How the Holy Fire descends. Where does the Holy Fire come from? Have attempts to find a scientific explanation for the Holy Fire been successful?

Part 1 – Source of the Holy Fire
Orthodox critics of the miraculous appearance of fire

Jerusalem, Saturday on the eve of Orthodox Easter. A ceremony is held in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher - the Litany of the Holy Fire. The Temple is filled with pilgrims, in the middle of the Temple a chapel (Edicule) is built, into which two priests (Greek Patriarch and Armenian Archimandrite) enter. After some time, they emerge from the Edicule with fire, which is passed on to the believers (see photo and video section ). In the Orthodox community, there is widespread belief in the miraculous appearance of fire and various amazing properties are attributed to it. However, even at the beginning of the last century, even among the Orthodox, doubts arose about the miraculous nature of the emergence of fire and the presence of some special properties in it. These doubts were so widespread in society that it allowed the leading orientalist of the last century, IY Krachkovsky in 1915 to conclude: “The best representatives of theological thought in the East also notice the interpretation of the miracle that Prof. A. Olesnitsky andA. Dmitrievsky talk about the “triumph of the consecration of fire at the Holy Sepulchre”" ( 1 ). Founder of the Russian spiritual mission in Jerusalem, bishopPorfiry Uspensky , summarizing the consequences of the Holy Fire scandal, which led to the Metropolitan’s confession of forgery, left the following note in 1848: “But from that time on, the Holy Sepulcher clergy no longer believes in miraculous phenomenon fire" ( 2 ). A student of Professor Dmitrievsky mentioned by Krachkovsky, he is an Honored Professor of the Leningrad Theological AcademyNikolai Dmitrievich Uspensky in 1949, he gave an assembly speech at the annual report of the Council of the Leningrad Theological Academy, in which he described in detail the history of the Holy Fire, and based on the material presented, he made the following conclusion: “Obviously, once, without giving a timely energetic explanation to his flock about the true meaning of the rite St. fire in the future, they were unable to raise this voice in front of the ever-increasing fanaticism of the dark masses due to objective conditions. If this was not done in a timely manner, then later it became impossible, without risking personal well-being and, perhaps, the integrity of the shrines themselves. All that remained for them was to perform the ritual and remain silent, consoling themselves with the fact that God “as He knows and is able, He will bring understanding and calm the nations” ( 3 ). There are quite a lot of doubters about the miraculous nature of the Holy Fire among modern Orthodox believers. Here we can mention Protodeacon A. Kuraev, who shared his impressions of the meeting of the Russian delegation with the Greek Patriarch Theophilus in the following words: “His answer about the Holy Fire was no less frank: “This is a ceremony that is a representation, like all other ceremonies of Holy Week. Just as the Easter message from the tomb once shone and illuminated the whole world, so now in this ceremony we perform a representation of how the news of the resurrection from the edicule spread throughout the world.” There was neither the word “miracle”, nor the word “convergence”, nor the words “Holy Fire” in his speech. He probably couldn’t have spoken more openly about the lighter in his pocket." ( 4 ), another example is an interview about the Holy Fire of Archimandrite Isidore, head of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem, where he in particular recalled the words of the Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne Jerusalem Church Metropolitan Cornelius of Peter: “...This is a natural light that is lit from the Unquenchable Lamp, kept in the sacristy of the Church of the Resurrection” ( 5 ). Now disgraced Russian Orthodox Church, deacon Alexander Musin (Doctor of Historical Sciences, Candidate of Theology) co-authored with a church historianSergei Bychkov (Doctor of Historical Sciences) published a book: "THE HOLY FIRE: MYTH OR REALITY ?”, where they write in particular: “In order to lift the veil over this centuries-old, but by no means pious myth, we decided to publish a small work by the famous St. Petersburg professor Nikolai Dmitrievich Uspensky (1900-1987), dedicated to the history of the rite of the holy fire of Great Saturday, as well as a forgotten article by the world famous orientalist academician Ignatius Yulianovich Krachkovsky (1883-1951) " Holy Fire"Based on the story of Al-Biruni and other Muslim writers of the 10th-13th centuries."
A series of works by the protopresbyter of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, George Tsetsis, is devoted to exposing the myth of the miraculous appearance of the Holy Fire; he writes: “The prayer that the patriarch offers before lighting the Holy Fire in the Holy Edicule is completely clear and does not allow for any misinterpretations. The Patriarch does not pray for a miracle to happen. He only “remembers” the sacrifice and three-day resurrection of Christ and, turning to Him, says: “Having reverently accepted this kindled (*******) fire on Your luminous Tomb, we distribute the true light to those who believe, and we pray to You, You have shown him the gift of sanctification." The following happens: the patriarch lights his candle from the unquenchable lamp, which is located on the Holy Sepulchre. Just like every patriarch and every cleric on the day Happy Easter, when he receives the light of Christ from the unquenchable lamp, which is located on the holy throne, symbolizing the Holy Sepulcher" ( 6 ).
The younger generation of theologians is not lagging behind; in 2008, a thesis on Liturgics was defended on the topic “The rite of the descent of the Holy Fire in Jerusalem,” completed by P. Zvezdin, a 5th year student at the Institute of Theology of BSU, in which he also dispels the myth of the miraculous appearance of fire ( 7 ).
However, one has only to accept the correctness of the Orthodox figures mentioned here, who have earned honor and respect for their service, and one will have to admit that many Greek patriarchs and no less noble Orthodox clergy hypocritically deceived believers by talking about the miraculous appearance of fire and its unusual properties. This is probably why in apological articles written by famous Russian theologians, seemingly honored Orthodox figures are so often thrown mud at, attributing to them heretical views, a craving for collecting fables to please their preconceived opinions and lack of scientific approach in his critical works regarding the Holy Fire (8 a, b; 9 ).

What arguments do critics give about the miraculous nature of the appearance of the Holy Fire?
Almost all skeptics are confused by the clear definiteness of the time of receiving fire and the ability to change this time by order of local authorities.
Due to constant strife between Christian denominations, in 1852, through the efforts of the authorities, a document appeared, the so-called STATUS-QUO, where the sequence of actions of all rituals for all denominations in the city was thoroughly recorded. The service of the Holy Fire is also scheduled minute by minute, in particular, to find the fire, the priests who entered the Edicule are given time from 12.55 to 13.10 ( 10 ). And now, for 8 years of live broadcasts, this time has been impeccably observed. Only in 2002, due to a fight between the patriarch and the archimandrite inside the Edicule, fire began to be distributed much later than a certain time ( 11 ). Those. the delay was due to the priests, and not due to lack of fire. This fight had serious consequences; for several years now, an Israeli policeman has been the first to enter the Edicule inside the Edicule, together with the Armenian archimandrite and the Greek patriarch, vigilantly ensuring that high-ranking clergy do not fight again in this holy and revered place ( 12 ). Skepticism is also betrayed by another fact related to the time of appearance of the fire, which is narrated by Prof. AA Dmitrievsky, referring to prof. AA Olesnitsky, in 1909 he writes: “Once upon a time the festival of fire at the Holy Sepulcher was connected directly with Easter Matins, but due to some disturbances that occurred during this celebration, at the request of the local authorities it was moved to the previous day” ( 13 ). It turns out that the time of the appearance of a divine miracle can also be determined by the orders of the Islamic administration.
In principle, God is able to carry out any order of any administration, since He is omnipotent and can do anything and plan His miracles in any way. However, such a clearly defined miracle in time is the only example. Let’s say in the Gospel example of the bath, which is referred to by miracle apologists (John 5: 2-4), healings do not occur at a strictly defined time, but as the evangelist writes: “<…>for the angel of the Lord from time to time went into the pool and disturbed the water, and whoever entered it first after the water was disturbed was healed<…>" Also other annual Orthodox miracles, for example, the descent of the Blessed Cloud on Mount Tabor on the day of the Transfiguration of the Lord or the appearance poisonous snakes in the Church of the Assumption Holy Mother of God(on the Island of Kefalonia) on the day of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, I also do not have a strictly defined time period. By the way, the descent of the cloud on Mount Tabor and the appearance of poisonous snakes occurs in full view of people, while the fire occurs in Edicule, which is closed from pilgrims. Such accessibility greatly contributes to clarifying the true nature of these phenomena; for example, it turns out that the clergy themselves bring snakes and they are not at all poisonous ( 14 ). Regarding Mount Tabor, everything is also relatively simple. At this time of year, fogs form on the mountain almost every day, and pilgrims only witness the birth of such fog ( 15 ). The spectacle is truly beautiful, and having increased religiosity, it is easy to attribute miraculous properties to what you see.

Skeptics' version of the appearance of fire
From the point of view of skeptics, the Greek patriarch and the Armenian archimandrite light their candles from unquenchable lamp, which is brought in by the keeper of the coffin shortly before the patriarch enters. Perhaps the lamp is not placed on the coffin, but in a niche behind the icon from which the patriarch takes it out; perhaps some additional manipulations are taking place inside. Unfortunately, we are not allowed to see this.
Let us recall the sequence of actions during the ceremony ( 16 , link to video).

1. Examine the Edicule (two priests and a representative of the authorities).
2. Sealed entrance doors Edicule with a large wax seal.
3. The keeper of the coffin appears and brings a large, capped lamp inside the coffin. The seal is removed in front of him, he goes inside Kuklii, and after a few minutes he comes out.
4. A solemn procession appears, led by the Greek patriarch, and circles the Edicule three times. The patriarch is stripped of his robes of patriarchal dignity and he, together with the Armenian archimandrite (and the Israeli policeman) enters the Edicule.
5. After 5-10 minutes, the Greek patriarch and the Armenian archimandrite come out with fire (before this they managed to distribute fire through the windows of the Edicule).

Naturally, a man with a lamp covered with a cap will be of interest to skeptics. By the way, there are holes for air in the lamp's cap, so that a fire can burn in it. Unfortunately, apologists for the miracle practically do not explain in any way the insertion of this lamp into the Edicule. They pay attention to the inspection of the Edicule by government officials and priests before sealing. Indeed, after inspection there should be no fire inside. Then the miracle apologists pay attention to the search of the Greek patriarch before his entry into the Edicule. True, the video clearly shows that only Greek priests remove his clothes and do not search their patriarch, but this is not important, due to the fact that earlier another representative of the Greek Orthodox Church entered there to put a lamp on the slab of the Tomb and no one does not examine.

The words of Patriarch Theophilus about the Holy Fire are interesting:
"Patriarch Theophilus of Jerusalem: This is very ancient, very special and unique ceremony Jerusalem Church. This ceremony of the Holy Fire takes place only here in Jerusalem. And this happens thanks to the very Tomb of our Lord Jesus Christ. As you know, this Holy Fire ceremony is, so to speak, an enactment that represents the first good news, the first resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. This representation- like all sacred ceremonies. As in Good Friday We have a burial ceremony, don't we? How we bury the Lord, etc.
So this ceremony takes place in a holy place, and all the others Eastern Churches who share the Holy Sepulcher would like to take part in this. People like Armenians, Copts, Syrians come to us and receive our blessing, because they want to receive the Fire from the Patriarch.
Now, the second part of your question is actually about us. This is an experience, which, if you like, is similar to the experience that a person experiences when he receives Holy Communion. What happens there also applies to the Holy Fire ceremony. This means that a certain experience cannot be explained or expressed in words. Therefore, everyone who takes part in this ceremony - priests or laymen, or laywomen - each has their own indescribable experience.”

The apologist for the miracle did not like such an answer so much that, in my opinion, there was even a fake interview with Patriarch Theophilus ( ).

The most important evidence of the miraculous appearance of fire.
Once again, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that by trusting Orthodox skeptics, we thereby recognize the deception on the part of the Greek patriarchs and a number of prominent Russian Orthodox figures. I will present this evidence.
- Monk Parthenius, recorded the stories of those who talked with the Metropolitan of Transjordan (1841-1846 or 1870-1871), in which he talks about the spontaneous combustion of the lamp: “Sometimes I go up, and it’s already burning; then I’ll soon take it out, and sometimes I’ll go up, and the lamp is not yet burning; then I will fall to the ground in fear and with tears begin to ask for mercy from God. When I get up, the lamp is already burning, and I light two bunches of candles, take them out and serve them" (24).
- Viceroy Peter Meletius, whose words are conveyed to us by the pilgrim Barbara Brun de Sainte-Hippolyte, traveling around 1859, who left the following note: “Now grace has already descended on the Savior’s Tomb when I ascended into the Edicule: apparently, you all prayed earnestly, and God heard your prayers. I used to pray for a long time with tears, and the fire of God did not descend from heaven until two o’clock, but this time I already saw it, as soon as they locked the door behind me” (24).
- Hieromonk Meletius quotes the words of Archbishop Misail, who received the fire: “When he came in, he told me, inside to St. To the Tomb, we see on the entire roof of the Tomb a shining light, like scattered small beads, in the form of white, blue, alago and other colors, which then copulated reddened, and transformed over time into the substance of fire; but this Fire, over the course of time, as soon as you can slowly read forty times “Lord have mercy!” And because of this, the fire does not burn the prepared candlesticks and candles” (24).
- Patriarch Diodorus in 1998 says: « I make my way through the darkness into the interior, and fall to my knees there. Here I offer special prayers that have come down to us through centuries and, having read them, I wait. Sometimes I wait a few minutes, but usually the miracle happens as soon as I say the prayers. From the midst of the very stone on which Jesus lay, an indescribable light pours out. It is usually blue in color, but the color can vary and take on many different shades. It cannot be described in human words. Light rises from the stone like mist rises from a lake - it almost looks like the stone is covered in a damp cloud, but it is light. This light behaves differently every year. Sometimes it covers only the stone, and sometimes it fills the entire Edicule, so that if people standing outside looked inside, they would see it filled with light. The light does not burn - I have never burned my beard in all sixteen years that I have been the Patriarch of Jerusalem and received the Holy Fire. The light is of a different consistency than ordinary fire burning in an oil lamp.
- At a certain moment, the light rises and takes the form of a column, in which the fire is of a different nature, so that I can already light candles from it. When I light candles with fire in this way, I go out and hand over the fire first to the Armenian Patriarch, and then to the Coptic Patriarch. Then I pass the fire to all the people present in the temple" ( 25 ).
- Abraham Sergeevich Norov, former Minister of National Education in Russia, famous Russian writer, who traveled to Palestine in 1835:
“Only one of the Greek bishops, an Armenian bishop (who had recently received the right to do so), the Russian consul from Jaffa and we three travelers entered the chapel of the Holy Sepulcher behind the metropolitan. The doors closed behind us. The never-fading lamps over the Holy Sepulcher were already extinguished; only weak lighting passed to us from the temple through the side openings of the chapel. This moment is solemn: the excitement in the temple has subsided; everything came true as expected. We stood in the Angel's chapel, in front of the stone rolled away from the den; Only the metropolitan entered the den of the Holy Sepulcher. &

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This miracle occurs every year on the eve of Orthodox Easter in the Jerusalem Church of the Resurrection, which covers with its huge roof both Golgotha, the Cave in which the Lord was laid down from the Cross, and the garden where Mary Magdalene was the first of the people to meet Him risen. The temple was erected by Emperor Constantine and his mother Queen Helena in the 4th century.

This is how the miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire happens in our days. At approximately noon, a procession led by the Patriarch leaves the courtyard of the Jerusalem Patriarchate. The procession enters the Church of the Resurrection, heads to the chapel erected over the Holy Sepulcher, and after going around it three times, stops in front of its gates. All the lights in the temple have been extinguished. Tens of thousands of people: Arabs, Greeks, Russians, Romanians, Jews, Germans, British - pilgrims from all over the world watch the Patriarch in tense silence. The Patriarch is unmasked, the police carefully search him and the Holy Sepulcher itself, looking for at least something that can produce fire (during Turkish rule over Jerusalem, Turkish gendarmes did this), and in one long flowing tunic he goes inside. There, kneeling in front of the Tomb, he prays to God to send down the Holy Fire. Sometimes his prayer lasts a long time... And suddenly, on the marble slab of the Tomb, fiery dew appears in the form of bluish balls. He touches them with cotton wool and it ignites. With this cool fire, the Patriarch lights the lamp and candles, which he then takes into the temple and hands over to the Armenian Patriarch, and then to the people. At this moment, hundreds of bluish lights flash in the air under the dome of the temple. Witnesses of this miracle described it in 1988 as follows: “Each person feels this grace in his own way, to the extent of the human heart, as much as he can contain.

Some see a blessed stream of some bluish color coming from Golgotha, or like a cloud. The entire edicule (chapel) is shrouded in this cloud.

Sometimes it’s as if lightning strikes a wall and shines directly, illuminating everything. And the glow is kind of bluish.

Another time - how the northern lights play under the dome of the Edicule.

One sister said that a Greek woman was standing next to her, and when she saw the blessed stream, she screamed with joy and threw the candles up, and they returned to her already lit. And this joy cannot be conveyed.

The expectation itself is so palpable that you begin to feel and understand the conciliarity: here stands a Romanian woman, there a Greek woman, here a Russian woman, an American woman, everyone gets the same prayer, everyone asks for one thing - grace. This is such a touching feeling, so strong - one prayer! There was a man standing on the right, and he started crying. The gray-haired, respectable man began to cry like a child, fearing that the prophecy would not come true (in last times the Holy Fire will not descend).

And so, when grace is distributed, imagine - a sea of ​​fire, and there is never a fire, never. When grace - this sea of ​​fire - spills, some cry, some scream, some laugh. This feeling must be experienced, it cannot be conveyed like that. And you clearly feel that Christ Himself is here, like the invisible appearance of the Lord, so convincing and obvious, here He is here, Christ. All our troubles, all our sorrows - everything that a person endures seems insignificant. For the sake of this miracle, for the sake of this grace, everything can be experienced.”

At first the Holy Fire has special properties- it does not burn, although a bunch of 33 candles burns in each hand according to the number of years of the Savior. It is amazing how people wash their faces in this flame, pass it through their beards and hair, and it does not harm them. Some more time passes, and the fire begins to burn. Numerous police forces people to put out the candles, but the rejoicing continues.

The Holy Fire descends into the Church of the Holy Sepulcher only on Holy Saturday - the eve of Orthodox Easter, although Easter is celebrated every year on different days according to the old Julian calendar. And one more feature - the sacred fire descends only through the prayers of the Orthodox Patriarch. Although non-believers tried to receive the Holy Fire, they were unsuccessful, but Roman Catholics withdrew from participating in this grace-filled celebration inaccessible to them.

Once another community, Christian Armenians, but who had retreated from Holy Orthodoxy back in the 4th century, bribed the Turkish authorities and it was they, and not the Orthodox Patriarch, that the Turkish authorities allowed into the “Holy Sepulcher” cave on Holy Saturday. The Armenian high priests prayed for a long time and unsuccessfully, and the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, together with his flock, cried on the street near the locked doors of the Temple. And suddenly, as if lightning struck the marble column, it split and a pillar of Fire came out of it, which lit the candles of the Orthodox (the column is visible in the photo).

Since then, none of the representatives of numerous Christian denominations have dared to challenge the Orthodox right to pray on this day at the Holy Sepulcher.

In May 1992, for the first time after a 79-year break, the Holy Fire was again delivered to Russian soil. A group of pilgrims - clergy and laity - with a blessing His Holiness Patriarch carried the Holy Fire from the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem through Constantinople and all Slavic countries to Moscow. And since then this unquenchable fire burning on Slavyanskaya Square at the foot of the monument to the holy teachers Slovenian Kirill and Methodius.

Was Christ resurrected?

This is the fundamental question of all religion, all philosophy, all sciences concerning human views, for only God could be resurrected. Therefore, the question of resurrection is the question of whether there is a God. It is not surprising, therefore, that almost all works of anti-religious literature dwell on the question of the resurrection, and all of them, as everyone knows, answer this question in the negative. They probably do not imagine that after some of the most important discoveries (we will talk about them later), the fact of the resurrection of Christ towards the end of his life was recognized by none other than Friedrich Engels.

The basis for anti-religious people, in particular for those who deny the resurrection, is, as they claim, the lack of evidence of the resurrection.

What is the reality like? Is there really no such evidence? One of the most frequently speaking authors is a certain Duluman. declares: “At the time when, according to the teachings of the churchmen, Christ was supposed to exist on earth, scientists and writers lived with me: Josephus Flavius, Austin of Tiberias, Plexitus, Seneca, etc., but they all did not say a word about Christ.”

Only one thing is true here. Neither Austin of Tiberias, nor Liberia Sulius, nor Balandius really wrote about Christ, but they did not write for the reason that these “ancient writers” (as anti-religious literature calls them) never existed in nature. No Liberia Sulius existed either in antiquity or in later times. There was Lavrenty Sury, but he also lived not at the time of Christ, but exactly ten centuries later. An even greater embarrassment ensued with the “ancient writer” Balandius. He also did not exist, but there was a monk Bollan, but he lived one thousand five hundred years later than Christ, so it is not surprising that, when describing contemporary events, he might not have touched specifically on the resurrection of Christ. Austin of Tiberias is equally fictional. Ossia Tverdite, who lived during the Palestinian events, is known in literature, but he is not a writer at all, but literary character, the hero of an old Byzantine story.

So, these “ancient writers” can hardly be taken into account. But besides them, our atheists also mention Josephus, Pliny the Elder, and Tacitus. They, as atheists say, also did not leave any evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Is this true?

Let's start with Josephus. He is known to be one of the most reliable historical witnesses. Karl Marx said: “Reliable history can only be written on the basis of such documents as the works of Josephus and equivalent ones.”

In addition, Flavius ​​may also not have been aware of the events described in the Gospel. Finally, Josephus was not a follower of Christ, and therefore there is no reason to expect from him any exaggerations in favor of Christianity. Does Josephus really say nothing about the resurrection of Christ, as atheists claim?

Those who declare this should, at least once in their lives, at least glance at the excerpts from his works published in the Soviet edition of the USSR Academy of Sciences. It is written there in black and white: “At this time, Jesus Christ appeared, a man of high wisdom, if one can call Him a man, a doer of wonderful deeds; When, following the denunciation of our leading people, Pilate crucified Him on the cross, those who first loved Him wavered. On the third day He appeared to them alive again.” How does this fit in with the statements and assurances that Josephus never again mentions Christ?

The Greek Hermidias, who held the official position of biographer of the ruler of Judea, also wrote a biography of Pilate. His messages deserve special attention for two reasons. First, they contain an extremely large amount of reliable data on the history of Palestine and Rome and formed the basis of the history of Judea. Secondly, Hermidius stands out sharply in his style of presentation. This person is not able to succumb to any impressions, to be surprised, to get carried away. According to the definition of the famous historian, academician S. A. Zhebelev: “He narrated everything with the impartial accuracy of a photographic apparatus.” The testimony of Hermidius is also valuable because he, too, was near that place during the resurrection of Christ, accompanying one of Pilate’s assistants. It is important to add one more circumstance. “Hermidius was at first opposed to Christ and, as he himself said, persuaded Pilate’s wife not to restrain her husband from sentencing Christ to death. Until the crucifixion, he considered Christ a deceiver. Therefore, on his own initiative, he went to the tomb on the night before the resurrection, hoping to make sure that Christ would not be resurrected and His body would remain in the earth forever. But it turned out differently.

“Approaching the coffin and being about one hundred and fifty steps from it,” writes Hermidius, we saw in the faint light of the early dawn the guards at the coffin: two people were sitting, oval ones were lying on the ground, it was very quiet. We walked very slowly, and we were overtaken by the guards who were going to the coffin to replace the one who had been there since the evening. Then suddenly it became very light. We couldn't figure out where this light was coming from. But they soon saw that it was coming from a shining cloud moving from above. It sank to the coffin, and a man appeared above the ground, as if completely glowing. Then there was a clap of thunder, not in the sky, but on the earth. From this blow the guards jumped up in horror and then fell. At this time, a woman was walking towards the coffin to the right of us along the path, she suddenly shouted: “It’s opened! It’s opened!” And at this time it became clear to us that it was really very big stone, leaned against the entrance to the cave, rose as if by itself and opened the coffin (opened the entrance to the cave). We were very scared. Then, some time later, the light above the coffin disappeared, and it became quiet, as usual. When we approached the coffin, it turned out that the body of the buried person was no longer there.”

...The Syrian Yeishu (Eishu), a famous doctor close to Pilate and who treated him... is one of the most outstanding people of his time. On Pilate's instructions, from the evening before the resurrection he was near the tomb along with his five assistants, who always accompanied him. He also witnessed the burial of Christ. On Saturday he examined the coffin twice, and in the evening, by order of Pilate, he went here with his assistants and was supposed to spend the night here. Knowing about the prophecies regarding the resurrection of Christ, Yeishu and his medical assistants were interested in this from the point of view of natural scientists. In general, Yeishu was a skeptic. In his works, he invariably repeated the expression, which later, thanks to him, became a proverb in the East: “What I myself have not seen, I consider a fairy tale.” Therefore, they carefully examined everything connected with Christ and His death. On Sunday night they took turns staying awake. In the evening, his assistants went to bed, but long before the resurrection they woke up and resumed observing what was happening in nature. We are all doctors, guards. - writes Yeishu, - they were healthy, cheerful, and felt the same as always. We didn't have any premonitions. We did not believe at all that the dead could be resurrected. But He really rose again, and we all saw it with our own eyes.” What follows is a description of the resurrection...

It is extremely significant that we find a number of evidence of the resurrection in Jewish authors of that time, although it is quite understandable that Jews (who did not accept Christianity) tend to suppress the fact of the resurrection in every possible way.

Maferkant was one of the members of the Sanhedrin, treasurer. It was from his hands that Judas received thirty pieces of silver for betrayal. But He had to be at the Holy Sepulcher just before the moment of the resurrection: he arrived here to pay for the guards standing at the tomb (the hired guards received payment, so to speak, on a piece-by-piece basis, after each one stood guard). He saw that the tomb of Christ was reliably guarded. Having paid the money, he left, the guards remained at their post. But before Maferkant had time to move far, a thunderclap was heard, and a huge stone was thrown away by an unknown force. Returning, Maferkant saw from afar a disappearing light above the coffin. When, after the resurrection of Christ, alarm arose among the Jews. Maferkant was the first member of the Sanhedrin to arrive on the scene to investigate. He became convinced that the resurrection had taken place. All this was described by him in the essay “On the Rulers of Palestine,” which is one of the most valuable and truthful sources.

In total, according to the calculations of the largest expert on Roman historical literature, Academician I.V. Netushil (1850-1928), the number of completely reliable evidence of the resurrection of Christ exceeds two hundred and ten; according to our calculations, this number is even greater - two hundred and thirty, because to Netushil’s data we need to add those historical monuments that were discovered after the publication of his work

(Based on materials from Orthodox publishing houses)

The priest brought this leaflet for reproduction, and thought that posting it on the Internet would also be useful...



“Orthodoxy and peace. Electronic library” ().

Since the early Middle Ages, a custom has appeared. according to which, on the eve of Easter, the hierarchs of the Orthodox Church lit a fire in Jerusalem and blessed it in honor of the main holiday of believers. However, from the end of the first millennium, judging by the reports of religious historians of that time, a convergence appeared sacred fire, that is, that fire on the eve of Easter is given to believers by God. Numerous evidence of the descent of fire dates back to the 10th century, and not only Christian, but also historians wrote about this miracle. Initially, the fire was lit in the morning, and the ritual itself is described in different ways, most often the appearance of lightning is mentioned. Only the place remains unchanged - the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.

Some eyewitnesses of the events of the 10th century wrote that the fire was brought directly by an angel.

Modern ritual of the descent of fire

TO 19th century The ceremony of the descent of the Holy Fire has acquired modern features. It was even enshrined in a special document issued by the government of the Ottoman Empire. This was done to avoid conflict between representatives of various Orthodox Christians, as well as Orthodox Christians and Muslims.

The keys to the Chapel of the Holy Sepulcher have been kept in one place for many generations. Arab family, whose representative hands over the keys to the patriarch once a year.

The service on the day of the descent of the fire is conducted by the Patriarch of Jerusalem. Clergymen of other people also have the right to be with him. Orthodox churches, for example, Armenian. The priests put on festive white robes and then walk around procession of the cross around the temple, offering prayers. After this, the patriarch, together with a representative of the clergy, can go to the small ancient chapel, over which the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was built. They take candles with them, which will later be lit from the Holy Fire. The Patriarch exalts special prayer directly at the Holy Sepulcher. At this time, believers wait for the descent of fire both in the temple itself and outside it. There is also a television broadcast in many countries, including Russia. After the fire appears, the patriarch lights candles from it, from which, in turn, anyone can light a fire. After the Holy Fire ceremony

The descent of the Holy Fire occurs every year on Holy Saturday, the eve of the Orthodox Easter. The earliest evidence of the descent of fire in Jerusalem dates back to the 4th century and belongs to the pilgrim Etheria. The fire descends only on the eve of Easter, celebrated in the old way, Julian calendar, and we know that the celebration of the Resurrection of Christ falls on different days every year. The Holy Fire descends only through the prayers of the Orthodox Patriarch.

Jerusalem Church of the Resurrection of Christ covers with its roof Mount Golgotha, and the Cave of the Holy Sepulcher, and the garden where the first appearance of the risen Christ the Savior to Mary Magdalene took place. This temple was erected in the 4th century by the holy Emperor Constantine and his mother Saint Helena.

Nowadays, the miracle of the descent of heavenly fire happens like this. Around noon, the Patriarch of Jerusalem with the clergy and praying procession goes from the Patriarchate to the Church of the Resurrection. The procession enters the temple and, having walked three times around the Chapel of the Holy Sepulcher, located inside the temple, stops near its entrance. Pilgrims from all over the world gather in the temple; all the candles and lights in the temple are extinguished.

Every year, several thousand people present in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher see: the Patriarch, whose clothes were specially examined, enters the Edicule, which has been checked and sealed. Representatives of other Christian denominations and police officers participate in the inspection of the Edicule, its sealing and the inspection of the Patriarch every year. The inspection is carried out to prove that the patriarch cannot possibly bring a source of fire to Edicule. This custom was established by the Turks, who captured Palestine in 1517. After searching the Edicule, they sealed it and placed a guard until the patriarch entered.

The Patriarch, wearing only a linen cassock, with thirty-three unlit candles in his hand, enters the chapel. Kneeling, he prays in front of the Holy Sepulcher for the sending of the Holy Fire.

The descent of the fire is preceded by flashes in the form of bluish lightning, piercing the entire air space of the temple. Then, on the marble slab of the Holy Sepulcher, fiery balls of blue flame appear, as if in the form of drops of rain or dew. Sometimes the Holy Fire itself lights the lamps at the tomb. The Patriarch lights cotton wool from them and then lights candles with this fire. Coming out of the chapel, he passes the fire to the Armenian Patriarch and the people. The entire temple is filled with rejoicing, the fire is passed on to each other, lit from already burning candles. People hold in their hands bunches of thirty-three candles - according to the number of years of the Savior’s earthly life. The Holy Fire has for the first time wonderful property- do not burn. Those standing in the temple pass the flame over their face and hair and “wash themselves”: for the first few minutes the fire does not burn the skin or singe the hair.

The miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire on Orthodox Easter after the prayer of the Jerusalem Orthodox Patriarch - proof of the truth of our faith. In 1579, the Armenian community obtained from the Turkish authorities that their primate, and not the Orthodox patriarch, be allowed into the chapel. (It must be said that the Armenians, although they are Christians, distorted the Orthodox faith back in the 4th century and adhere to the Monophysite heresy, that is, they recognize in Christ only one - Divine - nature.) The Orthodox humbly prayed to closed doors temple, the Armenians were waiting for the descent of the Holy Fire in Edicule. And the Lord performed a miracle: the Holy Fire descended, but not on the Holy Sepulcher. Lightning struck the column next to which the Orthodox were praying, and fire came out of it. The scorched marble column still testifies to this miracle.

Eyewitness account

The famous traveler Abraham Sergeevich Norov was present at the descent of the holy fire. Norov traveled to Jerusalem in 1835 and was in the chapel. From the chapel of the Angel I saw Metropolitan Misail receiving the fire: “Thus, we reached the Chapel of the Holy Sepulcher in the midst of a wonderful sight of people, agitated or hanging from all the arcades and cornices.

Only one of the Greek bishops, the Armenian bishop (who had recently received the right to do so), the Russian consul from Jaffa and we, three travelers, entered the chapel of the Holy Sepulcher behind the metropolitan. The doors closed behind us. The never-fading lamps above the Holy Sepulcher were already extinguished; only weak lighting passed to us from the temple through the side openings of the chapel. This moment is solemn: the excitement in the temple has subsided; everything came true as expected. We stood in the Angel's chapel, in front of the stone rolled away from the den; Only the metropolitan entered the den of the Holy Sepulcher. I already said that the entrance there has no doors. I saw how the elderly metropolitan, bowing before the low entrance, entered the den and knelt before the holy tomb, in front of which there was nothing and which was completely naked. In less than a minute, the darkness was illuminated with light, and the Metropolitan came out to us with a flaming bunch of candles.

Hoping to catch the Orthodox in a fake, the city's Muslim authorities placed Turkish soldiers throughout the temple, and they drew scimitars, ready to cut off the head of anyone who was seen bringing or lighting a fire. However, in the entire history of Turkish rule, no one has ever been convicted of this. At the present time, the Patriarch is being examined by Jewish police investigators.

Shortly before the patriarch, the sacristan brings a large lamp into the cave, in which the main fire and 33 candles should flare up - according to the number of years of the Savior’s earthly life. Then the Orthodox and Armenian Patriarchs (the latter is also unmasked before entering the cave) go inside. They are sealed with a large piece of wax and a red tape is placed on the door; Orthodox ministers put their seals. At this time, the lights in the temple turn off and tense silence sets in—waiting. Those present pray and confess their sins, asking the Lord to grant the Holy Fire.

All the people in the temple are patiently waiting for the patriarch to come out with Fire in his hands. However, in the hearts of many people there is not only patience, but also a thrill of expectation: in accordance with the tradition of the Jerusalem Church, it is believed that the day when the Holy Fire does not descend will be the last for the people in the Temple, and the Temple itself will be destroyed. Therefore, pilgrims usually take communion before coming to the holy place.

The prayer and ritual continue until the expected miracle occurs. IN different years The tedious wait lasts from five minutes to several hours.

Convergence

Before the descent, the temple begins to be illuminated by bright flashes of the Holy Light, small lightning flashes here and there. In slow motion you can clearly see that they are coming from different places the temple - from the icon hanging over the Edicule, from the dome of the Temple, from the windows and from other places, and flood everything around with bright light. In addition, here and there, between the columns and walls of the temple, quite visible lightning, which often pass without any harm through standing people.

A moment later, the entire temple turns out to be surrounded by lightning and glare, which snake down its walls and columns, as if flowing down to the foot of the temple and spreading across the square among the pilgrims. At the same time, the candles of those standing in the temple and in the square light up, the lamps located on the sides of the Edicule light up themselves (with the exception of 13 Catholic ones), like some others within the temple. “And suddenly a drop falls on the face, and then a cry of delight and shock is heard from the crowd. The fire burns in the altar of the Catholicon! The flash and flame are like a huge flower. And Edicule is still dark. Slowly - slowly, along the candles, the Fire from the altar begins to descend towards us. And then a thunderous cry makes you look back at Edicule. It shines, the whole wall shimmers with silver, white lightning streams along it. The fire pulsates and breathes, and from the hole in the dome of the Temple a wide vertical column of light descended from the sky onto the Tomb.” The temple or its individual places are filled with an unparalleled radiance, which is believed to have first appeared during the Resurrection of Christ. At the same time, the doors of the Tomb open and the Orthodox Patriarch emerges, blessing those gathered and distributing the Holy Fire.

The patriarchs themselves talk about how the Holy Fire ignites. “I saw how the Metropolitan bent over the low entrance, entered the den and knelt before the Holy Sepulcher, on which nothing stood and which was completely naked. Not even a minute had passed before the darkness was illuminated with light and the Metropolitan came out to us with a flaming bunch of candles.” Hieromonk Meletius quotes the words of Archbishop Misail: “When I entered inside the Holy Sepulcher, I saw light shining on the entire lid of the Tomb, like scattered small beads, in the form of white, blue, scarlet and other colors, which then copulated, turned red and turned into the substance of fire ... and from this fire the prepared kandil and candles are lit.”

Messengers, even when the Patriarch is in the Edicule, spread Fire throughout the temple through special holes, the circle of fire gradually spreads throughout the temple.

However, not everyone lights the fire from the patriarchal candle; for some, it lights up on its own. “The flashes of Heavenly Light are getting brighter and stronger. Now the Holy Fire began to fly throughout the entire temple. It scattered with bright blue beads over the Edicule around the icon of the “Resurrection of the Lord,” and one of the lamps flared up after it. He burst into the temple chapels, onto Golgotha ​​(he also lit one of the lamps on it), sparkled over the Stone of Confirmation (a lamp was also lit here). For some, the wicks of candles were charred, for others, lamps and bunches of candles flared up on their own. The flashes became more and more intensified, sparks spread here and there through the bunches of candles.” One of the witnesses notes how the candles of a woman standing next to him lit up on their own three times, which she twice tried to extinguish.

The first time - 3-10 minutes, the ignited Fire has amazing properties - it does not burn at all, regardless of what candle and where it is lit. You can see how parishioners literally wash themselves with this Fire - they rub it over their faces, over their hands, scoop up handfuls of it, and it does not cause any harm, at first it does not even scorch their hair. “He lit 20 candles in one place and burned his candle with all those lights, and not a single hair curled or burned; and having extinguished all the candles and then lit them with other people, I lit those candles, and on the third day I lit those candles, and I didn’t touch my wife with anything, not a single hair was singed or curled...” – one of the pilgrims wrote four centuries ago. Parishioners call the droplets of wax that fall from the candles the Graceful Dew. As a reminder of the Miracle of the Lord, they will remain on the clothes of witnesses forever; no amount of powder or washing will remove them.

The people who are in the temple at this time are overwhelmed with an indescribable and incomparable in its depth feeling of joy and spiritual peace. According to those who visited the square and the temple itself when the fire descended, the depth of feelings overwhelming the people at that moment was fantastic - eyewitnesses left the temple as if reborn, as they themselves say, spiritually cleansed and cleared of sight. What is especially remarkable is that even those who are uncomfortable with this God-given sign do not remain indifferent.

Rarer miracles also happen. One of the videotapes shows the healings taking place. Visually, the camera demonstrates two such cases - in a person with a mutilated rotting ear, the wound, smeared with Fire, heals right before our eyes and the ear returns to normal appearance, and also shows a case of the sight of a blind man (according to external observations, the person had cataracts on both eyes before “washing” himself with Fire).

In the future, lamps will be lit from the Holy Fire throughout Jerusalem, and the Fire will be delivered by special flights to Cyprus and Greece, from where it will be transported throughout the world. Recently, direct participants in the events began to bring it to our country. In areas of the city close to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, candles and lamps in churches light up on their own.”

Is it only the Orthodox?

Many non-Orthodox people, when they first hear about the Holy Fire, try to reproach the Orthodox: how do you know that it was given specifically to you? what if he had been received by a different representative Christian denomination? However, attempts to forcefully challenge the right to receive the Holy Fire from representatives of other denominations have happened more than once.

Only for several centuries was Jerusalem under the control of Eastern Christians; most of the time, as now, the city was ruled by representatives of other teachings that were unfriendly or even hostile to Orthodoxy.

In 1099, Jerusalem was conquered by the crusaders; the Roman and local mayors, considering the Orthodox Christians to be apostates, boldly began to trample on their rights. The English historian Stephen Runciman gives a story about this chronicler in his book western church: “The first Latin patriarch Arnold of Choquet started unsuccessfully: he ordered the expulsion of the heretical sects from their territory in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, then he began to torture Orthodox monks, asking where they kept the Cross and other relics... A few months later, Arnold was succeeded on the throne by Daimbert of Pisa, who went even further. He tried to expel all local Christians, even Orthodox, from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and allow only Latins there, completely 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 did not happen in Edicule, until Eastern Christians were invited to participate in this ritual. Then King Baldwin I took care of returning their rights to local Christians...”

The chaplain of the Crusader kings of Jerusalem, Fulk, says that when Western admirers (from among the crusaders) visited St. city ​​before the capture of Caesarea, for the celebration of St. Easter came to Jerusalem, the whole city was in confusion, because the holy fire did not appear and the faithful remained in vain expectations all day in the Church of the Resurrection. Then, as if by heavenly inspiration, the Latin clergy and the king with their entire court went... to the Temple of Solomon, which they had recently converted to from the Omar Mosque, and meanwhile the Greeks and Syrians who remained with St. The coffins, tearing their clothes, called upon the grace of God with cries, and then, finally, St. descended. Fire".

But the most significant incident occurred in 1579. The owners of the Temple of the Lord are simultaneously representatives of several Christian Churches. Priests Armenian Church, contrary to tradition, they managed to bribe Sultan Murat the Truthful and the local mayor to allow them to individually celebrate Easter and receive the Holy Fire. At the call of the Armenian clergy, many of their co-religionists came to Jerusalem from all over the Middle East to celebrate Easter alone. The Orthodox, together with Patriarch Sophrony IV, were removed not only from the edicule, but also from the Temple in general. There, at the entrance to the shrine, they remained to pray for the descent of the Fire, grieving over their separation from Grace. The Armenian Patriarch prayed for about a day, however, despite his prayer efforts, no miracle followed. At one moment, a ray struck from the sky, as usually happens during the descent of Fire, and hit the column at the entrance, next to which the Orthodox Patriarch was located. Splashes of fire splashed out from it in all directions and a candle was lit by the Orthodox Patriarch, who passed on the Holy Fire to his co-religionists. This was the only case in history when the descent took place outside the Temple, actually through the prayers of the Orthodox, and not the Armenian high priest. “Everyone rejoiced, and the Orthodox Arabs began to jump for joy and shout: “You are our only God, Jesus Christ, our only true faith“The faith of Orthodox Christians,” writes the monk Parthenius. At the same time, there were Turkish soldiers in the enfilades of buildings adjacent to the temple square. One of them, named Omir (Anwar), seeing what was happening, exclaimed: “One Orthodox faith, I am a Christian” and jumped down onto the stone slabs from a height of about 10 meters. However, the young man did not crash - the slabs under his feet melted like wax, imprinting his traces. For the adoption of Christianity, Muslims executed the brave Anwar and tried to scrape off the traces that so clearly testified to the triumph of Orthodoxy, but they failed, and those who come to the Temple can still see them, as well as the dissected column at the door of the temple. The body of the martyr was burned, but the Greeks collected the remains, which until late XIX centuries were in convent Great Panagia, exuding fragrance.

The Turkish authorities were very angry with the arrogant Armenians, and at first they even wanted to execute the hierarch, but later they had mercy and ordered him, as a warning about what happened at the Easter ceremony, to always follow Orthodox Patriarch and henceforth not take direct part in receiving the Holy Fire. Although the government has long since changed, the custom continues to this day. However, this was not the only attempt by Muslims who deny the Passion and Resurrection of the Lord to prevent the descent of the Holy Fire. Here is what the famous Islamic historian al-Biruni (IX-X centuries) writes: “...once the governor ordered to replace the wicks with copper wire, hoping that the lamps would not light up and the miracle itself would not happen. But then, when the fire died down, the copper caught fire.”

It is difficult to list all the numerous events that occur before and during the descent of the Holy Fire. However, one thing deserves special mention. Several times a day or immediately before the descent of the Holy Fire, icons or frescoes depicting the Savior began to stream myrrh in the Temple. This first happened on Good Friday in 1572. The first witnesses were two Frenchmen; a letter about this from one of them is kept in the Central Paris Library. Five months later, on August 24, Charles IX carried out the St. Bartholomew's Massacre in Paris. In 1939 on the night of good friday on Holy Saturday she began to lose myrrh again. Witnesses were several monks living at Jerusalem Monastery. Five months later, on September 1, 1939, II began world war. In 2001 it happened again. Christians did not see anything terrible in this... but the whole world knows about what happened on September 11 of this year in the USA - five months after the myrrh-streaming.

Over the years, different people Other names were also used for the miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire: Gracious Light, Sacred Light, miraculous Light, Grace.