Jerusalem – North-Press Agency
Reem Chamoun – Charbel Hanno
The master priest Paulus Khano, Secretary of the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Jerusalem and Jordan for the Orthodox Syriac Church in Jordan and Palestine, said that Great Saturday is the most important day that the Christians wait for during the year, as “on this day, the holy light overflows in the grave of Christ in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.”
On this day, Christians light 33 candles on what they believe to be the tomb of Christ, which symbolizes the number of the years that Christ lived.
Master Khano told North-Press that the Holy Week is considered one of the most important weeks for Christians. It starts with Palm Sunday, the day when Jesus Christ entered the city of Jerusalem, and ends with Easter, during which Maundy Thursday is commemorated (Thursday of washing legs), which is the memory of the last supper of Jesus with his disciples, and Good Friday (Friday of the Passion), which is the day of the torture, crucifixion and burial of Christ, and Holy Saturday, which is the day that precedes Easter in which Holy Fire appears from the grave of Christ.
“Holy Fire” without visitors
Thousands of Christians flocking from all over the world used to attend this ritual, as the number of visitors from various nationalities and countries to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem reached 20,000 annually, but as a result of the current conditions and measures that countries have taken to avoid the spread of coronavirus this year, the rituals were limited to a group of bishops and some monks or priests, according to Master Khano.
Khano said that Israeli police will be in charge of security during the rituals of Holy Saturday, because the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is located within its areas, “It contacted us to choose two clergymen from each denomination to enter the Church of the Holy Sepulcher during the Abundance of the Holy Fire.”
“This year, the Holy Light will be sent by special and empty planes that some countries will send, to bring light to their countries.” According to what Master Khano quoted from the Jerusalem police: “Russian President Vladimir Putin will send a special plane to take the Holy Light from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and deliver it to Russia. Greece also will send three empty planes to take the Holy Light to Greece, Georgia and Romania, while borders with Jordan can be opened to deliver the Light to it, and send it to both Lebanon and Syria from there.”
Rituals of Holy Saturday
Holy Saturday has its own rituals, which begin with “a circumambulation within the church led by Patriarch Theophilus III (Patriarch of Jerusalem and all of Palestine and Israel for the Greek Orthodox), alongside the heads of priests and deacons. They circle in three groups around the Holy Sepulchre, after which the patriarch stands in front of the grave door and takes off his clothes and remains in a white robe."
“The governor of Jerusalem and the police chief stand in front of the patriarch to inspect them in front of everyone, to make sure that they did not bring any tool with them to set fire to the grave. The patriarch enters the Holy Sepulchre with his white robe only, carrying with him a bundle of 33 unlit candles, and all lights in the church are turned off. Then the Patriarch starts to pray and the candles are lit in his hands from the grave of Christ, and this is a sign that Christ has risen and defeated death,” Master Khano explained.
Christians believe that, “The tomb of Christ is divided into two rooms, there is a alabaster box at the entrance, and a piece of stone that was at the door of the grave, while inside, there is the Holy Tomb, the place where the patriarch enters to pray, and the place from which the Holy Light floods.”
Spread the light on the priests
The Holy Place has two windows, one of which is on the right and the other is on the left. Also, an Armenian priest enters with the Patriarch Theophilus III. Master Khano interprets the entry of the Armenian priest as: “There are three patriarchates in Jerusalem, namely the Greek Orthodox, the Armenian Catholics and the Jerusalem Patriarchate for the Latins, and since the Patriarchate is the highest rank in the Church, the patriarch has the right to enter the Holy Sepulcher and bring out the light. For this, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilus III enters the grave, while the Armenian Catholic Patriarch assigned a priest representing him to enter the grave.”
“As for us, the Syriacs and Copts, our representative in the archdiocese is the bishop, which is an ecclesiastical rank lower than the patriarch, but yet, we are allowed to enter the church to bring the Holy Light,” he said.
On the way the Holy Light is taken out by the Patriarch Theophilus, Paulus Khano said: “After the Holy Light is taken out of the stone of the grave, the patriarch goes to the windows on the left side of the grave to light the candles for the people of the Greek Orthodox Church, such as the people of Romania, Georgia, and Greece, while the Armenian priest goes to the right side window to light the candles of the Syriac and Coptic people.”
This year, a small number of clergymen, not to exceed 20, will enter the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Each church will be represented by two religious men, and these churches are the ones that follow the eastern calendar (Greek Orthodox, Syriac Orthodox, Copts and the Franciscan Church).
History of the Holy Fire
Adherents to Christianity believe that the history of this incident dates back to the year 33 A.D. (after the crucifixion of Jesus), but history did not mention this event except for a handful of times, and the abundance of the Holy Light was documented for the first time in 1106, and the Holy Fire appears on Easter, according to the eastern calendar.
Master Khano said that, “In 1516, during the 450-year era of Ottoman control over Palestine, they tried to bring the rich into the Holy Sepulchre on Holy Saturday, preventing the poor from entering and keeping them in the church yard. At the time of the abundance of the Holy Light, one of the pillars in the church yard broke away, so that the Holy Light came out of it instead of coming out of the grave, and in this way the Holy Light fell on the poor.” Khano added that, this miracle happened because the Christian religion came first to the poor.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is considered a center of pilgrimage for Christians, as thousands of Christians worldwide visit it every year, especially on Easter, to witness “the miracle of the Holy Light on the night of the feast,” but due to the outbreak of coronavirus, the authorities were forced to impose some measures to prevent the spread of the disease, including the closure of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
“This is the first time that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre has been closed for Easter in the last 100 years,” said Paulus Khano.
He pointed out that it did not feel like a feast this year due to the lack of visitors. “The church was filled with thousands of visitors every year. Seeing it empty is difficult.”
He added that, like other churches, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre will broadcast the moment of the abundance of the Holy Fire live, and that he will personally photograph and document the incident.