Holy fire. About how the blessed fire descends. Miracle of the Descent of the Holy Fire: truth or fiction? Holy fire all week in the temple

God has given the whole world a great sign of the truth of the Orthodox faith - the Holy Fire in Jerusalem, which appears from heaven in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on the last day of Holy Week, before Easter. The sign of God's grace to the Orthodox Church - the fire on Easter in Jerusalem appeared during the life of the first apostles.

Every year thousands of people come to Jerusalem to be present at the Descent of a bright Light, from which candles themselves sometimes light up. Millions of TV viewers around the world are waiting with bated breath for God's miracle.

What is the Holy Fire

The Holy Fire, translated from the Greek language, means the Holy Light, which appears over the Holy Sepulcher at different times, but invariably its appearance on Holy Saturday before Easter.

Descent of the Holy Fire in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem

The Light of God, carried out of the Kuvuklia before the celebration of Easter, is a symbol of the resurrected Jesus Christ for all Christians.

The apostle Peter was the first to see the Light not made by hands when he ran into an empty tomb. It was night, but Peter was struck by the bright radiance he saw emanating from the Tomb of Jesus Christ.

The uniqueness of the Holy Fire is that it does not burn in the first minutes after the descent.

Many people who are in Jerusalem at this time are truly washed with fire, receiving the grace of the risen Son of God.

About other miracles in Orthodoxy:

Descent of the Holy Fire in Jerusalem

Church of the Holy Sepulcher: history and modern style

The territory of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is represented by a whole complex of architectural buildings, which include:

Calvary and the place of the Crucifixion;
Cuvuklia;
Katholikon - a cathedral intended for the Jerusalem patriarchs;
the temple of the Finding of the Life-giving Cross, located underground;
Cathedral of Saint Helena;
monasteries;
galleries.

God's love has united different churches in one territory. The Jerusalem Orthodox Church directs services in its shrines, Calvary, Kuvukliya and Katholikon. Order of St. Francisca possesses a Franciscan church and an altar of nails. The Armenian Apostolic Church dominates the Cathedral of St. Helena, the chapel of the Three Mary.

The Ethiopian Church holds services over the grave of St. Joseph and the altar located on the western side of the Cuvuklia. The wall protecting the Temple from the entire city was built by Sultan Suleiman even before the time when Orthodox Christians appeared there. Calvary is a rock, a place of suffering and the Crucifixion of Jesus, in those ancient times was located outside the walls of the city.

The Holy Tomb - the cave in which the Savior was buried, is located a few meters from Calvary. Initially, there were two chambers in it - the entrance and the burial room itself, in which there was a bed - arcosolium, a place of ritual burials.

In the fourth century, Equal-to-the-Apostles Helen ordered to cover two shrines with the vaults of the Basilica, which is now called the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem

The Chapel of Cuvuklius, or in translation - the royal bedchamber, "covers" the burial cave of Jesus. Nowhere else in the world is there such a chapel, Cuvuklia is a unique place on earth that keeps the memories of the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, who was buried and resurrected in this place.

As in ancient times, there are two chambers in Cuvuklia, in the first one you can see a large bed - the arcosolium, the entrance room is known in the modern world as the Chapel of the Angel. In the Chapel of the Angel is kept a part of the stone block, which was rolled away by the angel. It was from this stone that the Angel sitting on it addressed the wives who brought the Master to the tomb of the world.

Church of the Holy Sepulcher - modern view of Calvary

The history of the descent of the Holy Fire

The history of the Church keeps all the information about the descent of the Holy Fire for several centuries.

The Church of Jerusalem, according to the testimonies described in the Lectionary, even in the fifth century began its Sabbath services only after the Evening Light appeared.
In the ninth century, according to the testimony of the pilgrim Bernard the Monk (867), the appearance of the Holy Light is perceived as a miracle of God. According to the description of the pilgrim, during the morning church service, as soon as according to the church's charter, “Lord, have mercy,” the lamps located above the Tomb were lit by an angel, without outside help. The Holy Light was transmitted by Patriarch Theodosius, known for his piety, through the bishop to all the people, who carried the Fire to their homes.
From the tenth to twelfth centuries, much more memories have been preserved of the spontaneous combustion of candles and lamps over the Holy Sepulcher just at the time when the premises were completely abandoned by people, they all stand outside the Temple. The Emir of Jerusalem in the tenth century received the Holy Fire, which came down from lightning, standing outside the temple, as reported by Metropolitan Caesari Harp.
According to the testimony of the Byzantine cleric Nikita, who visited Jerusalem in 947, the Divine Radiance appeared after prolonged prayers. During the service, the archbishop looked into the Holy Sepulcher several times, but did not find the Radiance there. After that he stood for several hours with his hands raised high, following the example of Moses in prayer to Jesus Christ, and only at six o'clock in the evening the Divine Light began to be seen through the Chapel of the Angel.
The first description of the Jerusalem miracle in Russian was made by Abbot Daniel in the twelfth century. According to the testimony of the Hegumen, at that time there was still no roof over the Kuvuklia. All the people present at the morning service stood in the open air, from where it suddenly began to rain, lightning flashed terribly, illuminating everything around, and the Holy Light came down, from which all the lamps were lit by themselves.
In 1420, Hierodeacon Zosimus, a representative of Sergievsky Posad, wrote about his presence during the invisible lighting of a lamp with many candles in the center of the Temple.
During a trip to Jerusalem in 1708, Hieromonk Hippolytus was present at the descent of the Heavenly Light, but was outraged by the behavior, according to him, of the urmen heretics. Most likely, these were Arabs, who now behave very loudly in the Temple of the Lord.
Education Minister Abraham Norov was present in the chapel, standing in the Chapel of the Angel in anticipation of a miracle. In 1835, according to his recollections, all the candles were extinguished in the room, only weak lighting came into the Chapel through the cracks from the outside. The entrance to Kuvuklia had no doors, so the minister saw how the Armenian bishop, who was honored to receive the miracle, stood in prayer in front of the absolutely clean surface of the Tomb. Everyone froze in anxious silence, both inside and outside the buildings. Just a few minutes later, a bright light illuminated the chapel, the Metropolitan brought out a flaming bundle of candles, there are 33 of them.
Archbishop Gabriel, who worked in Jerusalem in 1967-1968 under the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission, shared his impressions. Being directly near the entrance to the Chapel of the Angel, after the Patriarch exited with candles of the Holy Fire, the Russian archbishop literally "dived" to the Tomb and saw the Tongues of Flame on the marble. Blue, heavenly fire literally spread over the entire surface of the Tomb, Gabriel began to wash himself with it.

Important! In the first minutes of Its appearance, the Holy Fire does not burn anyone.

Litany of the Holy Light

Every year, on Holy Saturday, the entire Christian world, with bated breath, awaits the miracle of the appearance of the Holy Fire. The temple ceremony or litany of the Holy Light begins on Saturday morning. Pilgrims, and among Orthodox Christians there are atheists, Muslims, believers of other confessions, from early in the morning take the queue.

In the Temple of the Lord, all the candles are extinguished; representatives of different churches strictly follow this. After checking, the Kuvuklia is sealed with a large seal by the keeper of the keys, who is a Muslim.

There are three groups of people whose presence is mandatory in the preparation for the descent of the Holy Fire. The Lord chose the Patriarch of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church to attend the sacrament of the appearance of the Holy Fire.

Important! Only a representative of the Orthodox Church can receive the Holy Light, and this is not the choice of Orthodoxy itself. This is God's choice.

Representatives of the Armenian Church in 1579, by agreement with the mayor, entered the temple, leaving the Orthodox priesthood behind the doors of the temple. For a long time the Armenian representatives prayed, but the Light did not descend. The Orthodox priests were also in anxious prayer. Suddenly, a strong thunder sounded in the Temple, the column standing to the left of the door of the entrance to the Kuvuklia cracked, and Fire appeared from there, lighting candles at the Orthodox Patriarch.

Traces of this miracle can be seen to this day.

Traces of the blessed fire in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher

Since that time, no one has been willing to challenge the right of the Orthodox Church to accept the Holy Fire. Representatives of various Christian denominations can be present at the appearance of the Grace of God - the descent of God's Fire. They receive the Holy Light from candles lit by the Jerusalem Orthodox Patriarch.

The second group of people, without whose presence the miracle of the descent of the Light does not occur, is monasticism, representing the Lavra of St. Sava the Sanctified. This tradition dates back to 614, when 14,000 monks died at the hands of the Persian conquerors. Currently, 14 monks are constantly serving in the Lavra.

Many pilgrims are surprised and even outraged by the loud behavior of Arab Christians. The guys sit top one on top of the other and loudly praise God, dance. The origin of this tradition is unknown, but when the Arabs were banned from entering the Temple during English rule, the Fire did not appear until Arab youths were allowed to perform their rituals.

Arab Christians Praise God

Despite the weather, even on sunny days, pilgrims can hear sounds resembling thunderclaps from 9 am. In some years, around noon, the temple and courtyard begin to illuminate with heavenly lightning, which are the harbingers of the descent of the Holy Light.

At this time, the prayers of the Arab youth are loudly heard. At about 13.00, a litany begins, during which the priesthood, led by His Beatitude Patriarch of Jerusalem, walks around Kuvuklia three times in a procession of the cross, stopping in front of its entrance.

The Patriarch is exposed to the bedside, sometimes a demonstrative search takes place, showing that His Beatitude does not have the means to light the fire.

In great excitement, the Patriarch enters the Kuvuklia, kneels down and offers a prayer of supplication to God, on which it depends whether the Lord will have mercy on His people. The air is saturated with hope and anxiety, and when the excitement reaches its peak, frequent glare of heavenly color permeates the air, a bright Holy Light literally bursts out of the Kuvuklia, from 33 candles lit by God himself, transmitted by the Patriarch. Fire spreads like fiery streams over the Temple and beyond. People rejoice, dance, sing.

The second case of a temple miracle happened to a man who, after washing, disappeared both thorns in his eyes, because of them the man was almost blind.

Bright lightning and the Holy Light did not harm any person, did not scorch a single hair. Only the flowing wax from the candles, which is called dew drops, leaves a mark, it cannot be washed off with any powder.

Representatives of various confessions, having received the Holy Fire, rush to deliver it to their countries.

Descent of the Holy Fire in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher

The greatest miracle is anxiously awaiting not only Orthodox Christians, but also representatives of various confessions. Therefore, on this day, tens of thousands of pilgrims flock to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher from all over the world to wash with its gracious light and receive God's blessing.

History

The miracle of the descent of the blessed fire on the Holy Sepulcher has been known since ancient times; the descended fire has a unique property - it does not burn the first minutes.

The first witness of the descent of the grace-filled light in the Holy Sepulcher was, according to the testimony of the Holy Fathers, 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, as the Bible says, saw an amazing light inside the Tomb of Christ.

The earliest written eyewitness testimony of the appearance of the blessed fire on the Holy Sepulcher dates back to the 4th century and is preserved by the church historian Eusebius Pamphilus.

Reproduction of painting "Calvary" by M. van Heemskerk

Although according to many, both ancient and modern testimonies, the appearance of the blessed light can be observed in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher throughout the year, the most famous and impressive is the miraculous convergence of the blessed fire on the eve of the feast of the Bright Resurrection of Christ, on Great Saturday.

Throughout almost the entire time of the existence of Christianity, this wonderful phenomenon is observed annually by both Orthodox Christians and representatives of other Christian faiths (Catholics, Armenians, Copts and others), as well as representatives of other non-Christian religions.

One of the most ancient descriptions of the descent of the Holy Fire belongs to Abbot Daniel, who visited the Holy Tomb in 1106-1107.

Church ceremony

A church ceremony begins about a day before the start of Orthodox Easter. To see the miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire, people have been gathering to the Holy Sepulcher since Good Friday. Many stay here immediately after the procession commemorating the events of that day.

The very descent of the blessed fire takes place on Holy Saturday afternoon.

Around ten o'clock on Great Saturday, all the candles and lamps in the entire huge architectural complex of the Temple are extinguished.

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is a huge architectural complex, including Golgotha with the place of the Crucifixion, a rotunda - an architectural structure with a huge dome, under which the Kuvuklia (which means the royal bedchamber) is located - a chapel located directly above the cave where the body of Jesus was buried, the Catholicon - the cathedral of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, the underground temple of the Finding of the Life-giving Cross, the temple of St. Helena, equal to the apostles, several side-altars - small temples with their own thrones. There are several active monasteries on the territory of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Nazi Zhorzholiani

Both historical and modern practice shows that when the fire descends, there are three groups of participants.

First of all - the patriarch of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church or one of the bishops of the Jerusalem Patriarchate with his blessing, the hegumen and monks of the Lavra of St. Sava the Sanctified, and - local Orthodox Arabs.

In 20-30 minutes after the sealing of the Cuvuklia, Arab Orthodox youth, shouting, stamping, drumming, burst into the temple and begin to sing and dance. Their exclamations and songs represent ancient prayers in Arabic for the sending down of the blessed fire, addressed to Christ and the Mother of God, George the Victorious, especially revered in the Orthodox East. Their emotional prayers usually last for half an hour.

At about 13:00, the litany (in Greek, a prayer procession) of the blessed fire begins directly. Ahead of the procession are the banner-bearers with 12 banners, followed by young men, a cleric-crusader, at the end of the procession is the Orthodox patriarch of one of the local Orthodox churches (Jerusalem or Constantinople), accompanied by the Armenian Patriarch and clergy.

Procedures

The procession enters the Church of the Resurrection, goes to the chapel, erected over the Holy Sepulcher, and, going around it three times, stops in front of its gates. All the lights in the temple are extinguished. Tens of thousands of people: Arabs, Greeks, Russians, Georgians, Romanians, Jews, Germans, English - pilgrims from all over the world - are watching the Patriarch in tense silence.

The patriarch is exposed, and the police thoroughly search him and the Holy Sepulcher, looking for at least something that can produce fire (during the Turkish rule over Jerusalem, this was done by Turkish gendarmes).

Shortly before the patriarch, a priest (assistant to the sacristan - the head of church property) brings into the cave a large lamp, in which the main fire and 33 candles should light up - according to the number of years of the Savior's earthly life. Only after this does the Patriarch, wearing one long, flowing chiton, enter the chapel and kneel down to pray.

Convergence

All people in the church are patiently waiting for the patriarch to come out with fire in their hands. In different years, the wait lasted from five minutes to several hours. Prayer and ceremony continue until the expected miracle happens.

And suddenly, on the marble slab of the coffin, a kind of fiery dew appears in the form of bluish balls. The Holy One touches them with a cotton swab, and it ignites. With this cool fire, the Patriarch lights up a lamp and candles, which he then brings to the temple and hands them over to the Armenian Patriarch, and then to the people. At the same moment, tens and hundreds of bluish lights flash in the air under the dome of the temple.

Nazi Zhorzholiani

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 lamps on the sides of the chapel themselves light up, then the Cuvuklia itself begins to shine, and from the hole in the dome of the temple, a vertical wide column of light descends from the sky onto the Coffin.

At the same time, the doors of the cave are opened, and the Orthodox Patriarch comes out and blesses the audience. The Patriarch of Jerusalem transfers the blessed fire to the believers, who claim that the fire does not burn at all in the first minutes after the descent, regardless of which candle and where it was lit.

It is difficult to imagine what kind of jubilation a crowd of thousands of people can see. People are shouting, singing, fire is transferred from one bunch of candles to another, and a minute later the whole temple is on fire.

Later, lamps are lit from the blessed fire throughout Jerusalem. It is said that in the districts of the city close to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, candles and lamps in churches light up themselves. The Fire is delivered to Cyprus and Greece by special flights, from where it is delivered all over the world.

Recently, the direct participants in the events began to bring the blessed fire to Georgia as well.

The holy fire descends into the Church of the Holy Sepulcher only on Great Saturday - on 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 blessed fire descends only through the prayers of the Orthodox Patriarch.

Holy fire heals

The parishioners call the droplets of wax that fall from the candles the Blessed Dew. As a reminder of the Miracle of the Lord, they will remain on the clothes of witnesses forever, no powders and washing will take them.

Orthodox Christians believe that the sacred fire that emanates from the tomb of Christ is the flame of the power of the Resurrection. It is believed that the year when the Heavenly Fire does not descend on the Holy Sepulcher will mean the end of the world and the rule of the Antichrist.

One of the prophecies stored in the Jerusalem Orthodox Church says: "If the blood of Christians was shed at the Holy Sepulcher, it means that the entrance to this greatest shrine will soon be closed and especially difficult times will come for the Church of Christ."

From the point of view of Orthodoxy, the blessed fire is a pledge between God and people, the fulfillment of the vow given by the risen Christ to his followers: "I am with you all the days until the end of the age."

Traditions and customs

It is on Great Saturday evening that Easter services begin in churches. Most believers in Georgia celebrate Easter in churches to take a piece of the divine fire delivered from the Holy Land to their homes. The Holy Fire is brought to Tbilisi and then during the service is distributed to all churches.

For those who, for some reason, could not come to the service, church officials recommend that this night light a candle in front of the icon of Jesus Christ and pray.

Great Saturday is a day of kindness, reconciliation and forgiveness. Therefore, on this day, you must definitely ask for forgiveness from everyone you could offend. Make peace with everyone with whom you were in a quarrel, so as not to overshadow the upcoming holiday with negative feelings and emotions.

Also, on the Saturday before Easter, it is imperative to give alms to all those in need whom you meet on your way. And also give Easter gifts to relatives and friends.

Fasting continues on Holy Saturday. On this day, you can cook festive Easter dishes, but you cannot eat them yet. From the very morning, the hostesses start preparing dishes for the rich Easter table. According to tradition, on the feast of the Resurrection of Christ, there should be at least 12 dishes on the table.

Signs

As in the previous two days, on the Saturday before Easter, nothing can be given from home, no matter who asks you for anything. In this way, you can give your health, well-being, good luck.

On this day, you can clean the graves in the cemetery, but you cannot remember them on Saturday.

If the weather on Holy Saturday is warm and clear, then the summer will be hot and dry. And if it is cold and rainy on this day, then the summer will also be cool.

The descent of the Holy Fire is a miracle that occurs every year on the eve of Orthodox Easter in the Jerusalem Church of the Holy Sepulcher. In 2018, Orthodox Christians celebrate the Bright Resurrection of Christ on April 8.

On Great Saturday, tens of thousands of pilgrims flock to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher from all over the world to wash with its graceful light and receive God's blessing.

The greatest miracle is anxiously awaiting not only Orthodox Christians, but also representatives of various confessions.
For many hundreds of years, people have been trying to understand where the Holy Fire comes from. Believers are sure that this is a real miracle - God's gift to people. Scientists do not agree with this statement and try to find an explanation for this phenomenon from a scientific point of view.

Blessed fire
According to many testimonies, both ancient and modern, the appearance of the Holy Light can be observed in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher throughout the year, but the most famous and impressive is the miraculous descent of the Holy Fire on Great Saturday, on the eve of the Bright Resurrection of Christ.

The miracle of the descent of the blessed fire on the Holy Sepulcher has been known since ancient times; the descended fire has a unique property - it does not burn the first minutes.
The first witness of the descent of the fire was the Apostle Peter - having learned about the Resurrection of the Savior, he hurried to the tomb and saw, where the body had previously been, an amazing light. For two thousand years, this light has descended on the Holy Sepulcher with the Holy Fire every year.

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher was erected by Emperor Constantine and his mother, Queen Helena, in the 4th century. And the earliest written records of the descent of the Holy Fire on the eve of the Resurrection of Christ date back to the 4th century.

The temple with its huge roof covers both Golgotha, and the cave in which the Lord who was taken down from the cross was laid, and the garden where Mary Magdalene was the first of the people to meet His risen.

Convergence
At about noon, a religious procession led by the Patriarch leaves the courtyard of the Jerusalem Patriarchate. The procession enters the Church of the Resurrection, goes to the chapel, erected over the Holy Sepulcher, and, going around it three times, stops in front of its gates.

All the lights in the temple are extinguished. Tens of thousands of people: Arabs, Greeks, Russians, Romanians, Jews, Germans, English - pilgrims from all over the world - watch the Patriarch in tense silence.

The patriarch is exposed, the police thoroughly search him and the Holy Sepulcher itself, looking for at least something that can produce fire (during the Turkish rule over Jerusalem, this was done by Turkish gendarmes), and in one long flowing chiton the primate of the Church enters inside.

Kneeling before the Sepulcher, he prays to God for the sending down of the Holy Fire. Sometimes his prayer lasts a long time, but there is an interesting feature - the Holy Fire descends only through the prayers of the Orthodox Patriarch.

Miracle or trick
This wonderful phenomenon at different times had many critics who tried to expose and prove the artificial origin of fire. Among those who disagreed were the Catholic Church. In particular, Pope Gregory IX in 1238 disagreed about the miraculousness of the Holy Fire.

Not understanding the true origin of the Holy Fire, some Arabs tried to prove that the Fire is allegedly obtained with the help of any means, substances and devices, but they have no direct evidence. Moreover, they did not even witness this miracle.

Modern researchers have also tried to study the nature of this phenomenon. In their opinion, it is possible to produce fire artificially. Spontaneous combustion of chemical mixtures and substances is also possible.

But none of them is similar to the appearance of the Holy Fire, especially with its amazing property - not to burn in the first minutes of its appearance.
Scientists-theologians, representatives of various confessions, including the Orthodox Church, have repeatedly stated that the lighting of candles and lamps in the Temple from the alleged "sacred fire" is a falsification.

The most famous statements in the middle of the last century by the professor of the Leningrad Theological Academy Nikolai Uspensky, who believed that the fire in the Kuvuklia is lit from a secret hidden lamp, the light of which does not penetrate into the open space of the Temple, where all candles and lamps are extinguished at that time.

At the same time, Ouspensky argued that "the fire lit on the Holy Sepulcher from a hidden lamp is still a sacred fire, received from a sacred place."

Russian physicist Andrei Volkov, it is said, several years ago managed to take some measurements at the ceremony of the descent of the Holy Fire. According to Volkov, a few minutes before the removal of the Holy Fire from Kuvuklia, a device recording the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation detected a strange long-wave impulse in the temple, which no longer manifested itself. That is, an electrical discharge has occurred.

In the meantime, scientists are trying to find scientific confirmation of this phenomenon, and in contrast to the complete unsubstantiation of the statements of skeptics, the miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire is an annually observed fact.

The miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire is available to everyone. It can be seen not only by tourists and pilgrims - it takes place in front of the whole world and is regularly broadcast on television and the Internet, on the website of the Jerusalem Orthodox Patriarchate.

Every year, several thousand people present in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher see: the Patriarch entered the Kuvuklia, which was checked and sealed, with a bunch of candles, whose clothes were specially examined. He came out of it with a burning torch of 33 candles and this is an indisputable fact.
Therefore, there can be only one answer to the question of where the Holy Fire comes from - this is a miracle, and everything else is just unconfirmed speculation.

And in conclusion, the Holy Fire confirms the promise of the Risen Christ to the apostles: "I am with you all the days until the end of the age."

It is believed that when the Heavenly Fire does not descend on the Holy Sepulcher, it will be a sign of the onset of the power of the Antichrist and the imminent end of the world.

The Holy Fire, or Holy Light (Greek Ἅγιο Φῶς), is the fire carried out of the Holy Sepulcher at a special service held annually on Great Saturday, on the eve of Orthodox Easter in the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Jerusalem. The carrying out of the Holy Light symbolizes the exit from the Tomb of the True Light, that is, the risen Jesus Christ.

Many Orthodox believers believe that the Holy Fire appears supernaturally. The first written eyewitness accounts of the appearance of the Holy Light in the Tomb miraculously date back to the 9th century ...

And now the exposure ...

Learn chemistry ... :)

Initially, a ceremony dedicated to the so-called. The Holy Fire was held at night from Saturday to Sunday. Constant fights between believers forced the Muslim Jerusalem authorities to transfer the divine miracle from night to day. Prof. AA Dmitrievsky, referring to prof. AA Olesnitsky writes: “Once the feast 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 postponed to the previous day” (* _ *).
In ancient times, the first whistleblowers (devout Muslims) did not particularly bother themselves with serious research work. They believed that fire was created by means of a special device filled with compounds for spontaneous combustion.
This is how the 12th century historian Ibn-al-Kalanisi described this technology: “When they are there on Easter ... they hang lamps in the altar and arrange a trick so that the fire reaches them through the oil of the balsam tree and its devices, and its property is the appearance of fire when combined with jasmine oil. It possesses bright light and brilliant shine. They manage to draw a stretched iron wire between neighboring lamps, like a thread, continuously going from one to the other, and rub it with balsam oil, hiding it from view, until the thread passes to all the lamps "(* _ *).

According to Islamic writers, there is an agreement between the Muslim authorities and the priests on mutually beneficial cooperation and fair sharing of funds received from donations from pilgrims. So al-Jaubari (d. 1242) writes: "Al-Melik al-Mu" azzam, the son of al-Melik al- "Adil entered the Church of the Resurrection on the day of the Sabbath of light and said to the monk (assigned) to her:" I will not leave until I see this light come down. " The monk said to him: "What is more pleasant for the king: is it the wealth that flows to you in this way, or acquaintance with this (business)? If I reveal to you its secret, then the government will lose this money; leave it hidden and receive this great wealth." ... When the ruler heard this, he understood the hidden essence of the matter and left him in the same position ”(* _ *).

The income from the miracle is really big, prof. Dmitrievsky writes: “... Palestine feeds on almost only those gifts that are brought to her by the worshipers of the holy sepulcher from Europe. Thus, the feast of the Holy Sepulcher is the feast of the happiness and prosperity of the country ”(* _ *). Muslims even thought of charging an entrance fee to an Orthodox church, a truly unique case. By the way, tickets are still being sold, only the fat goes to the Israeli treasury (* _ *).
Around the 13th century, the ceremony of gaining BO underwent an important change, if before the fire was expected outside the Cuvuklius and its appearance was judged by a white flash of light coming from there, then after the 13th century they began to enter the Cuvuklius to acquire fire. All past revelations about the special mechanism have lost their relevance. However, after such a change, the priests were very quickly caught by the hand by a meticulous Muslim researcher (Ibn al-Jawzi (d. 1256)), who decided to find out on his own how the fire appears: “I lived in Jerusalem for ten years and went to the Temple of the Resurrection on their Easter and other days. I investigated how the lamp is lit on Sunday - the holiday of light. (...) When the sun goes down and it gets dark, one of the priests takes advantage of inattention, opens a niche in the corner of the chapel, where no one sees him, lights his candle from one of the lamps and exclaims: "The light has come down and Christ has mercy." . "(* _ *).

In other words, the fire is kindled from an icon lamp hidden in a niche behind the icon. Naturally, such a trifle did not touch the greedy hearts of local rulers, and this exposure was simply forgotten. The presence of niches behind the icons is now not a secret; they can even be seen in the photos of pilgrims posing against the background of the slab of the Holy Sepulcher.

In principle, with a few exceptions, Muslims did not doubt the fraud in connection with the BO, only greed and other vices, the required funding allowed them to calmly coexist with their religious competitors. In rare cases, when fanaticism and pure faith prevailed, Muslims did not bother with exposing, but simply destroyed the temple on the basis of only one suspicion, which, as you know, among fanatics, is the queen of evidence (* _ *).

The next denouncer of the BO fraud was the Polotsk Archbishop Melety Smotrytsky. His rushing soul tried to try on Catholics and Orthodox, which led him into union. The devil pulled him to strengthen the Orthodox faith to visit Jerusalem and join the mystery of the appearance of the Holy Fire. To his former teacher, Patriarch of Constantinople, Cyril Lukaris, in 1627, he writes: "In [your] priesthood, you probably remember that I once asked you why your deputy Meletius, writing against the new Roman calendar and trying to prove the superiority of the old before the new one, cites various miracles in support of his opinion, not excluding those that are no longer repeated, but does not mention this famous, annual miracle of Jerusalem at all? dignitaries, the protossinkell of the hieromonk Leonty and the archdeacon of the patriarch of Alexandria, that if this miracle really happened in our time, then all the Turks would have long believed in Jesus Christ.

The Patriarch of Jerusalem spoke about this even more sharply, the one who takes this fire, carries it out and distributes it to the people. Thus, it is regrettable to say that our Orthodox fellow believers, regarding this miraculous fire, which once really did appear, and now, for our sins, has ceased to appear, prefer to be at the same time with heretics, such as the Eutychians, Dioscorites and Jacobites, rather than with Catholics, who miracles this They are not admitted for being very respectful, especially at the sight of what the heretics Abyssinians are doing at the tomb at that time. That’s what worries me, these are the four worms that, having sunk into my soul during my stay in the East, have never ceased to grind and gnaw at it ”(* _ *).
Throughout all the centuries of the existence of the BO miracle, Christians could not calmly perform this rite without filling each other's faces. This disgrace is even recorded in Mark Twain's book, "Simpletons Abroad": "Every Christian sect (with the exception of Protestants) under the roof of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher has its own special side-altars, and no one dares to cross the boundaries of other people's possessions. that Christians are not able to peacefully pray all together at the tomb of the Savior "(* _ *).

Not only ordinary priests are fighting, but also the Greek patriarch and the Armenian archimandrite who entered the Kuvukliya to wait for the fire (). Because of this, the Israeli authorities decided that at the time of the appearance of the fire, an Israeli policeman must be present in the Kuvukliya in order to maintain order, one of the videos shows how the policeman enters the Kuvukliya first, then the Greek patriarch, and then the Armenian archimandrite ( Video, 1.20-1.28). In a word, they got out of hand.

It was the ugliness in the church that caused the loudest exposure of the Holy Fire.
In 1834, a fight in the temple escalated into a fierce battle, in which the Turkish army had to intervene. About 300 pilgrims died (* _ *). The English traveler left memories of a conversation with the local chief Ibrahim Pasha, which describes the ruler's determination to publicly denounce this deception, but also his fear that this action could be perceived as oppression of Christians in the Holy Land (* _ *)
We learn about the actions taken by Ibrahim Pasha after 15 years from the diaries of a prominent scientist and leader of the Orthodox Church, the founder of the Russian Orthodox Mission in Jerusalem, Bishop Porfiry (Assumption). Porfiry kept a diary, where he recorded his impressions of events of a historical scale, reflections on abstract topics, descriptions of monuments and various little things. They were published in 8 volumes by the Imperial Academy of Sciences at the expense of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, edited by P.A. Syrku after the death of Uspensky, the third volume was published in 1896. Here's the exact quote:

“In the year when the famous master of Syria and Palestine Ibrahim, the Pasha of Egypt, was in Jerusalem, it turned out that the fire received from the Holy Sepulcher on Great Saturday is not a grace-filled fire, but kindled like every fire is kindled. This pasha took it into his head to make sure whether the fire on the lid of Christ's Sepulcher really suddenly and miraculously appears or is lit with a sulfur match. What did he do? He announced to the governors of the patriarch that he pleased to sit in the cuvuclia itself while receiving the fire and vigilantly watch how he appears, and added that in case of truth they would be given 5,000 pungs (2,500,000 piastres), and in case of a lie, let them give him everything. money collected from deceived fans, and that he will publish in all newspapers in Europe about the vile forgery. The Petro-Arabian governors Misail, the Nazareth Metropolitan Daniel, and the Philadelphian Bishop Dionysius (now of Bethlehem) agreed to consult on what to do. During the minutes of the conferences, Misail confessed that he lights a fire in a cuvuclia from an icon 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 pretended to him that it would be of no use for his lordship to reveal the secrets of Christian worship and that the Russian emperor Nicholas would be very dissatisfied with the discovery of these secrets. Ibrahim Pasha, hearing this, waved his hand and fell silent. But from that time on, the Holy Sepulcher clergy no longer believed in the miraculous manifestation of fire. Having told all this, the Metropolitan added that it is expected from God alone to put an end to (our) pious lies. As he knows and can, so he will calm the peoples who now believe in the fiery miracle of the Great Saturday. And we cannot even begin this revolution in our minds, we will be torn apart at the very chapel of the Holy Sepulcher. We, - he continued, - notified Patriarch Athanasius, who was then living in Constantinople, about the harassment of Ibragim Pasha, but in our message to him they wrote instead of “holy light” - “consecrated fire”. Surprised by this change, the most blessed elder asked us: “why did you call the holy fire differently?” We revealed the real truth to him, but added that the fire lit on the Holy Sepulcher from a hidden lamp is still a sacred fire, received from a sacred place ”(* _ *).

It is important to pay attention to the following points in this entry:
1. The confession was made in a close circle of the highest hierarchs of the Orthodox Church.
2. A direct participant in the events told Uspensky what had happened. An eyewitness to the confession of forgery.
3. Ibrahim was threatened with aggravation of relations with Russia. Note that the Crimean War showed how dangerous it is for the authorities to interfere in the religious life of the Orthodox Church in the Holy Land.
4. "But from this time on, the Holy Sepulcher clergy no longer believe in the miraculous manifestation of fire." This means that the result of the recognition was the loss of faith in the miracle of the Holy Sepulcher clergy. Bishop Porfiry himself has already witnessed this.
After 500 years, nothing has changed. The same lamp behind the icon.
A few decades later, doubt spread beyond the borders of Palestine, as the well-known orientalist I. Yu. Krachkovsky writes about in 1914:
“Among the best representatives of theological thought in the East, one can see the interpretation of the miracle that prof. A. Olesnitsky and A. Dmitrievsky talk about “the celebration of the consecration of fire at the Holy Sepulcher” ”(* _ *).

The Orthodox criticism of the BO was most fully disclosed by an outstanding figure of the Orthodox Church, professor of the Leningrad Theological Academy ND Uspensky (student of Dmitrievsky AA) and reported at a church meeting in an act speech on October 9, 1949. Having examined the ancient testimonies, Uspensky comes to the following conclusion:
“Your Eminence, Your Grace, dear colleagues and dear guests! (...) We can agree with the explanation of Metropolitan Dionysius of Bethlehem, “that the fire lit on the Holy Sepulcher from a hidden lamp is still a sacred fire received from a sacred place,” and to these words of the governor of the Patriarch of Jerusalem add from ourselves that for us this fire is, was and will be sacred also because the ancient Christian and universal tradition is preserved in it ”().
A. Osipov, a former professor of the Leningrad Theological Academy, who broke with religion and became one of the most prominent atheists and critics of religion, left notes about the reaction to this report by the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church.
“Having studied ancient manuscripts and texts, books and testimonies of pilgrims,” A. A. Osipov writes about Uspensky, “he proved with exhaustive accuracy that there had never been any“ miracle ”, but there was and is an ancient symbolic rite of burning by the clergy themselves over the coffin Lamps. (...) And as a result of this whole affair, the now-deceased Metropolitan of Leningrad Gregory, also a man with a theological academic degree, gathered a number of Leningrad theologians and told them (many of my former colleagues probably remember): “I also know that this is only a legend ! That ... (here he called by the name and patronymic of the author of the speech and research) is absolutely right! But do not touch the pious legends, otherwise the faith itself will fall! ”” (* _ *).

Before continuing with new revelations, I want to describe the sequence of actions during the ceremony.

Examining Kuvuklia (two priests and a representative of the authorities).

The entrance doors of the Cuvouklia are sealed with a large wax seal.

The guardian of the coffin appears, who brings inside the coffin a large, domed lamp. The seal is removed in front of him and he enters the Quucliae, and a few minutes later exits.

A solemn procession appears, led by the Greek patriarch, it goes around the Cuvuklius three times. The patriarch is stripped of his clothes of patriarchal dignity and, together with the Armenian archimandrite (and the Israeli policeman), he enters the Kuvukliya.

After 5-10 minutes, the Greek patriarch and the Armenian archimandrite come out with fire (before that, having managed to distribute fire through the windows of Kuvukliya).

So, after the search and before entering the Patriarch's Kuvuklii, a priest comes in with an icon lamp (perhaps the one that is inextinguishable) and puts it on the coffin (or in a niche behind the icon), which is uncertain.

As I have already noted, the Armenian archimandrite enters the Kuvukliya. Although in his recent interview this figure of the Armenian Church did not directly mention the forgery, he noted an important fact.
“- Tell me, how do you pray? Is this a special prayer according to the prayer book, or an impromptu prayer, the one that comes from the soul? How does the Greek Patriarch pray?
- Yes, a prayer is read from the prayer book. But, in addition to the prayers from the prayer book, I also offer my heartfelt prayer. At the same time, we have a special prayer for this day, which I recite by heart. The Greek patriarch reads his prayer from the book, this is also a special prayer for the ceremony of Light.
- But how do you read prayers from the prayer book if it is dark there?
- Yes. It is not easy to read because of the darkness ”().
Indeed, it is impossible to read without light; there must be a source of it.
To correctly understand this hint, you can refer to the information disseminated by another priest of the Armenian Church, Abbot of the Monastery of St. Archangels (AAC), Hieromonk Ghevond Hovhannisyan, who for 12 years was present at the ceremony of consecrating the fire, and is personally acquainted with the priests of the Armenian Apostolic Church who enter the Kuvukliya for consecration of the fire together with the Greek patriarch. He's writing:
“By one o'clock in the afternoon, the doors of the Coffin are sealed with wax. Where there are 2 clergymen: an Armenian and a Greek. By two o'clock, the doors are opened and the Greeks bring in a closed (lit) Lamp and put it on the Coffin. After that, the procession of the Greeks begins around the Tomb, for the 3rd circle the Armenian archimandrite joins them and together they move to the door. The first comes the Greek patriarch, followed by the Armenian. And both enter the Sepulcher, where they both kneel down together and pray. After the first candle from a lighted lamp is lit by a Greek, and then an Armenian. Both go and give candles to the people through the holes, the Greek is the first to emerge from the coffin, followed by the Armenian, who is carried in their arms to our abbess ”(). You can chat with Ghevond in his LJ.
It remains to state that the Armenian Church, although it is a direct participant in the ceremony, does not support the belief in the miraculous appearance of fire.
The words of Patriarch Theophilos about the Holy Fire are interesting:
“Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem: This is a 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 ceremony of the Holy Fire is, so to speak, an image (enactment), which represents the first good news, the first resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. it representation- like all sacred ceremonies. Like on Good Friday we have a burial ceremony, isn't it? How we bury the Lord, etc.
So, this ceremony is taking place in a holy place, and all the other Eastern Churches that share the Holy Sepulcher would like to take part in it. People like Armenians, Copts, Syrians come to us and receive our blessing, because they want to receive Fire from the patriarch.
Now, the second part of your question is about us. It is an experience that, if you will, is analogous to the experience that a person has when he receives Holy Communion. What happens there, the same applies to the ceremony of the Holy Fire. This means that a certain experience cannot be explained, expressed in words. Therefore, everyone who takes part in this ceremony - priests or lay people, or lay women - everyone has their own indescribable experience. "
Protodeacon A. Kuraev commented on his 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 Sepulcher once shone and illuminated the whole world, so now in this ceremony we make a representation of how the message of the Resurrection from Kuvukpia spread throughout the world. " There was not the word “miracle”, not the word “convergence”, not the word “blessed fire” in his speech. Probably, he could not have said more frankly about the lighter in his pocket ”(). Around these words of the patriarch, a real political struggle unfolded, including a new "interview" with Theophilus, where he confirms the wonderful nature of fire with quotes from articles by Russian avpologists. Kuraev denounced this material as a fake. The details of this story have been collected.

By the way, during the gift between the Armenian priest and the Greek patriarch, the Armenian's candles were extinguished inside the Kuvuklii and he had to light them with a lighter (* _ *). So the rumors that the Armenians will not be able to get fire on their own are groundless.

An indirect evidence of the kindling of fire from the already burning lamp is the text of the prayer of the patriarch, which he reads inside the Kuvuklii. This text is analyzed in the article "The Myth and Reality of the Holy Fire" by Protopresbyter George Tsetsis:
“.. The prayer offered by the patriarch before the burning in the holy Kuvuklia is absolutely clear and does not admit of any misinterpretation.
The patriarch does not pray for a miracle.
He only "remembers" the sacrifice and the three-day resurrection of Christ and, turning to Him, says: "Having reverently accepted this fire that is kindled (*******) on Your light-bearing Tomb, we distribute to believers in the true light, and we pray to You, so that You revealed him with the gift of sanctification. "
The following happens: the patriarch lights his candle from the unquenchable lamp, which is located on the Holy Sepulcher. In the same way, like every patriarch and every cleric on the day of Easter, when he receives the light of Christ from the unquenchable lamp, which is on the holy throne, symbolizing the Holy Sepulcher ”(* _ *).

Wonderful flashes, unburning fire, spontaneous combustion of candles.
Thanks to cinema, we can see everything that happens with our own eyes. Unlike the pilgrims who are in the crowd and find it difficult to distinguish anything, they will show us everything from the most advantageous positions, you can revisit interesting moments, and even in slow motion. I have at my disposal 7 recordings of video broadcasts, two Orthodox films of not very good quality and a high-quality secular film about the Holy Fire. That is, 10 films about 9 ceremonies. At various forums where I participated in discussions about the Holy Fire, I asked for video materials proving the miraculous spontaneous combustion of candles or the non-burning properties of fire. Nobody managed to do this.

Unburning fire.

Pilgrims write in their testimonies that fire does not burn for a period of time, which lasts from 5 minutes to several months. You can find testimonies in which pilgrims tell how the Holy Fire brought to Moscow (their temple) still did not burn, or how they washed themselves with the Holy Fire when they visited Jerusalem in winter. Basically, they write about not burning the Holy Fire during the first 5 - 10 minutes. A huge number of watched videos of pilgrims washing with fire show that they are simply running their hands through the fire, scooping fire with their hands, or driving fire in front of their face and beard. The same is easy to repeat using a burning bunch of candles with a regular fire (as I do). By the way, the wicks of the candles are kindled by the blessed fire quite easily, which would be strange if the fire was warm.

An interesting experiment was written by LJ user Andronic @ 2007-04-08 07:40:00:
“Yesterday in the daytime news on NTV, a few minutes after the condescension of the Holy Fire, Evgeny Sandro unhurriedly waved his hand over the candle flame on the air and confirmed that it practically didn’t burn. It became interesting to me, and at midnight, when my wife, at the beginning of the procession (where I went with her “for company”), lit a thirty-three-hour beam of Jerusalem in front of the church, I also thrust my hand into the fire, and also slowly rustled her there. Although this flame was not kindled by the Holy Fire, the hand did not become hot right away. I repeated Sandro's trick a couple of times, and I got so carried away that I did not notice how my actions attracted the attention of those around who came to the Easter procession. The believers ran up, began to light their candles from our thirty-three candlesticks, joyfully thrust their hands into its flame and shout “It doesn't burn! Doesn't burn! " Some tried to “pick up” the fire, like water, with folded hands and wash themselves with it. The influx of those wishing to join the miracle turned out to be so great that we could not budge and the Procession left without us. This is how I unwittingly became the culprit for the outburst of religious enthusiasm. It is curious that the “tenderness” of fire to those who commune with it in a rather amusing way depended on the degree of faith. Doubters cautiously raised their palms to the upper tip of the flame, and pulled them away in fear. The enthusiastic ones (as I did before) boldly thrust their hands right into the center of the flame, where the temperature of the fire is much lower, and did not burn. As a result, everyone received it according to his faith ”().

Of everything that I have seen, and this is about a hundred washings with the Holy Fire, I can repeat all washing with fire, except for one. In only one video, the pilgrim held his hand over the Holy Fire for as much as 2.2 seconds, which is difficult to repeat without a burn. My record is 1.6 seconds.
Two explanations can be put forward for this case, firstly, religious ecstasy can reduce pain sensitivity. Many have seen people in a state of religious insanity beat themselves with whips with iron tips, crucify their bodies and do many other disgusting acts, while their faces are lit up with grace. Hence, pilgrims do not feel the burning properties of fire. The second explanation is a draft in the temple. Thanks to the wind, the flame deflects and an air cushion is created between the hand and the fire, if you "catch the wind", you can simulate holding your hand over the fire for 3 seconds.
I talked with many pilgrims who attended the ceremony, and not all of them testify to the burning flame:

Hieromonk Flavian (Matveev):
“Unfortunately, it sets on fire. In 2004, my friend literally five minutes after receiving the blaze fire (we didn't even leave the church) tried to “wash with fire”. The beard seemed to be small, it began to flare up noticeably. I had to shout to him to extinguish. I had a video camera in my hands, so this sad incident remained documented. (…) I myself took an example from others, held my hand over the fire. Fire like fire. It burns! " (the post has been removed from the forum).

Igor Solovyov, Orthodox Christian (novice):
“I don’t know how long it took, how the Holy Fire came down, but when the fire reached me, and I tried whether it burned or not, I scorched my hair on my hand and felt a burning sensation. (…) In my opinion, the burning sensation was common. Some of our group were quite close to the Holy Sepulcher, but none of them said that the fire does not scorch ”().

Alexander Gagin, Orthodox Christian:
“When the fire came down and it was handed over to us (after a few minutes) it burned as usual, I didn’t notice anything special, I didn’t see men putting their beards into the fire for a long time” ().

In the article "In Defense of the Holy Fire" Yu. Maksimov writes:
“If we look at least at the video footage posted on the network, we will see, for example, that in one case a pilgrim holds his hand in the flame from a whole bunch of candles for three seconds, in the second case another pilgrim holds his hand over the flame for five seconds, but the third a shot where another elderly pilgrim holds his hand in the flame for five seconds ”().

However, in the video proposed in the text of the article, people only pass their hands through the fire, but in no way hold their body parts over the fire for 2 or 3 or 5 seconds. At the Orthodox forum of A. Kuraev, this moment was raised in the topic with the article of the same name, and the Orthodox Christian was the first to draw attention to this discrepancy when he bothered to check the words of Maksimov (). It's amazing how an Orthodox apologist can present video fragments that do not correspond to the signature in the article, and this can be easily found out, just watch the video. Why do people accept words so easily without checking?

Miraculous flashes.
The temple hosts dozens of journalists with special equipment for taking photographs in darkened rooms and hundreds of amateur photographers. Therefore, there are a lot of flashes there. Typically, on high-quality video, the flash trail is 1 - 2 frames and has a white or slightly bluish color. On 5 well-done live broadcasts, and in a secular film, all the flashes of light are exactly like that. In poorer quality videos, color may vary depending on video setup defects, development quality, and video processing characteristics. As a result, flash units will look different colors in different videos. The worse the video quality, the more varied in time and color the flash can display on it. Interestingly, the criteria put forward by the apologists to distinguish a flash from a flash fit into the possibility of a "trace" of a conventional flash on a video of different quality. Hence the impossibility, using the criteria of apologists, to distinguish a wonderful flare from the trail of a photo flash by color, especially after video processing. Thus, it is difficult to refute or prove the existence of flashes based on video.

What do the testimonies left behind in the years when there were still no cameras give?
It is especially interesting to compare the testimonies of modern pilgrims and the testimonies of pilgrims from 1800 to 1900, written down in a language understandable to contemporaries and quite detailed. There is nothing in these testimonies about the flashes of light in the temple during the ceremony. And for some reason, the whistleblowers do not try to explain them at all, as if they do not know about them, but only talk about the deception of lighting a fire in the Kuvuklia. Although such flashes would be an even greater miracle.
Apologists for the miracle were able to find evidence that seemed to confirm the flashes, for example, pilgrims before the 13th century said that the ignition of a fire was accompanied by a bright white flash. A single flash at the time of the appearance of the fire is explained by the peculiarity of the ceremony of that time - they did not enter the Cuvukliya and the ignition of the fire inside was accompanied by a bright flash. This is how the 12th century Islamic historian Ibn al-Kalanisi, already quoted here, describes the substances for spontaneous combustion used in the ceremony:
"... so that fire can reach them through the oil of the balsam tree and its devices, and its property is the appearance of fire when combined with jasmine oil, it has a bright light and brilliant radiance."

"Blessed" fire in the hands

Cold fire is salicylic acid.

Potatoes + fluoride toothpaste + salt = blessed fire

Who and why needs deception with the so-called. blessed fire in Jerusalem

P.S.
Holy fire descended on earth in Jerusalem
In the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire took place. The Russian delegation with a particle of it is preparing to fly to Moscow.
The Russian delegation is already heading to the airport to bring the Holy Fire to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow before the procession ...

... And so every year

Traditionally, the mission is headed by Vladimir Yakunin, Chairman of the Andrew the First-Called Trust Fund, Russian Railways President. Together with him, the pilgrims will fly to the capital on a special flight to distribute the Holy Fire to all believers.

This year, the Fund of St. Andrew the First-Called within the framework of the program "Ask for Peace for Jerusalem" will bring the Holy Fire to Russia for the tenth anniversary.

Every year, the Russians fly to Israel on Friday afternoon, and immediately after the fire disappears, they leave back to Russia.

On Saturday, early in the morning, the members of the delegation go to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher so as not to be late for the morning service. During the day, all traffic in the city center is blocked, the entrance to the temple is also closed, since the premises cannot accommodate everyone. 10 thousand pilgrims are waiting for the descent of the fire in the temple itself and hundreds of thousands beyond.

As soon as the fire goes away, the delegates of the Russian mission take a particle of it, place it in a special lamp and practically run to the bus, so that they don't waste a minute to go to the airport ...

Ostap leaned over to the keyhole, put his hand to his mouth with a pipe and distinctly said:- How much is opium for the people?They were silent outside the door.- Daddy, you are a vulgar man! - shouted Ostap.

The descent of the Holy Fire or Holy Light takes place on Holy Saturday on the eve of Easter. The ceremony takes place at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. According to legend, on the day when the Holy Fire does not descend to the earth, the Apocalypse will come. The miracle is that the fire appears in the chapel of the temple without the help of any kind of flammable means. The descent of the Holy Fire symbolizes the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the victory of spiritual life over death and frailty of the body.

Descent of the Holy Fire how it happens: what is the miracle of the appearance of the Holy Light

Christians believe that the Holy Fire appears according to the will of God. According to the testimony of sacred sources, divine light accompanied the resurrection of Jesus Christ and his exit from the Tomb. The first mention of the miracle dates back to the 4th century. Today, the descent of the Holy Fire takes place in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem on Holy Saturday between 13 and 15 hours local time.

The fire in the closed chapel of the Temple appears without the help of incendiary means and is accompanied by inexplicable miracles. This is a symbol of God's forgiveness of human sins and resurrection from death.

Descent of the Holy Fire how it happens: service in honor of the Holy Fire

The church ceremony preceding the miraculous event begins on Good Friday. Those wishing to see the miracle gather at the walls of the temple in the evening. The service is strictly regulated, each patriarchy has its own rights and responsibilities in it at a time strictly determined by the ceremony. The head of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, ascetic monks from the last of its kind ancient Lavra of Sava the Sanctified and Arab Orthodox youth take part in it without fail.

The movement of the ceremony to the temple is unusually noisy and numerous. When the temple is filled with believers, all candles and lamps are extinguished. A large lamp is brought into the cave, in which the Holy Light should light up, as well as 33 candles according to the number of years of the life of Jesus Christ. After checking the chapel for the absence of sources of fire, the doors are closed and sealed.

Then the ritual of prayer of Orthodox Arabs begins. Young boys, astride each other, rush into the temple, beat drums, stomp and shout ancient prayers asking for the descent of the Holy Light. They turn to Jesus, the Virgin Mary and George the Victorious. Young people praise God and the Christian faith.

After that, the procession begins along the memorial places where Christ took torment and to the place of his crucifixion. At the end of the ceremony, the Orthodox patriarch in one white shirt, so that it can be seen that he has nothing to light the fire with, enters the chapel, from where he should appear with fire in his hands. Waiting for the fire to come down can take several hours. The appearance of the fire is preceded by inexplicable flashes of bluish light, reminiscent of lightning strikes.

When the light comes on inside the chapel, the bells begin to ring, informing the faithful about the descent of the Holy Fire. The patriarch from the windows of the chapel gives burning candles, which disperse among the parishioners. The lamps in the temple light up by themselves, and then the entire chapel of the Temple is illuminated with a bright light.

Descent of the Holy Fire how it happens: The Holy Fire spreads throughout the world

After the patriarch brings out the sacred fire, the ministers set fire to other candles from his candles and quickly carry them around the temple, where the pilgrims try to touch the wonderful fire and even “wash” with it. For the first minutes, fire has wonderful properties - it does not burn skin, clothing and even hair. People feel unprecedented elation and joy. It is often possible to observe miracles of healing the sick and the weak, who have touched the Holy Fire.

Later, the sacred fire spreads through all the temples of Jerusalem. Its special flights are delivered to different countries of the world, including Russia.

Descent of the Holy Fire how it happens: scientists tried to study the appearance of the Holy Fire

Scientists have often wondered about the nature of the origin of this miracle. A Russian physicist from the Kurchatov Scientific Center tried to study this phenomenon by secretly carrying scientific equipment to the temple ceremony.

The physicist placed a device that records electromagnetic radiation in a case and quietly carried it into the temple. A few minutes before the priest took out the Holy Fire from the chapel, the scientist already knew about this, because his equipment recorded a strong electromagnetic pulse, which was no longer repeated.

The physicist believes that the phenomenon really exists. Since the phenomenon has material traces that can be measured, this is not a hoax or deception. The blessed fire is not at all created by human hands. This is an amazing phenomenon that requires further study.

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