Holy fire: miracle or hoax? And where to watch the broadcast of the descent of fire

Every year, Christians reverently await the descent of the Holy Fire, which has become a symbol of the Lord's mercy. UNN has gathered interesting information about this sacrament, which traditionally takes place on the last Saturday before Easter.

How the ceremony works

On the eve of Holy Saturday, all candles, lamps, and incense are extinguished in the Jerusalem Church of the Resurrection (Holy Sepulcher). Before the sacrament begins, representatives of all Christian churches visit the cenacle, a chapel built over the tomb.

Seven Christian denominations are waiting for the Holy Fire under the church: Orthodox, Armenian, Catholic, Greek Catholic, Coptic, and Protestant. Traditionally, they bring the Fire to their countries.

After the coffin is sealed, the church procession begins. And the Patriarch of Jerusalem enters the kuvukliya to read a prayer. After the descent of the Holy Fire, the patriarch lights and takes out 33 candles from the temple, symbolizing the number of years of Jesus Christ's earthly life.

Approximate schedule of the ceremony:

• 10:15 - The procession led by the Armenian Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, having passed once around the Cenacle (the main altar of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher), moves to the Armenian Side Altar of the Church of the Resurrection.
• 11:00 -  joint ceremony of sealing the Tomb.
• 11:30 - Greek patriarchate youth enter the church, chanting.
• 12:00 - The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem arrives at the church.
• 12:10 - Armenian Orthodox clergy, together with representatives of the Coptic and Syrian Orthodox Churches, move from the Armenian Vestry to the altar of the Kafolikon, where they make their traditional appeal to the Greek Orthodox Patriarch.
• 12:20 - A minister of the Greek Patriarchate brings a closed lamp to the Tomb of the Lord.
• 12:30 - The procession of the Greek Orthodox clergy begins. The procession passes around the Kouvouklia three times. The Greek patriarch undresses, standing in front of the Kuvuklia, where he is assisted by his concelebrants.
• 12:55 - The Greek patriarch prays in Kouvouklia. Before the ceremony, he is searched to make sure he does not have matches or  lighters. In the temple itself, all candles and lamps must be extinguished. The entrance to the Kuvukliya is closed from inside the temple and a wax seal is placed on the door. After the fire has gone out, the Patriarch lights and takes out 33 candles, symbolizing the number of years of Jesus Christ's life.
• 13:10 - The Greek Orthodox Patriarch and his concelebrants leave the church. A procession of Armenian Orthodox clergy and believers begins, accompanied by Coptic and Syrian Orthodox communities. The youth of the Greek Patriarchate leave the church.
• 14:30 - The Armenian ceremony ends, and the Armenian patriarch leaves the church.

Where to watch the ceremony of the descent of the Holy Fire

Traditionally, the ceremony of the descent of the Holy Fire is broadcast by TV channels from many countries, as well as YouTube channels. The ceremony will begin at 12:30 pm Kyiv time.

The Church about the Holy Fire

Holy Fire - (Greek: Άγιο Φως, literally - Holy Light, English: Holy fire) - the fire blessed on the Holy Sepulcher, which is brought out by the Patriarch of Jerusalem from the Cenacle (chapel above the place of Christ's burial and resurrection) during the ceremony on Holy Saturday.

When the apostle Peter learned of the resurrection of Christ, he immediately went to His tomb and saw the light in the place where Jesus' body lay. Thus, the burning of the fire in Jerusalem symbolizes the coming out of the tomb of the "True Light" - the risen Savior Jesus Christ.

It is believed that if the fire does not go down, it will indicate the end of the world is approaching.

The Holy Fire is considered a visible sign of God's mercy, a sign of support, and it descends to renew and ignite faith in the hearts of people.

"The Holy Light is for each of us a symbol of the Divine Light, which is our Risen Lord Jesus Christ. We accept this fire with faith as the Light that should illuminate our souls, the path of every Christian who goes to salvation and the Kingdom of Heaven. Today I express my gratitude to two women, faithful of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, who helped to bring the Holy Fire to Kyiv by a flight, and now it is in our St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral. I would also like to emphasize that the Holy Fire should not overshadow the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord, but should be a sign of God's grace to us on the eve of this holiday," said Archbishop Agapit of Vyshgorod, abbot of St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery, in 2019, when the Orthodox Church of Ukraine delivered the Holy Fire to Ukraine for the first time.

So does the fire come down?

In 2018, Dimitris Alikakos, editor-in-chief of the investigative project Ellinika Hoaxes, a fact-checking journalist, came to Jerusalem to investigate this religious sacrament.

In Jerusalem, Alikakos interviewed several priests, including Archbishop Isodoros, who is responsible for the ritual objects of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, such as the candles that carry the Holy Fire.

Both in his book, which he published in 2019, and in videos posted on YouTube, Alikakos recorded testimony that the priests themselves had started the flames.

The Jerusalem Patriarchate responded to the Alikakos investigation.

"What is written in the controversial book is the product of fictional stories invented by the author with the obvious goal of defaming believers and gaining financial benefit from the sale of the book," the Jerusalem Patriarchate said in 2019. It clarified that the publication of the book shortly before Easter was proof of "deeper motives of the author and the publisher.

Soon after, the Patriarchate initiated criminal prosecution of the journalist and filed a civil lawsuit. The church accused him of defamation and also of violating confidentiality, in particular, due to the alleged conduct of  covert filming.

At the time, the church claimed that among the damages it caused was that Orthodox believers would doubt their priests.

The Patriarchate as an organization soon abandoned the case, but Archbishop Isidore, who appeared on the journalist's recordings, continued to bring criminal charges against Alikakos until  at the end of March 2024, when all charges were dropped against the journalist.

Alikakos said he welcomed the attention the court had drawn to its investigation.

"The plaintiffs tried to hide the truth. I feel great joy and satisfaction that today the court heard their video testimony, where they (the priests - ed.) admit that the Holy Fire breaks out naturally," Alikakos told Balkan Investigative Reporting Network.

Many religious scholars and church leaders emphasize that the descent of the fire is a symbolic act, and that this does not diminish its significance.

"The sanctity of the light from the Holy Sepulcher and the signs of miracles that can occur with and through it are in no way inconsistent with the assertion of the completely natural (and not extraordinary) origin of the substance of fire.  Just as the natural origin of water does not contradict the recognition of it as holy, healing, and miraculous when it is sanctified by the calling of the Holy Spirit. And the natural origin of bread and wine does not deny the truth of the Eucharist, when the natural substances brought to the altar become the Body and Blood of Christ by the action of the Holy Spirit," says Metropolitan Yevstratiy (Zorya) of Bila Tserkva, spokesman for the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.