Greek Journalist Dimitris Alikakos Investigates Ritual of Holy Fire in Jerusalem – Court Case Ensues

A court in Athens received a Greek journalist who reported the ritual of the appearance of the Holy Fire in Jerusalem. The corresponding decision was made on March 29, the portal reports Greek City Times.

In 2018, a journalist Dimitris Alikakos he went to Jerusalem to investigate the ancient mystery of the descent of the Holy Fire. At the site, Alikakos interviewed several priests, including the one in charge of ceremonial objects – the candles of the Holy Fire – at the Church of the Holy Church, Archbishop Isidore.

The clerk said the fire is lit by a lighter. The interview with the archbishop was later included in Alikakos’ book, Atonement. The Case of the Holy Fire,” published in 2019.

The Jerusalem Patriarchate was outraged and sued the journalist. The priests asked Alikakos to remove the video of the interview with the archbishop from the internet.

The descent of the Holy Fire always occurs on Holy Saturday – the last day of Holy Week and the eve of Orthodox Easter. Every year the date of the descent of the Holy Fire changes according to the date of Easter. The time of descent is also different every year, but they start to expect it from 13:00 Jerusalem time (the same as Moscow time).

It seems that the ritual of welcoming fire has been done since the 4th century. Only three times in history did the arrival of the Holy Fire fail – in 1101, 1579 and 1923. All these cases were explained by the fact that the rights of Orthodox Christians were violated during the reception of the fire.