site.btaUPDATED Holy Fire Distributed from Synodal Palace in Sofia on Easter Eve

The Holy Fire from Jerusalem, kept at the Palace of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (BOC) in Sofia, is being spread out by priests taking it to evening service in their churches in Bulgaria on Holy Saturday, which for Orthodox Christians this year is on April 11.

The Holy Fire descends at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem every year ahead of Orthodox Easter Sunday. A Bulgarian delegation last travelled to Jerusalem to collect the flame in 2023. In 2026, the BOC leadership decided against sending a delegation to the holy city due to the Middle East conflict after the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry announced a Level 5 Risk, warning Bulgarians that they should not travel to the region and advising those who are there to not leave it.

The first person to collect the Holy Fire from the Synodal Palace on Holy Saturday was Archpriest Petar Grudev. Asked by journalists where and how the flame from his Holy Fire would be taken, he replied: "In the jeep and up to the Monastery of the Holy Ascension of the Lord, located near Malo Buchino, commonly called the St Spas Monastery, so that the faithful may rejoice."

For the Danubian city of Ruse the Holy Fire will be brought from the Romanian capital Bucharest. Romania sent a delegation to Jerusalem to collect the flame after an arrangement with Israel amid the Middle East tensions.

At the Patriarchal Cathedral of St Alexander Nevsky in downtown Sofia, the solemn service on Holy Saturday will be led by Patriarch Daniil, the BOC head.

The Holy Fire

For centuries, a miracle has been said to occur in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. After the prayer of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, the Holy Fire descends.

The earliest records of the Holy Fire date back to the second century AD. Since then, on the eve of Holy Saturday, the Patriarch of Jerusalem enters the cave of the Lord's Tomb, the so-called Edicule (Kuvuklia), where he prays for the Holy Fire.

The flame is said to be supernaturally ignited every year on Easter in the Church of the Resurrection, built directly over the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. In the first minutes after it appears, the fire is said to have the unique property of not emitting heat and not burning.

According to Orthodox tradition, the Holy Fire is a miracle. A blue light is said to appear in the tomb of Jesus Christ, usually from the marble slab covering the place where the body of the Saviour is believed to have been laid for burial.