Holy Fire: The Battle for Christ's Tomb

by Victoria Clark

"Holy Fire invades the church, a fast-breeding light transfiguring faces, transforming the dark stone space. I hear gasps and cheers and sobs and tears. The emotion is overwhelming, the heat suffocating"Every Easter the 'miracle' of the Holy Fire is enacted in front of hundreds of the faithful in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. For centuries, Orthodox Christian pilgrims have made the arduous journey to witness the proof they need that God favours them far above all other Christians, as well as Jews and Moslems. Holy Fire presents the unending battle waged by various denominations of Christian churchmen for their saviours empty tomb as the microcosm of centuries of wider Christian power struggles. Victoria Clark deftly weaves history, reportage and religion into a fluid and fascinating account that includes the aggressive campaigns of medieval Crusaders, the empire-building of the nineteenth-century European powers, Britains decision to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine in 1917, and todays zealous, though unlikely, champions of Israels cause, the Christian Zionists. She explores the contribution that the Christian world has made to the unfolding tragedy of the Holy Landat a time when it has never been more urgent for the West to see itself as others see it.Guaranteed wide review attention. Extremely topical subject matter. Promotable, very well-connected and well-regarded young author.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

294 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Fiona · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose this book because I was taking a trip to Israel and wanted to have some sort of background on the religious tension there. For the first few chapters I was frustrated with the book as I felt I wan't getting the information I wanted, but there was so much information. As I continued, I realised that this information was necessary to understand more recent events.
So much has happened in Israel, so many different religions and Victoria Clark does a superb job of tying them all together, or mixing the past with the future, providing opinions from different divides.
The information I learned from this book helped me on my travels in Israel to understand what i was encountering - but now I want to know much more.
My tip with this book is to hang in there - it all starts to make more sense towards the end!

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

c2005: This book was much more readable than I thought it would be. The author intersperses the history with her own experiences during visits to Jerusalem. As you would imagine, some really interesting facts which some how get clouded over the passage of time. Who knew that the Armenians held such sway? Recommended to the history buffs amongst the normal crew. "We, Ethiopians have had a hard life here in Jerusalem. There is apartheid in the Holy Sepulchre. It is discrimination, a persecution! The Greeks and the Franciscans and the Armenians live in their palaces, while our nuns are sleeping up here in winter with clothes around their heads to keep warm! Look at our homes!"

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

The history was certainly interesting and I learned a lot from this book. People are appalling, and the US is full of big fat hypocrites. That's mostly what I've learned. Seriously, though, interesting discussion, although I found the author's transitional prose to be juvenile. Definitely good preparatory reading for a trip to the Holy Land.