Sir Charles Warren was born in
1840 in Bangor, Wales and was an
archeologist, an officer in the British
Royal Engineers, and later General
of the British army which participated
in battles in Africa and Asia.
The General Charles Warren
In 1867 he went to Jerusalem as a
member of the Palestine Exploration
Fund and conducted a series of excavations
that lasted until 1870.
Amongst his findings is a network of
galleries located under the Dome of
the Rock, as well as an underground
water supply system that was later
named after him (Warren Shaft). He
also completed a detailed topographical
map of the old city of Jerusalem.
A portion of the results of his excavations
was published in his work
entitled Underground Jerusalem that
was published in 1876 in London. In a chapter of this work entitled “Holy Fire,”
Warren speaks of all he knows of the miracle of Holy Saturday which was of
particular interest to him. In the first paragraph of this chapter he poses a crucial
question: “What is that fire?,” and immediately responds to his question:
«What is that fire which on Easter-eve lights up the lamps in the Holy Sepulchre?...
That a miracle attends the ceremony, there cannot be a doubt.1
The British archeologist was an eyewitness to the ceremony all four years he
stayed in Jerusalem and according to his assessment there is not a doubt in his
mind that it was a miracle.
The first ceremony in which he participated was Holy Saturday of 1867. On
the following Holy Saturday, through the intermediation of distinguished French
scholar Charles Clermont-Ganneau, Warren secured a spot on one of the raised
balconies of the Latins, from where he had an unobstructed view of the Holy
Sepulchre. Situated at this salient and advantageous spot, he states the following:
I had seen the miracle of the Holy Fire on a former occasion, but now I was
to have a more complete view, through the influence of M. Ganneau, who
had procured me a place in the Latin Gallery, to the north, and overlooking
the Holy Sepulchre.2
And he continues, describing the moment when the Holy Fire appears:
At last there is a feeling that the fire is at hand, masses of tow are thrust forward,
a flash at the opening is seen, the tow is lighted… In a moment, as
though by magic, the fire extends itself in all directions.3
Warren, even though he is a member of the Anglican Church, does not hesitate
to acknowledge the miracle’s authenticity. Moreover, the miracle does not
belong to the Greeks or to the Orthodox in general. It belongs to all Christians
and everyone can partake in it. The Holy Fire cannot be imprisoned or caged
within religious orders. It can, however, be enclosed in the hearts of all simple
and virtuous people.
Rapturous from what he experienced, Warren is the fourth eyewitness to
describe the descent of the Holy Fire as a flash that descends from above. As he
states, the flash appeared at the opening of the dome, which at the time still had
a small opening toward the sky.
Furthermore, he speaks of a torch that lights simultaneously with the appearance
of the flash and immediately afterwards he describes a miraculous dissemination
of the Holy Fire inside the church. He is not referring to the usual
dissemination of the flame from candle to candle that needs quite a bit of time,
but he describes a supernatural dissemination that was performed by the Holy
Fire itself which, “in a moment, as though by magic,” flooded the entire Church
of the Resurrection, extending in all directions at once.
The British archeologist’s description is particularly revealing and in line
with the testimonies of the previous centuries. Aside, however, from his personal
account, in the same chapter of his book there are two more very important
testimonies: that of Cypriot Bishop Meletios and that of Patriarch Kyrillos
II, who led the ceremony the first two years in which Warren participated: the
years 1867 and 1868 respectively.
The British archeologist, impressed by all he experienced during the ceremony, wished to further investigate the miraculous event and find out exactly
what occurred inside the Sepulchre just as the Holy Fire appeared. The only people who could answer his questions were the two Greek hierarchs mentioned
above. So, once he met with them at different times, he asked them to describe
all they experienced inside the Holy Sepulchre. Let us examine exactly what
they told him.
Notes:
1. C. Warren, Underground Jerusalem, London 1976, p. 425.
2. Warren, op. cit., 430.
2. Warren, op. cit., 435.
