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Wednesday, April 15, 2009

The Holy Fire in Jerusalem


Dear Parish Faithful,

Below is a very interesting link to information and testimony concerning the miracle of the "Holy Fire" in Jerusalem. It is both accepted and denied by Orthodox Christians. (And obviously denied strongly by the non-Orthodox). Please read for yourselves and acquaint yourselves with the phenomenon and the claims made around it, so you can form your own opinion. Perhaps we will hear something from Dinara once she returns from her pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

Fr. Steven

_____



Subject: Fwd: The Orthodox Miracle of the Holy Fire


I hope you are enlightened by this video. It really impressed me.

The Orthodox experience the Miracle of Holy Fire every year on Holy Saturday after 12:00 noon. "It happens in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the holiest place on earth, where Christ was crucified, entombed, and where He finally rose from the dead." The Orthodox Patriarch walks into the tomb after it has been searched by officials who declare there is nothing in it that would start a fire. The Patriarch also removes his vestments. As he says prayers, miraculously, the Holy Fire begins burning.The Patriarch lights his candles with the Holy Fire, and comes out of the tomb to the waiting parishioners with some of their candles miraculously lit. This miracle only occurs with the Orthodox Patriarch. Three other times, non-Orthodox have attempted to experience this miracle, but failed. Since the fourth century this miracle has taken place every year. It is possible this occurred even before the fourth century. Below is more information about the Holy Fire:

http://www.holyfire.org/eng/


Below is a link to an actual video experiencing the Holy Fire. I had
to watch it twice; once to read the captions, and the second time to
watch the miracle. It helps to hit the pause button during the flashes
of light. A couple of times, you can actually stop the video and see a
perfectly round circle of fire.


http://oode.wordpress.com/2009/04/14/miracleofholylight/


This video is amazing!