The Blessed Fire came down in Jerusalem

Thousands of people on Great Saturday witnessed the convergence of the blessed fire in the temple of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.

The sacred fire appeared in Kuvuklia (a small chapel, built, is believed, over the burial place of Jesus Christ) during the prayer of the Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilus, as is every year before the Orthodox Easter , Interfax reports.

After converging the fire, the Patriarch handed over the shrine to believers who lit a ligament of 33 candles from it - by the age of Christ.

A difficult ceremony was preceded by a convergence of fire: the doors of Kuvuklia were sealed with a large wax seal as a sign that its examination was completed, and there was nothing in it that would allow the Jerusalem Patriarch to light the fire with ordinary means.

At this point, the temple was filled to captivity to believers - both local Orthodox Arabs and pilgrims from different countries. Large groups of believers traditionally come these days to the Holy Land from the countries of the post -Soviet space.

Shortly after the sealing of Kuvuklia, Orthodox Arab youth ran into the temple, whose presence is mandatory. Young people sat on each other's shoulders, asking the Virgin and Lord, that they granted the fertile fire, and shouting: "Our faith is right, our faith is Orthodox."

Shortly before the appearance of Patriarch Theophilus, the seal was removed from the Kuvuklia door, and a large lamp and 33 candles were introduced into the cave. Then the Patriarch went inside, and the expectation came. Those present prayed, asking to give fire. The prayer continued until this event occurred.

At the celebration in the temple, in particular, the delegation of the Andrei First -Called Foundation is present, which closer to midnight will deliver fire to the Patriarchal Easter service in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow.

The shrine will also be sent to dozens of Russian regions, to countries of near and far abroad.

For the first time, the Blessed Fire was described by the Russian monk Daniel, who made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land at the beginning of the 12th century. “And when the ninth hour was able and began to sing the passing song“ We sing ”to the Lord, then a small cloud from the east suddenly came and became over the uncovered top of that church, and the rain of the saint over the coffin went, and moistened us well, standing on the coffin. And then the saint’s light in the coffin was suddenly shone: the brilliant was terrible and bright from the Holy Holy Holy,” he wrote.

Believers asked Patriarch Kirill about a fertile fire - the church answered

We note between the fact that several years ago, on the website of the Christian Enlightenment and Mercy of the name of the St. Luke Voyno-Yasenetsky, a group of believers of the Russian Orthodox Church was published to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill, in which they asked for the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church "due to the" wisdom "inherent in him" on behalf of the fullness of the church, the liturgy and historical assessment of "fire Great Saturday, "as well as the practice of its excessive veneration in the days of the celebration of Orthodox Easter.

“In recent years,” the authors of the appeal wrote, “the meeting of Easter fire, annually lit in the Holy Kuvuklia of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, has become very popular in Russia. Thousands of believers become participants in the rites previously unknown to our church.”

"The meeting of the fertile fire in some parishes and entire dioceses connects with liturgical order, the transfer of it in the temple from one praying to another turns into some secret -acting. The clergy even have to interrupt the Easter service due to the excessive desire of believers as soon as possible to get their part of the Jerusalem fire," the letter said.

"Due to the annual television broadcasts of the worship of the Great Saturday from Jerusalem, many Russians begin to believe that the Jerusalem fire of the Holy Easter is an event that" won the nature of the rank, "and the focus of the faith of the Orthodox Christian," the appeal was noted.

"Meanwhile, in the Orthodox world there are doubts about whether the miracles of God can be committed" according to the schedule ", albeit for the worship. Moreover, prominent Orthodox hierarchs, theologians and historians of the Church, including the Bishop Bishop Porfiry (Assumption), Ignatius Krachkovsky, Nikolai Uspensky deny the supernatural, miraculous nature of the phenomenon of" fire of great fire " Saturdays. "The history of the worship unequivocally testifies that today's rite in the temple of the Holy Sepulcher is the creation of the rank of execution of a new fire on Easter, which was once performed in every Christian community. The interlocutors of the Jerusalem hierarchs revered in the Orthodox world confirm that the fire in Kuvuklia is healed from the lamp hidden behind the mobile icon. The words of the Holy. Jerusalem Patriarch Feofil III, said on the eve of Easter 2008 that there is only one of the church priests of the Great Saturday, they confirm their correctness, ”the authors of the letter wrote.

"We are aware that the fire that is lit in Jerusalem on Easter" is still a sacred fire received from the scene of the sacred. "His journey to Russia becomes one of the signs of the unity of the Ecumenical Church and the good sign of the unity of the Orthodox peoples. However, we, the faithful child of the Mother Church, express our Christian concern about the advertising noise and unhealthy speculation and unhealthy The bustle around the fertile fire, often turning into a real superstition. veneration in the days of the celebration of the bright resurrection of Christ, ”the believers concluded their letter.

A few days later the response was followed by the answer of Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, who was then the chairman of the department of the Moscow Patriarchate on the relationship of the church and society. The priest emphasized that the annual bringing of the shrine to many countries demonstrates "the power of the unity of Orthodox Christians in prayer, faith, hope for God and mutual love." The physical nature of this phenomenon may "need an additional study."

The fertile fire, according to church tradition, is “served by the Lord” by the prayers of Orthodox Christians, and some modern studies already testify to the wonderful nature of this phenomenon, the representative of the church noted.

“It is obvious to many that fire is fed according to the prayers of believers in a special way,” Vsevolod Chaplin said, answering the media question. According to him, the physical nature of this phenomenon may "need an additional study." “Some scientists are now exploring this nature and come to very interesting conclusions. In Runet, an article was recently published regarding the physical nature of this phenomenon, indicating that this phenomenon is unusual, wonderful,” the head of the synodal department stated.

He noted that the fertile fire is revered by believers of different countries, and recently more and more, including in the canonical territory of the Moscow Patriarchate (in Russia, Ukraine, Moldova).

“And the main miracle here, the main lesson for us is not only the unusual phenomenon from the point of view of the laws of nature, but also that prayer burning, that sacred flame of faith that is present in the very temple of the Holy Sepulcher, when this fertile fire is fed, and in all those places where believers meet him,” Vsevolod Chaplin emphasized.

He expressed gratitude to the Fund of Andrei the First -Called, who made the brought to Russia a fertile fire from the Jerusalem Temple of the Holy Sepulcher by a national event. “God forbid that it really unites people not in external veneration of symbols, but in the prayer and veneration of the Risen Christ, in whose name the Lord gives us this fertile fire,” the Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin wished us.