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Agence France Presse
April 26 2008
Orthodox Christians hail 'holy fire' of Easter in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (AFP) ' Thousands of Orthodox Christians converged on
Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Saturday to witness what
they believe is the miraculous appearance of "holy fire" on the eve of
Orthodox Easter.
The Old City was jammed with pilgrims from the Eastern Orthodox faiths
including Greeks, Copts, Russians and Assyrians, seeking to reach the
church, one of Christianity's holiest sites.
No police estimates were available on the number of people crammed
into the narrow streets, but Hanna Anton Signora, a Christian scholar
who contacted various churches, put the figure at around 150,000.
Whatever the number, it was too much for everyone to be
satisfied. Some of the faithful grew angry as police tried to control
the crowds, pushing and shoving to get into the church or at least the
plaza outside its main door.
"We cannot enter the square of the church, which is full of police
instead of prayers," said Hussam Sheebi, 16, who came from the
northern Israeli town of Acre.
A 48-year-old doctor said she travelled from Armenia "to see the
light, to pray, to be here and feel the resurrection of our Jesus."
She came to witness what Orthodox Christians believe is an annual
miracle -- the sudden appearance of a blue-coloured flame inside an
ornately decorated marble tabernacle built over what is believed to be
the tomb of Jesus.
The church itself is built on the site most Christians revere as the
place where Jesus was crucifixed, and also where he was buried and
rose again to life, the event celebrated on Easter Day.
Custody of the church is shared by the Greeks, Armenians and Roman
Catholics, all of whom jealously guard their responsibilities under a
fragile network of agreements hammered out over the centuries.
Such are the sometime rivalries that custody of the keys to the church
has been entrusted for centuries to two Palestinian Muslim families.
In the past, the ceremony has erupted in brawling and fisticuffs,
especially between Greeks and Armenians, and even led to stampedes and
deaths.
Early on Saturday afternoon, in a totally darkened church, the Greek
Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III, entered alone the
small marble structure built over Jesus's tomb, or sepulchre, inside
the church.
It is believed that as the patriarch prays a blue, shiny light
emanates from the tomb and that he then lights two candles it.
Emerging from the tomb with the lighted candles, he is greeted with
the joyful cries of the assembled throng and the ringing of the church
bells.The "holy fire" is eventually passed from the patriarch's
candles to those held by others and then on and on, in a spreading
wave of light, to even others, both inside and outside the church.
A music teacher from Ukraine started to cry as she talked about what
she holds to be the miracle of the holy fire.
"Jesus sacrificed for us, for our souls and he continues to show us
his miracles," said the 33-year-old woman who gave only her first
name, Albina.
Hussam's mother, Suher, says "me and my family are waiting until we
are able to take the holy light with us to Acre, to keep my family
blessed."
Orthodox Christians who are Palestinian and live in the nearby West
Bank are generally not allowed by Israel to enter the Holy City. Many
of them hold similar ceremonies at churches in their own towns and
villages, such as Bethlehem, the traditional birthplace of Christ.
But special permissions are given to them to enter Jerusalem for
religious celebrations, according to the army.
From Jerusalem the sacred flame is transported by a chartered flight
to Athens, where it is taken by road, air and sea to light up churches
all over Greece and beyond at midnight as the faithful call out
"Christ is risen."
In Orthodox tradition, as well as many Western rites, the vigil held
on the night before Easter begins with a darkened church that is
illuminated by new fire, which symbolises the "light of Christ"
manifest in the Resurrection.
April 26 2008
Orthodox Christians hail 'holy fire' of Easter in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (AFP) ' Thousands of Orthodox Christians converged on
Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Saturday to witness what
they believe is the miraculous appearance of "holy fire" on the eve of
Orthodox Easter.
The Old City was jammed with pilgrims from the Eastern Orthodox faiths
including Greeks, Copts, Russians and Assyrians, seeking to reach the
church, one of Christianity's holiest sites.
No police estimates were available on the number of people crammed
into the narrow streets, but Hanna Anton Signora, a Christian scholar
who contacted various churches, put the figure at around 150,000.
Whatever the number, it was too much for everyone to be
satisfied. Some of the faithful grew angry as police tried to control
the crowds, pushing and shoving to get into the church or at least the
plaza outside its main door.
"We cannot enter the square of the church, which is full of police
instead of prayers," said Hussam Sheebi, 16, who came from the
northern Israeli town of Acre.
A 48-year-old doctor said she travelled from Armenia "to see the
light, to pray, to be here and feel the resurrection of our Jesus."
She came to witness what Orthodox Christians believe is an annual
miracle -- the sudden appearance of a blue-coloured flame inside an
ornately decorated marble tabernacle built over what is believed to be
the tomb of Jesus.
The church itself is built on the site most Christians revere as the
place where Jesus was crucifixed, and also where he was buried and
rose again to life, the event celebrated on Easter Day.
Custody of the church is shared by the Greeks, Armenians and Roman
Catholics, all of whom jealously guard their responsibilities under a
fragile network of agreements hammered out over the centuries.
Such are the sometime rivalries that custody of the keys to the church
has been entrusted for centuries to two Palestinian Muslim families.
In the past, the ceremony has erupted in brawling and fisticuffs,
especially between Greeks and Armenians, and even led to stampedes and
deaths.
Early on Saturday afternoon, in a totally darkened church, the Greek
Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III, entered alone the
small marble structure built over Jesus's tomb, or sepulchre, inside
the church.
It is believed that as the patriarch prays a blue, shiny light
emanates from the tomb and that he then lights two candles it.
Emerging from the tomb with the lighted candles, he is greeted with
the joyful cries of the assembled throng and the ringing of the church
bells.The "holy fire" is eventually passed from the patriarch's
candles to those held by others and then on and on, in a spreading
wave of light, to even others, both inside and outside the church.
A music teacher from Ukraine started to cry as she talked about what
she holds to be the miracle of the holy fire.
"Jesus sacrificed for us, for our souls and he continues to show us
his miracles," said the 33-year-old woman who gave only her first
name, Albina.
Hussam's mother, Suher, says "me and my family are waiting until we
are able to take the holy light with us to Acre, to keep my family
blessed."
Orthodox Christians who are Palestinian and live in the nearby West
Bank are generally not allowed by Israel to enter the Holy City. Many
of them hold similar ceremonies at churches in their own towns and
villages, such as Bethlehem, the traditional birthplace of Christ.
But special permissions are given to them to enter Jerusalem for
religious celebrations, according to the army.
From Jerusalem the sacred flame is transported by a chartered flight
to Athens, where it is taken by road, air and sea to light up churches
all over Greece and beyond at midnight as the faithful call out
"Christ is risen."
In Orthodox tradition, as well as many Western rites, the vigil held
on the night before Easter begins with a darkened church that is
illuminated by new fire, which symbolises the "light of Christ"
manifest in the Resurrection.