience and is another reason why this miracle is not understood in the West. they sing at the top of their voices, accompanied by the sound of drums. "Well it'll burn every part of you except your skin", Again can't be tested for the same reasons as above and nobody believes this as evident from people putting it on their hair and their beards in various other holy fire miracle videos. What had happened? The early church honored the end of Lent with great baptismal ceremonies. The answer is already there. The faithful were permitted to light their own candles from the Holy Fire and take it home to light their own prayer corners. This prophecy was accomplished, for Salah ad-Dn died the following Lent." Would Christians still claim that Christ really resurrected as we cant trust the video of one man? But at 1:00 PM the songs fade out, leaving silence-a tense and loaded silence electrified by the anticipation of the manifestation of God that all are waiting to witness. It's a fact that the Holy Fire in Jerusalem is a hoax - GetReligion #holyfire #jerusalem #easter2023 Part 2 of my investigation in to the authenticity of the Miracle of the Holy Fire in Jerusalem. But this is definitely not the official position of the Orthodox Church. This ceremony, described above by one of the many pilgrims visiting Jerusalem during Easter, has occurred yearly for centuries and includes the unexplainable event of the Holy Fire igniting candles and oil lamps. As that Greek priest explains earlier in the video, skeptics will say that the holy fire is kindled by matches or a lighter, but this miracle has been happening there at Christs tomb for many centuries, including long before it was possible to kindle flame instantly. Plus this is faulty logic. He replied: In this ceremony we are offering created fire and from it comes uncreated light, by the grace of the Holy Spiritbefore the ceremony begins, a kantila a little oil lamp is placed, already lit, on the tomb. Miracle of Holy Fire Explained - MOTHER & REFUGE OF THE END TIMES Why is Holy Saturday so sacred? The Holy Fire Miracle - The American Conservative While the patriarch was still inside the tomb, the monk received the flame on his candle to the great astonishment of the people standing around him. The smoke rose like smoke from a furnace and the whole mountain shook violently" (Ex 19,18 ff). I personally hope that the miracle can augment the awareness among Catholic Christians of how God is alive and active in the Orthodox Church, just as we are aware that he is present and active in the Catholic Church. Mother & Refuge of the End Times 2023 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, From Lands that See the Sun Arise | hymn from the Roman Breviary (5th century). After Moses had stood face to face with God, his face shone so powerfully that he had to cover it, lest the people get hurt (Ex 34,29 ff).When Jesus was transfigured in front of the disciples on Mount Tabor, "the aspect of his face changed and his clothing became sparkling white" (Lk. Hereafter I give the flame to all people present in the Church.. In 1054 the Church divided between Orthodox in the East and Roman Catholic in the West. What is the supernatural meaning of this event? The Catholic Church, however, has a long tradition of miracles, so why is the Miraculous Fire not better known amoung Western Catholics? The Christian Pascha is the very foundation of Christian faith, and the culmination of the Christian faith is the resurrection: as we read in the words of Saint Paul, If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain (1 Cor 15:13-14). I'll now explain why this to me seems to be fake and how to defend against people who use the fire as proof against Catholicism. He first came to Jerusalem in 1938 and assisted the Miracle of the Holy Fire ever since. In many Orthodox countries, the Holy Fire ceremony is televised live. Blessed fire - how do scientists explain the convergence of the Holy Fire? The miracle of light happens each Orthodox Easter Saturday in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The Holy Fire (Greek ' , literally "Holy Light") is a miracle that occurs every year at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on Holy Saturday, the day preceding Pascha.. It was the Council of Nicaea in 325 that set the calculation of the date of Easter which we follow to this day. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions. The Holy Fire is nothing more than an ordinary flame and a special prayer. In 1095 at the Council of Clermont, Pope Urban II, having received a request for assistance from the Orthodox East, called upon the Catholic West to take up arms in the First Crusade. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. "In the tomb, I say particular prayers that have been handed down to us through the centuries and, having said them, I wait. Neoplatonism heavily influenced many well-known Church Fathers such as St Augustine and Origen. He caused it to be extinguished a second time and a third time, but it relit as of itself. I blinked my eyes and looked again, yet the cross remained. Since I got permission to repost this I figured I'd do it again because I feel that the controversy surrounding the Holy Fire needs to be addressed since some will use it to try and disprove Catholicism and I figured these responses with video evidence would be good for Catholic apologetics. Henry Maundrell (1665 1701), an academic at the University of Oxford and later a Church of England clergyman, served as chaplain to the Levant Company in Syria and witnessed the claimed miracle. In the part he narrates here, he points to a strange blue cloud of light that flashes on the far left of the screen, and leaves a small ball of flame that quickly bounces through the crowd, lighting candles, then extinguishes itself on a column inside the church. This Greek video (with English subtitles) explains the ritual. And why does it seem as if nobody has heard anything about this miracle in Protestant and Catholic countries when it in many ways is more stunning than many Western miracles ? Some Orthodox will claim that since it comes from a "muslim channel" it's not true, but who cares? Year after year both local Christians and pilgrims gather for this moment when we have a foretaste of the resurrection, which we call in our tradition the First Resurrection. This represents the light that shone from the tomb which the myrrh-bearing women experienced. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). We have no right to change or confuse the course of sacred history, which means that Christian Easter must fall after the Jewish Passover. The event continued to disturb his thoughts until he could not ignore it any more, and the need to explore the faith of his youth in depth led him to the Holy Mountain of Athos. But is it real? We call this the Unsleeping Light, and its flame bums unceasingly in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, even in times of war and upheaval. But two centuries later, Pope Gregory IX denounced the miracle of Holy Fire as bringing disgrace to Gods name for the way in which the Orthodox were benefiting materially from it. The light does not burn I have never had my beard burnt in all the sixteen years I have been Patriarch in Jerusalem and have received the Holy Fire. Both Greek and Latin authors have proposed the idea that the miracle is fraud and nothing but a masterpiece of Orthodox propaganda. Also, fire is a universal religious symbol. In more recent times this goal has faded into the background, but we must retrieve it and place it back at the forefront of our efforts. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld." It is believed that the miracle of Holy Fire was a contributing factor towards the persecution of Christians and eventual destruction of the original Church of the Holy Sepulchre by Muslims in 1009. As I said, my faith doesnt stand or fall on whether or not this is a true miracle. In the intervening years six crusades had occurred and ultimately failed, and for some of that time the Holy Land had been ruled by Catholic monarchs. Pilgrims say the Holy Fire will not burn hair, faces, etc., in the first 33 minutes after it is ignited. No other miracle is known to occur so regularly and so steadily over time. In the preceeding years, he had drifted further and further away from the Orthodox faith of his family, and only rarely did he enter a church. The Orthodox Church believes that this miracle, which predates the construction of the Holy Sepulchre in the fourth Century, is related to the Miracle of the Holy Fire. Our foil, sacramental unity in faith and love must always be our goal. California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. So, where we see the symbols or the evidence of this mystery of the divine-human encounter, as we do in the ceremony of the Holy Fire at the very place where the resurrection happened, people are naturally compelled and moved in their spiritual lives, and they want to be close to the event and to be a witness. This is not a matter of convenience for us; it is a matter of our witness to the truth and power of the resurrection. The Holy Fire (Greek ' , literally "Holy Light") is a miracle that occurs every year at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on Holy Saturday, the day preceding Pascha. Also, that same woman is on an orthodox youtube channel, but they cut the fire going into her hair out of the picture. Our participation in the ceremony of the Holy Fire is an experience of the divine-human encounter and is therefore similar to our participation in the Holy Eucharist, which is also a divine-human encounter as we share in the Body and Blood of Christ. One important reason may be that the ceremony is performed only by Orthodox Christians, on the Orthodox Holy Saturday; hence, Christians of other communities may consider it an internal Orthodox affair.Also, apologetic motives could play a role. 'Kick them off campus!' It's been claimed that the Patriarch can dip his candles in white phosphorous so they spontaneously ignite but it's not limited to that. - GotQuestions.orgHoly Saturday - BritannicaHoly Saturday - Wikipedia, How Should Christians View the Quiverfull Movement? Of the 300,000 Russians in London, around half are thought to participate in Russian Orthodox Easter services. The Christians gathered will then chant "Lord, have mercy" until the Holy Fire descends on a lamp of olive oil held by the patriarch while he is alone in the tomb chamber of Jesus Christ. How do we know that this really was where Jesus was crucified (theres a chapel within the big church, where there is an altar over Golgotha), buried, and resurrected? The best arguments against fraud, however, are not the testimonies of the various patriarchs but the thousands of independent pilgrims who during the centuries have written of how they saw the blue light outside the tomb spontaneously lighting the candles in front of their eyes without any possible explanation.Often closed oil-lamps hanging in different places in the church beyond the reach of the pilgrims caught fire by themselves. Shortly after 2.30 noon, Patriarch Theofilos accompanied by archbishops, priests and deacons, exited the Holy Sepulcher, in his hands the 33 candles with the Holy Fire. The color of fire varies from light blue to blue, which can not be seen anywhere else in the world. This light each year behaves differently. This investigation used to be carried out by Turkish soldiers. Only after 1246, when Catholic Christians left Jerusalem with the defeated Crusaders, did the Miracle of the Holy Fire become a purely Orthodox ceremony as the Orthodox remained in Jerusalem even after the Turks' occupation of Palestine. His Beatitude Diodorus I during interview with the author. To others it is the worst kind of fraud nothing but sheer manipulation of Christians by powerful church leaders. "Well the flame is hot and it spreads, but it still doesn't burn you". The Holy Fire is a miracle purported to take place every year at Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Great Saturday, just one day before Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter. She writes in her book Holy Fire: The Battle for Christs Tomb (Macmillan): The earliest recorded reference to the miracle is Muslim and dates from the early ninth century Its author simply tells of a bright white fire spontaneously appearing inside the shrine as if sent from heaven, and of Christians lighting their candles from the Greek patriarchs Holy Fire before rampaging home in triumph, brandishing their divine favour and shouting Hasten to the religion of the cross!. "After the ceremony, I went home to my apartment situated in the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, up the hill west of the Holy Sepulchre", he explains. L'Osservatore Romano00120 Vatican City.All rights reserved. No video is necessary because this can't be tested. What Is Holy Saturday? 2023 Date, Traditions, and Meaning - Christianity The choice seems binary to me: Either bishops are knowingly and routinely lying, or the miracle occurs as described. 3. Light and the mighty works of God go hand in glove. We must consider this question in the light of the ecumenical journey. And its believed to have been happening annually for the past 1,200 years. On, "Therefore, one could speak only of a miracle.". The oncedark church becomes illuminated by the miraculous Holy Fire. To most peoples eyes,It looked as if it were all over.He was dead and buried. It is an annual celebration of Christ's victory over death and Jesus himself participates. When I thus have received the flame on my candles, I go out and give the fire first to the Armenian Patriarch and then to the Coptic. So, in and of itself, in its full meaning, the Holy Fire unites all who come into contact with it. A non-Orthodox Christian is also said to examine the edicule (a small structure surrounding the tomb) to make sure no oil lamps have been left burning inside that the patriarch could use to light his candles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-lBVLg7cqU, You can watch up to the part with the testimonials (since you won't believe them anyway), Edit: no one can explain the ball of light that appears out of thin air and passes through people, Scan this QR code to download the app now. This is why this specific Saturday is known in all languages of the region - Greek, Arabic, and Hebrew - as the Saturday of the Light, and so it has entered into the calendars of the Abrahamic faiths here. Why does it have such an impact on the Orthodox tradition? Thereafter I give the flame to all people present in the Church.