The Miracle of the Holy Fire in Jerusalem.

Later, I read several testimonies and polemics, both positive and negative histories of the miracle, because it always depends on whether they were processed by supporters or opponents of this phenomenon.

A meeting between God and man

The history of the holy fire ceremony is complex and full of controversy. I deliberately use the word ceremony, not miracle, because even on the official website of the Jerusalem Orthodox Patriarchate, the word miracle was replaced by the word ceremony in 2018.

Currently, this ceremony takes place in such a way that on Holy Saturday according to the Julian calendar, which this year falls on May 4, a flame appears in the chapel (so-called aedicule) of Christ’s tomb, with which the Orthodox patriarch lights his candles and then the whole crowd from him gathered believers. Only the patriarch is in the closed aedicule at that moment, so only he really knows how the fire will be lit.

According to tradition, it is a miracle, but critics claim that a light source is already prepared in the chapel, or that the patriarch uses candles coated with self-igniting phosphorus.

The event is accompanied by a huge number of pilgrims and, along with the procession on Palm Sunday, it is the largest Christian gathering in Jerusalem.

Aedicula in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. 

For Orthodox believers, it has always been an important symbol of the authenticity of their faith. Especially in the time after the church split, when individual denominations competed to see who was more orthodox, and various miracles, signs, relics, etc. were presented as God’s confirmation. Today, in the time of ecumenism and efforts for rapprochement, these discussions have apparently lost their meaning.

Patriarch Theophilus III himself. in an interview with L’Osservatore Romano for Easter 2021, he explained that the rite of the Holy Fire has its origins in the first centuries of the church, when liturgical practices were developing, and is one of the oldest rites of the Church of Jerusalem. We have evidence of this from the itineraries of the first pilgrims, such as Egeria.

However, the patriarch avoided a direct answer to the question of the supernatural meaning of the ceremony. He answered that participation in the ceremony of the holy fire is an experience of meeting between God and man, and therefore it is similar to participation in the Eucharist, which is also a meeting between God and people.

The Jerusalem Orthodox Patriarchate thus remains restrained and does not deny, but does not directly confirm the miracle of the holy fire, for which it is often criticized.

Criticism from a Greek journalist

The most vocal contemporary critic is the Greek journalist and son of an Orthodox priest, Dimitris Alikakos, who published a book in 2019, Redemption – The Case of the Holy Fire , with more evidence against the miraculous origin of the ceremony. Among other things, the book consists of the testimonies of monks from the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, who describe how light is caught in a natural way.

Alikakos supplemented the book with authentic recordings on his YouTube channel with the statements of Archbishop Izidor, custodian and hegumen of the monks of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. He later appealed to Google in court, asking them to remove from YouTube the controversial video ( here and here ) where he tells Alikakos that the holy fire is lit with a lighter.

The patriarchate also sued the journalist himself for abusing private interviews and publishing their content against the will of the interviewees. In March of this year, Alikakos was acquitted of all charges by an Athens court.

God is free to perform miracles at any time, but not to order, several critics, as well as clerics from the Orthodox Patriarchate, remind us. Perhaps the most significant testimony is the interpretation of Archbishop Teofanes of Gerassa, a high-ranking member of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre, which is headed by Patriarch Theophilus III. the governing body of the Jerusalem Patriarchate. The latter makes it clear that the holy fire is one of the liturgical ceremonies, or a sacrament, not a sacrament. In Jerusalem, this ceremony is enhanced by the fact that it takes place directly at the place of the Lord’s resurrection.

According to Archbishop Teofanes of Gerassa, it was the Latin Crusaders who declared this ancient ceremony a miracle, which the Orthodox Church appropriated after their departure. However, the origin of the flame is not miraculous, it does not come from heaven, but is ignited by human hands. Subsequently, it is consecrated by the prayer of the patriarch and fired by the faithful.

A fire blessed in this way can work miracles through faith like any other sanctuary of the church. It is a matter of understanding and faith of each person to accept the truth that it is a natural flame sanctified by the grace of the church. In the Catholic liturgy we can find a parallel of this ceremony with the blessing of the new fire and paschal on Holy Saturday.