Lebanon Times Magazine has the guts to open this subject and discuss it in a fair & clear manner far from sectarianism or racism. It chooses to bring it up as an event in the news that is worthy of the front cover. We report it without commenting whether we are with or against it, thus preferring to leave it in the hands of spiritual leaders, and in those of both Faith and Science.
What encouraged us to report about it is the fact that our readership’s phone calls exceeded 100 calls requesting this topic, given our reputation of credibility and objectivity, to work on the subject of the Holy Fire that appears every year and only on Easter at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
On to the subject of the Holy Fire that appears every year in Jerusalem and the question that begs to be asked, what is going on with the eastern churches on Easter, in the other half of Earth? In particular, what is happening with the Orthodox faith at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem? And is it true that a light shines, transforms into fire, and then all the candles get instantly lit, even those being held in the hands of the faithful? Is it reality or fiction? And is it true that a great light emanates from the tomb of Jesus, peace be upon him, in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher?
But before we go into more details about this miracle, we would like to point out that it happens yearly on Light Saturday, which is that Saturday that precedes the Resurrection festivities as celebrated by the Eastern Orthodox Church, except that this year, Easter is celebrated at the same time by all Christian sects.
On Light Saturday, a great light emanates from the tomb of Jesus Christ, in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which ignites the candles of the church visitors in a wonderful manner that is worthy of watching, before transforming into a real fire.
Calling a miracle as such: On Saturday morning, and before the ceremony accompanying the light that shines out of the tomb starts, it is examined to rule out any human cause for the miracle. A thorough tomb examination starts at 10 AM and lasts for about 2 hours, conducted by Israeli policemen, who are not Christians but Jewish, and under the supervision of the Head of the Israeli police department and the Jewish mayor of the city as well.
And after it is determined that the holy tomb is void of any luminescent substance that could explain the miracle, a seal made of beeswax is affixed to the door of the tomb. The church patriarch is searched before he enters the tomb wearing a white pocketless robe and bare-handed. He even removes his head cover before entering and during searching, before the holy light starts to shine.
The holy light ceremony happens in 3 stages: prayer, glorification, and the bishop entering the holy tomb.
The Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem enters with the archbishops, clergymen, deacons, and the Armenian patriarch at around 11 AM.
The bells toll sadly until the patriarch enters and sits on the papal chair and is surrounded by Christian sects such as Orthodox Armenians and Copts. Then everyone stands in front of the tomb whose doors remain locked and sealed. The patriarch then enters after submitting to a search to ascertain he does not carry any source of light or fire on him. He removes his black clothing and dons white robes. The search is conducted in front of everybody by both the non-Christian governor of Jerusalem and the head of the police department. Then the patriarch enters the holy tomb, carrying a bundle of 33 candles tied together and not separated, to represent the age of Jesus, peace be upon him. This bundle has been present with the rest of the candles inside the church since 10 AM, under the eyes of the Jewish police and the people. Many hours had passed during which it had been closely examined and analyzed before the patriarch picked it up and took it inside the holy tomb. If those candles contained white phosphorus, as alleged by some, then how come they did not ignite during all these hours? These candles remain in the hands of the patriarch for 2 hours, so how did they not ignite during that time when the white phosphorus substance is well known to ignite within seconds or minutes of contact with air? Additionally, the Jewish police conduct extra analysis on the candles a few hours earlier, just in case.
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How Does the Holy Light Shine?
Inside the tomb, the Eastern Orthodox patriarch prays while kneeling down and asks the special requests to the Messiah Jesus, which is to send forth his Holy Light and to engulf the place with it. A deep silence settles while everyone awaits the light to shine through after the patriarch’s prayer.
The attendees then hear a whistling sound, then appears a blue and white lightning that splits the place, and seems as if it is made of a million pulsating photons that reflect on the walls and light up all the candles in there, including the ones carried by the patriarch. The attendees start to shout out and pray while tears of joy and faith roll down people’s cheeks for long minutes. The holy light does not have the attributes of fire for about 33 minutes, though it does light up the church’s candles, it still is just light that you can touch with your hand and let it shine on your body without any burn or harm. After 33 minutes, it transforms into fire with all its attributes, so you cannot touch it with your hand anymore.
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The History of the Holy Light’s Appearance
The first writing about the holy light in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was done in the fourth century, where the authors speak of instances where the light shone in the beginning of the first century AD, as recorded in the writings of St. John the Damascene and of St. Gregorios Al-Nissi. They talk about how the Messenger Peter saw the holy light at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher about a year after the resurrection of Jesus (PBUH), that is the year 34 AD. So all those saints, though from different places and different dates, unanimously agree that they had seen the Messenger Peter and that he witnessed the holy light.
In this issue, and for the occasion of Easter, which is the celebration of Resurrection, we wanted to shed some light on the miracle of the Holy Light that shines from the tomb of Jesus in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem after receiving all those phone calls from Lebanon Times Magazine’s readership. Some people think it is fiction and others think it is real. But anyone who has an iota of faith knows that if He orders the Mountain to move, it will move. The Messiah is resurrected…for real…So Happy Easter!
Whether in fiction or in reality, the news and happenings at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher will be spoken of at every Easter.
