OCU does not believe the Holy Fire descends miraculously
According to Epiphany, the descent of the Holy Fire is "mostly a memory of that first miracle that was performed at a certain point."
The head of the OCU Epiphany Dumenko, in an interview on Channel 5, answered the question whether he believes that the descent of the Holy Fire, which takes place annually in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, is a miracle.
“You probably once thought about the fact that this is a performance? the journalist asked him. "Or do you believe that somehow a miracle happens, a spark, and fire arises from there?"
Dumenko smiled and noted that someone really believes that the Holy Fire comes down miraculously, but this is more of a symbolic memory.
“It is symbolic how, for example, we consecrate water on Jordan: there is a substance, water, it does not arise simply, a miracle does not happen. I mean the priest does not create water as such, he simply sanctifies and it receives grace-filled power.
Likewise, the Holy Fire is simply carried out of the Holy Sepulcher as a sign of the Light that shone during the Resurrection of the Lord. It is taken out by the Patriarch, who comes in, makes a prayer, and this Blessed Light – someone believes it is miraculous, but, for the most part, this is the memory of that first miracle that was performed at a certain point. As a sign of this, it happens every year as if it were the descent, the radiation of this Holy Light from the Holy Sepulcher as a sign of the Resurrection of Christ,” Dumenko specified.
Earlier, the UOJ wrote that the Holy Fire descended on May 1, 2021, in the Church of the Resurrection of Christ over the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem at 1:55 PM by Kyiv time. The shrine was brought to Ukraine by an official delegation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
