The Holy Light from Jerusalem will be brought to Romania on Holy Saturday for Orthodox Easter, following an agreement secured with the support of Romanian and Israeli authorities.
According to the representative of the Romanian Patriarchate to the Holy Places, Archimandrite Ioan Meiu, the Romanian delegation has received the necessary approvals to bring the Holy Light to the country.
"Thanks to the intervention of the Romanian Embassy in Israel, we have also received a flight corridor from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, on Holy Saturday. With God's help, we will travel on a special flight from Tel Aviv to Bucharest with the Holy Light," Father Ioan Meiu said, as quoted on Monday by Basilica News Agency of the Romanian Patriarchate.
"We hope the situation will not escalate and that we will be able to successfully carry out this beautiful mission and great blessing for Romanian Orthodox believers," the archimandrite added.
This year, the ceremony of receiving the Holy Light on Saturday will take place under different conditions compared to previous years.
"The procession for the Holy Light will be different this year, as only His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III will descend into the Holy Sepulchre, accompanied by a few clergy. From there, the Holy Light will be distributed either from the Holy Sepulchre or from the Patriarchate Palace in Jerusalem to the delegations that have managed to arrange flights this year to their Orthodox destinations," Father Meiu explained.
The area of Jerusalem's Old City remains closed due to the conflict in the Middle East. Religious processions and gatherings are banned, and access to holy sites is restricted, according to The Times of Israel.
The Holy Light has been brought annually to Romania since 2009 by the representative of the Romanian Patriarchate to the Holy Places.
After arriving in the country, the Holy Light will be distributed by representatives of all dioceses to parishes of the Patriarchate in Romania and the Republic of Moldova.
It will then be brought to the Patriarchal Cathedral, where it will be received by Patriarch Daniel in a special ceremony.
The Holy Light is considered a miracle of Orthodoxy that occurs every year at Easter in Jerusalem, during the Great Vespers on Holy Saturday, between 12:30 and 14:30, when a fire is said to descend from heaven above the Holy Sepulchre, manifesting differently each year and, in its first moments, not burning.
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