Orthodox Christians from around the world filled Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City on Saturday afternoon to celebrate the Holy Light ceremony, before the sacred flame is transported by aircraft across Orthodox Christian countries, including Greece, to mark Easter.
Cheers and prayers rang out during the millennium-old celebration, symbolizing Jesus’ resurrection, as candles one by one were lit after reaching through a small opening into Jesus’ tomb. Soon the dim chamber was lit by a constellation of handheld flames as part of the rite of Orthodox Easter week in Jerusalem.
The Holy Light (or Holy Fire) is described by many faithful Orthodox Christians as a miracle that occurs every year at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on Great Saturday, or Holy Saturday, the day preceding Orthodox Easter.
On this day, the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem enters a chapel believed to be the tomb of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem, without any device that would light a fire, such as a lighter or matches.
Inside the tomb, there is a marble slab covering the stone believed to be that upon which Jesus’ body is to have been placed for burial.
Once the patriarch is in the chapel, he starts praying and from his prayers a blue light is said to emit within Jesus Christ’s tomb, rising from the marble slab.
From that blue light, according to the Orthodox belief, the candles he carries with him light up with the Holy Fire of the Resurrection. Then that candlelight is transferred to the faithful inside and outside the church.
Afterwards, the Holy Light is transported by aircraft to all countries where Orthodoxy is the predominant faith — namely Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Russia, Serbia, and Ukraine.
The Holy Fire emission from the tomb of Jesus has been disputed by other denominations, by both scientists and skeptics alike.
Some have called it a religious fraud, saying that chemicals like naphtha or white phosphorous which cause delayed ignition are used to light the fire in the tomb.
The Holy Light ceremony took place amid tight security, as the war in nearby Gaza is raging for a second year, and Israeli authorities issued only about 4,000 permits to Palestinian Christians wanting to celebrate Holy Week in Jerusalem, citing security reasons.
The Holy Light is scheduled to arrive in Greece on Holy Saturday, April 19 around 7pm on the country’s Prime Minister’s aircraft, according to Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yiannis Loverdos, who will be heading the Greek delegation to Jerusalem, Israel and who will be transporting the Holy Light to Greece.
“The Greek delegation, which will consist of few members because we are flying on the Prime Minster’s aircraft, which only has 13 seats, will leave the Elefsina Air Force Base at 7am and we will fly to Tel Aviv,” Loverdos told Greek SKAI TV.
Loverdos noted that the delegation is using the government aircraft for “security reasons.”
From there, Loverdos said, the delegation will travel to Jerusalem, where after meeting with Patriarch Theofilos III, the Head of the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, who also performs the Holy Light ceremony, they will head to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Orthodox Christians have a viewing balcony.
After the Holy Light arrives at Athens’ International Airport “Eleftherios Venizelos,” it will be transported through eight scheduled and special flights to cities across the country, including Thessaloniki, Larisa, Chania and a number of Greek islands, before Greeks light their candles by the Holy Light during the Resurrection Mass a few minutes before midnight and officially mark Easter.
