Charalambos K. Skarlakidis was born in the city of Drama in Greece. He is a graduate of the School of Architecture at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and holds a Master of Theology from the University of Nicosia.

The book “Holy Fire” is the product of his ongoing historical, archeological, and theological research. The book has been published in ten languages and constitutes the first complete historical research on the Holy Fire—with a parallel citation of twenty-four medieval manuscripts from the largest libraries of the world.

Intro

The coming of the Holy Fire at the Tomb of Jesus every Holy Saturday is the only miraculous event in human history which has taken place each year on the same day for more than one and a half millennia. Covering a period of thirteen centuries, from the 4th to the 16th century, this book assembles historical accounts of the celebrated event.

Eighty-five authors—seventeen French, nine Englishmen, eight  Greeks, seven Italians, seven Arabs, six Germans, five Armenians, five Ethiopians, four Russians, four Persians, three Icelanders, two Egyptians, two Chaldeans, one Cypriot, one Syrian, one Moldovan, one Belgian, one Austrian and one Swiss—describe the greatest miracle of the Christian world: the Holy Fire (i.e., the Light of the Resurrection of Christ) which appears every Holy Saturday at the Tomb of Jesus, a few hours before the celebration of his resurrection.

Furthermore, the scientific measurements that were taken in the tomb of Jesus on Holy Saturday in 2008 by the Russian physicist Prof. Andrey Volkov, confirm the descent of the Holy Fire and reveal three phenomena, which he himself characterizes as “incredible and entirely inexplicable.” Similarly, the thermal measurements of the sacred flame, made by the Italian Professor Giulio Fanti on Holy Saturday 2019, document the supernatural origin of the Holy Fire and verify a fact that has been recorded historically for eleven centuries: that the sacred flame, in the first minutes after its ignition, burns almost imperceptibly—much less than a normal flame—without burning those who touch it.

This book also includes a historical and archaeological study concerning the original appearance of Jesus’ tomb and the rock of Golgotha, along with a series of reconstructive drawings of the two locations, as they appeared to be in AD 33. Here are three of these reconstructive drawings.

The eastern side of the Rock of Golgotha (height 11 meters) within the garden-orchards of the ancient quarry (reconstruction H. Skarlakidis). At point A, there is the double cave, which was discovered during excavations in 1977. According to the archeologist Fernández Díez, the cave was turned into a place for the worship of Christ in the first century. The location of the Crucifixion was surrounded by a rock wall, which we speculatively gave the dimensions of 16×8 meters. The residents of the city would have seen the Crucified One from a distance as they stood around the perimeter of the quarry. Those who knew Jesus, as Luke the Evangelist writes, “stood afar off” (Luke 23:49). 

The Rock of Golgotha at the time of Jesus within the gardens of the ancient quarry (facing east). The split in the rock from the earthquake can be seen. In the distance can be seen the walls of Jeru­sa­lem and the Temple. In the lower portion of the image, there is a cross-section of the western side of the quarry, where the tomb of Jesus is marked, in its actual location (reconstruction H. Skarlakidis).

The city of Jerusalem in the first century—1:50 scale model, measuring 2,000 square meters, at the Israel Museum (photo: H. Skarlakidis). We see the city as it appeared from the top of the Mount of Olives, looking towards the west. The western side of the city walls has been altered by the author to make them correspond to the walls in the time of Jesus—the model at the museum depicts the third wall, which was built during the reign of Agrippa I (AD 41–44). Golgotha and Jesus’ tomb can be seen outside the city walls. Genath Gate and Herod’s palace (residence of Pontius Pilate), which included the Praetorium, are also visible. On the day of his crucifixion, Jesus walked from the Praetorium to Golgotha, passing through Genath Gate. The reconstructions of Hezekiah's Pool (70 x 40 m) and the ancient quarry with the tomb of Jesus and Golgotha were made by the author.