"Porphyrius recorded his impressions in his diaries, which were published as Kniga bytija moego (The Book Of My Being) in 8 volumes from 1894 to 1901 [13]. In the first volume Porphyrius writes, "A hierodeacon who penetrated into the shrine of the Tomb at the time when, as everyone believes, the holy fire descends, saw with horror that the fire is ignited from a mere icon-lamp which never goes out, and thus the holy fire isn't a miracle. He himself told me about this today" (Kniga bytija moego, vol. 1 (years 1841-1844), p. 671). It is not stated how this perpetual flame is supposed to be kept alight.
Porphyrius later relates a story told to him by a metropolitan in Jerusalem. According to this, when Ibrahim Pasha was there he wanted to verify the authenticity of the miracle, so he told the Patriarch's deputies to allow him inside the shrine during the rites. If the miracle was authentic he would donate a large sum of money, but if it were a fraud he would confiscate all the money given by pilgrims and expose the fraud in all the European newspapers.
Deputies Metropolitan Misaеl of Petra, Metropolitan Daniel of Nazareth, and Bishop Dionysius of Philadelphia met to discuss the offer. Misael then admitted that he ignites the fire from an icon-lamp which is hidden behind the marble icon of Christ's Resurrection behind the burial couch. Thus they decided to beg Ibrahim not to interfere in religious business and not to expose the secrets of Christian rites, because the Russian Emperor Nicholas would be very unhappy if that were to happen. Ibrahim Pasha therefore decided not to press the matter. But from that time the clergy of the Tomb ceased to believe in the miraculous descent of the Holy Fire.
Porphyrius continues, "...the metropolitan added that only from God himself they await the cessation of (our) pious lie. As he is able, he will calm the people who now believe in the fiery miracle of the Great Sabbath. But we cannot even start this revolution in thought. We'd be torn apart near the very shrine of the Holy Tomb.
"We have informed the patriarch Athanasius, who then lived in Constantinople, about the blackmail of Ibrahim Pasha, but in our letter to him we wrote 'sacred fire' instead of 'holy light'. Surprised by this change the blessed elder asked us: 'Why are you calling the Holy Fire differently?' We told him the truth, but added that the fire, ignited on the Lord's Tomb from the concealed icon-lamp, is, after all, a sacred fire, since it comes from a sacred place." (Kniga bytija moego, vol. 3, pp. 299–301)"
Carski.
