Despite popular belief, the Holy Flame comes down not only on the eve of Easter. According to many, both ancient and modern testimonies, the appearance of the shrine can be observed in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher throughout the year.
This miracle dates back to the time of the Resurrection of Christ. The first witness of the convergence was the Apostle Peter. Having come running to the Tomb after the news of the Resurrection of the Savior, he, in addition to the burial shroud, saw an amazing light inside the Tomb of Christ. “Seeing this, Peter believed, he saw not only with sensual eyes, but also with a high apostolic mind: the coffin of light was filled, so that although it was night, he saw in two images: internally, sensually and mentally.” This is how Saint Gregory of Nyssa informs us about this.
The earliest written eyewitness testimony of the appearance of the Holy Fire on the Holy Sepulcher dates back to the 4th century and is preserved by the church historian Eusebius Pamphilus. One of the most ancient Russian descriptions of the descent of the Holy Fire belongs to Abbot Daniel, who visited the Holy Tomb in 1106-1107.
In 1099, Jerusalem was conquered by the Crusaders. The Latin patriarchs expelled the Orthodox from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The chronicler of the western church describes this time as follows: “Soon God's retribution struck: as early as 1101 on Holy Saturday, the miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire in Kuvuklia did not take place, until Eastern Christians were invited to participate in this rite”.
The most significant case took place in 1579. The Monophysite Armenians, contrary to tradition, through the Turkish Sultan managed to achieve single-handed acceptance of the Holy Fire. The Orthodox, together with Patriarch Sophronius IV, were removed not only from the Kuvuklia, but also from the Temple in general. Grieving, they remained to pray for the descent of the Fire at the closed gates of the Temple. The Armenian Patriarch prayed for about a day, but, despite his prayer efforts, no miracle followed. Suddenly there was a thunderbolt, the column at the entrance next to the Orthodox Patriarch split. Fiery bursts splashed in all directions and a candle was lit by the Orthodox Patriarch, who transmitted the Holy Fire to the co-religionists. This was the only time that the convergence took place outside the Temple.
However, this was not the only Muslim attempt 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 went down, the copper caught fire."
The Divine Service of the Holy Fire is performed by the Patriarch of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church or one of the bishops of the Jerusalem Patriarchate. Representatives of the Jerusalem Patriarchate of the Armenian Apostolic Church, as well as the Coptic and Syrian Churches are also taking part in receiving the shrine. Catholics do not participate at the descent of the Holy Fire, but they are present at the same time.
The capacity of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is up to 20 thousand people, the area around the Temple and the immediate vicinity of the Temple can accommodate about 50 thousand more people. On Great Saturday both the Temple and the square in front of the Temple and the immediate surroundings are filled with people awaiting the descent of the Holy Fire. So it was, according to the descriptions of Russian pilgrims, a hundred, and two hundred, and nine hundred years ago.
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