Historic Court Decision: “The Holy Fire in Jerusalem Is Lit by Human Intervention”

“There is no miracle. The Holy Fire is lit with matches or a lighter”

On March 25, 2026, we received a very important court decision concerning the Holy Fire, as it bears the seal of the Hellenic Republic.

The court (Single-Member Court of First Instance of Athens) examined—for the first time—the substance of the case and ruled, after “thoroughly reviewing the evidence,” that the lighting of the Holy Fire in Jerusalem “is proven to be the result of human intervention.”

This is the latest judgment—Decision No. 2611/2026, issued on 26 February 2026—in a series of proceedings, one criminal and several civil, in all of which I was vindicated. These proceedings concerned allegations of knowingly false and defamatory statements arising from the publication of my book, “Redemption – On the Holy Fire”.

The plaintiff was Archbishop Aristarchos, Chief Secretary of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, who ranks second in the Patriarchate and is responsible for the administration of the Patriarchal Offices. In his lawsuit, he claimed that the publication of the book had caused “a serious infringement of his personality rights,” alleging that I had “distorted his statements concerning the Holy Fire and thereby harmed his honor and reputation, as well as the institution of the Patriarchate”.

After rejecting all the plaintiff’s claims, the judge proceeded one (significant) step further:

“There is no miracle. The Holy Fire is lit with matches or a lighter”

The deadline for filing an appeal (60 days from service on the opposing party) against the above decision has expired without action. Thus, the historic court decision became final on 23 June 2026.

You can read the full decision by clicking here