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Tens of Thousands of Christians Fill Jerusalem to Witness ‘Holy Fire’ Miracle

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Tens of Thousands of Christians Fill Jerusalem to Witness ‘Holy Fire’ Miracle

(Photo: Reuters/Ints Kalnins)

Orthodox believers light candles with “holy fire”, lit on Orthodox Easter Day in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem and taken to Latvia, during an Orthodox Easter service in Riga April 14, 2012.

Christian Post Report – Tens of thousands of Christian pilgrims gathered Saturday at Jerusalem’s ancient Church of the Holy Sepulcher, built at a site where Jesus was crucified and buried, to witness a flame that is believed to emerge miraculously from the tomb of Jesus a day before Orthodox Easter each year.

Orthodox Christians filled the church and surrounding streets in east Jerusalem’s Old City for the ceremony, held under a heavy police presence, Agence France Presse quoted Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri as saying.

The pilgrims were mostly from Eastern Europe but also Christian Arabs living in the Holy Land. They swiftly passed the light on from candle to candle as it emerged from the church.

Thousands of Palestinian Christians would have also joined but they could not reach the site due to Israeli restrictions.

International Middle East Media Center quoted a Palestinian Christian woman from Beit Sahour as saying that despite being allowed to go to Jerusalem, she chose not to go. She said she can’t walk long distances or face strict Israeli measures and searches.

Many revere the Holy Fire as the power of Resurrection of Jesus and the fire of the Burning Bush of Mount Sinai as mentioned in the Old Testament.

Orthodox Christians believe in the Holy Fire miracle, which has been documented each year for over 1,000 years. Christians in many countries, including Georgia, Greece, Ukraine, Russia, Romania, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Lebanon and Egypt, who are unable to go to Jerusalem watch the ceremony live on television. The Holy Fire is brought to some of these countries after the ceremony.

The Holy Fire ceremony begins at noon with a procession where the clergy sing hymns.

After the procession, the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem or another Orthodox Archbishop offers a prayer, removes his robe and enters alone into the sepulcher after being examined by Jewish Israeli authorities to prove he has nothing to light the fire.

Waiting for the Holy Fire, the congregation chants Kyrie eleison, or “Lord, have mercy.” When the patriarch finally emerges from the tomb, he offers prayers and distributes the flames to the congregation.

Some pilgrims have claimed that flames received from the Holy Fire do not burn their hair, faces or clothes during the first 33 minutes of its appearance.

Source : Christian Post

Tens of Thousands of Christians Fill Jerusalem to Witness ‘Holy Fire’ Miracle

World News

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(Photo: Reuters/Ints Kalnins)
Orthodox believers light candles with “holy fire”, lit on Orthodox Easter Day in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem and taken to Latvia, during an Orthodox Easter service in Riga April 14, 2012.

Christian Post Report – Tens of thousands of Christian pilgrims gathered Saturday at Jerusalem’s ancient Church of the Holy Sepulcher, built at a site where Jesus was crucified and buried, to witness a flame that is believed to emerge miraculously from the tomb of Jesus a day before Orthodox Easter each year.

Orthodox Christians filled the church and surrounding streets in east Jerusalem’s Old City for the ceremony, held under a heavy police presence, Agence France Presse quoted Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri as saying.

The pilgrims were mostly from Eastern Europe but also Christian Arabs living in the Holy Land. They swiftly passed the light on from candle to candle as it emerged from the church.

Thousands of Palestinian Christians would have also joined but they could not reach the site due to Israeli restrictions.

International Middle East Media Center quoted a Palestinian Christian woman from Beit Sahour as saying that despite being allowed to go to Jerusalem, she chose not to go. She said she can’t walk long distances or face strict Israeli measures and searches.

Many revere the Holy Fire as the power of Resurrection of Jesus and the fire of the Burning Bush of Mount Sinai as mentioned in the Old Testament.

Orthodox Christians believe in the Holy Fire miracle, which has been documented each year for over 1,000 years. Christians in many countries, including Georgia, Greece, Ukraine, Russia, Romania, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Lebanon and Egypt, who are unable to go to Jerusalem watch the ceremony live on television. The Holy Fire is brought to some of these countries after the ceremony.

The Holy Fire ceremony begins at noon with a procession where the clergy sing hymns.

After the procession, the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem or another Orthodox Archbishop offers a prayer, removes his robe and enters alone into the sepulcher after being examined by Jewish Israeli authorities to prove he has nothing to light the fire.

Waiting for the Holy Fire, the congregation chants Kyrie eleison, or “Lord, have mercy.” When the patriarch finally emerges from the tomb, he offers prayers and distributes the flames to the congregation.

Some pilgrims have claimed that flames received from the Holy Fire do not burn their hair, faces or clothes during the first 33 minutes of its appearance.

Source : Christian Post

Obama, Castro Cautiously Praise One Another in Historic Meeting; Cuba Says Its Willing to Discuss Human Rights

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(Photo: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst0
U.S. President Barack Obama shakes hands with Cuba’s President Raul Castro as they hold a bilateral meeting during the Summit of the Americas in Panama City April 11, 2015. Obama and Castro shook hands on Friday at the summit, a symbolically charged gesture as the pair seek to restore ties between the Cold War foes.

Christian Post Report – President Barack Obama and Cuba’s President Raul Castro met Saturday on the sidelines of a summit in Panama. It was the first between U.S. and Cuban leaders in more than half a century, and the Cuban President said he is willing to discuss sensitive issues such as human rights “with patience.”

“It was my belief it was time to try something new, that it was important for us to engage more directly with the Cuban government,” President Obama said as he opened the meeting with Castro at the Summit of the Americas, according to The Associated Press.

“And more importantly, with Cuban people,” he added. “What we have both concluded is that we can disagree with a spirit of respect and civility. And over time, it is possible for us to turn the page and develop a new relationship between our two countries.”

Obama thanked the Cuban president “for the spirit of openness and courtesy that he has shown during our interactions,” and said he will “make sure that the people of Cuba are able to prosper and live in freedom and security.”

Castro was quoted as saying that Cuba is ready to discuss sensitive issues, even human rights. “We are disposed to talk about everything — with patience. Some things we will agree with, and others we won’t.”

Castro called Obama “an honest man,” according to Fox News.

The communist nation of Cuba has been governed by a one-party state since Fidel Castro, the brother of Raul Castro, overthrew the U.S.-supported dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1959. The relations between the two countries were severed in 1961.

The summit, which concluded Saturday, was Cuba’s first as the United States had blocked that nation from participating.

“Yes, we have conducted solidarity with other peoples that could be considered terrorism — when we were cornered, when we were strongly harassed,” Castro was quoted as saying. “We had no other choice but to give up or to fight back.”

Cuba showed some signs of economic and political reforms after Raul Castro’s election as President in 2008. Human rights groups say Cuba still persecutes Christians and dissidents.

According to Open Doors USA, about 57 percent of Cubans are Christian and they face constant government surveillance and infiltration. However, the church is growing in the island country.

Cuba’s foreign minister Bruno Rodriguez said the two nations “have found common ground in the willingness to have a civilized behavior that respects our differences.”

Rodriguez added that there is still no timeline for restoring diplomatic relations between the two countries.

“The United States will not be imprisoned by the past — we’re looking to the future,” Obama said at the summit Saturday. “I’m not interested in having battles that frankly started before I was born. The Cold War has been over for a long time.”

“The 2015 Summit of the Americas demonstrated the global importance of the region and the progress we have made over the last two decades to improve people’s lives,” the White House said in a statement. “Our region’s leaders must continue to work together, focusing on pressing issues that need our attention and action, so that we redouble our commitment to a more prosperous, safe, sustainable, equal, and democratic Western Hemisphere.”

Summit host Panama announced Saturday that the next edition of the regional gathering of hemispheric leaders will take place three years from now in Peru.

Source : Christian Post

Samsung Galaxy Note 5 Release Date, Specs News: Upcoming Phablet to Feature UHD Display

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Christian Post Report – Korean tech giant, Samsung, might soon displace QHD displays on their smartphone lineup, which has 2,560 x 1,440 pixel resolution specs, with a much higher UHD displays.

This is according to a report from Tech Times who pointed out Samsung’s confirmation saying that the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge maker is currently working on an Ultra HD 3840 x 2,160 pixel display technology.

Youtube Screenshot/ file
The Samsung Galaxy Note 4

The UHD Super AMOLED display is said to be integrated to their allegedly upcoming phablet device, the Samsung Galaxy Note 5. Production for the said displays is rumoured to commence this August, in time for the device’s unveiling in fall 2015.

As stated by the website, the Galaxy Note 5 will arrive in two versions.

The regular variant will have a 5.89-inch flat display while the other one will have a dual-edge screen measuring about 5.78 inches.

The report went on to say that the forthcoming phablet flagship will house an octacore Snapdragon 810 chipset, 4 GB of RAM, a 21 or 18 megapixel primary camera which will be paired with a 5 or 6 MP front snapper, and a 4000 mAh battery.

Other reports meanwhile pointed out that the handheld device might also come with the company’s own Exynos 7420 chipset which will be shipped out for European and Asian markets.

The device would also come in different storage options which will be from 16 GB to 128 GB. All variants of the device will have a microSD support feature which can be upgraded up to 128 GB.

As said by the publication, the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 will have an “informal launching” this September at the 2015 IFA expo event and will later hit the shelves this fall with prices ranging from $800 to $890.

Source : Christian Post

Samsung Galaxy Note 5 Release Date, Specs News: Upcoming Phablet to Feature UHD Display

Entertainment

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0

Christian Post Report – Korean tech giant, Samsung, might soon displace QHD displays on their smartphone lineup, which has 2,560 x 1,440 pixel resolution specs, with a much higher UHD displays.

This is according to a report from Tech Times who pointed out Samsung’s confirmation saying that the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge maker is currently working on an Ultra HD 3840 x 2,160 pixel display technology.

Youtube Screenshot/ file
The Samsung Galaxy Note 4

The UHD Super AMOLED display is said to be integrated to their allegedly upcoming phablet device, the Samsung Galaxy Note 5. Production for the said displays is rumoured to commence this August, in time for the device’s unveiling in fall 2015.

As stated by the website, the Galaxy Note 5 will arrive in two versions.

The regular variant will have a 5.89-inch flat display while the other one will have a dual-edge screen measuring about 5.78 inches.

The report went on to say that the forthcoming phablet flagship will house an octacore Snapdragon 810 chipset, 4 GB of RAM, a 21 or 18 megapixel primary camera which will be paired with a 5 or 6 MP front snapper, and a 4000 mAh battery.

Other reports meanwhile pointed out that the handheld device might also come with the company’s own Exynos 7420 chipset which will be shipped out for European and Asian markets.

The device would also come in different storage options which will be from 16 GB to 128 GB. All variants of the device will have a microSD support feature which can be upgraded up to 128 GB.

As said by the publication, the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 will have an “informal launching” this September at the 2015 IFA expo event and will later hit the shelves this fall with prices ranging from $800 to $890.

Source : Christian Post

Two Muslims Burn 14-Year-Old Christian Boy in Pakistan; Victim in Hospital with 55% Burn

World News

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Nuaman suffered burns covering more than 55 percent of his body.

Christian Post Report – Two local young Muslims going for Friday prayers to their mosque in Pakistan’s Lahore city beat up and set fire to a 14-year-old Christian boy after stopping him and asking his religious affiliation, according to a Christian group.

The victim, identified only as Nuaman, is being treated at Meo Hospital in Lahore in Punjab province, according to a Christian group, The Voice Society, in Pakistan. He has burns covering more than 55 percent of his body.

The Christian boy was coming from a tailor’s shop when he was attacked. It was time for Muslim prayers on Friday when the incident happened.

Two Muslims, who have not been identified, stopped him and asked what his religion was.

“I told them that I am Christian. They started beating me, when I tried running, both boys started following me through the street and then they threw Kerosene on me and burnt me,” Nuaman was quoted as saying. “I kept on running when a heap of sand came my way, I lied down on the sand … [A] few people from the community … [extinguished] fire by putting sand on me. I became unconscious, and they called 1122 Emergency medical helpline and called [for] an ambulance.”

Nuaman, who lives with his paternal uncle, said he does not know the attackers but can identify them with their faces.

The boy’s father died when he was 4, and his mother remarried.

The attack could be a reaction to a recent incident of lynching by some Christians of two suspected terrorists following a terror attack on a church in the same city, the group said.

Two suicide blasts hit the Christ Church and Catholic Church of Youhanabad Christian Colony in Lahore on March 15, killing 17 people. A Pakistani Taliban splinter group claimed responsibility for the attack, which left another 80 people injured.

Thousands of Christians rioted on the streets of Lahore following the attack, demanding more protection from the government. Reports said that two suspected terrorists were beaten to death and burned during the riots. The men were apparently in custody and were being shifted to a vehicle when the protesters got to them, beat them severely, tied them with a rope and set them on fire.

After the lynching incident, general hatred against the Christian minority has increased, the group believes.

Source : Christian Post

Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield Split Rumors? Couple on a Break?

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Christian Post Report – After three years of dating, Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield are reportedly on a break.

Rumors of a breakup started circulating when Stone attended numerous awards shows this year without her boyfriend. Garfield was notably absent from the Golden Globes and the Oscars, where Stone was nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

A source from People said that the couple has decided to take a break since both of them are currently busy with work.

Reuters/File
Actors Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield pose for photographs at the world premiere of The Amazing Spiderman 2 in central London, April 10, 2014.

“He’s thrown himself in the project to the detriment of all else,” said the source of Garfield, who is currently shooting Martin Scorsese’s new film, “Silence,” on location in Taiwan. “But it’s too early to say the relationship is over.”

An insider from Us Weekly says that Garfield is “very in his character” as he plays a Jesuit priest in the film.

“He’s lost weight, and he’s in a dark place mentally for his performance and he’s not boyfriend material right now,” the source said.

“Emma understands his work anxieties—it’s why she originally pulled out of ‘Cabaret’ last year and only did it this year—but they’re taking a break from each other,” a confidante told People magazine.

Meanwhile, the 26-year-old actress has been spending time with her brother, Spencer, in LA after wrapping up production on her film “Aloha.” After news of her alleged break with Garfield surfaced this week, Stone was spotted with her brother and their friends at Disneyland where the actress was seen enjoying the rides and having a margarita at California Adventure.

Though they’ve possibly taken a breather from their relationship, there’s a chance that they may reconcile when Garfield finishes filming in May.

“It’s one of those situations where only Andrew and Emma quite know if they’ll pick up where they left off or they’re separated,” said an insider.

The couple was last photographed together in New York City’s West Village on Jan. 7.

Source : Christian Post

Will Reform Bring Peace to the Islamic World?

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In speaking at the National Press Club on Tuesday, best-selling author, former Muslim and outspoken critic of Islam, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, offered five amendments to the religion of Islam that Muslims should take seriously if they really want to bring about a peaceful reformation to their religion.

Christian Post Report – In discussing her new book, Heretic: Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now, Hirsi Ali explained that in the last five years she has seen a wave of Muslims throughout the world express interest in reforming Islam so that it is not brutally oppressive toward women, those who break Islamic law, and religious minorities.

Hirsi Ali, who is originally from Somalia and is a survivor of genetal mutialiation, further explained that Islam needs to follow in the footsteps of Christianity and Judaism, which have both previously undergone their own reformation periods.

She highlighted the groundbreaking speech given by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in front of clerics at the prestigious Al-Azhar University in January, in which he proclaimed that it is time for an Islamic “religious revolution” that embraces peace.

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/ex-muslim-ayaan-hirsi-ali-proposes-5-changes-to-islam-that-could-help-lead-its-religious-reformation-137179/

Source : Christian Post

‘The Incredibles 2’ Release Date, Latest Plot News: Brad Bird Confirms He Has Started Work on Screenplay

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Facebook/ Christian Post Report – The Incredibles
Christian Post Report – The Incredibles

Disney CEO Bob Iger announced at an investor meeting in March 2014 that Pixar was developing two more sequels to go along with the upcoming ‘Toy Story 4’ and ‘Finding Dory’. They are believed to be ‘Cars 3’ and ‘Christian Post Report – The Incredibles 2′, the follow up to the hit animated film that tells the story of the Parr family, a family of superheroes from writer/ director Brad Bird.

Speaking to NPR this week, Bird confirmed that the film is indeed well on its way.

“I’m just starting to write it,” he revealed. “So we’ll see what happens.”

‘Christian Post Report – The Incredibles’ is one Pixar film that moviegoers have been eager to see a sequel for. The film ended on a cliffhanger, with the entire family gearing up to fight a new villain called The Underminer.

Several plot lines for the sequel have been speculated over the years, with one of the more persistent rumors claiming that it will pick up on the Underminer storyline. Some fans believe that there will be a big time jump between the first and second movies, with the kids all grown up, and the youngest, Jack-Jack, now in his pre-teen years.

At the moment, no official director has been announced for the film.

No release date has been announced officially for the film, but Pixar has already penciled in November 22, 2017 and June 15, 2018 for their upcoming projects, and it is rumored that these dates are when fans will finally get to see ‘Cars 3’ and ‘Christian Post Report – The Incredibles 2′, though it is still uncertain as to which film will premiere ahead of the other.

Source : Christian Post

‘The Incredibles 2’ Release Date, Latest Plot News: Brad Bird Confirms He Has Started Work on Screenplay

Entertainment