Historical Sworn Testimony of a Holy Sepulchre Cleric

“I swear by my sacred office”

At this point, and before we proceed to the second and final day of the trial, it is important to present a sworn statement by a Holy Sepulchre Archbishop that was submitted to the court.

On December 6, 2019, among the witness testimonies in the lawsuits filed by Archbishops Aristarchos and Isidoros, there was one that constitutes the first sworn (“I swear by my sacred office”) testimony in history by a serving Holy Sepulchre Archbishop, who declared that the Holy Fire is not lit miraculously and is, in fact, natural light.

The testimony of His Eminence Theophanes is as follows:

SWORN STATEMENT

NUMBER 1703 /2019

In Jerusalem today, on Friday, December 6, 2019, at 2:00 PM, at the premises of the Consulate General of Greece, Latin Patriarchate Street no. 11-19, before me, Christos Sofianopoulos, Consul General of Greece in Jerusalem, residing and based herein, acting as a Notary Public, appeared His Eminence Archbishop Theophanes of Gerasa, not excluded by law, secular name THEOPHANIS CHASAPAKIS, son of Iakovos and Maria, born in Mytilene on January 18, 1948, holder of Greek passport no. —–, issued by H.P.A./D.D. – N.P.C. on May 3, 2017, and expiring on May 2, 2022, resident of Jerusalem, Greek Orthodox Patriarchate Street, Jerusalem, P.O. Box 31043, and declared his wish to give the following sworn statement, upon the request of Dimitrios ALIKAKOS, son of Georgios, resident of —–, number –. Subsequently, having declared his wish to swear by his sacred office, he took an oath in accordance with Article 408 para. 4 of the Code of Civil Procedure, affirming by his sacred office that he would tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, without adding or concealing anything, and certifies that:

“I am Archbishop Theophanes of Gerasa, secular name Theophanes Chasapakis, and I have served the Patriarchate of Jerusalem since 1961. I am a graduate of the School of Theology of the University of Athens, as well as Durham University, England, with an MA in Patristic Theology. In 1986, I was appointed Patriarchal Commissioner in Constantinople and in 1993 in Bethlehem. From 2005 to 2009, I served as Exarch of the Holy Sepulchre in Athens.”

I met journalist Dimitris Alikakos on July 2, 2018, when he arrived in Jerusalem with a clear interest in learning about the lighting of the Holy Fire, which takes place every year on Holy Saturday at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. His arrival coincided with a religious tour of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for a group of pilgrims from Crete. When I began speaking to the faithful about the Holy Fire ceremony, he asked me if he could videotape it. This surprised me, as many faithful videotape my words without ever asking me. However, they do well, as the words of a cleric should be disseminated, and today this is possible through digital media. So I answered him positively, and at the end of my speech, he asked if we could speak privately about the Holy Fire ceremony.

Everything I told him, as well as my speech at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, I saw written verbatim in his book “Redemption – On the Holy Fire.” In it, he captured, with respect for the faith and the Patriarchate, the one and only truth about the Holy Fire: that it is natural light, which is sanctified by the prayer read by the Patriarch. The claim that the circulation of Mr. Alikakos’s book caused moral damage to the Patriarchate is unfounded, as the truth about the Holy Fire rightly enlightens the faithful and the skeptical, theologically elevates the prestige of the Patriarchate, and is fully consistent with the Orthodox teaching of the Church. However, everyone has the right to believe what they wish, whether knowingly or unknowingly; yet, clerics, and especially Archbishops, have an obligation to rightly divide the word of truth, which should never cause scandal, and an end must be put to misunderstanding.

I have nothing further to add. I will conclude by reiterating the words I spoke to the author and which he recorded in his book: “it is neither a miracle nor a mystery; therefore, no Church Father dealt with it, nor did any Ecumenical Council. It is a ceremony, as I also told the pilgrims. Ultimately, the matter of the Holy Fire is illuminated through the Divine Liturgy, which is sealed with “We have seen the true light…”. The non-ecclesiastical view of the Holy Fire ceremony in the Holy Sepulchre by some faithful diminishes the Divine Liturgy itself, which constitutes the highest experience and realization of Christ’s work,” and which is, moreover, performed immediately after the lighting of the Holy Fire.”

This present statement will be used to counter: 1. The lawsuit dated July 18, 2019, under GAK 70162/2019 and EAK 2181/2019, filed by Antonios (Aristarchos) Peristeris, son of Georgios, Archbishop of Constantina, resident of Jerusalem, against Dimitrios Alikakos, son of Georgios […] 2. The lawsuit dated July 18, 2019, under GAK 70160/2019 and EAK 218/2019, filed by Ilias (Isidoros) Fakitsas, son of Theodoros, Archbishop of Hierapolis, resident of Jerusalem, against Dimitrios Alikakos, son of Georgios…”

You can view the sworn statement document, before the Consul General of Greece in Jerusalem, here.

Sworn testimony of a former Sacristan.

On the same day, December 6, 2019, the former Sacristan of the Holy Sepulchre, former Archbishop of Ascalon, Nikephoros, also gave a sworn statement before a notary. The notary’s document is as follows:

The deponent began his testimony after I first asked him if he preferred to take a religious or civil oath, according to Articles 252 and 408 of the Code of Civil Procedure, and he replied “Religious” (upon his Priesthood), and took the following oath: “I swear before God to conscientiously tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, without adding or concealing anything.”

“I am Archbishop of Ascalon, secular name Nikolaos Baltatzis, and I served the Patriarchate of Jerusalem from 1961 to 2014. From 1984 to 1988, I served as Sacristan of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Every Holy Saturday, I was responsible for transferring the oil lamp from the Sacristy to the Holy Sepulchre, a ritual that has existed for centuries.”
On October 10, 2018, journalist Dimitris Alikakos visited me at my home and asked me to explain and record on camera the method of lighting the Holy Fire. He informed me that he had interviewed other clerics of the Patriarchate on this matter in the same manner (recording on camera and photographs) and that he was working on a related book, where he would utilize all his material. Indeed, everything I conveyed to him, I later read, transcribed verbatim and without any distortion of my words, in his book “Redemption – On the Holy Fire.”

In summary, I told him that there is no “miracle of the Holy Fire” in the sense that the flame does not descend miraculously into the Holy Sepulchre, as some propagate and some faithful believe, but rather it is the result of the Sacristan’s action. That is, he himself lights the unextinguished lamp (with a lighter or matches) and leaves it burning for the Patriarch to find. From there, the Patriarch receives the Holy Fire and distributes it to the faithful. This is the truth, which all the Archbishops of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem know well, especially the Sacristan himself, but it is carefully concealed from the faithful for obvious reasons (scandal).
So much for us; the rest to God, the All-Seeing.”

At this point, the witness concluded his testimony, stating that he makes this sworn statement for use in the aforementioned Court, and finally added, “May God be with you and His Holy Gospel.”

You can view the sworn statement document here.