![]() The date of Candlemas is established by the date set for the Nativity of Jesus, for it comes forty days afterwards. In addition to being known as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, other traditional names include Candlemas, the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin, and the Meeting of the Lord. The couple offered two turtledoves or two pigeons (Luke 2:24) presumably because they could not afford a lamb. Although the three kings had offered to Christ a great quantity of gold, still the Blessed Virgin, zealously affected towards poverty, accepted but little of it, that she might show her contempt of all earthly things. ![]() Ĭornelius a Lapide comments on Mary and Joseph sacrificing a pair of turtledoves: ".because they were poor for the rich were obliged to give in addition to this a lamb for a holocaust. The elderly prophetess Anna was also in the Temple, and offered prayers and praise to God for Jesus, and spoke to everyone there of His importance to redemption in Jerusalem ( Luke 2:36–38). Simeon then prophesied to Mary: "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed. "Lord, now let your servant depart in peace,Īccording to your word for my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel". Simeon then uttered the prayer that would become known as the Nunc Dimittis, or Canticle of Simeon, which prophesied the redemption of the world by Jesus: The Gospel records that Simeon had been promised that "he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ" ( Luke 2:26). Upon bringing Jesus into the temple, they encountered Simeon. Luke explicitly says that Joseph and Mary take the option provided for poor people (those who could not afford a lamb Leviticus 12:8), sacrificing "a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons." Leviticus 12:1–4 indicates that this event should take place forty days after birth for a male child, hence the Presentation is celebrated forty days after Christmas. According to the gospel, Mary and Joseph took the Infant Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem forty days (inclusive) after His birth to complete Mary's ritual purification after childbirth, and to perform the redemption of the firstborn son, in obedience to the Torah ( Leviticus 12, Exodus 13:12–15, etc.). The event is described in the Gospel of Luke ( Luke 2:22–40). Meeting of the Lord, Russian Orthodox icon, 15th century The Feast of the Presesentation of the Lord is in the Roman Rite also attached to the World Day of Consecrated Life. ![]() In the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, and the Lutheran Church, the episode was also reflected in the once-prevalent custom of churching of women forty days after the birth of a child. In the Roman Catholic Church, especially since the time of Pope Gelasius I (492-496) who in the fifth century contributed to its expansion, the Feast of the Presentation is celebrated on 2 February. In the Church of England, the mother church of the Anglican Communion, the Presentation of Christ in the Temple is a Principal Feast celebrated either on 2 February or on the Sunday between 28 January and 3 February. In some liturgical calendars, Vespers (or Compline) on the Feast of the Presentation marks the end of the Epiphany season, also (since the 2018 lectionary) in the Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland (EKD). In Western Christianity, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord is also known by its earlier name as the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin or the Meeting of the Lord. The Orthodox Churches which use the Julian Calendar celebrate it on 15 February, and the Armenian Church on 14 February. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Presentation of Jesus at the temple is celebrated as one of the twelve Great Feasts, and is sometimes called Hypapante ( Ὑπαπαντή, "meeting" in Greek). ![]() Within the account, "Luke's narration of the Presentation in the Temple combines the purification rite with the Jewish ceremony of the redemption of the firstborn ( Luke 2:23–24)." The episode is described in chapter 2 of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament. The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple (or in the temple) is an early episode in the life of Jesus Christ, describing his presentation at the Temple in Jerusalem, that is celebrated by many churches 40 days after Christmas on Candlemas, or the "Feast of the Presentation of Jesus". ![]()
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