The Holy Fire: truth or falsehood, where to watch the broadcast
Kyiv • UNN
The ceremony of the descent of the Holy Fire will take place in Jerusalem. We analyze the history of the tradition, different versions and tell you where to watch the broadcast.
On Great Saturday before Easter, April 19, the annual solemn ceremony of the descent of the Holy Fire will take place at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Is it a miracle of the Lord or still the work of human hands? UNN correspondent was told by the Bachelor of Theology Denys Targonskyi.
Where did the Holy Fire come from
The first mentions of the lights in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre were recorded by the famous pilgrim of the 4th century, Silvia Aquitaine. However, then it was about a completely rational explanation - there were a lot of candles in the dark room to light it. The first evidence of the Holy Fire as something mystical and incomprehensible to people was given by the Latin pilgrim Bernard
The theologian noted that in 867 Bernard left a clear testimony that the fire was sent from heaven by angels after the people in the temple began to sing "Lord, have mercy!"
"On Holy Saturday on the eve of Easter, the service begins in this church in the morning, and after the service is completed, "Lord, have mercy!" is sung until the light in the lamps hanging over the mentioned coffin lights up after the appearance of an angel," Bernard wrote.
According to Bernard, the patriarch took a lamp with fire and lit the bishop's lamp from it, after which the fire began to be passed to everyone present from hand to hand.
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The descent of the Holy Fire during this period was of great importance to Christians. The holy city of Jerusalem was captured by Muslims. The belief in the descent of the Holy Fire became a symbol of hope for many Christians that God had not abandoned them in this difficult time.
However, in 1099 the Crusaders liberated Jerusalem from Islamic rule and held it for about a century. And although there are testimonies in which the participants of the Crusade mention the Holy Fire, after their arrival in Jerusalem, faith in this amazing event began to decline.
"After the arrival of the Crusaders, faith in the miraculous Holy Fire began to decline, because the city was liberated from the infidels. The leaders of the Crusaders and their spiritual leaders declared that there was certainly a miraculous fire from God, but now it has disappeared, because the city was liberated from "infidels", - said Targonskyi.
Armenian and Greek versions
The legend of the Holy Fire received a new life already in the 17-18 centuries, when Jerusalem was in the hands of the Turkish Ottomans. Historians distinguish between Armenian and Greek versions.
"In 1635, the Armenian pilgrim from Lviv, Simeon Lekhatsa, told his version. According to his testimony, the poor pilgrims were once not allowed into the temple because they could not pay the entrance fee. However, the Fire descended first to the beggars who were standing outside, after which a decree and a letter were issued allowing beggars to enter the Temple free of charge. But they had to swear that they had no money," said Targonskyi.
Targonskyi added that the Greek version was recorded in writing no earlier than 1710 by the Russian pilgrim Ivan Lukyanov. According to her, the Armenians once decided to appropriate the right to receive the Holy Fire and bribed the Turkish authorities so that they would not let the Greeks into the temple and that the Armenians themselves would enter the Tomb of the Lord for the fire.
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While the Armenians were trying to beg God for fire, the Greeks with their patriarch prayed at the entrance to the temple. And God did not give fire to the Armenians, but brought it down from the column at the entrance, where the Greeks with their patriarch stood.
"A Muslim guard named Anwar, who was standing on that spot at the moment of the Fire's descent on the column, seeing what was happening, believed in the Christian God, for which he was killed by his fellow tribesmen. Tourists and pilgrims are still shown a dent on the floor near the column. It is believed that it was left by Anwar when he jumped off the column," the theologian said.
Holy Fire in Russian propaganda
In the 19th century, the Russian Empire tried to present itself to the civilized world as a defender of the interests of the Christian peoples conquered by the Turkish Ottomans. At the same time, the envoys of Emperor Nicholas I threatened Turkey with war if it tried to ban the ceremony of the Fire's descent.
"In this ideological system of the Russians, the descent of the Holy Fire was presented as a recognition by God of the supremacy of the Russian Empire and its church. It was stated that only the Russian Church is truly Orthodox, and even other Orthodox Churches do not claim to reflect the real essence of God and His relations with people," Targonskyi explained.
This situation was repeated after the collapse of the USSR in 1991. After the collapse of communism, Russia adopted Russian Orthodoxy as its worldview, in which a special role was also given to the Holy Fire.
"In the 90s, the NTV channel even bought the right to broadcast the ceremony of the Holy Fire's descent. VIP-places were booked for this event for Russian and Ukrainian pro-Russian oligarchs. They took lamps with fire and posed with them for the camera, demonstrating that God sends the Holy Fire only for the Russians," the theologian explained.
Targonskyi added that the rumors that the Holy Fire will not descend when the end of the world comes are connected with Russian narratives. Thus, the Russians wanted to show that if Russia disappears, the rest of the world will not exist either.
What Catholics say
Unlike the Orthodox, the Catholic Church does not have a tradition of "descent of the Holy Fire". Catholics do not celebrate a special ceremony in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and do not associate Easter with this particular phenomenon. So the answer is simple: the Holy Fire does not "descend" among Catholics in the same sense as among the Orthodox.
This does not mean that Catholics ignore the symbolism of fire. In their tradition, fire plays an important role during the Easter liturgy: at the appointed moment, believers light candles, symbolizing the Resurrection of the Lord and the victory of Light over Darkness.
Truth or fiction
Today, most churches reject the version that the descent of the Holy Fire is a miracle. There are two reasons for this:
• the descent of the Holy Fire is not recorded in any Christian liturgical book, and therefore does not belong to the actions and rites that are officially approved by the Church;
• the Jerusalem Church confirmed last year that there is a constantly burning lamp in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It is from it that the Holy Fire is lit.
Given this, Ukrainian believers should be guided by the words of the head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Epifaniy, in this matter.
It is simply taken out of the Tomb of the Lord as a sign of the light that shone at the time of the Resurrection of the Lord. It is carried out by the patriarch, who offers a prayer, but it is more of a memory of the first miracle that was performed at a certain moment
Where and when the ceremony of the descent of the Holy Fire takes place
Traditionally, the ceremony begins at 10:15 a.m. and lasts for several hours. The main part starts at 12:30.
Approximate schedule of the ceremony:
- 10:15 — the procession led by the Armenian Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, having passed once around the Kuvukliya (the main altar of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre), moves to the Armenian Side Altar of the Church of the Resurrection.
- 11:00 — joint ceremony of sealing the Tomb.
- 11:30 — youth of the Greek Patriarchate enters the temple, chanting.
- 12:00 — the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem arrives at the temple.
- 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 Katholikon, where they make their traditional address 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 Kuvukliya three times. The Greek Patriarch undresses, standing in front of the Kuvukliya, where he is assisted by his co-ministers.
- 12:55 — the Greek Patriarch prays in the Kuvukliya. Before the ceremony, he is searched to make sure that he does not have matches or a lighter. All candles and lamps in the temple 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 descended, the Patriarch lights and carries out 33 candles, symbolizing the number of years of the life of Jesus Christ.
- 13:10 — the Greek Orthodox Patriarch and his co-ministers leave the temple. The procession of the Armenian Orthodox clergy and believers begins, accompanied by the Coptic and Syrian Orthodox communities. The youth of the Greek Patriarchate leaves the temple.
- 14:30 — the Armenian ceremony ends, and the Armenian Patriarch leaves the temple.
How the ceremony takes place
Usually, many people from all over the world come to the descent of the Holy Fire, because they want to see the descent of the miracle with their own eyes.
The Patriarch will close the temple from the inside, and a wax seal will be placed on the door. Before that, the Patriarch will be searched to make sure that he does not have matches or a lighter with him.
After the descent of the Holy Fire, the Patriarch will light and carry out 33 candles from the temple, symbolizing the number of years of Jesus Christ's earthly life. Then the Holy Fire will be taken all over the world. Members of the "Plast" organization will deliver the Holy Fire to the churches of Ukraine, as always.
Where to watch the broadcast of the Holy Fire's descent
believers will be able to see this miracle live or in a live broadcast of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. You can watch the ceremony online on various information YouTube channels and in social networks.
