Christians hold candles during the Holy Fire ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Holy Saturday, May 4, 2024. [Ohad Zwigenberg/AP Photo]
The annual Holy Fire from Jerusalem is due to arrive in Athens on Holy Saturday evening aboard a Greek government aircraft, ahead of its distribution nationwide for Easter church services at midnight.
Earlier, thousands of Christians will gather in the cavernous Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem for the centuries-old Holy Fire ceremony.
Holding unlit candles, they will pack into the sprawling 12th-century basilica built on the site where, according to tradition, Jesus was crucified and buried. In near-total darkness, the Greek Patriarch of Jerusalem will enter the Holy Edicule and emerges with two lit candles.
In the ceremony, the flame passed from one candle to the next, the light overcoming the darkness in the rotunda.
Eastern Orthodox Christians believe the light miraculously appears inside the Holy Edicule, built on the traditional site of Jesus’ tomb, while skeptics going back to the Middle Ages have dismissed it as a carnival trick for the masses.
The flame is then transferred from Jerusalem to other Orthodox communities worldwide.
The Greek delegation bringing the Holy Fire from Jerusalem is headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Yiannis Loverdos, who is in Jerusalem to attend the ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. He will receive it from Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem.
Also included in the delegation is the official representative of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem in Athens as well as a representative of the synod of the Church of Greece.
According to the Foreign Ministry, the Holy Fire is expected to arrive at Athens’ International Airport between 6.30 and 7 p.m.
As is custom, it is welcomed at the airport with the honors of a visiting head of state, before beginning its journey to churches across the country.
Aegean Airlines will transport the Holy Fire to Chios, Ioannina, Kavala, Kefalonia, Kos, Limnos, Mykonos, Samos, Thessaloniki, Volos, and Zakynthos, while Sky Express will transfer it to Alexandroupoli, Corfu, Iraklio, Hania, Mytilene, Rhodes and Santorini.
Aegean will also transport the flame to Cyprus on a flight expected to land in Larnaca at 5 p.m. [Kathimerini, AP]
