The custodian of the Holy Sepulchre is proud to have said that the Holy Fire was lit with a lighter and that it is not a miracle.
What do you think? First of all, when it comes to God, nothing is impossible. God can kindle a flame and recreate the world from the very beginning.
I went to the Holy Land in Jerusalem and experienced Holy Week there. I was standing next to the Patriarch during the ceremony of the Holy Fire, outside the Holy Sepulchre.
Of course, what I can tell you is this: I did not see how the Patriarch lit his candles inside the Holy Sepulchre. I was not there. No one else was there, not even the custodian. Only the Patriarch knows whether he used a lighter or lit the candles in some other way.
For many centuries, we have had historical testimonies claiming that the Holy Fire lights the Patriarch’s candles by itself, along with many other accounts that I do not wish to mention.
When I visited the Holy Sepulchre, I witnessed something remarkable. Before the Patriarch came out to distribute the Holy Fire to the people, as is customary, I sat down and watched what was happening around me. The candles held by people beneath the dome of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre began lighting by themselves. The candle at the Holy Gate was also
lit by itself right in front of us.
There was an elderly Cypriot woman from Athienou who could not get inside the Holy Sepulchre. She remained outside on the steps near the shops, crying because she could not enter. Then the candles on the steps began lighting by themselves. This same elderly woman told me what had happened.
Another woman, who was standing on a balcony, also saw the candles lighting by themselves.
Wonderful!
The Patriarch lit the Holy Fire in whatever way he did. I do not know how the candles of the people were lit. I can only tell you what we witnessed.
I also saw the Holy Fire appearing like a blue lightning bolt. I asked the person standing next to me whether he had seen anything. He told me he had seen a vertical bolt of lightning. Another person saw a luminous sphere, while someone else saw nothing at all.
If this were an artificial phenomenon, surely we would all see the same thing. How is it that I saw it one way, another person saw it differently, and someone else saw it as a sphere or a cloud?
A monk standing with me described what he had seen. I asked him, “What did you see?” He replied, “A bright cloud above the Holy Sepulchre.”
Each person sees it according to his or her own experience and spiritual state.
What can I say about what happens between the patriarchs? They will have to answer that for themselves. However, I will say this: the Armenian clergy, who remain outside, can see the Orthodox Patriarch inside.
If this were a deception or some kind of fraud, those who seek to prevent the Orthodox from receiving the Holy Fire would surely expose it as such. Why, then, would the Patriarch deceive people?
There is also the well-known account of the pillar at the entrance to the Church of the Resurrection, from which the Holy Fire is said to have emerged when the Turks expelled the Orthodox and refused to allow the Orthodox Patriarch to bring out the Holy Fire. The Armenians were allowed to proceed instead, but the Holy Fire reportedly emerged from the pillar. The pillar split open, and the Holy Fire came out of it.
What are we to make of all these accounts passed down through the centuries?
When I returned from Jerusalem, I asked Saint Paisios about the Holy Fire. I said to him, “Elder, have you ever seen the Holy Fire appear at a time other than Easter?”
He told me that all the holy shrines, especially the Holy Sepulchre, possess an everlasting Holy Light. We simply cannot see it.
The Holy Fire does not appear only on Holy Saturday. According to the testimonies of many Christians and holy elders, it has appeared at the Holy Sepulchre on other occasions as well.
There have also been accounts from Mount Athos of lamps lighting by themselves and oil containers being miraculously filled. In our own time, it was reported that containers that had been empty were found full of oil the following morning. The monks went in and discovered that the containers were overflowing with oil.
We are talking about containers holding enormous quantities of oil, not merely five kilograms.
Such things have reportedly happened many times at Vatopedi Monastery and elsewhere.
For us, a miracle is not something strange. It is an act of God. If some people wish to question these things, let them do so.
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