Thursday 28 Mar 2024 - 12:00

07:33 pm

Visitors:
Online:

The Holy Fire emitting from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on Holy Saturday is the miracle to surpass all miracles on Easter

Reported by Rima Youssef
Translated by Rasha Zantout


NNA – “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."  (Matthew 17:20)

If you have faith, you have everything. And indeed these days we are in utmost need of genuine faith based on religious roots which are alien to fanaticism and founded on facts.

Christians believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from his tomb on the third day. They celebrate Holy Saturday, adequately known in Arabic as Saturday of the light since a miracle occurs every year in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem whereby holy light radiates from the tomb of Christ.

Various documents speak of the miracle of the holy light of Jerusalem. Many travellers and historians, such as Al Biruni and Ibn al-Atheer, have mentioned their amazement at the appearance of the holy light on the feast of Christians in Jerusalem. Other documents tell of Sultan Saladin witnessing this celebration. The oldest text available which mentions this events dates back to the fourth century.

Although most miracles are impossible to schedule down, this miracle’s time and place are always known. With the advent of transportation in the modern day, flames from the holy light were transported to other countries to be used in the celebration of Easter prayer.

When and where does the miracle of the Holy Fire take place annually?

This miracle which invigorates Christians and replenishes their faith happens at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, where it is said that Christ was crucified and his body died and was buried then he rose from the tomb on the third day. The miracle happens annually on Holy Saturday, the day preceding Orthodox Easter, since the resurrection of Christ.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre bustles with a throng of believers from various nationalities starting Good Friday as they await the emanation of the Holy Light.

How does the Holy Fire radiate from the tomb of Christ?

Orthodox Patriarch Theodoros describes it as a blue light that emanates within Jesus Christ's tomb (usually rising from the marble slab covering the stone bed believed to be that upon which Jesus' body was placed for burial). The blue light then transforms into different colours and appears as a wet cloud. It is a fire that does not burn but fills the church with light. The light eventually forms a column containing a form of fire which is then used to light the candles of the clergy and pilgrims in attendance.

When did the earliest description of the miracle first appear?

The first documentation of the Holy Light in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was in the fourth century. Some authors described incidents of the emanating light as early as the first century A.D. Among those were Saint John of Damascus and Saint Gregory Nyssen who tell of Apostle Peter seeing the Holy Light in said church a year after the resurrection of Christ in 34 A.D.


Validity of the miracle

Many consider this miracle to be a hoax and a fraud used by Christians for publicity and that the Patriarch keeps instruments of ignition and illumination inside the holy tomb. However, the non-Christian ruling authorities in the region have proven otherwise.

Quite simply, it is one of the miracles of Jesus Christ which began over two thousand years ago and will continue forever.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not defeated it” (John 1: 5).

تابعوا أخبار الوكالة الوطنية للاعلام عبر أثير إذاعة لبنان على الموجات 98.5 و98.1 و96.2 FM

  • NNA Services
  • Email Service
  • Mobile App
  • Responsive Website