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| A photo of the Holy Cloud over Nazareth at night from Mount Tabor |
A Romanian Tourist Manager, Dumitru Georgeta, who often travels to the Holy Land has witnessed the miracle of the Holy Cloud enveloping Mount Tabor for the vigil of the feast of the Transfiguration on the night of August 18th into the 19th fifteen times, and this year pointed out the fact in a post on Facebook that the Holy Cloud did not appear over Mount Tabor this year while she was there for the feast.
A Romanian publication picked up on this and wrote a news report that the Holy Cloud failed to appear over Mount Tabor on the feast of the Transfiguration, which was then reported in Greek sources and possibly other languages.
However, Dumitru Georgeta, upset by this report, clarified that what was reported was not the whole story. On Facebook she had mentioned that the Israeli police would not let visitors go up Mount Tabor for this year's feast because the "organizer" of the event refused to pay the required money for a fire truck, ambulance and police to be present. However, a small group was allowed. She then says what she experienced:
“Only about 120 Christians were present at the holy service, of which only about 40 Romanians were present. One of the pilgrims told us that the Cloud was formed over Nazareth, as usual, but did not come massively to the mountain, until the morning, on the day of, and during the Divine Liturgy it came as a thin veil of holy light in the night, and not as before."
Later she reported:
"They say after the event was over, we Christians were also upset that the Holy Cloud had not descended. Totally wrong. The Cloud was present, the important thing was to feel this miracle inside us. The Savior also tells us: 'Blessed are those who have not seen but have believed.' The atmosphere was superb because together with the group we led we managed to detach ourselves from all this gossip and judgments. We were happy to have spent good and useful hours in such a holy place. It was worth all the effort to be present on the Mountain of God. Conclusion: You can see in the photo the Holy Cloud, which was formed from Nazareth, but which this year no longer enveloped the mountain. It is a sign from God. He warned us that He is present, but He does not comfort us or pamper us because we have strayed from the right path. So the Holy Cloud appeared again this year. May God enlighten us!"
A Romanian publication picked up on this and wrote a news report that the Holy Cloud failed to appear over Mount Tabor on the feast of the Transfiguration, which was then reported in Greek sources and possibly other languages.
However, Dumitru Georgeta, upset by this report, clarified that what was reported was not the whole story. On Facebook she had mentioned that the Israeli police would not let visitors go up Mount Tabor for this year's feast because the "organizer" of the event refused to pay the required money for a fire truck, ambulance and police to be present. However, a small group was allowed. She then says what she experienced:
“Only about 120 Christians were present at the holy service, of which only about 40 Romanians were present. One of the pilgrims told us that the Cloud was formed over Nazareth, as usual, but did not come massively to the mountain, until the morning, on the day of, and during the Divine Liturgy it came as a thin veil of holy light in the night, and not as before."
Later she reported:
"They say after the event was over, we Christians were also upset that the Holy Cloud had not descended. Totally wrong. The Cloud was present, the important thing was to feel this miracle inside us. The Savior also tells us: 'Blessed are those who have not seen but have believed.' The atmosphere was superb because together with the group we led we managed to detach ourselves from all this gossip and judgments. We were happy to have spent good and useful hours in such a holy place. It was worth all the effort to be present on the Mountain of God. Conclusion: You can see in the photo the Holy Cloud, which was formed from Nazareth, but which this year no longer enveloped the mountain. It is a sign from God. He warned us that He is present, but He does not comfort us or pamper us because we have strayed from the right path. So the Holy Cloud appeared again this year. May God enlighten us!"
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| The Holy Cloud over Mount Tabor in the morning. |
When the Romanian press reported that the Holy Cloud did not appear, she clarified:
"Every year it has a different intensity, a different color, a different hour of descent. I mention this, because I've seen this miracle 15 times. I'm disappointed in these somber reports. There is nothing to worry about and I convey to you with all sincerity that one can travel to the Holy Land without problems. Please delete this article. I did not tell Mrs. Cristina Leordeanu that it is a worrying sign and I do not want my name and the travel agency I run to be mixed up in such fake news."
From this we can conclude with more clarity that the Holy Cloud did indeed appear, first over Nazareth, but it did not envelope Mount Tabor during the night vigil, as usual, rather it arrived on Mount Tabor much thinner than usual in the morning during the Divine Liturgy.
"Every year it has a different intensity, a different color, a different hour of descent. I mention this, because I've seen this miracle 15 times. I'm disappointed in these somber reports. There is nothing to worry about and I convey to you with all sincerity that one can travel to the Holy Land without problems. Please delete this article. I did not tell Mrs. Cristina Leordeanu that it is a worrying sign and I do not want my name and the travel agency I run to be mixed up in such fake news."
From this we can conclude with more clarity that the Holy Cloud did indeed appear, first over Nazareth, but it did not envelope Mount Tabor during the night vigil, as usual, rather it arrived on Mount Tabor much thinner than usual in the morning during the Divine Liturgy.
Because so few were in attendance this year, it is unlikely we will get more clarification on this from another source.
