As we approach the great solemn days of Holy
Week, we bring to mind how our Lord Jesus Christ was betrayed and seized,
tortured and crucified, died and was buried, and arose from the dead. The
services of Holy Week, beginning with Lazarus Saturday, show us in symbols,
readings and chants the account of our Saviour’s love and sacrifice ‘unto
death, even the death of the cross’ for our sake (Phil. 2:8).
On Palm Sunday we shall stand with branches in
our hands and listen to the ‘Hosannas,’ like the multitudes in Jerusalem,
welcoming ‘Him Who cometh in the Name of the Lord,’ and, like the children,
waving palms and shouting for joy. In the Gospels of the first three days
of Passion Week we shall hear Christ’s final teachings to his disciples and the
people; His stern rebukes to the proud, self-righteous Pharisees and scribes;
His prophecy of His resurrection and second coming. In the house of Simon
the Leper, where Jesus was having a meal, we shall see the sinful woman enter
to anoint His head and feet in love and repentance, and we shall contrast her
to Judas, the disciple whose greed incited him to betray his Master for a
paltry sum of money. Then we shall follow Jesus to the ‘upper chamber’
where He and his disciples partook of his Mystical Supper, that is, the first
celebration of the Eucharist of his Most Holy Body and Blood, and then to the
Garden of Gethsemane. There our Lord and God Jesus Christ prayed in
agony.
Concerning our Saviour’s prayer before his
Passion, Saint John Chrysostom says:
By saying, ‘If it be possible, let it pass from
me,’ He showed His humanity; but by saying, ‘Nevertheless not as I will, but as
Thou wilt,’ He showed His virtue and self-command, teaching us even when nature
pulls us back to follow God. (Homily 83 on
the Gospel of Matthew)
Together with Christ’s grieving Mother and
John, the disciple He loved best, and with the other women, we shall stand
watch by His Cross. We shall follow as His body is carried to the grave
in the garden, and there leave his Body to rest till the Resurrection’s
glorious morning.
This is why through all Passion Week’s mournful
services there runs the strain of bright hope of forgiveness, of triumph over
sin and death, and of our Saviour’s victory over Satan, Hades, and mortal
corruption.
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LAZARUS SATURDAY
On this Saturday we remember how our Lord
Jesus Christ raised His friend Lazarus from the dead. He knew Lazarus was
grievously ill, but He waited till he died before He answered Martha and Mary’s
call for Him. Jesus knew that His own death on the Cross was near. He knew
how terrified and bewildered His disciples would be, how they might doubt
that He was indeed the Christ. Only after four days did He bring Lazarus back
to life, so that His disciples would see that He had power over life and
death and was indeed ‘the Resurrection and the Life.’ It was this
miracle that prepared Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem and gave us
the certain assurance of the physical resurrection of all the dead.
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ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM
PALM SUNDAY
This day celebrates Christ’s triumphal entry
into the holy city of Jerusalem. When the people heard of His coming,
great crowds rushed to the city gates to meet Him. They spread their
cloaks on the road and strewed palm leaves in His path. Children waved
green boughs and all sang, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He
that cometh in the Name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!’ At Palm
Sunday Matins, after the Gospel lection about the entry into Jerusalem, the
priest blesses palm leaves or other appropriate branches, which the people
hold during the canon. Palm Sunday is one of the twelve great feasts of the
Church.
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GREAT AND HOLY MONDAY
The week of our Saviour’s Passion begins with
Holy and Great Monday. The first three days of Holy Week recall Christ’s
last teachings with His disciples. These teachings inspire the readings
and hymns. The services consist of Great Compline, Matins, Hours, and the
Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts with Vespers. Gospels are read at
Matins and Liturgy. In addition, the whole Psalter is read in the
services of the first three days of Holy Week; also, the four Gospels are
read. The Psalms remind us how the coming and sufferings of Christ were
awaited and foretold in the Old Testament. The Gospels tell of His life
in the world; His teaching and miracles prove that He was indeed the Son of
God, who of His own free will suffered for our sake though He was without
guilt.
At Matins after the great litany we do not hear
the usual joyous verses, ‘God is the Lord, and hath appeared unto us.’ Instead,
a compunctionate ‘Alleluia’ is chanted. And to inspire us to watch and
pray in these solemn days, this troparion is chanted:
Behold, the Bridegroom cometh in the middle of
the night, and blessed is that servant whom He shall find watching; and again
unworthy is he whom He shall find heedless. Beware, therefore, O my soul,
lest thou be overcome with sleep, lest thou be given up to death, and be shut
out from the Kingdom. But rouse thyself and cry: Holy, Holy, Holy art
Thou, O God, through the Mother of God, have mercy on us.
After the canon, which speaks of Christ’s coming
Passion, another special hymn an Exapostilarion — is chanted. It
is like a cry of our soul as if it saw from afar Christ’s radiant mansions and
felt how unworthy it was to enter them:
Thy bridal chamber, O my Saviour, do I behold
all adorned, and a garment I have not that I may enter therein. Illumine
the garment of my soul, O Giver of Light, and save me.
On Holy and Great Monday the Church tells us
the parable of the barren fig tree. It is the symbol of those who think
only of outward goodness which does not come from the heart. The Gospel
also tells about Christ’s prophecies about the fall of Jerusalem, wars and
tribulations, and the end of the world.
GREAT AND HOLY TUESDAY
On Holy and Great Tuesday we listen to our
Saviour’s replies to the wily questions of the Pharisees and scribes, who tried
to trap Him; we hear His stern rebukes of their envy and deceit. The
parables of the Ten Virgins and of the Talents remind us how we should always
keep watch over our conscience and use in God’s service any gift or talent we
have received from Him. The Gospel then tells Christ’s prophecy of His
second coming and the Last Judgment. It ends with the awful warning: ‘Ye
know that after two days is the feast of the Passover, and the Son of Man is
betrayed to be crucified.’
GREAT AND HOLY WEDNESDAY
On Great Wednesday the Church commemorates the
act of contrition and love of the sinful woman who poured precious myrrh-oil on
our Saviour’s head, and, though she did not know it, ‘prepared Him for burial.’
And in contrast we hear of the dark act of Judas, whose greed led him to betray
his Master. All the readings and hymns of the day warn us to beware of
greed and love of money, which even tempted a disciple of Christ. We too
can betray Him, if we let greed and selfishness get hold of us, while every
deed of humility and love at once
On Holy Wednesday night the Orthodox Church
administers the sacrament of Holy Unction for the bodily and spiritual health
of the participants. At this sacrament, the oil is consecrated by prayer
and the clergy anoint the people.
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GREAT AND HOLY THURSDAY
The Gospels of Holy and Great Thursday tell
how our Saviour and His disciples came to Jerusalem to celebrate His last
feast of the Passover, how He washed their feet. They tell the account
of that Mystical Supper when our Lord ordained the Mystery of His Most Holy
Body and Blood ‘for the remission of sins and life everlasting.’ They
speak of Christ’s instruction to the Apostles, and how He told them that they
would all forsake Him that night; they speak of Peter’s rash promise that he
would always remain faithful; of Christ’s vigil in the garden; of how He was
seized and led away to the high priest’s court; of the scene in the
courtyard; of Peter’s three-fold denial and his grief; of the high priest’s
mocking questions; and of how our Saviour Christ God, wearing the crown of
thorns, beaten and insulted by the soldiers, was led before Pilate.
The readings and hymns of Matins dwell on
Judas’ betrayal, on ‘the dark night’ which settled in his soul. We pray
that we may keep ourselves from greed and deceit, and be made pure by
partaking of the holy Mysteries of Christ’s Body and Blood. The Troparion
after the ‘Alleluia’ at Matins speaks of this:
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When the glorious disciples were enlightened at
the washing of the feet, then Judas the ungodly one was stricken and darkened
with the love of silver. And unto the lawless judges did he deliver Thee, the
righteous Judge. O thou lover of money, behold thou him that for the sake
thereof did hang himself, flee from that insatiable soul that dared such things
against the Master. O Thou Who art good unto all, Lord, glory be to Thee.
On this day the Liturgy of Saint Basil the
Great is celebrated together with Vespers.
The whole narration of our Lord’s Passion is
given at the Matins of Holy and Great Thursday. It is commonly called ‘the
Service of the Twelve Gospels.’ A tall Crucifix usually stands in the middle of
the church with many candles lighted round it. After the Six Psalms and
the Great Litany, the choir chants, ‘Alleluia’ and the Troparion of Holy and
Great Thursday. The priest and deacon come out of the sanctuary carrying
the Book of Gospels. It is placed on a podium and the priest begins the
reading. The whole story of the Passion is read from the four evangelists
and is divided into twelve parts. It begins with the ‘Gospel of the
Testament’ and the prayer at the Mystical Supper, in Saint John’s Gospel, and
continues through the four Gospels to the burial of Christ by Joseph of
Arimathea. After each reading the choir chants, ‘Glory to Thy
forbearance, 0 Lord, glory to Thee.’ Between the readings special
antiphons and hymns are chanted. They speak of Judas’ betrayal; of the
cruelty of the Jews; of our Saviour’s infinite patience and meekness; of the
awe of all creation when the Lord of all was nailed to the Cross between two
thieves. The canon has only three odes. All recount the Passion and foretell
the glory of the Resurrection. Matins ends shortly after the twelfth Gospel.
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HOLY AND GREAT FRIDAY
Great Friday is the most solemn day of Holy
Week. In awe and trembling, we stand before the Cross on which our Saviour
died and we see the image of Him dead, lying in our midst, on the Epitaphios
(the Winding Sheet).
During the Service of Matins, which by
anticipation is chanted on Thursday evening, we will hear some of the most
awe-inspiring hymns of the ecclesiastical year. The following is but a
one example:
Today there is hung upon the Tree, He that
suspended the earth upon the waters. A crown of thorns is placed upon
Him Who is the King of the Angels. With false purple is He wrapped about, He
that wrappeth the Heavens with clouds. Buffetings did He receive, Who
freed Adam in the Jordan. With nails was He affixed, He that is the
Bridegroom of the Church. With a lance was He pierced, He that is the
Son of the Virgin. We venerate Thy Passion, O Christ. Show also unto us
Thy glorious Resurrection.
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The solemn Vespers of Great Friday is
celebrated in the afternoon at the time of our Lord Jesus’ death. Again
all the readings remind us of the suffering Christ and His glory. After
the entrance, lessons are read in which the Prophet Isaih speaks of ‘the Lamb
led to the slaughter,’ and an Epistle of Saint Paul on the power and wisdom of
the Cross; again a Gospel is read describing our Lord’s trial before Pilate,
His Crucifixion and burial.
After the usual petitions, ‘Let us all say ...,’
‘Vouchsafe ...,’ ‘Let us complete ...,’ etc., the choir slowly chants the Aposticha,
during which the procession exits from the Sanctuary, with the priest and
deacon bearing the Shroud of Christ, their heads uncovered, proceeded by candles
and censer. All kneel with head bowed low before the image of our dead
Saviour. A bier stands in the middle of the church, with candles lit
round it. On it the Shroud is laid reverently and censed all round by the
priest.
Then, after the Lord’s Prayer, the dismissal
hymns are chanted: ‘The noble Joseph ...’ and ‘Unto the myrrh-bearing women ...’
followed by the prayers of dismissal’
HOLY AND GREAT SATURDAY
Holy and Great Saturday is a reverent vigil at
the tomb of the Son of God, slain for our sins. By anticipation, the
Saturday Matins is held on Friday evening.
After the Six Psalms and the Great Litany, the
Royal Doors are opened clergy come out with candles and censer. The choir
sings ‘The Lord is God and hath appeared unto us,’ and then the appointed troparia:
In the meantime, the priest and deacon cense
the Shroud, then stand in front of it. The priest and the choir then
chant the ‘Lamentations’ with the verses of the 118th Psalm: ‘Blessed are the
blameless in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord.’ Each verse of the Psalm
is followed by a verse of the Lamentations. It is like a long poem
depicting the Angels in Heaven and all creatures on earth overwhelmed by the
death of their Creator, and their gratitude at being freed from death’s power
by Christ.
After the Lamentations, the Resurrection hymns
are sung. Then, following the customary litanies, the choir chants the
canon, where the note of joy and triumph is heard more and more clearly.
At the end of the Great Doxology of Matins, the priest raises the Shroud, which
is then taken by four pall-bearers, the deacon walks in front, the people
follow, all carrying candles, accompanied by the choir chanting, ‘Holy God,
Holy and Strong, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.’ This represents
the burial of Christ. Then, the prokeimenon is chanted, and the
glorious prophecy of Ezekiel is read about the dry bones of Israel, out of
which arose ‘an exceeding great host’ quickened to life by the breath of
God. Then follows Saint Paul’s Epistle about Christ our Passover, and the
Gospel about the sealing of Jesus’ tomb. Matins then ends as usual.
The Liturgy of Holy and Great Saturday is that
of Saint Basil the Great. It begins with Vespers. After the
entrance, the evening hymn ‘O Gentle Light’ is chanted as usual. Then the
Old Testament readings are recited. They tell of the most striking events
and prophecies of the salvation of mankind by the death of the Son of
God. The account of creation in Genesis is the first reading. The
sixth reading is the story of Israel’s crossing of the Red Sea and Moses’ song
of victory - over Pharaoh, with its refrain: ‘For gloriously is He glorified’.
The last reading is about the Three Children in the fiery furnace of Babylon,
and their song of praise with its repeated refrain: ‘O praise ye the Lord
and supremely exalt Him unto the ages.’ In the ancient church the
catechumens were baptized during the time of these readings. The Epistle
which follows speaks of how, through the death of Christ, we too shall rise to
a new life. After the Epistle, the choir chants, like a call to the
sleeping Christ: ‘Arise, O Lord, Judge the earth, for Thou shalt have an
inheritance among all the nations... The deacon carries out the Book of the
Gospels, and reads the first message of the resurrection from Saint
Matthew. Because the Vespers portion of the service belongs to the next
day (Pascha) the burial hymns of Saturday are mingled with those of the
resurrection, so that this service is already full of the coming Paschal joy.
After the Gospel the Liturgy proceeds as
usual. Instead of the Cherubic Hymn, a special Great Entrance Hymn is
chanted:
Let all mortal flesh keep silence and stand
with fear and trembling, and take no thought for any earthly thing, for the
King of kings and Lord of lords cometh to be slain and given as food for the
faithful. Before Him go the choirs of the angels with all sovereignty and
power: the manv-eyed Cherubim and six-winged Seraphim, covering their faces and
crying out the hymn: Alleluia, Alleluia, .Alleluia.
After the Liturgy the faithful take their meal,
observing the strict fast, to strengthen them to keep watch the rest of the day
and evening. This is the only Saturday of the year on which a strict fast
is kept. In the monasteries and convents, the refectory meal is taken in
complete silence, out of reverence for the burial of Christ. The world
awaits the proclamation of His Resurrection.
SYNAXARION OF THE GREAT FEAST OF THE
RESURRECTION OF CHRIST
On the Great and Holy Sunday of Pascha, we
celebrate the Life-giving Resurrection of our Lord, God, and Saviour Jesus
Christ: Pascha, which, translated from the Hebrew, means Passover.
For this is the day on which God created the
world from nothingness. On this day, He delivered the Israelites from
Pharaoh’s hands and led them through the Red Sea. On this day, he
descended from heaven and took His dwelling in the Virgin’s womb; now drawing
forth mankind held in Hades, He raised them to heaven and brought them to the
first-created honour of incorruption. …While the soldiers guarded the tomb, at
midnight the earth quaked, for the angel of the Lord had descended and rolled
the stone from the entrance of the tomb, and the soldiers [set to guard the
tomb] were so frightened that they fled. The women came to the tomb very
early in the morning on the day following the Sabbath — that is to say at
midnight on Saturday. Therefore, late on the first day of the
Resurrection, the Mother of God was there together with St Mary Magdalene, who
was sitting near the tomb according to St Matthew. The Evangelists say
that He first appeared to St Mary Magdalene [rather than His Mother]…so that
there would be no doubts or suspicions concerning the truth of the
Resurrection.
It was St Mary Magdalene who saw the angel upon
the stone; then bowing down, she saw the other angels inside. The angels
announced the Lord’s Resurrection to her and said, ‘He is risen! He is not
here! Behold the place where they laid Him’ (Mark 16:6). Hearing this,
the women turned to run and announce the Resurrection to the most fervent of
the Apostles, that is, to St Peter and St John. But when they returned,
they met Christ Himself, Who said to them, ‘Rejoice’ (Matthew 28:9).
Translated from Romanian; Synaxarion of the
Lenten Triodion and Penetcostarion,
pp. 163-166 (Rives Junction, Mi.: HDM Press, 1999).
THE DATE OF PASCHA
There is among the Orthodox a very widespread
belief that the Christian celebration of Easter must necessarily come after the
Jewish Passover. This chronological order is considered imperative and
bears a symbolic meaning, as it is believed to have been decreed by the First
Ecumenical Council held at Nicea in 325. This belief is stated and
reaffirmed in the 12th century by the Byzantine canonist Zonaras. Another
famous canonist of the later Middle Ages, Matthew Blastaris, in summing up the
opinions of his time on the Paschal question, included among the rules for
determining the date of Easter that it must not coincide with the Jewish Passover.
We find this also in the writing of the learned canonist of the present
century, Nicodemus Milash.
Yet, not only is such a stipulation totally
absent from the decision taken on the Paschal question at Nicea, but it is
foreign and, in a sense, contrary to what was then decreed. How, then,
has such an opinion taken shape through the centuries?
In the primitive Church, there was no need for
computing the date of Easter independently of that of the synagogue, by which
the Passover was determined. The controversy that brought, toward the end
of the second century, the Churches of Asia Minor and the Church of Rome into
opposition did not concern this point. The matter in dispute was quite
different: the Asians celebrated Easter on the 14th of the month Nisan,
whatever the day of the week, while the other Christians waited until the
following Sunday. But both parties based their Easter date on the Jewish
computation of the Passover. This computation was questioned, however,
soon after the Jews changed their mode of calculating their Passover, no longer
taking the vernal equinox into account.
The Bible did, indeed, specify the time the
Passover should be celebrated, but it made no express reference to the vernal
equinox. However, since the prescribed offering consisted of the first
fruits of the harvest, a celebration prior to that time would have been
inconceivable. But this empirical criterion, relative as it is to the
climate conditions of that area, could hardly be preserved once the Jews lost
their geographical proximity to Palestine as a result of the Roman crushing of
the Bar-Bakhba revolt (approximately 135 AD). A period of uncertainty
followed, and then towards the end of the second century, the rabbis
established a new system which disregarded the vernal equinox. With the
new system, at least once every three years the Passover fell before the
equinox.
Then, many Christians wondered why they should
celebrate the commemoration of the Passion and Resurrection on the basis of a
computation which was no longer the one used at the time of our Lord.
Thus, as early as the third century, the Christians began to devise their own
calculations of the Easter date. A learned Alexandrian, Anatolius (later
bishop of Laodicea in Syria), used for his Easter computation the nineteen-year
cycle invented in 432 BC by the Athenian astronomer Meton. However, most
Churches in the region of Antioch continued to follow the computation of the
synagogue in spite of the fact that the latter no longer took the equinox into
account. This on occasion caused considerable differences in the date of
Easter between the Antiochian churches and others; in contrast, variations
among the latter were neither frequent nor notable.
These differences promoted the question of the
date of Easter before the First General Council at Nicea. This venerable
assembly did take a decision on this issue. But though there have been
references to a decree, there does not seem to have been issued a written text
of it. Thus, the document to which reference is often made is in fact a
compilation of a number of authentic data. According to this kind of
evidence, we are able to reconstruct the decision of the first General Council
on the question of Easter follows:
Easter must necessarily be celebrated on the
same Sunday by all churches.
This Sunday must be the first after the full
moon following the vernal equinox.
The Churches that follow the Jewish calculation
must abandon it and conform with the general usage.
However, there was some resistance to that
decision which necessitated new injunctions: the First Canon of the Council of
Antioch (around 330 AD), and the Seventh Apostolic Canon (second half of the
fourth century). These canons condemned those who celebrated Easter ‘with
the Jews.’ This did not mean, however, that the dissidents were
celebrating Easter on the same day as the Jews; rather, that they were
celebrating on a date calculated according to the synagogal computations.
There is clear evidence that it was not a
chance coincidence to which the canons referred. Especially, since, on
account of the ever-increasing time delay brought about by the inaccuracies of
the Jewish calendar, any chance of coincidence between the Christian Easter and
the Jewish Passover disappeared.
As a result, the real cause that had prompted
the decision of the First Ecumenical Council came to be forgotten. The
belief gradually grew that the phrase ‘with the Jews’ was to be understood
literally, and that the Holy Fathers at Nicea had decreed that the Christian
Easter must not, even accidentally, occur on the same day as the Passover;
rather, it must be celebrated later. As a matter of fact, however, such
an interpretation was not only inaccurate but contrary to the spirit of what was
decreed at Nicea, considering that acceptance of this interpretation
necessitates a chronological relationship between the Christian Easter and the
Jewish Passover, the very undesirable connection the Great Council sought to
abolish.
Archbishop Peter of New York and New Jersey
The Orthodox Church Newspaper, April-May 1994
THE MIRACLE OF THE HOLY FIRE IN
JERUSALEM
The descent of the Holy Fire which takes place
every Easter in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is perhaps the
most renowned miracle in the Orthodox world. Yet, despite being witnessed
by countless pilgrims from virtually corner of the globe (including some people
from our own diocese of Sourozh), the miracle is almost unknown outside the
confines of Orthodoxy. So, it is all the more remarkable to find an
article on the subject, (albeit in a somewhat stilted English translation)
printed by a Western newspaper. The article is aimed at an agnostic
Western readership, yet deals sympathetically with its subject-matter, and includes
a fascinating interview with His Beatitude Diodorus, the late Patriarch of
Jerusalem, (reposed 19th December 2000) the modern link to the tradition
which stretches back more than 1600 years.
‘On Holy Saturday believers gather in great
crowds in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. For on this day fire comes
down from Heaven and puts fire on lamps in the Church.’ Thus one reads in
one of the many Easter itineraries to the Holy Land.
‘The Miracle of the Holy Fire’ by Christians
from the Orthodox Churches is known as ‘the greatest of all Christian miracles’.
It takes place every single year, on the same time, in the same manner, and on
the same spot. No other miracle is known to occur so regularly and for
such an extensive period of time; one can read about it in sources as old as
from the eighth century ad. The miracle happens in the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the holiest place on earth, to millions of
believers. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre itself is an enigmatic
place. Theologians, historians and archaeologists consider the church to
contain both Golgatha, the little hill on which Jesus Christ was crucified, as
well as the ‘new tomb’ close to Golgatha that received his dead body, as one
reads in the Gospels. It is on this same spot that Christians believe he
rose from the dead.
One can trace the miracle throughout the
centuries in the many itineraries to 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, upon which the
miracle occurs. Light proceeds from the core of the stone — a blue,
indefinable light which after some time kindles closed oil lamps as well as the
Patriarch’s the 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 ad 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. One can ask, if
it would happen also in the year 1998 [the date of the article — ed.]
In order to find out, I travelled to Jerusalem
to be present at the ceremony in which the Miracle of the Holy Fire occurs, and
I can testify that it did not only happen in the ancient Church and throughout
the Middle Ages but also on the 18th of April, 1998. The Greek Orthodox
Patriarch of Jerusalem, Diodorus I, is the man who every year enters the tomb
to receive the Holy Fire. He has been the Patriarch of Jerusalem since
1982 and thereby is the key-witness to the miracle. Prior to the ceremony
of this year the Patriarch received us in private audience, where I had the
opportunity to speak with him about the miracle in order to know exactly what
happens in the tomb and what the miracle means for him personally in his
spiritual life. Furthermore, through his intervention, I was admitted to
the balconies in the dome of the Holy Sepulchre Church, from where I had a fine
view over the masses that had gathered around the tomb in anticipation of the ‘Great
Miracle of the Holy Fire’.
But what exactly happens in the Holy Sepulchre
Church on Easter Saturday? Why does it have such an impact on the
Orthodox Tradition? Why does it seem as if nobody has heard anything
about the miracle in the Protestant and Catholic countries?
One of the most famous ceremonies in the
Orthodox Church
The miracle occurs every year on the Orthodox
Easter Saturday. There are many types of Orthodox Christians: Syrian,
Armenian, Russian and Greek Orthodox as well as Copts. In the Holy
Sepulchre Church alone there are seven different Christian denominations.
The date of Orthodox Easter is fixed according to the Julian Calendar, and not
the usual Western European Gregorian calendar, which means that their Easter
normally falls on a different date than the Protestant and Catholic Easter.
Since Constantine the Great built the Holy
Sepulchre Church in the middle of the fourth century it has been destroyed many
times. The Crusaders constructed the Church that we see today.
Around the tomb of Jesus, there was erected a little chapel with two rooms, one
little room in front of the tomb and the tomb itself, which holds no more than
five people. This chapel is the centre of the miraculous event. If
one wishes to enter it, one has to reckon with six hours of queuing. Each
year hundreds of people are not able to enter due to the crowds. Pilgrims
come from all over the world, the majority from Greece but in recent years
increasing numbers from Russia and the former Eastern European countries.
Festival
In order to be as close to the tomb as
possible, pilgrims camp around the tomb, waiting from Holy Friday afternoon in
anticipation of the wonder on Holy Saturday. From around 11:00 am till
1:00 pm the Christian Arabs sing traditional songs with loud voices. These
songs date back to the Turkish occupation of Jerusalem in the 13th Century, a
period in which the Christians were not allowed to sing their songs anywhere
but in the Churches. ‘We are the Christians, this we have been for centuries
and this we shall be for ever and ever. Amen!’ they sing at the top of their
voices accompanied by the sound of drums. The drum-players sit on the
shoulders of others who ferociously dance around the Sepulchre Chapel.
But at 1:00 pm the songs fade out and after there is silence, a tense and
loaded silence electrified by the anticipation of the great manifestation of
the power of God that all are about to witness.
At 1:00 pm a delegation of the local
authorities elbows through the crowds. Even though these officials are
not Christian, they are part of the ceremonies. In the times of the
Turkish occupation of Palestine they were Moslem Turks; today they are
Israelis. For centuries the presence of these officials has been an
integrated part of the ceremony. Their function is to represent the
Romans in the time of Jesus. The Gospels speak of Romans that went to
seal the tomb of Jesus, so his disciples would not steal his body and claim he
had risen. In the same way the Israeli authorities on this Easter
Saturday come and seal the tomb with wax. Before they seal the door it is
customary that they enter the tomb to check for any hidden source of fire,
which could produce the miracle through fraud.
The testimony of the patriarch
When the tomb has been checked and sealed, the
whole Church chants the Kyrie Eleison (Lord have mercy). At 1:45
pm the Patriarch enters the scene. In the wake of a large procession he
encircles the Tomb three times, whereupon he is stripped of his liturgical
vestments, remaining only in his white alb, a sign of humility in front of the
great portent of God, to which he is about to be the key witness. All the
oil lamps have been blown out the preceding night, and now all remains of
artificial light are extinguished, so that most of the Church is enveloped in
darkness. The patriarch enters the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre carrying
two big candles — first into the small room in front of the tomb and from there
into the tomb itself.
It is not possible to follow the events inside
the tomb, so I asked the patriarch of Jerusalem, Diodorus, about the centre of
the events.
‘Your Beatittude, what happens when you
enter the Holy Sepulchre?’
‘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. Praying in the Holy Sepulchre in itself is for me always a
very holy moment in a very holy place. It is from here that he rose again
in glory, and it is from there that he spread his light to the world.
John the Evangelist writes in the first chapter of his gospel that Jesus is the
light of the World. Kneeling in front of the place where he rose from the
dead, we are brought within the immediate closeness of his glorious
resurrection. Catholics and Protestants call this Church ‘The Church of
the Holy Sepulchre’. We call it ‘The Church of the Resurrection’.
The Resurrection of Christ for us Orthodox is the centre of our faith. In
his resurrection Christ has gained the final victory over death, not just his
own death but the death of all those who will stay close to him.
I believe it to be no coincidence that the Holy
Fire comes on exactly this spot. In Matthew 28:3, it says that when
Christ rose from the dead, an angel came, dressed all in a fearful light.
I believe that the striking light that enveloped the angel at the Lord’s
resurrection is the same light that appears miraculously every Easter
Saturday. Christ wants to remind us that his resurrection is a reality
and not just a myth; he really came to the world in order to give the necessary
sacrifice through his death and resurrection so that man could be re-united
with his creator.
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.’
‘How do you yourself experience the
miracle and what does it mean to your spiritual life?’
‘The miracle touches me just as deeply every
single year. Every time it is another step towards conversion for
me. For me personally it is of great comfort to consider Christ’s
faithfulness towards us, which he displays by giving us the holy flame every
year in spite of our human frailties and failures. We experience many
wonders in our Churches, and miracles are nothing strange to us. It
happens often that icons cry, when Heaven wants to display its closeness to us;
also we have saints, to whom God gives many spiritual gifts. But none of
these miracles have such a penetrating and symbolic meaning for us as the miracle
of the Holy Fire. The miracle is almost like a sacrament. It makes
the resurrection of Christ present to us as if he had died only a few years
ago.’
The miracle leads to faith
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 shinning
brightly in the darkness, a roar of jubilee resounds in the Church, comparable
only to a goal at a soccer-match.
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 closed oil lamps take fire 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 a close distance 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.
Unknown in the West
One can ask the question why the miracle of the
Holy Fire is hardly known in Western Europe. In the Protestant areas it
may to a certain extent be explained by the fact that there is no real
tradition for miracles; people don’t really know in which box to place the
miracles, and they don’t take up much space in newspapers. But in the
Catholic tradition there is vast interest for miracles. Thus, why is it
not more known? For this it only one explanation suffices: Church
politics. Only the Orthodox Churches attend the ceremony which is centred
on the miracle. It only occurs on the orthodox Easter date and without
the presence of any Catholic authorities.
The question of the authenticity of the miracle
As with any other miracle there are people who
believe it is 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 confirm to have checked the tomb and found
no light inside it.
The biggest 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 take 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 emotion. A big candle, held in
the hand of the Russian nun, takes fire in front of all 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.
Miracles cannot be proved
The miracle is, as most miracles are,
surrounded by unexplainable factors. As Alexios, Archbishop of Tiberias
said when I met him in Jerusalem:
‘The miracle has never been filmed and most
probably never will be. Miracles cannot be proved. Faith is
required for a miracle to bear fruit in the life of a person and without this
act of faith there is no miracle in the strict sense. The true miracle in
the Christian tradition has only one purpose: to extend the grace of God in
creation, and God cannot extend his grace without the faith on behalf of his
creatures. Therefore there can be no miracle without faith.’
Viata Crestină, Aprilie-Iunie 2004
Inapoi la : Publicatii.com