Posted by moodhacker on April 10, 2017 at 3:55 PM
At Easter 2008, the Russian physicist Andrey Volkov,1 Associate Professor in Mechanics of Materials, was appointed head of a scientific mission which aimed at investigating the miracle of the Holy Fire. The project was organized by Professor Alexander Moskovsky, for the needs of a documentary dedicated to the role of miracles in religion.
“Judging from the many descriptions, the appearance of the Holy Fire is accompanied by the appearance of plasma, which externally is very much like low heat plasma. For example, it is known that for a certain period of time this Fire does not burn the hands or face at all. Furthermore, for almost one thousand years, eyewitnesses of this event speak of certain flares that traverse the walls of the church before and after the arrival of the Fire.”
– “Are these plasma phenomena unique?”
– “Yes, they are. In the laboratory we investigate low heat plasma only in a vacuum. It may also exist equally in the air but only under strictly defined conditions …. and under very high humidity. However, over the Holy Sepulchre at Easter it is hot and the atmosphere is dry; there is no humidity which conducts electricity, and there is no source of potential variance and energy. Meanwhile, flashes appear there, packets of light that, in my opinion, then transform into a spark and bear the Fire.”
According to the Russian physicist, the plasma phenomenon, which is believed to take place in the interior of the church, is entirely inexplicable and without justification from a scientific standpoint. The high point for his measurements came when the Holy Fire appeared while the patriarch was enclosed in the Sepulchre interior. The unexpected measurement was recorded at 14:04 Jerusalem time (15:04 Russian time). Approximately two minutes later, the patriarch came out with the Holy Fire. Volkov continues in his interview:
– “It had been a while since the patriarch of Jerusalem had entered the Aedicule and the ritual had begun... And suddenly – there it was! It recorded a change in the radiation phase because of an unknown signal. This happened at 15:04. One fluctuation – and nothing else that was similar. And soon the Patriarch of Jerusalem came out holding a lit candle.”
– “What was this fluctuation?”
– “Electrical load. What it is, where it came from, I do not know. Later, having already returned to Russia, I worked on decoding the recorded radio signals. The process [of the measurements] lasted six hours and thirty minutes. One measurement includes approximately one thousand “frames.” Quite a trying task. But it confirmed the following: prior to the appearance of the Fire there was electrical discharge… I cannot give you details at this point, because I am committed to the creator of the documentary. The chart with the measurements will be presented in detail there. But, the most important thing is what I have already mentioned: there was an electrical discharge… Why is this important? You see, here a complete picture is formed. I already told you about the plasma phenomena – which are a miracle on their own, since at the church there are no conditions whatsoever for their development. The second inexplicable event is the electrical charge of the air which is apparent even without the equipment – many feel that during the coming of the Holy Fire the hairs on their arms stand up.
This is possible only under a very large difference of electrical potential, let’s say, between the roof of a house and the main floor. And this, if the house is made of pure quartz and there is a storm outside. But at Easter time at Jerusalem, as a rule, there are no storms, the weather is clear. And the Church of the Resurrection is made of various materials – marble, calcium rock, and wood. It has been built without a uniform plan and has a multitude of various auxiliary spaces. This is why the suspicion that a huge transformer necessary for the accumulation of electrical load and its subsequent discharge had initially been placed inside the church is simply unrealistic. However, the difference of electrical potential despite this develops! And most notably at a specific time: at Easter after the prayers inside the Aedicule. And then there is the last aspect we discovered – the appearance of the Fire is accompanied by electrical discharge. This means that the appearance of the Fire is an integral part of all of the incredible, entirely inexplicable phenomena that have an electrical nature. Is this not a confirmation of its miraculous nature?”
Andrey Volkov states that, just before the appearance of the Holy Fire, three inexplicable phenomena took place.
The first is the unjustified presence of the plasma phenomenon.
The second is the also unjustified and inexplicable electrical charge of the air in combination with the confirmation of a large difference in electrical potential.
The third is the presence of electrical discharge at the moment of the appearance of the Holy Fire.
The Holy Fire Miracle The Holy Fire is the most renowned miracle in the world of Eastern Orthodoxy. IIt has taken place at the same time, in the same manner, in the same place every single year for centuries. No other miracle is known to occur so regularly and so steadily over time. It happens in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the holiest place on earth[2], where Christ was crucified, entombed, and where He finally rose from the dead. The ceremony, which awes the souls of Christians, takes place in the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem Ceremony of Holy Light In order to be as close to the Sepulchre as possible, pilgrims camp next to it. The Sepulchre is located in the small chapel called Holy Ciborium, which is inside the Church of the Resurrection. Typically they wait from the afternoon of Holy Friday in anticipation of the miracle on the Orthodox Holy Saturday. Beginning at around 11:00 in the morning the Christian Arabs chant traditional hymns in a loud voice. But at 1:00 pm the chants fade out, and then there is a silence. A tense silence, charged from the anticipation of the great demonstration of God’s power for all to witness. Shortly thereafter, a delegation from the local authorities elbows its way through the crowd. At the time of the Turkish occupation of Palestine they were Muslim Turks; today they are Israelis. Their function is to represent the Romans at the time of Jesus. The Gospels speak of the Romans that went to seal the tomb of Jesus, so that his disciples would not steal his body and claim he had risen. In the same way the Israeli authorities on this Holy Saturday come and seal the tomb with wax. Before they seal the door, they follow a custom to enter the tomb, and to check for any hidden source of fire, which would make a fraud of the miracle. How the miracle occurs While the patriarch is inside the chapel kneeling in front of the stone, there is darkness but far from silence outside. One hears a rather loud mumbling, and the atmosphere is very tense. When the Patriarch comes out with the two candles lit and shining brightly in the darkness, a roar of jubilee resounds in the Church.[2]
The Holy Light is not only distributed by the Archbishop, but operates also by itself. It is emitted from the Holy Sepulchre with a hue completely different from that of natural light. It sparkles, it flashes like lightning, it flies like a dove around the tabernacle of the Holy Sepulchre, and lights up the unlit lamps of olive oil hanging in front of it. It whirls from one side of the church to the other. It enters some of the chapels inside the church, as for instance the chapel of the Calvery (at a higher level than the Holy Sepulchre) and lights up the little lamps. It lights up also the candles of certain pilgrims. In fact there are some very pious pilgrims who, every time they attended this ceremony, noticed that their candles lit up on their own accord!his divine light also presents some peculiarities: As soon as it appears it has a bluish hue and does not burn. At the first moments of its appearance, if it touches the face, or the mouth, or the hands, it does not burn. This is proof of its divine and supernatural origin. We must also take into consideration that the Holy Light appears only by the invocation of an Orthodox Archbishop.[1]
The miracle is not confined to what actually happens inside the little tomb, where the Patriarch prays. What may be even more significant, is that the blue light is reported to appear and be active outside the tomb. Every year many believers claim that this miraculous light ignites candles, which they hold in their hands, of its own initiative. All in the church wait with candles in the hope that they may ignite spontaneously.
Often unlit oil lamps catch light by themselves before the eyes of the pilgrims. The blue flame is seen to move in different places in the Church.A number of signed testimonies by pilgrims, whose candles lit spontaneously, attest to the validity of these ignitions. The person who experiences the miracle from close up by having the fire on the candle or seeing the blue light usually leaves Jerusalem changed, and for everyone having attended the ceremony, there is always a “before and after” the miracle of the Holy Fire in Jerusalem.
How old is the wonder?
The first written account of the Holy Fire (Holy Light) dates from the fourth century, but authors write about events that occurred in the first century. So Ss. John Damascene and Gregory of Nissa narrate how the Apostle Peter saw the Holy Light in the Holy Sepulchre after Christ’s resurrection. “One can trace the miracle throughout the centuries in the many itineraries of the Holy Land.” The Russian abbot Daniel, in his itinerary written in the years 1106-07, presents the “Miracle of the Holy Light” and the ceremonies that frame it in a very detailed manner. He recalls how the Patriarch goes into the Sepulchre-chapel (the Anastasis) with two candles. The Patriarch kneels in front of the stone on which Christ was laid after his death and says certain prayers, at which point the miracle occurs. Light proceeds from the core of the stone - a blue, indefinable light which after some time kindles unlit oil lamps as well as the Patriarch’s two candles. This light is “The Holy Fire”, and it spreads to all people present in the Church.
The ceremony surrounding “The Miracle of the Holy Fire” may be the oldest unbroken Christian ceremony in the world. From the fourth century A.D. all the way up to our own time, sources recall this awe-inspiring event.
From these sources it becomes clear that the miracle has been celebrated on the same spot, on the same feast day, and in the same liturgical frame throughout all these centuries.[2]
Every time heterodox have tried to obtain the Holy Fire they have failed. Three such attempts are known. Two occured in the twelfth century when priests of the Roman church tried to force out the Orthodox church but by their own confession these ended with God’s punishment. [3,4] But the most miraculous event occured in the year 1579. God's sign was clear , holyfire.org underlines
“Once the Armenians (monophysites - ed.) 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 Light split this column vertically and flashed near the Orthodox Patriarch.
article source : .holyfire.org source http://www.skarlakidis.gr/en/book-deskription/17-2012-09-08-10-35-17.html, http://greek2m.tumblr.com/post/143647302511/the-holy-light-arrived-from-jerusalem-at-the
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