Holy Fire Saturday

Saturday, April 3, 2010, 2 PM

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.’ John 8:12

My friend Jennifer and I went to the Old City the next day to celebrate a festival I had never even heard of before coming to Jerusalem: Sept An-Nur, or Holy Fire Saturday. Every year on the Saturday before Orthodox Easter, the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem enters the “Tomb of Christ” in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. He carries 33 small candles, representing the age of Christ at his death, and he is inspected before entering to ensure that he carries no implements to light a fire with. According to tradition, when he is alone inside, he waits until the candles he holds are miraculously lit, after which he emerges from the tomb and distributes the flame. The flame passes from person to person throughout the city, and then travels all over the world to Orthodox communities. Jennifer and I bought our little bunches of candles, and then squirmed our way through people and around police barriers, trying to find a place to wait for the fire. We ended up standing inside Jaffa Gate at the top of Christian Quarter Road, and finally I could hear bells in the distance. A short time later I spotted one little boy with a flame, and then in seconds it was everywhere. People carried multiple bunches, creating small blazes and then extinguishing them; I think the belief is that the candles are blessed by having been touched by the fire. Jennifer and I received the flame and found it more difficult to put out than expected, which resulted in brief alarm, followed by a good bit of laughter. I wanted to participate not because I necessarily believe that the Holy Fire is a genuine yearly miracle, but because I see it as a beautiful illustration of the Christian faith. From a single flame, Jesus, who lived and died in this place two thousand years ago, all the Christian faithful in the world trace their hope and faith back to this single source. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world” and because the flame has been shared with us, we too are called to be bearers of light, hope and peace in the world.

8 PM

The Light of Christ! Thanks be to God!

–Traditional Proclamation and Response of the Easter Vigil Liturgy

The Easter Vigil at St. George’s Cathedral was another reminder of the gift of light given in Easter. Beginning in the shadows in the courtyard of the church, we lit candles together and processed in. In this joint English and Arabic language service we began to retell once again the story of the resurrection, sing the Alleluias that were put aside during Lent, and prepare ourselves for the dawning of Easter morning.