Balgarianovinite.com 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. Holy Fire Distributed from Synodal Palace in Sofia on Easter Eve 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-04-11 14:15:00 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law