The Holy Light from Jerusalem has arrived in Romania. She was brought in on a private flight / Changes from previous years due to the war in the Middle East

The Romanian Patriarchate will organize the bringing of the Holy Light from Jerusalem again this year. This will be brought with a special run on Holy Saturday.

The Holy Light will be brought from Jerusalem on Saturday evening, around 6:30 p.m., to “Henri Coandă” International Airport in Bucharest. From there, the Holy Light will be distributed to the delegates of the BOR dioceses present at the airport, announces the Press Office of the Romanian Patriarchate.

At around 19.00, she will be received at the historic Patriarchal Cathedral “Saints Constantine and Elena” by His Beatitude Father Patriarch Daniel.

The Holy Light from Jerusalem has arrived in Bucharest.

“The Holy Light descended in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher today at 14:13. We are waiting with joy this evening, between 18.00 and 18.30, for Father Archimandrite Ioan Meiu, the superior of the Romanian Patriarchate's Settlements at the Holy Places, to bring the Holy Light to be offered to all the delegates of the dioceses at Otopeni airport”, announced the Romanian Patriarchy Saturday afternoon.

How the ceremony at the Holy Sepulcher went

Due to the conflict in the Middle East that started on February 28, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem was closed for 40 days.

How this ceremony is performed:

Upon the arrival of the Patriarch, the traditional procession begins, which involves encircling the Holy Sepulcher three times, reports News.ro.

Then, the Tomb is unsealed, and the schevophylax, the cleric who takes care of the liturgical objects and vestments, takes inside the “unsleeping” candle, now extinguished, which is to be lit by the Holy Light.

Next, the Patriarch strips off his priestly vestments and remains dressed only in a white robe. Take four bundles of 33 candles each and enter the Holy Sepulcher. Together with him, the representative of the Armenians enters, who has the right to sit in the room in front of the room with the Holy Sepulcher, from where he follows the patriarch.

Inside the actual Tomb, the Patriarch reads the special prayer on his knees and asks Jesus Christ to bestow Light as a blessing and sanctification for people. Then, following the prayer, the holy light appears and spreads in the Church.

At the same time, he also lights the “dormant” candle inside the Tomb. The ceremony ends with the exit of the Patriarch and the distribution of the holy flame to the faithful.

Saint Light arrives in Romania on a private plane

The Holy Light will be brought from Tel Aviv to Bucharest on the evening of Saturday, April 11, 2026, by private plane, announced BoardingPass, a website specialized in the field of aviation.

“Unlike previous years, when a Romanian millionaire's plane was used, this time a plane owned by a Turkish airline is used. Later, other internal flights will be organized from Bucharest to distribute the Holy Light to other big cities in the country, we will come back with details”, according to BoardingPass.

Previously, BoardingPass reported that no plane flew from Romania to Israel on Saturday.

The Holy Light will be brought with a special flight by the superior of the Settlements of the Romanian Patriarchate to the Holy Places, Archimandrite Ioan Meiu.

Through the dioceses, the diocesan centers will distribute the Holy Light to each parish within them.

Around 19:00, the Holy Light will be received at the historic Patriarchal Cathedral “Saints Constantine and Elena” by His Beatitude Father Patriarch Daniel.

The backup plan

The tradition of bringing the Holy Light from Jerusalem was inaugurated by Patriarch Daniel in 2009.

The BOR had recently announced that if bringing the light from Jerusalem would not be possible due to the conflict in the Middle East, a holy light from last year had been kept burning at the Patriarchal Cathedral.

“Taking into account the current geopolitical situation, marked by the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, its implementation can only be affected in a case of unforeseen force majeure”, the Romanian Patriarchate announced on April 6.

The Holy Light, a miracle of Orthodoxy

The Holy Light is considered a miracle of Orthodoxy, which happens every year at Easter in Jerusalem, during the Great Vespers on Holy Saturday, between 12:30 and 2:30 p.m., when a fire is lit above the Holy Sepulcher that descends from the sky, manifesting itself differently every year and which, in the first few minutes, does not burn, notes Agerpres.

The light is brought to the faithful by the Patriarch of Jerusalem.

The Holy Sepulcher is inspected since Good Friday, immediately after Prohod. Those who do this check – so that there is no suspicion of staging – are civilian policemen, who are not Christians. Usually, there are three of them: an Arab, a Turk and a representative of the State of Israel. Their role is to inspect the room of the Holy Sepulcher to make sure there is no source of fire. He also physically controls those who will enter there at the time of the religious ceremony. Then, at the right moment, the lights go out, the door is sealed, and only the guards remain at the entrance.

After the service, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, dressed only in a white robe, epitrachil and girdle, heads towards the Holy Sepulcher. At the entrance, he is controlled by the police in the presence of witnesses belonging to all denominations. The Patriarch unseals the entrance to the Tomb and enters the first room, the “Chapel of the Angel”, accompanied – according to tradition – only by an Arab of the Islamic religion. Further, the patriarch enters alone into the actual room of the Tomb and kneels in front of the slab.

Later, after the prayer, those present in the church often have the opportunity to observe a light like lightning, which comes through the dome above the Chapel of the Holy Sepulcher. Pilgrims compare this light to a globe that breaks into small pieces. This light reaches the slab of the Holy Sepulcher, thus igniting the cotton wool sprinkled on top.

The role of the patriarch is to take this burning cotton in his hands, place it in two golden cups and return to the “Chapel of the Angel”.

Afterwards, the patriarch lights two bunches of 33 candles each, then goes out and distributes the light to the faithful.