Holy Fire to be delivered to America for first time

The Holy Fire, which descends every year on the eve of the Orthodox feast of Pascha in Jerusalem, will be delivered to the various corners of the Earth, with the support of the Russian St. Andrew the First-Called Foundation, including, for the first time this year, to the United States of America. “It is planned to deliver this sacred blessing for the first time to the US, and we’ve already received permission to transport the lampadas with the Holy Fire on board a plane,” the foundation’s press service reported to Interfax-Religion today. The Holy Fire is being brought to the US by the initiative of parishioners of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.

Since 2003 the Holy Fire has then been taken to various countries as part of the St. Andrew’s Foundation’s “Pray for Peace for Jerusalem” program, in which Orthodox believers from Russia, Israel, Serbia, Romania, Poland, the Czech Republic, the USA, and other nations have joined the foundation’s delegates and the patriarch of Jerusalem to pray for peace in the Holy City. The Holy Fire is traditionally brought to the Paschal service at Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow and from there throughout Russia. In 2016, the fire was taken to 53 Russian and 11 international cities. As previously reported, the Holy Fire will also be delivered to London for the first time.

Source: pravoslavie.ru