Descent of the Holy Fire, how to get there? What you need to know about the Holy Fire How the Holy Fire appears

02.03.2024

How to make Holy Fire with your own hands

The miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire is apparently not a miracle

You will need:

concentrated sulfuric acid

potassium permanganate powder

candle

a piece of paper

Most of those who are lucky enough to see the Holy Fire consider it a divine miracle. They say that small lightning bolts appear inside the temple. After some time, the entire temple will be covered in such lightning. At the same time, candles of those standing in the temple and in the square begin to spontaneously ignite. The lamps, which are located on the sides of the Edicule, are also lit independently. The fire still burns in the altar of the Catholicon. At this moment, the doors of the tomb open and the Orthodox Patriarch comes out to the parishioners. He blesses them and distributes the Holy Fire.

Most doubting people are concerned with the question of how to make holy fire? Is it a miracle or a simple trick that only requires a few ingredients? According to the patriarchs themselves, when they saw something like this, they all unanimously said that it was a miracle of God. Really? For example, many people have been to concerts of pop stars, but you can see something different there. Thanks to special equipment, you can organize a grand show. Chemists have their own opinion on this matter, and they can explain this process without resorting to any invisible forces.

Those who saw the descent of the Holy Fire almost all unanimously believe that it was a miracle. They probably just haven’t encountered chemists who have their own well-founded opinion on this matter. What can move people so much, forcing them to travel hundreds or thousands of kilometers to watch such an action? It is difficult to answer this question. It lies in these people themselves. Having listened to the chemists, some of them would probably have changed their point of view. But they want to believe in a miracle. Well, that's their right.

To find out how the Holy Fire appears, it is best, as mentioned above, to turn to chemists. They say that such a fire can be started without much effort. A special slurry is made from concentrated sulfuric acid and potassium permanganate powder. It is better to do it in a glass container so that there is no contact with metals. And that's it, the secret is revealed! This paste is taken with a glass, plastic or ceramic stick and touched with it to any object that can burn: paper, cotton wool, a wick.

Well, now you can reveal the secret of how the Holy Fire is lit. It's quite simple. In order for candles to ignite spontaneously, you need to attach an invisible drop of mass to the wick. If your hands shake, the drop begins to roll down, where a small piece of paper is attached to the wick. This is what causes ignition. There are quite a lot of similar “marked” candles in the hall. This is how parishioners can witness a “chemical miracle.” And they can believe until the end of their days that this cannot happen without the hand of God.

Let us quote a work that has nothing to do with either Fomenko or Nosovsky, namely “The Book of My Genesis” by Bishop Porfiry Uspensky.

Bishop Porfiry Uspensky in the 19th century. at the call of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, he was sent from the sovereign and from the Synod to the East to inspect and describe the circumstances of the Greek Church. In the preface to the first volume of the diaries of Bishop Porfiry Uspensky, on behalf of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, the following is said: “It can be said with complete certainty that not one of the subsequent representatives of Russia in Syria and Palestine became acquainted with these countries personally, through observations and visits, in such detail and detail , as archimandrite (ordained bishop in 1865) Porfiry” (p. 10). This, as he is called, the most truthful bishop, observing everything among the Greeks, wrote the following:

“The hierodeacon, having climbed into the chapel of the Sepulcher at the time when, according to general belief, the Holy Fire descends, saw with horror that the fire was lit simply from a lamp that never goes out, and so the Holy Fire is not a miracle. He himself told me about this today” (“The Book of My Genesis: Diaries and Notes of Bishop Porfiry Uspensky”, vol. 1, 1841-1844, p. 671).

“In that year, when the famous lord of Syria and Palestine Ibrahim, Pasha of Egypt, was in Jerusalem, it turned out that the fire received from the Holy Sepulcher on Holy Saturday was not the Holy Fire, but an incendiary one, just as any fire is kindled. This Pasha decided to make sure whether the fire really suddenly and miraculously appeared on the lid of the Tomb of Christ or was lit by a sulfur match. What did he do? He announced to the patriarch’s governors that he was pleased to sit in the edicule itself while receiving the fire and vigilantly watch how he appeared, and added that in the case of the truth they would be given 5,000 pungs (2.5 million piastres), and in the case of a lie, let them they will give him all the money collected from the deceived fans, and that he will publish in all the newspapers of Europe about the vile forgery.

The governors, Metropolitan Misail of Petro-Arabia, Metropolitan Daniel of Nazareth, and Bishop Dionysius of Philadelphia (present-day Bethlehem) came together to consult what to do. During the minutes of deliberation, Misail admitted that he was lighting a fire in a cuvuklia from a lamp hidden behind a moving marble icon of the Resurrection of Christ, which is near the Holy Sepulcher. After this confession, it was decided to humbly ask Ibrahim not to interfere in religious affairs. And the dragoman of the Holy Sepulcher monastery was sent to him, who pointed out to him that there was no benefit for his lordship to reveal the secrets of Christian worship and that the Russian Emperor Nicholas (I) would be very dissatisfied with the discovery of these sacraments.

Ibrahim Pasha, having heard this, waved his hand and fell silent. But from that time on, the Holy Sepulcher clergy no longer believed in the miraculous appearance of fire.

Having told all this, the Metropolitan said that God alone is expected to stop (our) pious lies. As He knows and is able, He will enlighten and calm the peoples who now believe in the fiery miracle of Holy Saturday. But we cannot even begin this revolution in minds; we will be torn to pieces right at the chapel of the Holy Sepulchre. “We,” he continued, “notified Patriarch Athanasius, who then lived in Constantinople, about Ibrahim Pasha’s harassment, but in our message to him we wrote “sacred fire” instead of “holy fire.” Surprised by this change, the most blessed elder asked us: “Why did you start calling the holy fire differently?” We revealed to him the real truth, but added that the fire lit on the Holy Sepulcher from a hidden lamp is still sacred fire, received from a sacred place.” (“The Book of My Genesis”, vol. 3, 1846-1849 and part of 1850; publication of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, 1896, p. 299).

In 1884, one of the zealous followers of the dominant Church, A.I., visited Palestine. Eliseev and left a detailed description, published in St. Petersburg in 1885 as a separate book entitled “With Russian Pilgrims in the Holy Land in the Spring of 1884.”

A.V. Eliseev writes: “The Temple presents a sad, sad, nasty sight during the distribution of the sacred fire, when one has to see in the Church of the Resurrection at the Holy Sepulcher such scenes that are decent only in marketplaces and markets among drunk people. Despite, however, all its dark sides, the ritual of bringing down the sacred fire (no matter what the latter is determined by) makes a terribly amazing impression even on an intelligent person, not just on a crowd of such fanatics in religion as pilgrims or, especially, Orthodox natives of Palestine . Having seen and felt all the details of this rite, I fully agree with one venerable clergyman who expressed himself about the distribution of heavenly fire on Holy Saturday as follows: “This rite constitutes the prestige of the Greek Patriarchate of Jerusalem; it serves as one of those powerful means by which Orthodoxy is still supported in the Holy Land; whatever the reason for the bringing down of the fire, whatever meaning it may take on over time, the Patriarch of Jerusalem must retain this rite for himself as a sacred ordeal of the Jerusalem patriarchal throne... Oh, how much would Catholics agree to give for the right to bring down fire from heaven, which was sanctified for the Greeks by the customs of centuries? While agreeing with the first part of the above saying, I cannot agree with the second and, seeing that profanation of the holiness of the temple during the performance of this rite, I would welcome with great joy the desire of the real Patriarch of Jerusalem, if not to completely destroy this rite, then to arrange it differently so that it does not made an impression only with its theatricality and those terrible pictures of fighting, screaming and confusion due to the possession of the sacred fire - a truly amazing spectacle, unique in the world...

Needless to say, faith in heavenly fire is great not only among the Orthodox natives of Palestine, but also among Russian pilgrims, although I cannot hide the fact that doubt is already beginning to creep into these latter, which they try to drive away, but which involuntarily sits in their head, like many others during their pilgrimage. True, the vast majority believe, supposedly from personal experience, that in the first minute the resulting sacred fire does not even burn, and receives its scorching power only after some burning on a candle, but many do not hesitate to express their doubts that the heavenly fire seems to them too earthly” (pp. 290-291).

Eliseev involuntarily expressed what was boiling in his soul, and in another place in his book he says: “Put a simple pilgrim in my place. Perhaps he will not notice everything, but what he understands will be deeply etched in his heart, which is still tabulam rasam, as psychologists say; and if he, having already once emerged from the rut of blissful ignorance, continues to involuntarily notice and observe, then a whole kaleidoscope of such ideas and impressions will appear in his heart that will force him to flee Palestine. And there are many such fugitive pilgrims in the Holy Land; Anyone who is able to think a little and deliberately, not to close his eyes to the pricking reality, will see the light sooner or later, see everything that modern Jerusalem represents, and then flee from there to Russia, so as not to lose much of his religious convictions, not to break his cherished from the youthful nails of ideals, not to see or touch what he could not even think about before... Ask any pilgrim who returned from Palestine and lived there for a while, and he will tell you one or two names of admirers who could not endure their cross and those who fled Palestine... I will give only two of the most prominent ones.

With me, one middle-class merchant from Moscow, having arrived in Jerusalem in the sixth week of Lent, barely had time to examine the shrines of Davydov’s tomb, when he suddenly decided to go back on Passion Street, motivating his decision by running away from here as soon as possible and not seeing everything on holy days what he had already seen in a few days. “I’m afraid of losing faith,” he said. “Even now I can’t believe as much as I believed before.” Let Easter find me better on the way than among the Greeks, who treat Christ with faith as if they were empty sounds.”... The poor fellow did not even wait to receive the sacred fire, hurrying to board the ship bound for Russia. With me this year, a general’s wife came with the goal of doing good and giving alms... She didn’t even live on Russian buildings, so as not to embarrass others. She arrived in the fifth week of Lent and, having barely spent the sixth and Holy Week in Jerusalem, she fled literally on the first day of Easter to Jaffa. “What haven’t I seen enough of there! - she said. - What I saw exceeded all my expectations; I didn’t believe what they told me, and I saw ten times more... but almost nothing but ugliness... God is their judge, but my heart no longer lies as much towards Jerusalem as before; it does not burn with faith and love at the mere idea of the Gorniy Grad, at the mere sound of its sacred name. For me it now seems like a place where earthly aspirations reign too much.” This is what the gray-haired pilgrim told me, saying goodbye to Jerusalem.

Perhaps they will tell me that these are intellectuals who are fleeing, who with an a priori idea are going to Jerusalem? Without an a priori idea of Jerusalem as a city stained with the blood of the Crucified One, where every step reminds of Christ, where all believers in the Crucified One must direct their thoughts to the cross, in fact, none of the pilgrims goes to Palestine; but you ask the consulate, and from its many years of practice it will answer that even ordinary pilgrims sometimes flee from Jerusalem just before Easter, embarrassed by what they saw in the Church of the Resurrection. Today, however, I did not know a single simple worshiper who would flee before Easter, but I can cite a whole dozen of them who, after the ugly scene of bringing down and distributing the Holy Fire, repented of going to the Church of the Resurrection for all services of Holy and Easter weeks, defending them at home at the construction site and visiting the Church of the Holy Sepulcher only when saying goodbye to it, for the vast majority - forever.

I think that everything that has been said is too much and more than enough to confirm what I began with my mournful story about the spiritual needs of our pilgrim. If this latter is sometimes forced to flee from Jerusalem, as his inner conviction tells him, then, it seems to me, such a pilgrimage can only bring negative benefits to both the pilgrim himself and the environment from which he came. But even let the pilgrim close his eyes (although he cannot do this) and remember only the goal for which he raised his toiling cross. Let him not see and not notice the abominations being committed in the holy place, let him in sacred awe see the one Heavenly Jerusalem and the ideal servants of the Temple of the Lord, and then ask yourself: will our Russian pilgrim in the Holy Land even now be satisfied from the point of view of his religious needs, would he not wish for something else, so that his worship of Him Crucified on His Tomb would be more complete and more in accordance with his mood? (pp. 216-217).

So, it turns out that if you believe the official of the Russian Church, Bishop Porfiry Uspensky, sent from the sovereign and from the Synod to Jerusalem “to check”, then the fire called today “graceful” is man-made. Moreover, at first it was called “holy”, then the monks, admitting to the forgery, declared it “sacred”, but now the name has been simplified even more, “reducing the measure of holiness”, and the fire is now called “simply” “blessed”... What can you do? add to this story, besides the fact that everything secret always becomes clear?

In Christianity there are enough real, miraculous miracles in which a pattern of a higher order is manifested. A miracle in Christianity always has a deep moral meaning, because it directs a person’s consciousness and will to a higher goal. The direction of a miracle towards good, towards a higher goal, distinguishes true miracles from false ones. It is a pity that the “Holy Fire” as a “miracle” was a religious temptation to strengthen faith and manifested itself in the pursuit of overly zealous representatives of the Church for external effect.

Stepan Molot

According to Evgeniy Barsukov, candidate of chemical sciences, the miracle is easily explained: “The “cold” ignition itself is quite simple. The chemistry here is different. Many esters of organic and inorganic acids have cold fire. In particular, one of these esters (ethyl ester of boric acid) easy to get at home.

The ester of boric acid burns with a very voluminous, slightly greenish flame, which not only does not burn, but does not even heat noticeably; you can calmly hold your hand in it.

By the way, this method of producing a cold flame has something in common with the “descent of fire” in that after the boric acid ester has completely burned out, the alcohol can begin to burn, and its flame really burns.”

“Sulfuric acid is the most ancient achievement of chemistry, and methods of its extraction were known long before the word “chemistry” even appeared,” continues Evgeniy Barsukov. “The first descriptions of the production of sulfuric acid by the decomposition of minerals containing iron sulfate were found among the ancient Egyptians. Gold-plated products , the only method of production of which was the use of aqua regia (a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids), were widely used in Greek and Roman civilization.Both acids (nitric and hydrochloric) until the last century were obtained only by the action of sulfuric acid on their salts - saltpeter and table salt, accordingly.So the wide availability of sulfuric acid long before the first knowledge of the sacred fire is a well-known fact.

By the way, let’s talk about the availability of concentrated sulfuric acid. The method used by alchemists for producing sulfuric acid by decomposing iron sulfate actually produces concentrated acid, since it first produces oleum (a solution of S03 in H2S04), which is then diluted with water. Nitric and hydrochloric acids were prepared in a similar way for aqua regia, which was used for gilding dishes by the ancient Greeks. Dilute acid is useless for these purposes.

Now about the fireball:

As I already said, the simplest equipment available in every kitchen is required to obtain ether. Its use does not require any equipment. For example, to get a fireball, it is enough to wet your clothes with the previously obtained ether, wait a while for it to evaporate, and light it. The burning cloud of ether (which itself is heavier than air) will move with the wind exactly as shown in the photographs of the descent of Fire.

Various aromatic essential oils have been able to be isolated from plants using the cold enfleurage method since ancient times. The concentration of the substance increases thousands of times, resulting in a very compact product. Diptame oil burns with a bluish-red fire. Many substances are characterized by a bright yellow flame. Mixed with other oils, incl. with a regular lamp, the color of the flame can turn out to be anything you want. Blue, yellow, red - the entire color spectrum is covered. As you know, essential oil can spontaneously combust and burn with non-burning fire in the open air.

Simple lamp oil (vaseline, which is sold in church shops) cannot burn without a wick. And with the addition of volatile aromatic oils - maybe. This is the difference between flammable and flammable liquids. The flame can run along a thin strip of gasoline spilled on asphalt or concrete - no wicks are required in this case, because the liquid is quite volatile. It is not the liquid that burns, but the vapor of the liquid above it.

In our case, at first the essential oil will predominantly evaporate and burn; As it decreases, the Vaseline will begin to evaporate and burn, the flame will become hot.

Another option is to spray heated diptame oil (from a spray bottle) from above. The liquid does not burn without oxygen, and when it enters the air, the droplets evaporate, ignite (on their own, without ignition!) and fall down. (All three processes occur simultaneously.) An exact hit on the lamp is not required - there is a “fire hazardous” atmosphere around it. If the lamp is filled with the appropriate mixture of oils.

It's time to talk about the miracle itself.

Christians claim that the fire descends from the moment of the resurrection until now, but they usually do not bother to think about how this happened while the grave was under the pagan temple. Still, it is worth studying the testimonies of Christians in their historical sequence. As an evolutionist, I was pleased to learn that the miracle was constantly evolving in accordance with the laws of nature and scientific and technical progress.

Until the end of the tenth century, the fire was limited to one candle, then several candles began to spontaneously ignite, but the miracle was hidden in the Edicule, out of sight. Time passed, and in 1724-41 the first evidence of the non-burning properties of fire appeared. Around the same time, the color of the fire changed (bright red, like cinnabar), to bluish, and the fire came not as a simple combustion, but as numerous beads of fire on cotton wool, carefully laid out throughout the tombstone. Although sometimes a miracle happens in the old, proven way. From the moment photography appeared, we began to encounter mass evidence of a lot of lightning, glows, and fireballs during a miracle.

And what else can we expect from the stories of people who saw a miracle in a semi-fainting state, exhausted by fasting, waiting for many hours (about 2 dozen hours) without sleep and normal food, peering into the darkness and a sudden change from a state of inhibition to a state of religious excitement?

I will give excerpts from two testimonies.

“At that moment I received a blow to the head - as it turned out later, with a previously broken bottle, and this broken part of the bottle pierced my head. Lightning flashed before my eyes, then a glow appeared, similar to that which was during the descent of the Holy Fire over the Church of the Holy Sepulcher "The nightmare has begun."

“Yes, we were in the temple; I saw flashes of light, like lightning, but did not understand that it was the Holy Fire, I mistook them for camera flashes. I once saw how everything under the dome was illuminated with light, and only then I realized that under the dome the lamps themselves lit up. And the people who stood on the balconies, their candles also lit themselves from the blessed flashes, from the flashes of the blessed fire. It was all so fast that I did not understand that this was all. His Holiness the Patriarch transmitted the Holy Fire, in just a few seconds we received it, our candles were lit from this fire, and I even thought: is this really all?

And I think: what is this? I do not get it. And then they explained to me that the lamps under the dome lit up by themselves. (...)

But the blessed light seemed to come from below from the edicule. The light came from bottom to top. This was before His Holiness the Patriarch began to transmit fire from the edicule.

When His Holiness the Patriarch entered the edicule, flashes appeared. They are so instant, I thought they were flashbulbs. But I didn’t see any lightning, only flashes.

My husband took pictures of the weight with a camera. I photographed everything.

It is a pity that despite the mass visions and mass filming of the miracle on the Internet, there is unexpectedly little documentary evidence of such phenomena, and what is there seems to be a stupid joke on the part of Christians.

The ester of boric acid burns with a very voluminous, slightly greenish flame, which not only does not burn, but does not even heat noticeably; you can calmly hold your hand in it.

The combustion temperature is not a fixed value; it depends on the concentration of ether in the air and heat exchange conditions. In describing an experiment that can be done at home, I gave a method to see the very fact of non-burning fire, where the amount of ether is very small. If concentrated ether is used, the temperature can be much higher

Yes, that’s exactly or almost exactly how he expressed his opinion about the Holy Fire in Jerusalem, the miracle of whose descent is expected by the Orthodox world every year. More precisely, not about this fire itself, but about the source of its origin.

When the Greek Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilus, in a conversation with pilgrims from Russia, among whom was Deacon Andrei Kuraev, refuted the version of the miraculous self-ignition of the lamp in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, stating that the Holy Fire “... is not an annual miracle, but only a reminder of the light, who appeared at the Resurrection of Christ." Deacon Andrei Kuraev commented on the words of Patriarch Theophilus in the following way: “He probably could not have spoken more frankly about the lighter in his pocket.”

And the so-called Holy Fire is the work of human hands, not God.

Here's the link

Instructions for obtaining permission to air transport the Holy Fire in a safe Davy lamp

For safe air transportation of the Holy Fire, passengers must use a miner's lamp specially designed for this purpose, known in the world as a Davy safety lamp manufactured by E. Thomas & Williams, Ltd. Cambrian Safety Lamp Manufactory, Aberdare, South Wales ART 5400 . The company was founded in 1860 and has a long history of creating and producing Miner's Safety Lamps. The main design feature of this lamp is the presence of a fire-retardant mesh and a hook for controlling the wick- the lamp can be extinguished without disassembling if you pull the lamp wick down using the hook. You can also use a crochet hook to adjust the flame height. The lamp's burning time can range from 15 to 30 hours, depending on the height of the flame and the fuel used.

Set of documents for approval of transportation:
- 1. Description of the Davy lamp for the Federal Air Transport Agency.pdf
- 2. Sample request for transportation of fire in a Davy lamp 2014-04-02.pdf
- 3. Sample approval for the transportation of fire by the Federal Air Transport Agency of the Federal Air Transport Agency 2014-04-11.pdf
- 4. Technical instructions for the safe transport of dangerous goods by air (Doc 9284 AN905 supplement) 2012.pdf

To obtain permission to transport the Holy Fire in the cabin on S7 Airlines flights, passengers must no later than a month before departure:
Send an official request to the airline by email [email protected] indicating full name passenger, departure date and flight number, as well as a technical description of the ART 5400 lamp for air transportation of the Holy Fire.
Receive official approval from the airline for transporting the Holy Fire in the aircraft cabin on a specific S7 Airlines flight and provide it at the departure airport.
In addition, for each transportation it is necessary to obtain approval from the Federal Air Transport Agency of the Federal Air Transport Agency. Email: [email protected]

In addition to the Holy Fire, which is transported annually for the Easter holiday, S7 Airlines transported the Flame of the 2014 Winter Olympics, the Flame of the Universiade in Kazan and the Eternal Flame for the 70th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.

Appendix to approval
Federal Air Transport Agency for transportation
Holy Fire in the Devi lamp
according to the “Technical instructions
on the safe transportation of dangerous goods by
air" (Doc 9284 AN/905 supplement)

Davy Safety Mining Lamp manufactured by E. Thomas & Williams, Ltd. Cambrian Safety Lamp Manufactory, Aberdare, South Wales ART 5400 with the following specifications:
Lamp height: 260 mm
Lamp continuous burning time: 15-20 hours
Kerosene/paraffin oil container: 100ml
Complies with the Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air (Doc 9284 AN/905 Supplement).
A design feature of the lamp is the presence of a fire-barrier mesh. The lamp can be extinguished without disassembling using the wick control hook.

During transportation of the lamp, the following requirements must be met:
– during transportation, a Davy lamp filled with paraffin oil or kerosene will be used (UN number: 1223)
– the lamp will contain fuel in an amount no greater than necessary for the duration of the flight;
– the lamp will be securely fastened;
– on board the aircraft the lamp will be under constant supervision of an accompanying person and a member of the cabin crew (flight attendant);
– the lamp will not be refueled on board the aircraft;
– in the event of a lamp overturning and its contents catching fire, an accompanying person or crew member will immediately use a fire extinguisher to extinguish the open fire;
– in the event of an emergency, the crew must act in accordance with the requirements set out in the operator’s operating procedures and the current ICAO document “Instructions on emergency procedures in the event of incidents involving dangerous goods on aircraft” (Doc 9481 AN/928);
– aviation security and passenger transportation services at the airport of departure, transit and destination must be informed in advance.

The miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire is apparently not a miracle

You will need:

concentrated sulfuric acid

potassium permanganate powder

candle

a piece of paper

Let us quote a work that has nothing to do with either Fomenko or Nosovsky, namely “The Book of My Genesis” by Bishop Porfiry Uspensky.

Ibrahim Pasha, having heard this, waved his hand and fell silent. But from that time on, the Holy Sepulcher clergy no longer believed in the miraculous appearance of fire.

Stepan Molot

The ester of boric acid burns with a very voluminous, slightly greenish flame, which not only does not burn, but does not even heat noticeably; you can calmly hold your hand in it.

Now about the fireball:

In our case, at first the essential oil will predominantly evaporate and burn; As it decreases, the Vaseline will begin to evaporate and burn, the flame will become hot.

It's time to talk about the miracle itself.

I will give excerpts from two testimonies.

And I think: what is this? I do not get it. And then they explained to me that the lamps under the dome lit up by themselves. (...)

But the blessed light seemed to come from below from the edicule. The light came from bottom to top. This was before His Holiness the Patriarch began to transmit fire from the edicule.

When His Holiness the Patriarch entered the edicule, flashes appeared. They are so instant, I thought they were flashbulbs. But I didn’t see any lightning, only flashes.

My husband took pictures of the weight with a camera. I photographed everything.

The ester of boric acid burns with a very voluminous, slightly greenish flame, which not only does not burn, but does not even heat noticeably; you can calmly hold your hand in it.

Yes, that’s exactly or almost exactly how he expressed his opinion about the Holy Fire in Jerusalem, the miracle of whose descent is expected by the Orthodox world every year. More precisely, not about this fire itself, but about the source of its origin.

When the Greek Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilus, in a conversation with pilgrims from Russia, among whom was Deacon Andrei Kuraev, refuted the version of the miraculous self-ignition of the lamp in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, stating that the Holy Fire “... is not an annual miracle, but only a reminder of the light, who appeared at the Resurrection of Christ." Deacon Andrei Kuraev commented on the words of Patriarch Theophilus in the following way: “He probably could not have spoken more frankly about the lighter in his pocket.”
And the so-called Holy Fire is the work of human hands, not God.

Here's the link

Where can you get a particle of the Holy Fire.

06.04.2007 00:00

Today, on Good Friday, a delegation from Russia will fly to Jerusalem to pray for the establishment of peace in the Holy Land and to deliver the Holy Fire to Moscow by Easter. Every year it is lit on Holy Saturday in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The delegation will be headed by the chairman of the FAP board of trustees, the president of Russian Railways OJSC Vladimir Yakunin and the vicar of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', Bishop Ambrose of Bronnitsky. It will also include Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Zhukov, Minister of Culture and Mass Communications Alexander Sokolov, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Alexander Torshin, Director of the Hermitage Mikhail Piotrovsky, President of the Republic of Mari El Leonid Markelov, First Deputy Head of the Duma faction “United Russia” Valery Bogomolov, FAP President Senator Sergei Shcheblygin. In 1106-1108, the Chernigov abbot Daniel visited holy places and left the first description of what he saw, including a miracle...

Where can I get a particle of the Holy Fire?
Good Friday delegation of religious, government and public
Russian leaders will go to Jerusalem to pray for the establishment
peace in the Holy Land and deliver the Holy Fire to Moscow by Easter,
which is lit annually on Holy Saturday in the Jerusalem Temple
Holy Sepulcher. As RIA Novosti was told by the Andrei Foundation
First-Called (FAP), who has been organizing an event on Easter Eve for the seventh year now
“Ask for peace for Jerusalem”, the delegation is led by the chairman
FAP Board of Trustees, President of JSC Russian Railways Vladimir Yakunin and
Acting Administrator of the Moscow Patriarchate
Archbishop of Saransk and Mordovian Barsanuphius. Part
The delegation included, in particular, the President of the Republic of Mari El Leonid
Markelov, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Svetlana Orlova,
First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional
legislation Valery...

On Good Friday, a delegation of religious, state and public figures from Russia will go to Jerusalem to pray for the establishment of peace in the Holy Land and to deliver the Holy Fire to Moscow by Easter, which is lit annually on Holy Saturday in the Jerusalem Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
As reported to RIA Novosti by the St. Andrew the First-Called Foundation (FAP), which has been organizing the “Ask for Peace for Jerusalem” campaign on Easter Eve for the seventh year now, the delegation is headed by the Chairman of the FAP Board of Trustees, President of JSC Russian Railways Vladimir Yakunin and the Acting Administrator of the Moscow Patriarchate, Archbishop of Saransk and Mordovia Barsanuphius .
The delegation included, in particular, the President of the Republic of Mari El Leonid Markelov, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Svetlana Orlova, First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation Valery Fedorov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Public Associations and Religious Organizations Sergei...

The Jerusalem candle is a spiritual gift. This is a consecrated item that is kept along with household shrines. How to light Jerusalem candles? On what holidays can this be done?

Orthodox Christians who receive them as a gift often do not know what they are for. Jerusalem candles carry a particle of the Holy Fire. But there are some restrictions on their use.

Where do Jerusalem candles come from?

The Jerusalem candle is a torch made of 33 candles. Their number corresponds to the lived earthly years of Jesus Christ. On the eve of Easter, on Holy Saturday, the descent of the Holy Fire occurs. In the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (Jerusalem) a special service is held, at the end of which the clergy bring out the Holy Light (or Holy Fire). It symbolizes the resurrection of the Savior.

According to legend, if the Holy Fire does not descend on this day, then the Apocalypse will come, the end of the world and the temple will be destroyed.

Every year thousands of pilgrims...

A particle of the Holy Fire was delivered to Moscow from Jerusalem

Source: religio.ru

A particle of the Holy Fire was delivered to Moscow from Jerusalem.

A special plane carrying the so-called “Olympic lantern” with a particle landed at the capital’s Vnukovo airport at 22:49 Moscow time. Here the Holy Fire was met by dozens of believers, representatives of the dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church, parishes in Moscow and the Moscow region. They were joined by some of those who were at the airport at that time, meeting their family and friends.

It is expected that in a few minutes a particle of fire will be sent to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, where the night Easter service begins. The delegation of the St. Andrew the First-Called Foundation, which brought a particle of the Holy Fire, is headed by the chairman of its board of trustees, the president of the Russian Railways company, Vladimir Yakunin, and Bishop Savva of Voskresensky, vicar of the Moscow diocese, vicar of the Novospassky stauropegial male...

Our correspondent Elena Chinkova reports from Jerusalem

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where the Holy Fire traditionally descends, was packed to capacity this morning, however, people kept coming and coming, fighting with the police, and it should be noted that the Israeli police are acting very harshly, both with alleged provocateurs, so with...

On Holy Saturday, on the eve of the Orthodox holiday of the Holy Resurrection of Christ, which in 2012 is celebrated on April 15, thousands of Christians from all over the world will come to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem to witness the great miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire.

The descent of the Holy Fire usually occurs between 13 and 15 hours Jerusalem time. Then, on special flights, the Fire is delivered to Cyprus and Greece, from where it is distributed throughout the world. Recently, direct participants in the events began to bring the Holy Fire to Russia.

This year, a particle of the Holy Light will be delivered to Moscow by a special flight from the Russian delegation of the St. Andrew the First-Called Foundation. Everyone will be able to receive a particle of the Holy Fire at Vnukovo-1 airport, where the plane from the Holy Land will land approximately at 22.30 Moscow time.

In addition, a particle of Fire can be obtained throughout the next week (Bright Week) in the Andrey Foundation building...

On April 14, the Holy Fire descended in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. Together with tens of thousands of believers, the delegation of the St. Andrew the First-Called Foundation (FAP), led by the chairman of the FAP board of trustees, Vladimir Yakunin, and Bishop Savva of the Resurrection, also received a piece of the flame. A particle of the sacred flame in a special lamp will be taken on a special flight to Moscow and from there delivered to the Easter patriarchal service in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. As the Interfax-Religion portal was told in the FAP press center, the delegation will meet at 22:30 at Vnukovo-1 airport, where it will be possible to receive a particle of fire.

Tens of thousands of pilgrims gathered on April 14 in the Old City of Jerusalem in anticipation of the descent of the Holy Fire in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. As the press secretary of the Israeli police, Alex Kagalsky, told the ITAR-TASS agency, public order in the Old City, in the temple and on the surrounding streets is guarded by thousands of police officers. By the way, they also strictly ensure that...

Today the Holy Fire descended in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. Together with tens of thousands of believers, the delegation of the St. Andrew the First-Called Foundation (FAP), headed by the chairman of the FAP board of trustees, Vladimir Yakunin, and Bishop Savva of the Resurrection, also received a piece of the flame. A particle of the sacred flame in a special lamp will be taken on a special flight to Moscow and from there delivered to the Easter patriarchal service in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. As the Interfax-Religion portal was told in the FAP press center, the delegation will meet at 22:30 at Vnukovo-1 airport, where it will be possible to receive a particle of fire.
The day before, tens of thousands of pilgrims gathered today in the Old City of Jerusalem in anticipation of the descent of the Holy Fire in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. As the press secretary of the Israeli police, Alex Kagalsky, told the ITAR-TASS agency, public order in the Old City, in the temple and on the surrounding streets is guarded by thousands of police officers. By the way, they also strictly ensure that...

Easter will come on April 24th. The culmination of the main Christian holiday will be the descent of the Holy Fire in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Disputes will arise again about what the miraculous fire is, how to explain its occurrence? Atheists are convinced that this is just a hoax. Believers, on the contrary, think that this is a real miracle. Who is right?

Strange discharge

Quite recently, a report appeared in the press that a Russian physicist, an employee of the Russian Research Center “Kurchatov Institute” Andrei Volkov last year attended the ceremony of the descent of the Holy Fire and secretly made some measurements.

According to Volkov, a few minutes before the removal of the Holy Fire from the Edicule (the chapel where the miraculous fire lights up), a device recording the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation detected a strange long-wave pulse in the temple, which no longer appeared. That is, an electrical discharge occurred.

The physicist came to Jerusalem as an assistant to one of the film crews...

JERUSALEM, April 13 – RIA Novosti. The head of the board of trustees of the St. Andrew the First-Called Foundation (FAP), President of JSC Russian Railways Vladimir Yakunin spoke about the specifics of bringing the Holy Fire to Russia.

Yakunin arrived in Jerusalem on Good Friday at the head of a delegation that, as part of the FAP program “Ask Peace for Jerusalem,” will deliver the Holy Fire from the Jerusalem Church of the Holy Sepulcher to Moscow for Easter.

“Carrying open fire on an airplane is prohibited. And due to pressure changes in an ordinary lamp, the light goes out. Therefore, a special vessel was needed, and initially it was found and rented from NASA, and now ours are already making it. On the plane, fire flies next to me,” said the head of the board of trustees.

In order not to be late in handing over the fire to the patriarch on Easter night in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the FAP delegation immediately after its appearance in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher goes to the airport. The travel time from Moscow Vnukovo-1 airport to the temple is also of great importance. "Once…

The Holy Fire will be brought on April 12 at approximately one in the morning to the Annunciation Cathedral. Anyone can take a piece of the Holy Fire there.

Every year, since 2004, the shrine is brought to the center of the Black Earth Region as part of the “Holy Fire in Everyone’s Heart” project. This year, the rector of the Kazan Church of Voronezh, Archpriest Grigory Samoilov, will go after the fire.

It is most convenient to carry the Holy Fire in a closed lamp, the design of which does not allow the flame to go out, even if the vessel is dropped or turned over.

Icon lamps will be sold in all churches. As Metropolitan Sergius of Voronezh and Liskin noted during a press conference in March, the diocese has already purchased enough lamps this year. So this product will not be in short supply in church stores. If you believe the prices listed in online stores, the cost of the lamp varies from 150 to 800 rubles, depending on the model.

The diocese notes that it is not necessary to stand in line for...

The morning of Holy Saturday in Jerusalem turned out to be truly hot. The April sun was scorching, and the situation itself was very nervous and at the same time excitingly solemn, because several days before, thousands of pilgrims from many parts of the world had gathered in the heart of Israel.

Including here I met almost the entire Russian-speaking former Soviet Union. Among the Russian delegation of the St. Andrew the First-Called Foundation there are pilgrims with very recognizable faces: political scientist Vyacheslav Nikonov, rector of the Moscow Conservatory and former Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Alexander Sokolov and TV presenter Andrei Malakhov.

True, on the contrary...

JERUSALEM, April 11 - RIA Novosti, Olga Lipich. The Holy Fire lit up in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, Patriarch Theophilus III of Jerusalem handed it over to those gathered in the temple, including the delegation of the St. Andrew the First-Called Foundation (FAP), which will deliver the shrine in special lamps on a special flight to Moscow.

The Holy Fire symbolizes the miraculous light of the Resurrection of Christ, which the Apostle Peter spoke about, and is considered a shrine for believers. Its appearance on the eve of Orthodox Easter, through the prayers of the Orthodox patriarch, clergy and thousands of pilgrims, despite its regularity, is called the “miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire.”

Before the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilus, wearing only a cassock, entered the Edicule (the most sacred place - the chapel above the stone bed of the Holy Sepulcher in the Jerusalem temple of the same name), where he prayed for the descent of the Holy Fire, all the candles and lamps in the temple were extinguished. According to the ancient ceremony, before entering the Edicule, the robes of Patriarch Theophilus III and herself...

At Moscow's Vnukovo airport they are preparing to welcome a particle of the Holy Fire from Jerusalem, which will be delivered by a special plane. According to tradition, two lamps will be lit from the brought particle in the air harbor, one of them will be immediately sent to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, and everyone who wants to will be able to receive a light from the second.

The delegation of the St. Andrew the First-Called Foundation, which will bring a particle of the Holy Fire, is headed by the president of the Russian Railways company, Vladimir Yakunin, and Bishop Savva of the Resurrection, vicar of the Moscow diocese, abbot of the Novospassky Stavropegic Monastery, ITAR-TASS reports.

According to representatives of the press service...

It is generally accepted that only people who adhere to the relevant beliefs believe in the existence of religious miracles. Moreover, the phenomenon of such a miracle as the Holy Fire cannot be explained by any skeptic, no matter what arguments he tries.

What is the Holy Fire?

This amazing phenomenon has been studied more than once by scientific and religious leaders, who could not find at least evidence of the natural origin of the phenomenon called “the descent of the Holy Fire.” It includes:

Ceremony of preparation for the appearance of the flame. There is a special ritual, without which the main event of Holy Saturday will not take place and the celebration will be ruined.
Checking the Patriarch and his entry into the temple. From this moment on, the international broadcast of the ceremony by television channels begins.
The appearance of the Holy Fire and its transfer to other clergy.
The beginning of the first celebrations in honor.

How does the Holy Fire appear?

The process of the appearance of flames itself deserves special attention. At approximately 10 o'clock in the morning, a religious procession headed by the Patriarch and the highest ranks of the clergy begins to move towards the Jerusalem Orthodox Church. After they come close to the Edicule (Chapel of the Holy Sepulcher), events begin to develop as follows:

So that believers do not have doubts about where the Holy Fire comes from, the Patriarch undresses and remains in only a white cassock, under which nothing can be carried.
He is examined by representatives of the Turkish and Israeli police, according to a tradition that has existed since the 14th century.
The Patriarch approaches the entrance to the Edicule along with similar ranks from the Armenian, Coptic and Syrian Apostolic Churches. They will be the first to see the Holy Fire after the Patriarch.
The doors of the chapel are closed, and the believers are left waiting for a miracle outside the doors.

How does the Holy Fire descend?

After the Patriarch and priests remain behind the first doors of the Edicule, they appear in front of the room with the Tomb of Christ. The Metropolitan of Jerusalem will enter it alone, but a representative of the Armenian Church will stand a few steps away from him. The descent of the Holy Fire occurs in several stages:

The Patriarch begins prayers praising Jesus Christ.
Turning to God can take several hours or several minutes.
Lights flash on the stone slab, flowing down like drops.
The Patriarch picks them up with a cotton ball and lights a bunch of candles.

Why doesn't the Holy Fire burn?

The sheaf of candles that the Patriarch holds in his hands consists of 33 pieces (according to the number of years Jesus spent on Earth). The only one who has personally seen the secret of the Holy Fire takes the bundle out of the Edicule and hands it over to the Armenian Metropolitan. He shows it to the believers, and they light their candles from it. The Patriarch, weakened after fervent prayer, as soon as he appears at the door, is lifted into his arms and carried to the exit with chants. Meanwhile, those who visited Jerusalem for the first time noted with surprise the special properties of the flame:

Knowing where the Holy Fire actually comes from, experienced tourists fearlessly wash themselves with it, apply candles to their faces and raise their fingers to it.
The color of the fire varies from light blue to blue, which cannot be seen anywhere else in the world.
5-10 minutes after the convergence, the flame on all sheaves acquires normal properties and heats up.

How to bring the Holy Fire home?

No less important for a believer is not only the opportunity to contemplate Fire, but also the desire to take a particle of it with him. The Holy Fire at home can be placed in front of the iconostasis or lamps can be lit from it and placed in rooms on the eve of Easter. To implement the plan, you will need:

a small candle, which in churches is allowed to touch the flame from the Holy Sepulcher;
a small lamp with a lid that protects the lamp from going out;
Vaseline oil, which is used to support combustion.

What should you do with the Holy Fire?

Most spiritual teachers do not recommend turning into idolaters and turning fire into a kind of cult. Believers must treat it accordingly: they can find the flame in the parishes to which it is brought by plane from Jerusalem. It is believed that the Holy Fire is what allows:

Orthodox Christians who were unable to come to church and see the miracle in person;
remind you of the bright holiday of Easter, which it marks;
gain spiritual strength for fasting on Holy Saturday.

Holy Fire - true or false?

If church officials consider it sinful to doubt the sacred nature of the phenomenon, then journalists and scientists do not hesitate to make the most daring assumptions that the descent of the Holy Fire has a completely earthly origin. Among supporters of different versions, the leading options are:

Concealing the fire from those inspecting the Patriarch. Since on the day of Holy Saturday he does not have the opportunity to carry the flame with him, it can be decided that the Fire is carried and hidden at the Tomb in advance.
A chemical reaction caused by the special composition of the slab on the tomb of Christ. Esters of organic acids can give a cold fire, but its color will not be blue, but green.
Spontaneous combustion. Some natural substances may ignite at certain ambient temperatures and humidity. This property is possessed by: white phosphorus, boric acid, jasmine oil.

Holy Fire - scientific explanation

In 2008, skeptics had a chance to find out the nature of the Holy Fire. Before Holy Saturday, Russian physicist Andrei Volkov was allowed into Kuvuklia, who received approval from the Orthodox Church to install equipment with sensitive sensors. Before him, no one knew the answer to the slippery question of how scientists explain the descent of the Holy Fire; Andrei Volkov’s research gave ambiguous results:

A few seconds before the flame appeared at the Holy Sepulcher, the physicist recorded an unusual long-wave electrical impulse that arose spontaneously.
When the cotton wool placed on the lid of the tombstone caught fire, the pulse fluctuations increased many times over.
Power measurements showed that a flash of fire can be compared to the operation of a low-power welding machine.
Scientific diagnosis of a crack on a column at the entrance to the Edicule proved that such damage could have occurred solely under the influence of electricity.

Holy Fire - interesting facts

The mystical nature of Fire has been repeatedly associated with curious events throughout history. As soon as even one tradition of his appearance was broken, the course of the ceremony changed before the eyes of all witnesses. The miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire underwent drastic interventions twice:

In 1101, the Latin Patriarch of Choquet decided to take the reins of the greatest Christian miracle into his own hands. The heretic was so possessed by the desire to unravel his secret that he tortured the monks and obtained from them all the details of the procedure for obtaining Fire. The flame did not appear after a day of futile attempts.
In 1578, a priest from Armenia decided that the secret of the Holy Fire would be revealed to him and obtained permission from the clergy to be the first to enter the Edicule. The Orthodox priests did not protest and remained at the door. The column in front of the entrance to the Holy Sepulcher cracked and flames began to come out of it.