Ceremony of the Holy Fire in the Holy Sepulcher church in Jerusalem
Description
Every year the Greek-Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem enters Christ's tomb in the Holy Sepulcher church in Jerusalem with no way to start a fire, prays, and fire miraculously appears which is then distributed to the faithful. For a brief time this fire does not burn.
In this episode I talk with Ghassan Kattoua, who has joined the Holy Fire ceremony every year since he was a child. His family is one of the thirteen families who has the right to carry the banners in the Holy Sepulcher on Holy Saturday. This is not part of the liturgy but of the local tradition.
This year Holy Saturday is on 11 April 2026. It will be very different from other years, due to the restrictions imposed by the Israeli authorities on the number of people that can gather during the ongoing war with Iran.
If you want to have an idea of the Holy Fire ceremony you can watch this YouTube video
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