Holy Fire to be delivered to America for first time
“The Holy Fire, which descends every year on the eve of the Orthodox feast of Pascha in Jerusalem, will be delivered to the various corners of the Earth, with the support of the Russian St. Andrew the First-Called Foundation, including, for the first time this year, to the United States of America.
“It is planned to deliver this sacred blessing for the first time to the US, and we’ve already received permission to transport the lampadas with the Holy Fire on board a plane,” the foundation’s press service reported to Interfax-Religion today. The Holy Fire is being brought to the US by the initiative of parishioners of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.”
Brief history of the Holy Fire, in Yandex translation
According to the translated article a scientist once tried to quantify this:
Piezoelectricity
Piezoelectricity /piˌeɪzoʊˌilɛkˈtrɪsɪti/ is the electric charge that accumulates in certain solid materials (such as crystals, certain ceramics, and biological matter such as bone, DNA and various proteins) in response to applied mechanical stress. The word piezoelectricity means electricity resulting from pressure.
The priest himself in a higher state of consciousness becomes the piezo-part of the dynamic ( bone matter taken from Buddhist monk-saints have certain cystallized formations which are collected from their ashes as holy relics) This comes from years of meditation on the ultimate compassion of the universe and is not a trick or an easy or certain state of mental, emotional, spiritual and physical state of being. However it is done it is a blessing and I am grateful to have this done in North America.
Some years ago I visited Callanish outer Hebrides of Hypoborea myth stone circle-amazing-thousands years old…one legend is in May all the village fires are put out, then a priest goes close by to a sacred tree next to these stones which are granite felspar etc has piezo capabilities probably and “rekindles “a fire which is used to relight all the villages fires again…….noting commentators posts re Easter, pagan May time etc etc
The difference is that Roman Catholic, Armenian, and Coptic bishops have tried to receive the Holy Fire and never have. It is a mistake to search for a materialistic, natural explanation, because there isn’t any. It is a work of the Holy Spirit, through one of His bishops (the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem). You can’t explain it away by comparing to various pagan legends, there’s really no comparison :)
“I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled!”
“Even the demons believe this, and they tremble with fear…”
The peaceful jubilation of people receiving Holy Fire threatens you, is that what you are saying?
This fire doesn’t burns. People wash their faces and hands in it. It’s the cold fire.
It’s the manifestation of God in our world that is granted to the Orthodox Christians only, that what threatens you.
Just by the feeling that you experience witnessing the miracle, you can understand what you are.
I would assume that you are being sincere in your rejection of “religion”, if you didn’t use “RealChris” as your identificator
You are propelled by your inner demons to name yourself the way you did, because your “spiritual father” is the father of lies. That’s why you have to practice your “private spiritual issue” “in the most discreet way possible.”
The Eastern Christians have nothing to hide.
Well, man, it happens that Chris is the name I was baptised under, FYI, and the fact that I post under my “real” name does not give you the right to insult me nor make such assumptions on me. I am not pretending any of what you are saying, I have only that name by my mom´s idea, so I am not guilty of anything by carrying this name, I was just a little baby few months old when that happened and nobody asked me for opinion, thus no reason to describe me almost as the antichrist for that. God forgive you.
I do not think God would make any difference between good people of any religion, or non religion, for that matter, I think you are wrong believing you, Orthodox Christians, are “the chosen” in any way.
Perhaps is that a manifestation of Orthodox Israeli people´s celebrations? I found it too much scandalous compared to the recollection I could see in people into Russian churches. I lost the point of religiousness just by that scandal, so sorry.
I was linking these videos to illustrate my point
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JiPzlyNLrE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCOl3ydimzA
I trust that this exchange will not escalate. I have the feeling that the phrase ‘never the twain shall meet’ applies here. fk mod
Baaz asked me a question about Nikolai Gogol, a great Russian writer, who wrote that Russian culture in general was mostly a culture of Easter, compared to the Western tradition, which was primarily about Christmas.
The Eastern and Western Christianity differ like day and night, like light and darkness.
It’s almost like The Westerners took what we had and twisted it, and changed all the meanings.
Every year we are awaiting the Holy Fire in Jerusalem with trepidation, because if it doesn’t show up it means the darkness conquered the world and apocalypses is upon us.
The papists and protestants, the Western Christianity, use fire to burn people alive, the Eastern Christianity see the fire as the message of God’s presence and use candles.
The Holy Fire is not gifted to those who call themselves the Western Christians. In 1001 the papists killed Orthodox monks in Jerusalem before Easter and tried to get the Holy Fire, but couldn’t. You would think that would be a hint for them, but no….Instead of admitting that they are wrong, they call the Holy fire “a hoax.”
This Saturday is the darkest day, a day without God on earth, before the resurrection, thus given the Holy Fire.
As for Baaz’s question, Gogol is absolutely right, Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God or the Word of God came to conquer death, to subjugate hell, and to give us life everlasting. So, the Eastern Christians celebrate both the beginning of His journey, His birth, and we celebrate His victory over hell and his Resurrection.
The Western Christians don’t celebrate Easter, because they don’t want people to know that Jesus defeated hell.
It’s almost like the defeated hell dwellers came out to the natural world and became the West, and they are waging 2000 year long battle against the Eastern Christianity.
They believe that when all of the Eastern Christians disappear, they will prevail over the miracle of Easter. They hope to overwrite the Lord’s victory over hell in people’s minds, and to walk the humanity, Christians and none Christians alike, into a man-made hell, following their extremists understanding of Scripture.
Western Christians celebrate Easter. They do put more importance on Christmas,there you are right. But Easter is still heavily celebrated in Western Christianity. I don’t know where you get the idea that it isn’t. All my childhood we went to Church and celebrated Easter. And every family I knew (that was Christian) did as well.
The very fact that the self-proclaimed West calls it ‘Easter’ is significant.
You could ask: “what is in a word?”, and you could answer, “A lot”.
Origins of the name “Easter”:
The name “Easter” originated with the names of an ancient Goddess and God. The Venerable Bede, (672-735 CE), a Christian scholar, first asserted in his book De Ratione Temporum that Easter was named after Eostre (a.k.a. Eastre). She was the Great Mother Goddess of the Saxon people in Northern Europe. Similarly, the “Teutonic dawn goddess of fertility [was] known variously as Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostre, Eostur, Eastra, Eastur, Austron and Ausos.” 1 Her name was derived from the ancient word for spring: “eastre.” Similar Goddesses were known by other names in ancient cultures around the Mediterranean, and were celebrated in the springtime. Some were:
bullet Aphrodite, named Cytherea (Lady of Cythera) and Cypris (Lady of Cyprus) after the two places which claimed her birth; 8
bullet Ashtoreth from ancient Israel;
bullet Astarte from ancient Greece;
bullet Demeter from Mycenae;
bullet Hathor from ancient Egypt;
bullet Ishtar from Assyria;
bullet Kali, from India; and
bullet Ostara a Norse Goddess of fertility.
I don’t think the name means anything. Its meaning is the same throughout the Christian World. Just as the difference between using the Arab word “Allah” or the English word “God” means the same:
“Eastertide (also called the Easter Season as well as Easter Time) or Paschaltide (also called the Paschal Season as well as Paschal Time) is a festal season in the liturgical year of Christianity that focuses on celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. It begins on Easter Sunday, which initiates Easter Week in Western Christianity, and Bright Week in Eastern Christianity.[There are several Eastertide customs across the Christian world, including sunrise services, exclaiming the Paschal greeting, clipping the church,and decorating Easter eggs, a symbol of the empty tomb.The Easter lily, a symbol of the resurrection, traditionally decorates the chancel area of churches throughout Eastertide. Other Eastertide customs include egg hunting, eating special Easter foods and watching Easter parades.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastertide
The name means a lot, especially when you consider the way western “Christians” celebrate the Easter Bunny. Rabbits being a fertility totem … yes I think that is related to renaming Pascha in honor of Eostre. But like so many other historical truths they would prefer to forget, downplay, and really just try to ignore the ugly foundations of their “Christian” faiths.
How can a name not mean anything? I don’t understand. Oestrus is derived from this word – this has to do with the concept of fertility – most important – and originally a “pagan” festival to do with birth, i.e., in springtime in Europe, which the Christian religions appropriated.
Scott – your comments sound far too fundamentalist for me, at times – and I hail from a very long line of Russian Orthodox Christians- on both sides of my family, including Cossacks who are some of the strongest historical defenders of the Orthodox faith and who have sacrificed blood – a – plenty for defending Holy Mother Russia. You need to tone down a bit, and not risk spoiling your great contribution – time to show a little more of the true humility of an Orthodox follower.
Yuri,
Since you decided to bring out your relatives… Many Russian families count saints among relatives. Alexander Pushkin, for example, had 12 saints among his relatives. My family has one also, Saint Joseph Volotsky or Joseph of Volokolamsk. He and his cousins were instrumental to gathering the Russian lands and turning Moscow into a capital city.
Going back to fundamentalism for any Orthodox Christian is the best way for going forward.
“time to show a little more of the true humility of an Orthodox follower”
First, I remain anonymous. How more humble an author can get?
Second, are you sure you are talking about the Orthodoxy, and not about Tolstovstvo?
Christians are celebrating Easter freely under the “animal” Assad’s rule in Aleppo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZIAfKed4v0
While near Aleppo the US backed “moderate terrorists” are busy with their own “celebration”. Blowing up a humanitarian convoy of Shia refugees on their way to safety killing 70-150 many of them women and children.
http://theduran.com/breaking-suicide-attack-on-humanitarian-bus-convoy-kills-70-near-aleppo-graphic-images/
Plenty of pictures in both stories of children including “beautiful babies” as Trump talked about.There are only two differences. One they are “alive” in the Assad ruled Syria.And dead trying to get to that Assad ruled area in the other. And two,Russia supports the safety of those in Aleppo under Assad.And the US supports the murderers of the refugees fleeing for their lives.
Yes,two differences. But those two differences are so fundamental that they couldn’t be further apart.
thanks Uncle Bob, I love your comments always, even if sometimes it seems like I don’t.
your friend,
Ann
Saker,
It looks like Kiev on a Saturday night.
– Shyaku