A monk from the Varlaam Monastery shows a photograph of Jesus Christ, taken on Holy Saturday in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, during the descent of the Holy Fire.☦️
At the moment when the Holy Fire descends, Christ Himself comes down to earth and remains here for forty days, until His Ascension. Every year, on Holy Saturday, the appearance of the Holy Fire is awaited with great anticipation. Each year, people wait to see whether the Fire will descend. If it does descend, it is believed that the year can be lived in peace. If it does not descend, great sorrow awaits the nations, for this is considered one of the signs of the end of the world.
According to tradition, there are three such signs: when the Holy Fire does not descend upon the Lord’s Tomb; when the miraculous icon of the Iveron Mother of God leaves the Holy Mountain and Mount Athos is covered by water; and when the Mamre Oak, under whose branches the righteous Abraham received the Lord Himself in the form of three strangers, dries up completely.
