Holy Light brought by plane from Jerusalem

The Holy Light will be brought from Jerusalem, on Saturday evening, by the superior of the Romanian Patriarchate to the Holy Patriarchate, the Archimandrite Father Teofil Anăstăsoaie, and will be offered to the delegates of the eparchies present at the « Henri Coandă » International Airport.

Subsequently, through the protopopiates, the eparchial centers will distribute the holy light to each parish within them, informed the Press Office of the Romanian Patriarchate.

And this year, the holy light will be carried, through a delegate of the Metropolitan Church of Moldova and Bucovina, from Bucharest to Chisinau, where it will be offered to the parishes of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia.

The Holy Light will be received at the Patriarchal Cathedral, around 19:00, by Patriarch Daniel.

« Bringing and offering the Holy Light from Jerusalem to all the parishes in the Romanian Patriarchate is, therefore, a testimony of the ecclesiastical unity, as well as a manifestation of the Easter joy shared on the occasion of the great feast of the Resurrection of the Savior Jesus Christ », stresses the BOR.

Inaugurated by Patriarch Daniel in 2009, the tradition of bringing the Holy Light from Jerusalem to the Great Sabbath and in the Centenary Year of the Romanian Patriarchate.

Holy Light is considered a miracle of Orthodoxy, which happens every year of Easter in Jerusalem, during the Great Vespers on Saturday, between 12:30 and 14:30, when above the Holy Sepulcher there is a fire that descends from the sky, manifesting differently every year and which, in the first minutes.

The light is brought to the believers by the Patriarch of Jerusalem.

The Holy Sepulcher is inspected since Friday, immediately after the Prohod. Those who do this verification – in order to have no suspicion – are civilian policemen, who are not Christians. Usually, these are three: an Arab, a Turk and a representative of the State of Israel. Their role is to inspect the room of the Holy Sepulcher so that there is no source of fire. It also controls those who will penetrate there at the time of the religious ceremony. Then, at the right time, the lights are extinguished, the door is sealed, and at the entrance only the guards remain.

After the service, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, dressed only with a white styl, with epitrahil and belt, is heading for the holy grave. At the entrance, he is controlled by the police in the presence of witnesses belonging to all confessions. The Patriarch designs the entrance to the tomb and enters the first room, in the angel’s chapel, accompanied – according to tradition – only by an Arab of Islamic religion. Further, the Patriarch enters alone in the actual room of the tomb and kneels in front of the slab.

Later, after prayer, those present in the church often have the opportunity to observe a light like a lightning, which comes through the dome above the chapel of the Holy Sepulcher. The pilgrims compare this light to a globe that spreads into small pieces. This light reaches the slab of the Holy Sepulcher, thus lighting the cotton sprinkled above.

The role of the Patriarch is to take this lit wool in his hands and place it in two gold cups. Then he returns to the angel’s chapel and lights two bundles of 33 candles, then comes out and divides the light of the believers.