| Once the Armenians paid the Turks, who then occupied the Holy Land, in order to obtain permission for their Patriarch to enter the Holy Sepulchre, The Orthodox Patriarch was standing sorrowfully with his flock at the exit of the church, near the left column, when the Holy Fire split this column vertically and flashed near the Orthodox Patriarch. A Moslem Muezin, called Tounom, who saw the miraculous event from an adjacent mosque, abandoned immediately the Moslem religion and became an Orthodox Christian. This event took place in 1549 under Sultan Mourad IV, when the Patriarch of Jerusalem was Sophrony II. (The mentioned split column still exists. It goes back to the XII c. The Orthodox pilgrims embrace it at the “place of the split” as the enter the church). The appearance of the Holy Fire is an event which occurs every year in front of thousands of visual witnesses. Nobody can deny it. On the contrary, this miracle can reinforce those who have lack of faith. There are some very touching recent cases of some Jews, who believed in Christ after having seen the Holy Fire, and who said to their compatriots: “Why are you still waiting for the Messiah? The Messiah came indeed.” Cite: Great Miracle on Orthodox Easter – the Holy Fire in Jerusalem. http://holytrinity.ok.goarch.org/holy_week.html Code for blog Since you are here… …we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong. Having said that, Pravmir provides daily articles from an autonomous news service, weekly wall newspaper for churches, lectorium, photos, videos, hosting and servers. Editors and translators work together towards one goal: to make our four websites possible - Pravmir.ru, Neinvalid.ru, Matrony.ru and Pravmir.com. Therefore our request for help is understandable. For example, 5 euros a month is it a lot or little? A cup of coffee? It is not that much for a family budget, but it is a significant amount for Pravmir. |
| Peoples of many nations, Greeks, Russians, Armenians, Arabs, Englishmen, Americans, Frenchmen, Turks, Jews, and others, gather to observe this glorious event. The appearance of the Holy Fire is the greatest visible manifestation of the Paradise of God in our sinful world, serving for the enlightenment and salvation of us sinners. On the Holy Fire at the Tomb of the Lord. In our time of spiritual barrenness, people’s lives are limited to earthly preoccupations; great interest and curiosity attend every novelty. Man is totally disinterested in spiritual matters, or in the manifestation of God’s benevolence to our sinful world. Thus, very few are aware of the miraculous appearance of the Holy Fire, which has appeared over the centuries from year to year on Great Saturday in the Tomb of the Lord in Jerusalem, in the place of the burial and glorious resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ. As a reminder of this extraordinary miraculous appearance we bring true evidence, revealed in the letter of a Russian pilgrim and eyewitness of the appearance of the Holy Fire two years in succession, Maria Pavlonvna Chreshchatetskaya. This letter was written to Fr. Nicholas Samoukov, a hieromonk at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, New York, in answer to questions given her about it. Furke, France April 30, 1958 «Esteemed and dear in the Lord Fr. Nicholas, Christ is risen!...if the Lord wills, I will go to Novo Diveyevo, and then will not delay to come to Jordanville, and personally tell you everything that interests you. Until then I will attempt to answer all your questions. «My companion was the nun, Maria Torskaya. »We travelled from the Mount of Olives monastery to the Holy Sepulchre by bus. The weather was beautiful. The crowds were beyond measure, in the thousands. The mood of the people was enthusiastic. Of the nationalities present there were Greeks, Russians, Armenians, Arabs, English, Americans, French, Turks, and even Hebrews, who illegally got on the Arab side. Greeks and Arabs prevailed, I think. In the church the people behaved themselves outrageously from our point of view, with shouting and leaping and in general, making a lot of noise. But from their point of view, if they do not carry on this way (it is the way they pray), then the Holy Fire will not descend. |
| Grants fund protection of Holy Assumption Church in Kenai, Alaska July 23, 2013 A 19th Century book of gospels is seen in the foreground as icons precious to the church and congregation hang on the wall and iconostasis, which separates the altar from the Holy of Hollies at Holy Assumption of the Virgin Mary Russian Orthodox Church in Kenai. For as long as anyone can remember the fire defenses at Kenai’s historic Russian Orthodox church — filled with art and historical artifacts — have been three small fire extinguishers. The next phase of a restoration and protection project set to begin next month will eventually reduce the threat of fire to the wooden church, which has for 118 years been the center of Kenai’s Russian Orthodox community, by installing a special fire suppression system, among other improvements. The work at Holy Assumption of the Virgin Mary Russian Orthodox Church is largely funded by National Park Service (NPS) grants, state funding, the city of Kenai and money from the Rasmuson Foundation. More than has been raised for the construction and restoration in the next phase. Holy Assumption is one of 49 Alaska locations on the National Register of Historic Places, of which 35 are Russian Orthodox Churches. “It’s the highest honor,” said Grant Crosby Sr., Historical Architect for the National Park Service in Anchorage, of the historic listing and restoration benefits that come with it. As a whole, the church is considered among the top and most lasting icons of Russian Alaska in Alaska today; cultural assimilation, Native Alaskan education, socialization, village arbitration and creative expression all centered on Holy Assumption and associated buildings and its grounds. Among the usual risks that accompany time’s effect on living historical artifact are problems with walls and foundations, which have been addressed in phase one, but the threat of fire has always been there and remains. Crosby said that there is no other way to describe the church and its contents than beyond dollar value — “irreplaceable.” There is an insured value out there somewhere on insurance papers but you cannot replace an original with a replica, he said. |
| Wonderworking Icon of the Holy Theotokos Destroyed in Kurgan Fire Image: Press Center of the Kurgan Metropolia The wonderworking Kazan Icon of the Holy Theotokos of Chimeevo burned down in a fire that took place at the Holy Kazan Monastery in the village of Chimeevo in the Kurgan region on July 3. “Unfortunately, the icon burned down completely. It cannot be restored,” said Dmitry Brovko to the Interfax-Religion agency, who is the head of the Department of Accounting and Protection of Cultural Heritage Objects. This information was confirmed by the regional Ministry of Emergency Situations, stating that “the only thing that remained is the metal base, on which it was attached, but the image itself was significantly damaged.” As it was previously reported , a fire broke out in the Kazan Monastery in the village of Chimeevo in the Kurgan region on Wednesday, July 3. During the fire, a wooden church of the nineteenth century dedicated to the Kazan Icon of the Holy Theotokos was almost completely destroyed. There the venerable Chimeevo Kazan Icon of the Mother of God used to be kept. According to preliminary information of the regional Ministry of Emergency Situations, the cause of the fire was the emergency operation of electrical equipment, which was provoked by the air conditioner in the temple. There are no victims. Code for blog Since you are here… …we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong. Having said that, Pravmir provides daily articles from an autonomous news service, weekly wall newspaper for churches, lectorium, photos, videos, hosting and servers. Editors and translators work together towards one goal: to make our four websites possible - Pravmir.ru, Neinvalid.ru, Matrony.ru and Pravmir.com. Therefore our request for help is understandable. For example, 5 euros a month is it a lot or little? A cup of coffee? It is not that much for a family budget, but it is a significant amount for Pravmir. If everyone reading Pravmir could donate 5 euros a month, they would contribute greatly to our ability to spread the word of Christ, Orthodoxy, life " s purpose, family and society. Also by this author Today " s Articles Most viewed articles Functionality is temporarily unavailable. Most popular authors Functionality is temporarily unavailable. © 2008-2024 Pravmir.com |
| The Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem Celebrates Orthodox Easter April 16, 2015 From Lazarus Saturday to Bright Monday of the Orthodox Christian Calendar, the Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem fully partook in Easter celebrations with the Christian churches and communities of Jerusalem, Bethany, Bethlehem and Beit Jala. As with almost every Orthodox Church, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem celebrates Easter on the Julian Calendar, in which Easter (also known as Pascha) and Holy Week falls on separate dates from the Gregorian (Western) Calendar two out of every three years. This year, Easter on the Julian Calendar fell on April 12th, with Lazarus Saturday being on April 4th. In the Orthodox Church, the Holy Fire service is the most significant event of Holy Week in Jerusalem, when the Patriarch of Jerusalem is sealed in the tomb of Christ in the Holy Sepulchre (a structure that is also called the edicule), and emerges only when two bundles of thirty-three candles held in each of his hands have been lit by what Orthodox, Armenian, Coptic and many other Christians hold to be a miraculous occurence. On Lazarus Saturday (April 4th), Mr. Dan Koski, Delegate for Christian Affairs represented the Order at an open-air service on the grounds of the Orthodox Girls School of Bethany, a mission school run by the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission and staffed by nuns part of the Convent of Saint Mary Magdalene of Gethsemane. On Holy Saturday (April 11th), His Excellency the Grand Chancellor, Count Philippe Piccapietra, was present in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at the invitation of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, while His Grace the Most Reverend Jovan Culibrek, Bishop of Slavonia of the Serbian Orthodox Patriarchate, spiritual protector of all Orthodox members of the Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem, was the official delegate of the first reception committee for the service of the Holy Fire for the Serbian Orthodox Church. In Bethlehem district, the Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem live-streamed the Holy Fire service to Bethlehem and Beit Jala, where in coordination with the municipality of Bethlehem and the Peace Center in Bethlehem and the Orthodox parish of Beit Jala, large screens were put up in Manger Square in Bethlehem and Virgin Mary Orthodox Church in Beit Jala for the benefit of those from Bethlehem district as well as international pilgrims who were unable to attend the Holy Fire service. |
| St. Panteleimon’s Monastery on Mt. Athos Suffers Serious Fire Damage, No Casualties Source: OrthoChristian Photo: afonit.info A fire broke out at the Russian St. Panteleimon’s Monastery on Mt. Athos on Sunday, causing serious damage that has yet to be fully assessed. Thankfully, there were no human casualties, and none of the monastery’s sacred relics or icons were damaged, reports Tsargrad . However, the extent of the damage is rather serious and the material damage is quite large. In an interview with Tsargrad, the abbot of the monastery, Archimandrite Evlogy (Ivanov) explained that during the night of Saturday to Sunday, the room housing the monastery’s generators and other technical equipment caught fire and completely burned out. It is unclear what caused the fire. Only one small generator survived, with which they are powering the kitchen. Even the lights in the church are all turned off. The life of the monastery continues, of course, but the brethren are not able to accept pilgrims for the time being, and the approximately 150 guests who were staying there at the time had to leave, as equipment necessary for serving the pilgrims cannot be operated. Photo: afonit.info The monastery has suffered a serious financial blow due to the fire, as its several workshops—metal work, carpentry, welding—require electricity, and in the best-case scenario, according to Fr. Evlogy, it will take about a month to resume their work. Fr. Evlogy especially noted that no people were harmed in the fire, nor were any sacred objects, and the liturgical life of the monastery continues undisturbed. About 100 brothers and a small number of workers remain living in the monastery. “Glory to God for all things,” Fr. Evlogy concluded, quoting the final words of the Holy Hierarch St. John Chrysostom who reposed in exile. Code for blog Since you are here… …we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong. |
| Holy Light to Arrive in Greece under Strict Measures due to Coronavirus Pandemic Photo: greece.greekreporter.com This year the Holy Light will arrive in Greece from the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem under very austere measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, reports Greek Reporter. This Pascha in Greece will be like no other Pascha in history, with the churches closed and people quarantined in their homes. The holiest and biggest Greek Orthodox feast will take place at home with close family and friends. The ceremonial transport of the Holy Light from the Church of the Resurrection (or Church of the Holy Sepulchre) in Old Jerusalem to Athens by airplane will be no exception. Despite severe security measures against the coronavirus and the universal ban on Jewish Easter holidays in Jerusalem, including the closing of the doors of the Church of the Resurrection, the Israeli authorities finally permitted the Holy Light (or Holy Fire) to be transported to Greece and other Orthodox countries in Eastern Europe. After days of consultations between the Athens-Tel Aviv-Jerusalem triangle, the plan to transfer the Holy Light to Greece with all the emergency health precautions taken has been approved. It should be noted that the last time the Church of the Resurrection had its doors sealed was in 1349 when the Black Plague killed 100-200 million people in Europe and Asia. This Pascha, only 10-15 high priests will conduct the holy liturgy and receive the Holy Fire from the tomb of Jesus Christ inside the Church of the Resurrection. It is agreed that immediately after the liturgy, the Holy Light will be passed to the faithful, a ceremony that has been carried out since 867. The Holy Light will be transported in a lantern with a special police escort to Ben Gurion airport, in Tel Aviv. The only stop on the human chain of air transport of the Holy Light to the Orthodox world is the Jaffa Gate, where representatives of the Jerusalem Patriarchate will deliver the Holy Light to the Consul General of Greece in Israel, Christos Sofianopoulos. It will then be given to the Greek delegation, which will depart from Athens on Saturday morning for Tel Aviv. |
| Alaskan church keeps fingers crossed for funding May 20, 2013, Kenai, Alaska File Photo/Peninsula Clarion Father Thomas Andrew and others bless items inside of the Holy Assumption of the Virgin Mary Russian Orthodox Church in April 2010 before they were transferred to the Kenai Cultural and Visitors Center for a summer art gallery show while the church was being renovated. That project was phase one of the church’s three-phase project to completely renovate the church. The church is set to receive from the Alaska State Legislature’s capital budget that would go toward fire and theft prevention systems, among other items, as part of phase two of the renovations. Sitting at his dinner table, looking out his window at the Holy Assumption of the Virgin Mary Russian Orthodox Church, Father Thomas Andrew said he sometimes worries about the church he heads. “Nobody knows if something is going to happen,” he said. Currently, the church is protected from fire only by two fire extinguishers and the priest’s watch. But, a proposed from the Alaska State Legislature could add a new fire protection system that would greatly ease Andrew’s mind, he said. “If we don’t have that, what if we had a wire that shorted that caused the church to start burning? If we don’t have the system and nobody is there, our treasure is gone,” he said. Dorothy Gray, secretary for the church, said the proposed — not yet approved through Gov. Sean Parnell’s final capital budget — would fund installation of the fire system as well as a theft protection system. It would also go to construction of an outbuilding south of the church that would house a furnace, boiler, tanks for the fire system, a small gift shop and, perhaps most importantly, a bathroom. “The church doesn’t have water because it is a National Historic Landmark, so there were a few things that could not be added to the church, which was installing plumbing,” she said. “That’s always been difficult for the parishioners, especially with children during our services.” |
| Personally I cannot consider convincing the objections of the critics of the Holy Fire for a whole series of reasons. For example, I don’t understand how all their hypotheses— by the way, often contradicting each other—could explain the fact, for example, that in the ninth century the Moslem ruler of Jerusalem ordered that metal (copper) wicks be placed in all the lampadas; and despite this, in the sight of everyone, the fire descended and the metal wicks caught fire and began to burn. This is attested to by both Greek historians (Nikita the Cleric) and by Arab historians (Biruni). And of what use are “lighter in the pocket” explanations when candles outside the Sepulcher chapel are ignited before the very eyes of the pilgrims, or when the fire comes down from icons, etc. But in particular three problems for skeptics arise to which I have so far not been able find a clear solution in any of the “skeptical” articles: 1. The bursts of light. Frequently (although not every year) pilgrims observe, before the descent of the Holy Fire, bursts or flashes of pale blue light in the church, similar to those which occur during flashes of lightning. They are documented on video-film (see: http://www.holyfire.org/image/blist.mpg ). Skeptics confidently affirm that these bursts of light are nothing but camera-flashes. There is indeed a certain similarity, but photo-flashes are much, much weaker and don’t have that particular hue [shade of color]. And another snag arises for the skeptic: how to deal with the fact that ancient eye-witnesses of the miracle described the same phenomenon of supernatural light. Take, for example, Nikita the Cleric who, visiting Jerusalem in the year 947, wrote: “The Archbishop had still not come out of the Sepulcher when one could suddenly see the whole Church of God filled with an irresistible and Divine light, so that the pious people moved now to the right side, now to the left….In the presence of such an unexpected manifestation of light, all were filled with amazement, so that even the godless Hagarenes were thunderstruck and put to shame…Now, during the present time, the Divine outpouring of light has expanded and filled the whole church.” |
| Fire Caused Serious Damage to One of the Most Beautiful Churches in Kazakhstan Photo: mitropolia.kz As a result of the fire that occurred on October 5, 2021, the church in honor of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Alma-Ata, one of the most beautiful Orthodox churches in Kazakhstan, was seriously damaged. The fire completely destroyed the central dome of the church, the main altar, the iconostasis and the interior decoration, but the holy altar was saved, according to mitropolia.kz . It is noted that due to the severe damage to the church, services will be held in the building of the nearby parish refectory until it is restored. In connection with the tragedy, Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan called on the people of Kazakhstan to take part in the revival of the shrine. Holy Cross Church of Alma-Ata before the fire. Photo: mitropolia.kz “Educated by what happened, united by love for our dear temple, for the spiritual values of our country, let us make every effort to ensure that the shrine rises from the ashes and shines again in all its beauty. I call on all Kazakhstanis to respond to the misfortune that has happened and help in the restoration of the Holy Cross Church,” Vladyka Alexander said in his address. The archpastor emphasized that the church in honor of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, “created more than ten years ago by the work of Kazakhstanis in the picturesque area of the southern capital, can be called without exaggeration one of the most beautiful temples in Kazakhstan.” You can f ollow Pravmir.com on Twitter , Facebook , Instagram , or Telegram . Code for blog Since you are here… …we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong. Having said that, Pravmir provides daily articles from an autonomous news service, weekly wall newspaper for churches, lectorium, photos, videos, hosting and servers. Editors and translators work together towards one goal: to make our four websites possible - Pravmir.ru, Neinvalid.ru, Matrony.ru and Pravmir.com. Therefore our request for help is understandable. For example, 5 euros a month is it a lot or little? A cup of coffee? It is not that much for a family budget, but it is a significant amount for Pravmir. If everyone reading Pravmir could donate 5 euros a month, they would contribute greatly to our ability to spread the word of Christ, Orthodoxy, life " s purpose, family and society. Also by this author Today " s Articles Most viewed articles Functionality is temporarily unavailable. Most popular authors Functionality is temporarily unavailable. © 2008-2024 Pravmir.com |
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