When the Holy Fire descends
The Holy Fire descends only according to the Orthodox calendar on Holy Saturday. Despite the fact that the date of Great Saturday changes every year, the convergence of the Holy Fire takes place on Great Saturday, according to the calendar.

At the same time, it is very important that on this day the Orthodox Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and all Palestine serve in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. If another patriarch prays in the Edicule of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ (Holy Sepulcher) on Great Saturday, the fire will not come down. This tradition has already been tested by time. When the Holy Fire descended in another place So, in the 16th century, the patriarch of the Armenian Church won from the power of Jerusalem the primacy of prayer on Great Saturday at the Holy Sepulcher, and the Orthodox Patriarch Sophrony was generally denied access to the inside of the temple.

Then the Orthodox Patriarch, together with his flock, began to pray in front of the closed doors of the temple. And suddenly there was a thunder, the column at which the blessed Sophrony was praying cracked, and fire poured out of the crack. Sofroniy lit candles from this fire and passed them on to those around him. And the Armenian patriarch did not wait for the fire to converge in the temple. After that, the Jerusalem authorities provided the Orthodox Patriarch with a special firman - a document confirming the exclusive right of the Orthodox Church to receive the Holy Fire.

The crack from which the fire came out still exists. It is located on a pillar on the left near the main entrance to the temple. They call it that - the column of the Holy Fire. Symbol of the Holy Fire
The Holy Fire is a reminder of the events of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. When at night, on Saturday, a fire appeared in the tomb where Jesus was buried. The guards saw it first and fled in fear. The Holy Fire is a visible sign from the Lord, God's mercy to people. The priests say that the Holy Fire descends so that people's hearts are renewed in faith, "ignited" with faith.

Through the Holy Fire, God says to everyone: "I am here! I hear you, just believe in Me", "Do not be afraid, I am near."

It is believed that if the Holy Fire does not come down, the time of the Antichrist will begin. How the Holy Fire descends Tens of thousands of people from all over the world come to the Church of the Resurrection of Christ. They hold special Easter candles in their hands - 33 candles are combined into a pile that is convenient to hold from below. People at the temple are usually very noisy, singing and rejoicing, especially representatives of the African church. But when an Orthodox patriarch comes to the church, there is complete silence. And this silence persists until the very descent of the Holy Fire.

Inside the Church of the Resurrection of Christ (the Holy Sepulcher), all candles and lamps are extinguished. The entrance to the Kuvuklia - inside the temple - is closed, and a special wax seal of the goalkeepers of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is placed on the door. After that, the Jerusalem Patriarch in white robes goes around the Kuvuklia three times with a special prayer: “Thy Resurrection, Christ the Savior, the Angels sing in heaven ...” In his hands he holds special candles (a bunch of 33 candles - according to the number of years of the life of Jesus Christ) for acceptance blessed fire.

Then the partiarch enters the grotto of the Holy Sepulcher and says prayers at the three-day bed of Christ the Savior. After 5-10 minutes, the Holy Fire descends in the holy cuvuklia. After that, the Patriarch immediately distributes fire to all those present in the temple. In those moments, the temple is full of noise of touched people who saw the sacred miracle with their own eyes. The Holy Fire cannot burn The Holy Fire has amazing qualities in the first minutes. It is "soft", and also, when you touch it, you cannot burn yourself. Also, it doesn't spread like regular fire. Pilgrims and daredevils in the first minutes of the descent of the Holy Fire simply wash themselves with it, and this is a mention for life. When does the Holy Fire die out? According to a long tradition, the Holy Fire of Great Saturday is maintained in the Kuvuklia for a whole year and dies out only on the next Great Saturday, before the next ascent.