Holy fire will appear this year on April 26
 Where and when does the miracle occur?
The ceremony, which awes the souls of Christians, takes place in the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem. The date for Pascha is determined anew for every year. It must be a first Sunday after the spring equinox and Jewish Passover. Therefore, most of the time it differs from the date of Catholic and Protestant Easter, which is determined using different criteria. The Holy Fire is the most renowned miracle in the world of Eastern Orthodoxy. IIt has taken place at the same time, in the same manner, in the same place every single year for centuries. No other miracle is known to occur so regularly and so steadily over time. No other miracle is known to occur so regularly and so steadily over time. It happens in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the holiest place on earth[2], where Christ was crucified, entombed, and where He finally rose from the dead.
Ceremony of Holy Light
In order to be as close to the Sepulchre as possible, pilgrims camp next to it. The Sepulchre is located in the small chapel called Holy Ciborium, which is inside the Church of the Resurrection. Typically they wait from the afternoon of Holy Friday in anticipation of the miracle on Holy Saturday. Beginning at around 11:00 in the morning the Christian Arabs chant traditional hymns in a loud voice. These chants date back to the Turkish occupation of Jerusalem in the 13th century, a period in which the Christians were not allowed to chant anywhere but in the churches. "We are the Christians, we have been Christians for centuries, and we shall be forever and ever. Amen!" - they chant at the top of their voices accompanied by the sound of drums. The drummers sit on the shoulders of others who dance vigorously around the Holy Ciborium. But at 1:00 pm the chants fade out, and then there is a silence. A tense silence, charged from the anticipation of the great demonstration of God's power for all to witness.
Shortly thereafter, a delegation from the local authorities elbows its way through the crowd. At the time of the Turkish occupation of Palestine they were Muslim Turks; today they are Israelis. Their function is to represent the Romans at the time of Jesus. The Gospels speak of the Romans that went to seal the tomb of Jesus, so that his disciples would not steal his body and claim he had risen. In the same way the Israeli authorities on this Holy Saturday come and seal the tomb with wax. Before they seal the door, they follow a custom to enter the tomb, and to check for any hidden source of fire, which would make a fraud of the miracle.[1,2]
How the miracle occurs
"I enter the tomb and kneel in holy fear in front of the place where Christ lay after His death and where He rose again from the dead... (narrates Orthodox Patriarch Diodor - ed.). I find my way through the darkness towards the inner chamber in which I fall on my knees. Here I say certain prayers that have been handed down to us through the centuries and, having said them, I wait. Sometimes I may wait a few minutes, but normally the miracle happens immediately after I have said the prayers. From the core of the very stone on which Jesus lay an indefinable light pours forth. It usually has a blue tint, but the colour may change and take many different hues. It cannot be described in human terms. The light rises out of the stone as mist may rise out of a lake — it almost looks as if the stone is covered by a moist cloud, but it is light. This light each year behaves differently. Sometimes it covers just the stone, while other times it gives light to the whole sepulchre, so that people who stand outside the tomb and look into it will see it filled with light. The light does not burn — I have never had my beard burnt in all the sixteen years I have been Patriarch in Jerusalem and have received the Holy Fire. The light is of a different consistency than normal fire that burns in an oil lamp... At a certain point the light rises and forms a column in which the fire is of a different nature, so that I am able to light my candles from it. When I thus have received the flame on my candles, I go out and give the fire first to the Armenian Patriarch and then to the Coptic. Hereafter I give the flame to all people present in the Church."
While the patriarch is inside the chapel kneeling in front of the stone, there is darkness but far from silence outside. One hears a rather loud mumbling, and the atmosphere is very tense. When the Patriarch comes out with the two candles lit and shining brightly in the darkness, a roar of jubilee resounds in the Church.[2]
The Holy Light is not only distributed by the Archbishop, but operates also by itself. It is emitted from the Holy Sepulchre with a hue completely different from that of natural light. It sparkles, it flashes like lightning, it flies like a dove around the tabernacle of the Holy Sepulchre, and lights up the unlit lamps of olive oil hanging in front of it. It whirls from one side of the church to the other. It enters some of the chapels inside the church, as for instance the chapel of the Calvery (at a higher level than the Holy Sepulchre) and lights up the little lamps. It lights up also the candles of certain pilgrims. In fact there are some very pious pilgrims who, every time they attended this ceremony, noticed that their candles lit up on their own accord!
his divine light also presents some peculiarities: As soon as it appears it has a bluish hue and does not burn. At the first moments of its appearance, if it touches the face, or the mouth, or the hands, it does not burn. This is proof of its divine and supernatural origin. We must also take into consideration that the Holy Light appears only by the invocation of an Orthodox Archbishop.[1]The miracle is not confined to what actually happens inside the little tomb, where the Patriarch prays. What may be even more significant, is that the blue light is reported to appear and be active outside the tomb. Every year many believers claim that this miraculous light ignites candles, which they hold in their hands, of its own initiative. All in the church wait with candles in the hope that they may ignite spontaneously. Often unlit oil lamps catch light by themselves before the eyes of the pilgrims. The blue flame is seen to move in different places in the Church. A number of signed testimonies by pilgrims, whose candles lit spontaneously, attest to the validity of these ignitions. The person who experiences the miracle from close up by having the fire on the candle or seeing the blue light usually leaves Jerusalem changed, and for everyone having attended the ceremony, there is always a "before and after" the miracle of the Holy Fire in Jerusalem.
How old is the wonder?
The first writtenaccount of the Holy Fire (Holy Light) dates from the fourth century, but authors write about events that occurred in the first century. So Ss. John Damascene and Gregory of Nissa narrate how the Apostle Peter saw the Holy Light in the Holy Sepulchre after Christ's resurrection. "One can trace the miracle throughout the centuries in the many itineraries of the Holy Land." The Russian abbot Daniel, in his itinerary written in the years 1106-07, presents the "Miracle of the Holy Light" and the ceremonies that frame it in a very detailed manner. He recalls how the Patriarch goes into the Sepulchre-chapel (the Anastasis) with two candles. The Patriarch kneels in front of the stone on which Christ was laid after his death and says certain prayers, at which point the miracle occurs. Light proceeds from the core of the stone - a blue, indefinable light which after some time kindles unlit oil lamps as well as the Patriarch's two candles. This light is "The Holy Fire", and it spreads to all people present in the Church. The ceremony surrounding "The Miracle of the Holy Fire" may be the oldest unbroken Christian ceremony in the world. From the fourth century A.D. all the way up to our own time, sources recall this awe-inspiring event. From these sources it becomes clear that the miracle has been celebrated on the same spot, on the same feast day, and in the same liturgical frame throughout all these centuries.[2]
 Every time heterodox have tried to obtain the Holy Fire they have failed. Three such attempts are known. Two occured in the twelfth century when priests of the Roman church tried to force out the Orthodox church but by their own confession these ended with God's punishment. [3,4] But the most miraculous event occured in the year 1579, the year when God clearly testified to whom alone may be given His miracle.
"Once the Armenians (monophysites - ed.) paid the Turks, who then occupied the Holy Land, in order to obtain permission for their Patriarch to enter the Holy Sepulchre, the Orthodox Patriarch was standing sorrowfully with his flock at the exit of the church, near the left column, when the Holy Light split this column vertically and flashed near the Orthodox Patriarch.
A Muslim Muezzin, called Tounom, who saw the miraculous event from an adjacent mosque, immediately abandoned the Muslim religion and became an Orthodox Christian. This event took place in 1579 under Sultan Mourad IV, when the Patriarch of Jerusalem was Sophrony IV.(The above mentioned split column still exists. It dates from the twelfth century. The Orthodox pilgrims embrace it at the "place of the split" as they enter the church).[2, date and name are corrected]
Turkish warriors stood on the wall of a building close to the gate and lightning-struck column . When he saw this striking miracle he cried that Christ is truly God and leaped down from a height of about ten meters. But he was not killed-the stones under him became as soft as wax and his footprint was left upon them. The Turks tried to scrape away these prints but they could not destroy them; so they remain as witnesses [5].
He was burned by the Turks near the Church. His remains, gathered by the Greeks, lay in the monastery of Panagia until the 19th century shedding chrism.
Muslims, who deny the Passion, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ, tried to put obstacles in the way of the miracle. Well known Muslim historian Al Biruni wrote: "… a (note: Muslim) governor brought a copper wire instead of a wick (note: for the self lighting oil lamps), in order that it wouldn't ignite and the whole thing would fail to occur. But as the fire descended, the copper burned."[6]
This was not the only attempt. The report written by the English chronicler, Gautier Vinisauf, describes what happened in the year 1192.
"In 1187, the Saracens under the direction of Sultan Salah ad-Din took Jerusalem. In that year, the Sultan desired to be present at the celebration, even though he was not a Christian. Gautier Vinisauf tells us what happened: "On his arrival, the celestial fire descended suddenly, and the assistants were deeply moved...the Saracens... said that the fire which they had seen to come down was produced by fraudulent means. Salah ad-Din, wishing to expose the imposter, caused the lamp, which the fire from Heaven had lighted, to be extinguished, but the lamp relit immediately. He caused it to be extinguished a second time and a third time, but it relit as of itself. Thereupon, the Sultan, confounded, cried out in prophetic transport: 'Yes, soon shall I die, or I shall lose Jerusalem.'"[7]
A miracle that is unknown in the West
One can ask the question of why the miracle of the Holy Fire is almost unknown in Western Europe. In Protestant areas it may, to a certain extent, be explained by the fact that there is no real tradition of miracles; people don't really know in which box to place the miracles, and they rarely feature in newspapers. But in the Catholic tradition there is vast interest in miracles. Thus, why is it not more well known? For this only one explanation suffices: Church politics. Only the Orthodox Churches attend the ceremony which is centered on the miracle. It only occurs on the Orthodox date of Easter and without the presence of any Catholic authorities.[2]
The question of the authenticity of the miracle
 As with any other miracle there are people who believe it is a fraud and nothing but a masterpiece of Orthodox propaganda. They believe the Patriarch has a lighter inside of the tomb. These critics, however, are confronted with a number of problems. Matches and other means of ignition are recent inventions. Only a few hundred years ago lighting a fire was an undertaking that lasted much longer than the few minutes during which the Patriarch is inside the tomb. One then could perhaps say, he had an oil lamp burning inside, from which he kindled the candles, but the local authorities confirmed that they had checked the tomb and found no light inside it.
The best arguments against a fraud, however, are not the testimonies of the shifting Patriarchs. The biggest challenges confronting the critics are the thousands of independent testimonies by pilgrims whose candles were lit spontaneously in front of their eyes without any possible explanation. According to our investigations, it has never been possible to film any of the candles or oil lamps igniting by themselves. However, I am in the possession of a video filmed by a young engineer from Bethlehem, Souhel Nabdiel. Mr. Nabdiel has been present at the ceremony of the Holy Fire since his early childhood. In 1996 he was asked to film the ceremony from the balcony of the dome of the Church. Present with him on the balcony were a nun and four other believers. The nun stood at the right hand of Nabdiel. On the video one can see how he films down on the crowds. At a certain point all lights are turned off - it is time for the Patriarch to enter the tomb and receive the Holy Fire. While he is still inside the tomb one suddenly hears a scream of surprise and wonder originating from the nun standing next to Nabdiel. The camera begins to shake, as one hears the excited voices of the other people present on the balcony. The camera now turns to the right, whereby it is possible to contemplate the cause of the commotion. A big candle, held in the hand of the Russian nun, takes fire in front of all the people present before the patriarch comes out of the tomb. She holds the candle with shaking hands while making the sign of the Cross over and over again in awe of the miracle she has witnessed. This video appears to be the closest one gets to an actual filming of the miracle.
In my search for potentially credible Miracles of God in Christianity, I came across this and was surprised that due to church politics, it was almost totally unreported on in the Western churches both Catholic and Protestant. Church politics badly divides the Church of Christ on earth which Jesus Christ wanted to be one united Church of Jesus Christ, not divided into camps each of which is more dedicated to division than being the one united Church of Jesus Christ that Jesus founded on the earth in the beginning. Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic, and Protestant churches do not report on apparent Miracles of God when they occur in parts of Christianity rather than their own individual churches. All sides claim that they see scandals in the other two branches of Christianity that they do not see in themselves. Once the real or else imagined but not real scandals are removed from all sides, it is hard to reunite the Christian church backed into one fold as Jesus and the Apostles started with one united fold, not many folds and all mistrusting the other folds which divided from the one starting Church of Jesus Christ. We need to have all sides meet together with their best scholars, address the issues real or imagined which divide Christianity, and if we can all get back to the original standards of first Apostolic Christianity established by Jesus Christ and the Apostles, then I see no reason why we cannot reunite and be the bride church waiting for Jesus Christ for when He returns to earth.
Martin Luther had a good point that the Bible should be made available for all Christians to read. Early Christianity had the same stand and had committees of copyists to copy the Old and New Testament so local churches could read the Bible when they wanted to. However, Martin Luther removed several of the books of the Old Testament that Christianity had always had in their original Bibles until Martin Luther dumped a few earlier books always retained by first Christianity in the Old Testament. The first King James Bible had all the early books retained by the first Christians as part of the Old Testament, but I think it was a Bible society of the 19th century which dropped some of the Old Testament books first Christianity included in their canon of Old Testament Books. Since then we have an abridged edition of the Bible passed off as the entire King James original version of the Old Testament. The original King James Bible had legal and moral warning not to tamper with this original translation of the Old Testament and New Testament. Some of the reasons for division of Christianity is due to Bible scholars who did some tampering to get rid of part of the early Christian canon of Old Testament books first Christianity had. Except for the abridgment, I think the King James Bible is a fine translation of the Bible as well as the Vulgate Catholic Bible when translated with integrity into the English language and other languages.
Right now I live up to my pen name of Erasmus who was dedicated to reform in Christianity, but not push for division and bitter strife between main elements of Christianity. Erasmus wrote in Praise Of Folly to show corruption in Christianity then to reform from but not destroy Christian unity over. I am of the spirit of Erasmus in matters like this. I love early Apostolic Christianity and want all three main branches of Christianity to honestly identify what first Apostolic Christianity was and taught, and then let all three sides return to what they by their own scholarship have identified what true and first Apostolic Christianity was and still is. And a strong hint here. Early Christianity was heavily governed by bishops who were elected by the city mother churches composed of local churches under the authority of the bishop (overseer) for that local branch of Christianity in the Roman Empire.
St. Irenaeus around 170 A.D. wrote about the God-given rights of all mankind including Christians to decide what form of government and leadership for government they wanted to live under. In this teaching of early Apostolic Christianity, I offer to the Christian world my proposed Omni Law found on my website. It is the teaching on the God-given political rights of mankind taught by early Apostolic Christianity as written up as proposed national law for America and to be modified slightly for other nations so they may also have government for, by, and of the people of their nations as taught by first Apostolic Christianity. The famous golden preacher of Eastern Christianity also had preached on this same subject of the God-given political rights of the people at Constantinople probably around 370 A.D. I refer to the famous Church Father John Chrysostom, later Bishop of Constantinople and head of the Eastern half of Christianity in the Roman Empire.
Pass this report around so Christians can rejoin the total culture and treachings of early Apostolic Christianity and be much fuller and more total Christians for this age than "politically correct" misrepresentations of Christianity teach that Christians should be for today. Christians do not know much of their own Christian history, but 4 times in history systems of money were based upon a key teaching of Jesus Christ on money and every time the economies boomed with no poor or unemployed left in society, businesses boomed, and governments were prosperous and had low taxes so nothing for anyone to worry about. Four times banking systems upset with all this prosperity with everyone in society finally figured out how to overthrow it each time and then mankind was thrown back into tough economies, many unemployed or poor, business rough to be in, governments with high taxes, crime and war came back to societies that did not much have to bother with this while Jesus Money was in power, and churches that had been super prosperous under Jesus Money were now thrown into hard times with church offerings now much lower instead of super high like before under Jesus Money. Under Jesus Money, tiny France built without need of bank loans or taxes, but just contributions of the common people now made intensely prosperous under Jesus Money, tiny France built 80 Gothic cathedrals and 500 cathedral grade large churches in just 100 years. Included was the Cathedral of Chartres built by the people of Chartres around 2,500 people in around 38 years and rated one of the four most beautiful cathedrals of that age and almost as big as the Washington National Cathedral of Wash., D.C. The Washington National Cathedral supported by Pres. Teddy Roosevelt and other famous Americans started digging the foundations for this in 1907 and completed in 1990. It was built by the old Gothic methods of the Middle Ages. When completed, it was commented that this cost too much to build and America could never afford to build another cathedral by the old Gothic method of the Middle Ages. Tiny France using Jesus Money built 580 cathedral size churches in 100 years versus one for America taking most of a century to build. That is the difference between Jesus Money of the Middle Ages and Federal Reserve Money of America in the 20th century.
Having studied with an engineering school, I think like an engineer or scientist and what works obviously works, so why not use Jesus Money again if tough times come to a nation? I gave it the name of Jesus Money. The earlier name for this in Latin meant such as money which periodically renewed itself. Also, with modern engineering and agriculture, we can accelerate growth of national economies even faster with Jesus Money than when earlier nations had Jesus Money but with more primitive agriculture and engineering in comparison. Pass this Omni Law I wrote and posted on my website and we can boom the economy any time our politicians in our national government try to crash our economy with their stupid or else corrupt laws affecting the economy of our nation. Also, current federal law has been passed making you liable for bank derivatives, etc. which no honest government would ever do to its citizens. It can be much bigger in bank debt than the current national debt in America which this federal law which is currently being pushed by the Democrats and not Republicans can bankrupt all citizens of America and clean out all your money in all your bank accounts in America. You are liable for all this money if the banks lose their shirts on derivatives, etc. If they lose, they can keep their money from other angles and are not liable for these bank losses, only you the sucker public letting the con artist politicians stick you with the bill for their losses and you, not the banks, are liable to cover the bank losses. It is hard to be more corrupt with government than this what the Democrats are trying to stick you with the bill of multi-trillion dollar debt that the banks are supposed to be liable for if things go wrong with their gambles with your bank money. Also, under this type law pushed by the politicians in Wash., D.C., money you deposit with banks is now legally theirs, not yours, and is considered an investment with the banks if you deposit with them. Outrageous? Yes! Pass my proposed Omni Law and fast. Then by national referendum vote by you the American people, you will cancel the federal law version of bad bank debts where you instead of the banks are liable for bad debts that they create. Once the Omni Law is passed and then you vote to undo this politician trick of sticking you with bad bank debts instead of them, then once more money which you deposit in a bank will be your money, not theirs legally, and they can't steal away your money from you by legal con language written up by the politicians paid off in Congress to pass such outrageous laws in America.
Pass the Omni Law and you the American people, not the corrupt, now control the national government again! Full name of the Omni Law is The Omnibus Civil Rights Act For America. It gives you the legal right of national referendum over the government so the government has to be your servant henceforth and not your intended master. Also, ten legal trustees set up over Wash., D.C. by the Omni Law defend your legal rights against intended abuses of law by those in federal agencies and Congress itself.
Pass the Omni Law as fast as you the American people make copies of this report, send it all over America and to your elected representatives in Congress and state legislatures. When they know that you now back passage of the Omni Law, it will then be swiftly passed in America and then the economy booms with new prosperity and your legal rights are fully protected so those in government have to respect your legal rights under law henceforth whether U.S. Bill of Rights or other legal rights you have and retain.
Our website is www.fastboomamericaneconomy.com Our email is fastboomamericaneconomy.com@gmail.com Our mailing address for those wanting to place orders for products or else back our Omni Law Loan Program on our website is NIFI, P.O. Box 1465, Seneca, SC 29679 . Make checks, etc. out to NIFI and tell us what the payment is for. All finances raised help pass faster our proposed Omni Law in America. We can pass the law faster or slower depending on whether you help pass out copies of this report or not. And when you help to supply some finances also helps to pass faster our Omni Law in America. We expect to win, but your support enables us to move faster to pass this Omni Law in America which is restoring your God-given rights back into law in America.
Yours For God And Country, Erasmus Of America (pen name for that American leader who actually believes in the founding principles of America in 1776 which many in Wash., D.C. today do not believe in and are actively working to try and overthrow from within Wash., D.C. if you let them strip you of all your legal rights in America! Do you want freedom or else slavery for your life in America? The Omni Law puts the American people back into power over America instead of the corrupt buying off many members of Congress and threatening other members of Congress to vote corruptly and also forcing other federal leaders in Wash., D.C. to violate your legal rights when they don't want to!)
P.S. The U.S. Bill of Rights were written to protect your legal rights from tyranny in government as criminal laws already protected your legal rights from private criminals in society! Time for Wash., D.C. to obey the U.S. Bill of Rights again as early Wash., D.C. did before it became so totally corrupt in our age! |
Coin of Flavia Iulia Helena, mother of Constantine I. 
1 comment:
John I'm so tired of this guys bullshit. Easter is a pagan, lunar calender holiday. If it were the date Jesus rose from the dead it would always be on the same date
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