The “Holy Fire” (or “Holy Light”) is an annual ritual within Orthodox Christianity (specifically the Eastern Orthodox Church) in which the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem enters the historical tomb of Jesus Christ on Holy Saturday—the Saturday preceding Orthodox Easter (Pascha) calculated according to the Julian calendar. After the Patriarch enters the sealed inner chamber of Christ’s tomb (the Edicule) alone and begins to pray, a flame reportedly appears spontaneously in an unlit oil lamp. The Patriarch distributes the fire to pilgrims, who claim it does not burn for a period of time before turning into common fire. This article acts as a compilation of sources within current academic understanding regarding the Holy Fire of Jerusalem: in which believer, skeptic, and neutral sources are compiled in order to provide a comprehensive yet focused view of the subject.
Michael T. Woida (Mon,) studied this question.