The Holy Light is considered a miracle of Orthodoxy, which happens every year on Easter in Jerusalem, when during the Great Vespers on Holy Saturday between 12:30 and 14:30 a fire suddenly flares up over the Holy Sepulchre, which then spreads throughout the world, reaching Romania as well.

The inspection of the Holy Sepulcher takes place from Good Friday, immediately after the Passover. Those who do this check are non-Christian civilian police officers so that they will not be accused of fraud. Their role is to inspect the room of the Holy Sepulcher to make sure that there is no source of fire. He also physically controls those who will enter there during a religious ceremony.

Then, at the right moment, the light goes out, the door is sealed, and only the guards remain at the entrance.

• LIVE VIDEO Lighting of the Holy Light in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem

Evidence of the Holy Light can be found in two main sources: in the typics or liturgical documents that tell about the order of services during the year, and in the stories of pilgrims in the Holy Land. There are other sources – the lives of saints, Christian and non-Christian historical chronicles, letters, various religious treatises. Of course, the accounts from the first Christian centuries are few, and over the centuries the stories multiply and offer more detail.

These stories indicate that the miracle occurs only at the service of Orthodox hierarchs, not Catholic or Monophysite; there are cases when the latter tried to take the place of the orthodox in order to receive the Light, and each time they failed. Also, several Muslim chroniclers reproduced the miracle in their writings, which, by the way, became the reason for some of them to convert to Orthodoxy.

The first testimony is given by the Holy Fathers of the Church, who say that the Holy Apostles Peter and John, who were the first to come to the Holy Sepulcher after the anointing, saw God’s light. Although it was still dark, they saw the shrouds because the tomb was full of light. In the Second Word “On the Resurrection of Christ”, St. Gregory of Nyssa writes: “And, seeing (the cloak and the handkerchief), Peter believed because the tomb was light, although it was still night.”

In the same way, John of Damascus writes: “Peter ran quickly, stood in front of the tomb and, seeing the light in the pit, was afraid, because he saw the shrouds alone lying in it, without the divine Body” (Octoichus, voice 8).

In “Church History” Eusebius of Caesarea describes a miracle connected with the Easter holidays. During the time of the most holy patriarch Narkis of Jerusalem (II century), during the great all-night Easter vigil, the oil in the candles ran out. The believers were very sad, and the patriarch ordered to fill all the candles with water from the Siloam spring. At his prayer, the water turned into oil and burned while he served the Passover service.

The earliest evidence of the ceremony of the Holy Light in Jerusalem is contained in the travel notes of the nun Egeria. In 384, she made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and recorded her impressions of the trip in a journal called Peregrinatio Egeriae, in which she wrote the following:

“However, there is no nine o’clock service on Holy Saturday, because preparations for the Easter vigil are taking place in the great Martyrion Church. The all-night vigil here takes place exactly as it does at home. At the tenth hour, which here is called Likinicon, or, as we say, vespers, a large crowd gathers in the Church of the Resurrection of the Lord. All the torches and candles are lit and it creates a strong light. But the light is not introduced from the outside, but is taken from the inside of the grotto (the Holy Sepulchre), that is, from the inside of the brazier, where a candle is always burning day and night.”

The Codex of the Jerusalem Patriarchate of St. Stavros 43, which dates from the VIII-IX centuries, describes in detail what happens on Holy Saturday in the Church of the Resurrection: “And when the myrrh-bearers have finished filling and preparing the candles, the Patriarch seals the Holy Sepulcher and takes the keys with him, after which all the candles extinguishing in the temple. The patriarch, together with the clergy, all in white clothes, goes to the Church of the Holy Resurrection of the Lord, without any means of lighting candles and without a censer, and quietly begins vespers.” Then there is incense, they go around the tomb 3 times, close it and others, all this is reproduced in detail.

Another extensive account of the coming of the Holy Light can be found in the Itinerary written by the Western monk Bernard, who witnessed the miracle in 870: “It is worth telling what happens on Holy Saturday during the Easter vigil. They walk in procession singing “Lord, have mercy” until an angel comes and lights the candles that hang over the Tomb. Part of this light is passed on by the Patriarch to the bishops and many people.”

Muslim stories about the Holy Light from Jerusalem

From the VIII-IX centuries, Muslim stories began to spread. Thus, in an anonymous Islamic source of the end of the 9th century, it is written: “When the Christian Easter begins, on Holy Saturday, people go out from the place of the grave to the place of the stone, around which there is a gallery. From there they look at the place of the grave, and all pray and prostrate themselves before the Most High God, from the time of the morning prayer until sunset. The emir and imam of the mosque are also present. The guard closes the door of the tomb and stands in front of it. They all remain like that until they see a light like white fire coming from inside the tomb. Then the guard opens the door of the tomb and enters. In his hands is a candle, which he lights from the fire, and then takes it outside. Although it burns, the candle does not burn. He gives it to the imam, who takes the candle and lights the candles of the mosque. When the candle is passed to a third person, it begins to burn and turns into fire.”

Another short piece of information can be found in the letter of Metropolitan Areta of Caesarea of ​​Cappadocia to the Emir of Damascus, which dates back to the beginning of the 10th century: “Every year to this day His holy and precious Shroud works miracles on the day of Resurrection. . The Emir of Jerusalem standing near the Holy Sepulchre, the door of which he seals, and the Christians standing in the nave of the Church of the Resurrection cry out, Lord, have mercy, a candle suddenly lights up, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem take light from it, lighting their torches.”

The ritual of lighting the Holy Light

• On the evening of Good Friday, after the Passover, the Shroud is controlled by an Arab policeman, a Turkish policeman and a representative of the State of Israel. They make sure that the objects inside do not contain any source of fire, check the stone of the Holy Sepulchre, then supervise the Greek hierarch who sprinkles cotton wool on the Holy Sepulchre, writes Doxology.

• After this inspection, all lights are turned off and the door of the Holy Sepulcher is sealed with two strips of white cloth with wax and X-shaped seals.

• Before entering the Holy Sepulchre, the father-patriarch together with the council of hierarchs, priests and believers from all over the world, according to tradition, surrounds it three times.

• After this procession, the Patriarch takes off his priestly vestments, remaining dressed only in a white cassock. Then he takes four bundles of 33 candles each, which symbolize the number of years that Christ lived on earth. Patriarch Theophilus enters the tomb accompanied by a representative of the Armenians. The latter has the right to sit in a place in front of the room of the Holy Sepulchre, from where he can observe the patriarch.

• The Patriarch reads a special prayer, kneeling and praying for the gift of Light – a true blessing for the faithful.

• About 20 minutes later, pilgrims in the church notice a bright light in the form of lightning, which zigzags through the large dome of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and ignites cotton wool sprinkled on top of the stove.

• Father Patriarch collects with his hands cotton wool lit by fire, which can be touched for several minutes without burning. Then he puts the wool in two golden bowls with holes and gives it to the thanksgiving. One cup is carried to the holy altar, and the other to the church of the holy emperors Constantine and Helena. Then the Patriarch comes out in front of the Holy Sepulcher and offers the Holy Light to all the pilgrims, exclaiming three times: “Come and take the Light!”.