The Presentation of the Lord is one of the final Orthodox events of the passing winter. During this period, nature often hints to us that spring will soon come and the weather will change. It is not surprising that many folk signs and superstitions are associated with this holiday.

The Presentation of the Lord is one of the twelve great Orthodox events. This holiday is dedicated to the earthly life of Jesus Christ and the Mother of God.

On this day, it is necessary to follow traditions to protect yourself and your loved ones from troubles. Many Orthodox holidays are dedicated to saints, as well as their merits in helping people in need.

We can say that the Presentation of the Lord is a unique holiday. On this day we remember the earthly life of our Savior and the Most Holy Theotokos.

The Presentation of the Lord is one of the twelve permanent holidays, and its date, as usual, falls on February 15. From the Church Slavonic language the name of the event is translated as “meeting”.

This day is dedicated to the first meeting of Jesus Christ and the Mother of God with the righteous Simeon the God-Receiver.

On this day, believers remember an important event that occurred in the earthly life of our Savior. Based on the laws of the Old Testament, a woman after giving birth was not supposed to attend church for 40 days. At the end of the term, the mother came to the temple to perform a rite of purification and bring a thanksgiving sacrifice to the King of Heaven.

The Most Holy Theotokos was a pure, believing and immaculate Virgin, therefore she did not need additional purification, but despite this, she obeyed the requirements of the law. When the Mother of God with a baby in her arms crossed the threshold of the temple, the righteous elder Simeon came out to meet her with the goal of conducting a church ceremony.

When Simeon saw the righteous Virgin Mary with a child in her arms, he realized that this was the Messiah, whose appearance he had been waiting for for many years. After this, the elder realized that now he could die peacefully.

Simeon took Jesus Christ in his arms, blessed him, and then made a prediction about the Savior. After this, Orthodox believers began to call the elder the God-Receiver. One of the witnesses to the event was the old widow Anna.

The meaning of the holiday

The main meaning of the holiday is the long-awaited intersection of two eras, which came to be called the Old and New Testaments. Simeon the God-Receiver managed to complete the old era with dignity, and the long-awaited Messiah became the main representative of the new time. For more than a hundred years, humanity has been waiting to meet the Savior. From that moment on, faith and what people had professed for many years finally found its Creator.

The Presentation of the Lord is a holiday dedicated not only to the Mother of God and the Child Jesus Christ, but also to the Lord God.

Speaking about religious customs associated with this day, they almost did not exist throughout Great Russia, only in some places (for example, in the Vologda province) peasants walked around their houses with an icon of the Presentation of the Lord or the Savior, and when the icon was brought back to the house , then the whole family, with the householder at the head, fell on their faces with an exclamation:

“Lord our God, come to us and bless us!”

As for folk traditions, among the peasants the Presentation of the Lord was not considered a big holiday.

Very often, peasants, especially illiterate ones, did not even know what event the Church was remembering on this day, and the very name of the holiday - “Candlemas” - was explained in such a way that on this day winter meets summer, i.e. frosts begin to weaken and You can feel the approach of spring in the air.

Attributing to Candlemas only the significance of a calendar milestone, the peasants associated many agricultural signs with this day:

“On Candlemas Day there is a snowball - in the spring there is light rain”,

They talked, wondering about future rains.

Drops on this day foreshadow the harvest of wheat, and the wind foretells the fertility of fruit trees, which is why gardeners, coming from Matins, “shake the trees with their hands so that they will bear fruit.”

If Candlemas Day is calm and red, then in the summer the flax and so on will be good. The weather of that day was also used to judge the herb harvest, for which they threw a stick across the road and observed: if the snow sweeps it away, then the livestock feed will also be “swept away,” i.e., the herbs will be expensive.

In Orthodox, as well as in Catholic, Christian culture, there are many holidays that are of great importance for believers. One of them is the Presentation of the Lord. On this day, a biblical event known to many people is remembered. Therefore, the question: “The Presentation of the Lord - what kind of holiday?” - definitely deserves attention.

Origins

In Russian-speaking Orthodox culture, the Presentation of the Lord has been celebrated on February 15 for many years. This holiday is rooted in the traditions of Western and Eastern countries (IV-V centuries). It was then that the Presentation of the Lord became one of the twelve key dates that were included in the Orthodox calendar. On this special day, everyone who has faith in Christ remembers with reverence those events that were once described by the Evangelist Luke. We are talking about a special meeting between the baby Jesus and the righteous Simeon.

What does the Presentation of the Lord mean?

In fact, the word “meeting” itself can be translated as “meeting.” As for the story that gave rise to the holiday, it began almost 2000 years ago, when the Virgin Mary came with little Jesus. The future Savior of the world at that time was only forty days old. According to the Law of Moses, a woman who gave birth to a male child had to come to the Temple and offer a cleansing and thanksgiving sacrifice there. This is exactly what Mary did. Although the fact that she conceived a child from the Holy Spirit freed her from the need to make a cleansing sacrifice.

It so happened that at that time Elder Simeon was living in Jerusalem, who received the following revelation from the Almighty: he will not leave this mortal earth until he sees the Savior of the world. Inspired by the Heavenly Father, Simeon came to the Temple precisely when Mary was there with the baby Jesus. Seeing little Christ, the righteous elder took Him in his arms and proclaimed that his eyes had seen salvation from God.

Therefore, answering the question: “The Presentation of the Lord - what is it?” - it is worth talking specifically about the meeting of the Infant God and the righteous Simeon in the temple of Jerusalem. Another meaning of the word “meeting” is “joy”, the cause of which is the salvation brought to our world by Christ.

The importance of the meeting

Those who are not experienced in Christianity may find it a little strange that such great importance is attached to the meeting of Simeon and the baby Jesus. In fact, such close attention given by believers to the feast of the Presentation of the Lord is more than logical.

The point is that almost all the Old Testament prophets were waiting for the coming of the Messiah - who would free his people. And therefore, the meeting of Simeon with the born Christ is nothing other than the fulfillment of the prophecy, which was believed by many men and women of God who lived in the times of

More information about Simeon the God-Receiver

Trying to understand the question of the Presentation of the Lord - what kind of holiday and what is its value, it is worth paying more attention to one of the key figures in biblical history associated with this date (February 15). If we turn to legend, we will find out that the elder Simeon, who met Mary in the Temple, was 360 years old. His name means nothing more than “hearing.” Moreover, he is considered one of the 72 scribes who received the command from the Egyptian king Ptolemy II to translate the Holy Scriptures from Hebrew into Greek.

It was while working on the translation that Simeon read a prophecy that said that a virgin would give birth to a son - the Savior of the world. The Israeli prophet wanted to change the word “virgin” (virgin) to “wife” (woman), but the angel who appeared to him prevented him from doing this. Having listened to the heavenly messenger, Simeon received a promise from him that he would personally be able to see the prophecy fulfilled.

The Day of the Presentation of the Lord became for the prophet the embodiment of what was promised by the angel.

Anna the prophetess

There is another character in the Bible who is related to the famous holiday. We are talking about Anna the prophetess. Understanding what the feast of the Presentation of the Lord means, it is also important to pay attention to it. On the day when the baby Jesus was brought to the Temple, a widow, who at that time was already 84 years old, approached his mother, the Virgin Mary.

She often voiced wise speeches about God to the townspeople, for which they began to call her Anna the Prophetess. It was this woman who approached the little Christ, bowed to him and, leaving the temple, began to tell the residents of the city that the Messiah had come, who would deliver Israel.

Historical evidence of the veneration of the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

If you study the manuscripts left over from past generations, you will discover an interesting fact. Its essence boils down to the fact that in the 4th century, the Western pilgrim Esteria wrote the work “Pilgrimage to Holy Places.” This is in fact the oldest historically reliable evidence that the Presentation of the Lord was celebrated in church and liturgical celebrations in the Christian East. At the same time, the Estheria manuscript does not give the holiday its own liturgical title, defining it as the fortieth day from Epiphany. But the very process of the celebration held in honor of the Presentation is described more than emotionally.

But the second monument, which gives the holiday a special liturgical character, has its roots in Jerusalem. We are talking about the Armenian Lectionary. It was there that the fact of the liturgical and statutory practice of the early 5th century was attested. Based on this information, one can draw an obvious conclusion: in the 4th-5th centuries, the Presentation of the Lord was defined in the Jerusalem church as a holiday revered in this particular area.

Current signs

If we consider the question: “The Presentation of the Lord - what is it?” - exclusively in a folk format, then you will notice an interesting fact: this holiday is a symbol of the meeting of winter and spring. In this regard, many signs have appeared.

The first thing that can be attributed to the signs that people pay attention to on February 15 is the weather. According to popular belief, if it is warm and sunny on this day, then you should expect early spring. Even on a holiday like the Presentation of the Lord, signs regarding the weather may indicate persistent frosts if on the night of February 15 there is a clear sky in which no stars are visible. But in the case of the starry sky, there is every reason to expect a quick spring.

As for health, here you need to pay attention to the candle lit during the holiday: if the fire is even and hardly moves, then problems with your physical condition are not expected, but when the flame turns blue and sways, then it makes sense to prepare to fight disease.

On a holiday like the Presentation of the Lord, signs also apply to the road. It is believed that if a person sets out on a journey on this day, he will not return home soon. This statement is explained by the fact that on February 15 the weather is unpredictable, everything can happen - from heavy rains to heavy snowfall. Such precipitation, of course, greatly complicates movement.

Presentation of the Lord: traditions

It is generally accepted that if you feed animals with all your heart on this holiday, they will grow quickly and produce good offspring. Also celebrated on February 15, the Presentation of the Lord helps predict the abundance of the harvest: morning snowfall on this day is a sign of a bountiful harvest of early bread, and afternoon snow prophesies the successful sowing of middle ones.

On this day, they usually prepared the seeds for sowing, drove the animals out of the barn into the pen and inspected the harness. There was also a widespread tradition among the people to use water from the snow that fell on Candlemas Day, since it was believed that it could heal various diseases.

The water flowing from the roofs during the holiday was also of great importance. It was used for baking cakes, which were then given to those who suffered from any illness.

Features of the celebration

To fully answer the question: “The Presentation of the Lord - what is it?” - It is necessary to study the peculiarities of this holiday. An interesting fact is that most of the services in the church are focused on the person of the Virgin Mary. From ancient religious traditions, several Orthodox rituals have survived to the present day and have not lost their relevance.

First of all, the consecration of water and candles takes place directly in the church itself. Another belief is connected with this: if during a thunderstorm a consecrated candle is placed in front of an icon, it will protect the house from a lightning strike. Understanding what the Presentation of the Lord means, one cannot ignore the vibrant traditions of the celebration, during which very beautiful liturgical texts are read. They reveal the essence of the speech of the prophet Simeon, as well as glorify the honor given to him to see the baby Jesus. As for the duration of the celebration, the Presentation of the Lord lasts 8 days: from February 14 (pre-celebration) to February 22 (the celebration of the holiday).

Analyzing the question: “The Presentation of the Lord - what is it?” - in the format of the Catholic tradition, it is worth noting the thorough approach to the celebration. On this day, in churches, priests dress in white clothes and, before starting the solemn mass, conduct a bright procession with candles, and also perform a blessing ceremony. Everyone who came to the temple sings songs that convey the words of Simeon spoken to the Infant God, and the priests, conducting the ceremony, sprinkle those singing.

For many believers, this holiday is significant enough to prepare congratulations. The Meeting of the Lord is actually a veneration of the coming of the Savior, so many poems and scenes on this day talk about new life, joy and spring, which enlivens everything around.

Iconography of the Presentation

A significant holiday for Christians - the day of the meeting of Simeon and little Jesus - inspired artists to create many icons and frescoes. They all describe the moment when the Virgin Mary hands her son into the hands of the elder.

The icon “The Presentation of the Lord” depicts Joseph the Betrothed, who is behind the back of the Mother of God and carries either in a cage or in his hands two, and sometimes three, doves. Anna the prophetess is also depicted on the icon behind Simeon.

It is also interesting that the icon “The Presentation of the Lord” either has the foot of the temple as a background, or depicts the meeting of the elder and the Infant God near the throne. And on images painted at a later time, the torment of hell and future salvation are sometimes depicted (located in the lower part).

The meaning of the icon “Softening Evil Hearts”

There is another icon that is directly related to the feast of the Presentation of the Lord. It is called “Simeon’s Prophecy” or “Softening Evil Hearts.” This icon depicts the moment when an Israeli husband prophesies to the Mother of God that a weapon will pierce Her own soul. The Virgin Mary stands on a cloud with seven swords that pierced her heart: three on the left side, three on the right and one below. The number of swords is explained by the fact that it characterizes completeness, in this case suffering, heartache and sadness.

In general, if we consider what the holiday of the Presentation of the Lord means, we can conclude that it has a significant influence on Orthodox and Catholic Christian culture. This day also carries a tangible spiritual meaning, as it symbolizes the meeting of two covenants: the Old, typified by Simeon, and the New, brought by the Savior.

Description of the holiday

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord It is celebrated on February 15 (New Art.) and has 1 day of pre-celebration and 1-7 days of post-celebration.

• Meeting Archimandrite Raphael (Karelin)
• Presentation V. Lossky
• Meeting N. Popov
• Bishop Veniamin Milov
• Bible Encyclopedia
• Deacon Andrey Kuraev
• Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh
• Archpriest Seraphim Slobodskoy
• Marina Mikhailova
• Meeting of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ Feast service
• I.I. Turkin

The Legend of the Presentation of the Lord

According to the saint

After forty days had passed after the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, and after the completion of the days of legal purification, the Most Pure and Most Blessed Virgin Mother, together with Saint Joseph the betrothed, came from Bethlehem to Jerusalem to the temple of God, bringing the forty-day-old infant Christ to fulfill the law of Moses. According to this law, it was necessary, firstly, to be cleansed upon birth by offering an appropriate sacrifice to God and through priestly prayer, and, secondly, it was necessary to place the firstborn baby before the Lord and make a ransom for him at the established price (). This was commanded by the Lord in the Old Testament to Moses, in whose books about the law of purification of the mother it is written as follows: “If a woman conceives and gives birth to a male child, she will be unclean for seven days; on the eighth day his foreskin will be circumcised: and thirty She must sit for three days, cleansing herself from her blood, must not touch anything sacred, and must not come to the sanctuary until the days of her purification are completed. At the end of the days of her purification, she must offer a one-year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young dove or turtle dove for a burnt offering. "But if she is not able to offer a lamb, then let her take two turtle doves or two young doves, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering, and the priest will cleanse her, and she will be clean."

And about the dedication of the first-born males to God, the law says this: “Sanctify to Me every firstborn (male) firstborn who opens the womb.”(). And another time: "Give Me the firstborn of your sons" (). This was required for that great good deed of God in Egypt, when the Lord, beating the Egyptian firstborn, spared the Israelites (). Therefore, the Israelites brought their firstborn babies to the temple, dedicating them to God, as a due tribute established by the law. And again they bought them back from God at a set price, which was called “redemption silver,” and was given to the Levites who served at the temple of the Lord, as it is written about in the fourth book of Moses (). The established ransom price consisted of five sacred shekels of church weight, and each sacred shekel contained twenty pennies. Fulfilling this law of the Lord, the Mother of God now came to the temple with the Lawgiver. She came to be cleansed, although she did not require cleansing, as undefiled, unglamorous, incorruptible, most pure. For She who conceived without a husband and lust, and gave birth without illness or violation of Her virginal purity, did not have the defilement characteristic of women who give birth according to the natural law: for who gave birth to the Source of purity, how could impurity touch it? Christ was born from Her, like fruit from a tree; and just as a tree, after the birth of its fruit, is not damaged or desecrated, so the Virgin, after the birth of Christ, the blessed fruit, remained intact and undefiled. Christ came from Her, just as a ray of sunlight passes through glass or crystal. The sun's ray passing through glass or crystal does not break or spoil it, but illuminates it even more. Christ, the Sun of Truth, did not damage the virginity of His Mother. And the door of natural birth, sealed with purity and protected by virginity, was not desecrated by the usual bleeding for women, but, having passed supernaturally, he further aggravated its purity, sanctifying it with his origin, and enlightening it with the Divine light of grace. There was absolutely no need for any purification for the One who gave birth without corruption of God the Word. But in order not to break the law, but to fulfill it, she came to cleanse herself, completely pure and without any blemish. At the same time, filled with humility, She was not proud of Her imperishable purity, but came, as if unclean, to stand together with unclean women before the doors of the temple of the Lord - and demand cleansing, not disdaining the unclean and sinful. She also made a sacrifice, but not like the rich, who brought a blameless one-year-old lamb, but like the poor, who brought two turtle doves, or two chicks of pigeons, in everything showing humility and love for poverty, and avoiding the pride of the rich. For from the gold brought by the Magi (), She took a little, and distributed it to the poor and wretched, keeping for Herself only the most necessary things for the road to Egypt. Having bought the two birds mentioned above, She offered them, according to the law, for sacrifice, and with them She brought Her firstborn Child. "They brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him before the Lord"() - says the Evangelist Luke, that is, to return the things of God to God, for in the law of the Lord it is written that every male child who opens a lie must be dedicated to the Lord (). Holding Her Newborn in Her arms, the Holy Virgin Mary knelt before the Lord and with deep reverence, like a precious gift, lifted up and handed over the Child to God, saying:

Behold, Your Son, the Eternal Father, Whom You sent to be incarnate from me for the salvation of the human race! You gave birth to Him before the ages without a Mother, and by Your good pleasure, when I was full of years, I gave birth to Him without a husband; This is the firstborn fruit of my womb, conceived in me by the Holy Spirit, and ineffable, as You alone know, came from me: He is my Firstborn, before all Yours, co-essential with You and co-originating, the firstborn befitting You alone, for He came from You, without departing from Your Divinity. Receive the Firstborn, with whom You created the ages (), and with whom You commanded the light to shine together: receive Your Word incarnate from me, with whom You established the heavens, founded the earth, gathered the waters into a union: receive from me Your Son, Whom I offer You for this great thing, that you may arrange for Him and Me as You please, and that you may redeem the human race with His flesh and blood received from Me.

Having uttered these words, She gave Her precious Child into the hands of the bishop, as God’s vicegerent, as if giving Him to God Himself. After this, She redeemed Him, as required by the law, at the established price - five sacred shekels, the number of which seemed to foreshadow the five sacred plagues on the body of Christ, which He accepted on the cross, by which the whole world was redeemed from the legal oath and from working with the enemy.

At the very time when the Mother of God brought the baby Jesus to fulfill the custom prescribed by law over Him, Elder Simeon, a righteous and pious man, came to the temple, guided by the Holy Spirit, awaiting the joy of Israel that would come with the coming of the Messiah. He knew that the expected Messiah was already approaching, for the scepter had passed from Judas to Herod, and the prophecy of the forefather Patriarch Jacob was being fulfilled, who predicted that the prince would not become scarce from Judas until the expectation of the nations, Christ the Lord, came (). In the same way, the seventy weeks of Daniel ended, after which, according to prophecy, there should be the coming of the Messiah. At the same time, Saint Simeon himself was promised by the Holy Spirit not to see death until he saw Christ the Lord. Simeon, looking at the Most Pure Virgin and the Child who was in Her arms, saw the grace of God surrounding the Mother and Child, and, having learned from the Holy Spirit that this was the expected Messiah, he hastily approached and, receiving Him with indescribable joy and reverent fear, gave God great thanks. He, gray-haired, like a swan before his death, sang a prophetic song: “Now do You let Your servant go, O Master, according to Your word, in peace.”

“I did not have,” he seemed to say, “peace in my thoughts, all the days waiting for You, and all the days I remained in sadness until You came: now, having seen You, I received the Gift, and, freed from sadness, I am leaving here with joyful news to my fathers: I will announce Your coming into the world to the forefathers Adam and Abraham, Moses and David, Isaiah and the other holy fathers and prophets, I will bring unspeakable joy to them who are hitherto in sorrow; let me go to them, so that , having left sorrow, they rejoiced in You, their Savior. Let me Thy servant, after many years of labor, rest in the bosom of Abraham: my eyes have already seen Your Salvation prepared for all people, my eyes have seen the Light prepared for the dispersal of darkness, for enlightenment nations, for the revelation of unknown Divine Mysteries to them, - the Light that shone for the glorification of Your people Israel, Which You promised through the prophet Isaiah, saying: "I will give salvation to Zion, My glory to Israel" ().

Joseph and the Most Pure Virgin, hearing everything that Simeon said about the Child, were surprised; Moreover, they saw that Simeon speaks to the Child, not as to a baby, but as to the “Ancient of Days,” and when praying he turns to Him not as a person, but as to God, who has the power of life and death and can immediately release the old man to another life, or keep it in the present. Simeon turned to them with a blessing, praising and magnifying the immaculate Mother, who gave birth to God and man into the world, and pleasing the imaginary father of Saint Joseph, who was honored to be a minister of such a sacrament. Then, turning to Mary, His Mother, and not to Joseph - for he saw the husbandless Mother in Her with his eyes - Simeon said:

This will serve for the fall and rebellion of many in Israel: for the fall of those who do not want to believe His words, for the rebellion of those who will lovingly accept His holy preaching - for the fall of the scribes and Pharisees, blinded by malice, for the rebellion of simple fishermen and people unwise. He will choose the unwise, but he will put to shame the wise of this age - for the fall of the Old Testament Jewish council, and for the rise of the grace-filled Church of God. This will serve as a banner for wrangling, for great discord will occur among people because of Him: some will call Him good, others will say that He deceives people; and they will lay Him down, according to the word of the prophet Jeremiah, "like a target for arrows"(); hanging on the tree of the cross, wounding him with arrows, nails and spears. At that time, husbandless Mother,” the elder continued, “the weapon of sadness and heartache will pass through your soul, when you see your Son nailed to the cross, when you, with great pain in your heart and sobs, will see off from this world the One whom you gave birth to. without illness.

Here in the temple was Anna the prophetess, daughter of Phanuel, from the tribe of Assir. She was a widow, already very old - she was eighty-four years old; - She only lived with her husband for seven years and, having become a widow, led a God-pleasing life, not leaving the temple, but serving God day and night in fasting and prayer. Arriving at that hour in the temple, Anna prophesied a lot about the Child brought to the temple of the Lord, to all those awaiting deliverance in Jerusalem. Hearing and seeing all this, the scribes and Pharisees became inflamed in their hearts, and were indignant at Simeon and Anna for their testimonies about the Youth. They did not keep silent, but they informed King Herod about everything that happened and was said in the temple. He immediately sent soldiers with orders to find the Divine Infant Christ the Lord and kill Him; but they no longer found Him: according to the command given to Joseph in a dream, He was found in Egypt. Saint Joseph and the Most Pure Mother of God, having fulfilled everything required by law in the temple, did not return to Bethlehem, but went to Galilee, to their city of Nazareth, and from there they quickly disappeared into Egypt (). The youth grew and became strengthened in spirit, filled with wisdom, and the grace of God abided on Him ().

The celebration of the Presentation of the Lord was established during the reign of Justinian; earlier, although the Presentation of the Lord was remembered in the Church, it was not solemnly celebrated. The pious king Justinian established the celebration of this holiday as the Lord's and the Theotokos, along with other great holidays. The impetus for the establishment of this holiday were special circumstances. During the reign of Justinian in Byzantium and its environs, for three months, starting from the last days of October, there was a strong pestilence, so that at first five thousand people died a day, and then ten thousand; the bodies of even rich and high-ranking people remained without burial, because the servants and slaves all died out and there was no one to bury the masters themselves. And in Antioch, the pestilence, for the sins of the people, was joined by another execution of God - a terrible earthquake, from which all the large houses and tall buildings and temples fell, and many people died under their walls; Among the dead was Euphrasius, Bishop of Antioch, who was crushed to death when the temple fell. In this terrible and disastrous time, there was a revelation to one pious person that a solemn celebration of the Presentation of the Lord would be established, as well as other great feasts of the Lord and the Theotokos. And so, at the arrival of the day of the Presentation of the Lord, February the second, when they began to celebrate with an all-night vigil and procession with crosses, the deadly plague, pestilence and earthquake immediately stopped, by the mercy of God and through the prayers of the Most Pure Mother of God. To her and to the God who was born of her, may there be honor, glory, worship and thanksgiving forever. Amen.

Sermon by Archpriest Rodion Putyatin. Teaching on the Day of the Presentation of the Lord.

Sermon of Saint Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky). Sermon on the Day of the Presentation of the Lord.

Sermon by Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh. Candlemas.

Sermon by Archimandrite Iannuarius (Ivliev). Presentation of the Lord, Hebrews 7:7-17.

Meeting of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Meeting of our Lord Jesus Christ- one of the twelve permanent holidays; celebrated on the fortieth day after Christmas, February 2/15. In the West, this holiday is better known as the Purification of the Blessed Virgin. The Slavic word “sretenie” means “meeting”. This event in gospel history marks the meeting of the Old and New Testaments. Like most holidays of Palestinian origin, the holiday of the Bringing of Christ to the Temple dates back to the ancient times of Christianity...

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The Presentation of the Lord is one of the 12 main church holidays, which are dedicated to the events of the earthly life of the Savior and the Mother of God. The Presentation of the Lord is not a moving holiday and always falls on February 15th. Translated from ancient Slavic, the word “sretenie” means “meeting”.

The holiday was established in memory of the meeting described in the Gospel of Luke, which took place on the 40th day after the Nativity of Christ.

Candlemas

On this day, the Church remembers an important event in the earthly life of Jesus Christ. According to the Old Testament law, a woman who gave birth to a male child was forbidden to enter the temple of God for 40 days.

After this period, the mother came to the temple with the baby to bring a thanksgiving and cleansing sacrifice to the Lord. The Blessed Virgin Mary did not need purification, but out of deep humility she submitted to the dictates of the law.

© photo: Sputnik / Ilya Pitalev

Icon "Simeon the God-Receiver"

And when the Mother of God crossed the threshold of the temple with a baby in her arms, an ancient elder came out to meet her - named Simeon, which in Hebrew means “hearing.”

The Gospel of Luke says: “He was a righteous and pious man, longing for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It was foretold to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he saw Christ the Lord.”

Simeon, according to legend, was one of the 72 scribes who, at the behest of the Egyptian king Ptolemy II, translated the Bible from Hebrew into Greek. In the year when the Saint turned 360 years old (according to some sources, about 300 years old), the Holy Spirit led him to the Jerusalem Temple.

By inspiration from above, the pious elder came to the temple at the time when the Most Holy Theotokos and Righteous Joseph brought the Infant Jesus there to perform the legal rite.

Simeon realized that the prophecy had been fulfilled and the Baby in Mary’s arms was the same long-awaited Messiah about whom the prophets had been writing for hundreds of years, and now he could die peacefully.

The God-receiver took the baby in his arms and, blessing God, uttered a prophecy about the Savior of the world: “Now you are sending Your servant, O Lord, according to Your word in peace, for my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all nations, a light to enlighten the Gentiles and glory Your people Israel." The Church named him Simeon the God-Receiver and glorified him as a Saint.

The elderly widow prophetess Anna, who lived at the Jerusalem Temple, testified to this. The words spoken by Simeon at the moment of the meeting became part of the Orthodox service.

Story

The Presentation of the Lord is one of the most ancient holidays of the Christian Church and completes the cycle of Christmas holidays, but despite this, until the 6th century this holiday was not celebrated so solemnly.

The earliest evidence of the celebration of the Presentation in the Christian East dates back to the end of the 4th century, and in the West - from the 5th century. At that time, the Meeting in Jerusalem was not yet an independent holiday, and was called “the fortieth day from the Epiphany.”

© photo: Sputnik / RIA Novosti

Icon of the Presentation, painted in the 16th century

In 528, under Emperor Justinian (527 - 565), Antioch suffered a disaster - an earthquake, from which many people died. This misfortune was followed by another. In 544, a pestilence appeared, killing several thousand people every day.

During these days of national calamity, it was revealed to one of the pious Christians that the celebration of the Presentation of the Lord should be celebrated more solemnly.

When the all-night vigil and procession of the cross were held on the day of the Presentation of the Lord, the disasters in Byzantium ceased. In gratitude to God, the Church in 544 established the celebration of the Presentation of the Lord more solemnly and included it among the main holidays.

The Feast of the Presentation has one day of pre-feast and seven days of post-feast. On the second day of the celebration, February 16, the Church celebrates the memory of the righteous Simeon, whom she called the Receiver of God, and Anna the prophetess - Saints, whose personal spiritual feat, as we know, was directly related to the events of the Presentation.

The essence

The clergy explain that the essence of the holiday is the long-awaited and saving meeting; on this day two eras met, marked by the two Testaments of God and man - the Old and the New.

In the person of Simeon, one of the best people of the passing time, the Old Testament welcomed and worshiped the New Testament, which was to embody the Christ Child.
The Law of God given to the Jewish people meets the new higher Law of Divine love brought to the world by our Lord Jesus Christ.

In fact, the entire life of mankind until the coming of the Savior is a long and tedious wait for the joy of this meeting, the Presentation of the Lord. And this long-awaited day came - humanity, in the person of Simeon, clearly recognized and firmly confessed that after many millennia of its unauthorized separation from God, it had finally met its Creator.

After all, Simeon held in his arms the One who, by His mysterious will, having transgressed the limits of eternity and omnipotence, “reduced” to the state of a helpless Baby, held God Himself.

This bright holiday is of equal value both for our Lord Christ and for the Virgin Mary.

Traditions

On this day, in addition to the festive liturgy in churches, a religious procession is sometimes held. People give thanks to heaven and also take candles from the temple to their homes to light them while reading prayers.

According to custom, on the day of the Presentation of the Lord, church candles are blessed. This custom came to the Orthodox Church from Catholics in 1646. People believed that candles blessed on the Presentation of the Lord could protect a house from lightning and fire.

© photo: Sputnik / V. Robinov

Fresco "Candlemas" of the 18th century

After the holiday, the peasants began many “spring” tasks, including driving the cattle out of the barn into the corral, preparing seeds for sowing, and whitening fruit trees. In addition to housework, festivities were, of course, held in the villages.

People believed that on February 15, winter meets spring, as evidenced by many sayings - “at Candlemas, winter met spring,” “at Candlemas, the sun turned to summer, winter turned to frost.”

According to signs, if the weather is cold on the Presentation of the Lord, then the spring will be cold. If a thaw is expected, then expect a warm spring. But, be that as it may, Candlemas is always the joy of parting with winter and the anticipation of a new fruitful year.

The last winter frosts and the first spring thaws were called Sretensky.

Simeon's prophecy

The icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, which is called “The Softening of Evil Hearts” or “Simeon’s Prophecy,” is associated with the event of the Presentation of the Lord.

It symbolizes the fulfillment of the prophecy of the righteous elder Simeon: “A weapon will pierce your soul,” which he uttered after he took the Divine Infant in his arms and blessed Saint Joseph and the Most Pure Virgin Mary.

Just as Christ will be pierced with nails and a spear, so the soul of the Most Pure One will be struck by some “weapon” of sadness and heartache when She sees the suffering of the Son.

© photo: Sputnik / Yuri Kaplun

Icon "Candlemas". Icon painter Andrei Rublev

This interpretation of Simeon’s prophecy became the subject of several “symbolic” icons of the Mother of God. All those who come to them with prayer feel how mental and physical suffering is alleviated.

The image of "Softening Evil Hearts" supposedly comes from Southwestern Rus', but there is no historical information about it, or where and when it appeared.

Usually the icon depicts the Mother of God, whose heart is pierced by seven swords - three on the right and left and one on the bottom. The choice of the image of a sword in the icon is not accidental, since in human understanding it is associated with the shedding of blood.

The number “seven” in Holy Scripture means the “fullness” of something, in this case the fullness of all the grief, “sadness and heart disease” that the Blessed Virgin suffered in Her earthly life.

The celebration of this image takes place on the Sunday of All Saints (on the first Sunday after Trinity).

Prayer

O long-suffering Mother of God, Higher than all the daughters of the earth, in Your purity and in the multitude of sufferings You have endured on earth, accept our much-painful sighs and keep us under the shelter of Your mercy. For you know of no other refuge and warm intercession, but since you have the boldness to be born of You, help and save us with Your prayers, so that we may without stumbling reach the Kingdom of Heaven, where with all the saints we will sing praises in the Trinity to the One God, now and ever and forever and ever. Amen.

The material was prepared on the basis of open sources.

Joseph Brodsky - Presentation

When She first brought into the church
Child, were inside from among
people who were there all the time
Saint Simeon and the prophetess Anna.

And the old man took the Child from his hands
Maria; and three people around
The babies stood like an unsteady frame,
that morning, lost in the darkness of the temple.

That temple surrounded them like a frozen forest.
From the eyes of people and from the eyes of heaven
the peaks were hidden, having managed to spread out,
that morning Mary, the prophetess, the elder.

And only on the crown of the head with a random ray
the light fell on the Baby; but He doesn't mean anything
I still didn’t know and was snoring sleepily,
resting in Simeon's strong arms.

And it was told to this old man,
that he will see mortal darkness
not before the Lord sees the Son.
It's finished. And the elder said: “Today,

keeping the word once spoken,
You are in peace, Lord, letting me go,
then my eyes saw it
Child: He is Your continuation and light

source for idols of honoring tribes,
and the glory of Israel is in Him.” — Simeon
fell silent. Silence surrounded them all.
Only the echo of those words, touching the rafters,

was spinning some time later
above their heads, rustling slightly
under the arches of the temple, like some kind of bird,
that is able to fly up, but not able to come down.

And it was strange for them. There was silence
no less strange than speech. Confused
Maria was silent. “What words…”
And the elder said, turning to Mary:

“Lying now on Your shoulders
the fall of some, the rise of others,
a subject of controversy and a cause for discord.
And with the same weapon, Maria, with which

His flesh will be tormented, Yours
the soul will be wounded. This wound
will let you see what is hidden deeply
in the hearts of people, like a kind of eye.”

He finished and moved towards the exit. Following
Maria, stooping, and with the weight of years
the bent Anna looked on silently.
He walked, decreasing in importance and in body

for these two women under the shadow of the columns.
Almost urging them on with their glances, he
walked silently through this empty temple
to the vaguely white doorway.

And the gait was as firm as an old man’s.
Only the voice of the prophetess from behind when
rang out, he paused his step a little:
but there they were not calling out to him, but to God

The prophetess has already begun to praise.
And the door was approaching. Clothes and forehead
the wind has already touched, and stubbornly in the ears
the noise of life burst in outside the temple walls.

He was going to die. And not in the street noise
He opened the door with his hands and stepped out,
but into the deaf and dumb domains of death.
He walked through a space devoid of firmament,

he heard that time had lost its sound.
And the image of the Child with radiance around
fluffy crown of the death path
Simeon's soul carried before it

like some kind of lamp into that black darkness,
in which no one has hitherto
I didn’t have a chance to light my way.
The lamp shone and the path widened.

Sophronius of Jerusalem - Homily on the Presentation of the Lord

We, beloved, knowing this [the story of the Presentation of the Lord], Let us go together to meet Christ our God, having self-control, bringing purity and kindness, showing forgetfulness of offenses, freeing ourselves from worldly worries, presenting ourselves pure before God, distinguished by meekness of disposition and good will, having mutual love for everyone, as well as sympathy and compassion. By doing this, we will meet the coming Christ, we will see Him, we will take Him in our arms, we will confess Him with a prophetic word, praising His coming to us, and with a majestic voice we will glorify the mercy He showed us - so that we may reach the kingdom of heaven and enjoy eternal blessings in Christ the Redeemer and Savior to our God, to Him, together with the beginningless God the Father and the All-Holy Spirit, be glory, honor and worship, now and ever and unto ages of ages.

Read the Word of St. Sophronia in full

Cyril of Jerusalem - Homily on the Meeting of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and on Simeon the God-Receiver

3. With Zion, the people of tongues, carrying lamps, let us go out to the meeting: we will go into the temple, together with the Temple, which is God and Christ. With the Angels let us exclaim the song of the Angels: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts, the heavens and the earth are filled with His glory (Isa. 6:3): the ends of the world are full of His goodness, all creation is filled with His praise: all humanity is filled with His condescension. Heavenly, earthly and underworld are full of the essence of His mercy: full of His mercy, full of generosity, full of gifts, full of His benefits.

4. So, all the nations clasp your hands (Ps. 46:2): all the ends of the earth, come and see the works of God (Ps. 66:5). Let every breath praise the Lord (Ps. 150:6), let all the earth bow down (Ps. 66:4), and let every tongue sing, let everyone sing praises, let everyone praise the Child of God, the forty-day-old and eternal: the Child who is small and ancient of days (Dan. 7:9): The child of things that exist and the Creator of ages (Heb. 1:2). I see a baby, I know my God: a baby who lives and nourishes the world: a baby who weeps and gives life and joy to the world: a baby who is entwined and delivers me from the swaddling clothes of sin: a baby in the arms of his mother, with the flesh truly and inseparably on earth: and The same in the bosom of the Father, truly and inseparably in heaven.

Read the Word of St. Kirill completely

Amphilochius of Iconium - Two words for the Presentation of the Lord

Anna at that time came up, glorified the Lord and spoke about Him to all those awaiting deliverance in Jerusalem. Do you see Anna's greatness? She became the protector of the Lord and announced Him in the face of Himself. Oh, miracle! A widow, she denounced the bishops and scribes and, denouncing them, inspired the whole people. She observed the Lord and pointed out the coming deliverance in Jerusalem, addressing all those gathered and declaring to them the signs of the Lord. Anna saw the Lord in a newborn child, she saw the gifts and cleansing sacrifices offered for Him and with Him, but was not embarrassed by the fact that He was young. Anna confessed the baby as God, Physician, All-Powerful Redeemer, Destroyer of Sins.

Don't ignore what Anna said. She addressed the audience, pointing out to everyone present the acts of the Lord: “Don’t you see the Baby, how He reaches out to the Mother’s nipple, and then clings to the other, clings to the mother’s breast, who has not yet set foot on the ground, receiving circumcision in the eighth day? Can't you see This Child? It was He who created the eyelids, He who established the heavens, He who spread out the earth, He who fenced the sea with shores. This Child brings forth winds from his treasures, This Child under Noah opened the flood gates, This Child created streams of rain, This Child blows snow like a white cloth. This Child, through the rod of Moses, freed our forefathers from the land of Egypt, divided the Red Sea and led them through a green plain, and pouring out manna for them in the desert, gave them a land flowing with milk and honey as their inheritance. This Child predetermined that this temple, through the labors of the fathers, would rise to heights. This Child, making an oath to Abraham, said: By multiplying I will multiply your seed like the stars of heaven and like the sand on the seashore. About this Child, the prophetic host, offering prayers, said: Raise up your strength and come to save us. May the Child not confuse you with His infancy. One and the same is both the Child and the Co-originator with the Father, One and the same and is counted in years, and no one can confess His family, One and the same and babbles like a baby, and gives wisdom to the lips. One is due to his birth from the Virgin, the other is due to the incomprehensibility of His existence. And Isaiah also made it clear about this, who says: To us a child is born, to us a son is given. As a child He was born, as a Son He was given. Such is He in the visible and the Other in the intelligible.”

The first and second words of St. Amphilochia

Theophan the Recluse - Three words for the Presentation of the Lord

There will be, brethren, the meeting of the Lord that will once be common to the entire human race, when a voice is heard: Behold the bridegroom is coming, come ye to the meeting. Only those who have become accustomed to this meeting here will joyfully greet Him, have tasted His power while still on the path of this life, or at least have laid down a decisive intention to achieve this and have begun the work necessary in this undertaking, namely the work of purifying the heart by steadily fulfilling all the commandments of God. Those who are not accustomed to this meeting will be amazed by that voice: go to the meeting, and from the meeting of the Lord they will perceive not joy, but fear and trembling, which, having begun where there are no changes of time, will forever remain in them later, constituting for them their own hell - the property outcasts. Think about this, brothers, and from this receive a new, special impulse to zealously fulfill the commandments of God, leading to purity and dispassion and worthy of meeting the Lord in the spirit, which, pleasing here, lays a solid foundation and undoubted hope for receiving the bliss there. How the Lord will be pleased by the one who now puts his mother-in-law in this way and not otherwise in the way of his remaining life. May the Lord bless such an undertaking.

The first, second and third words of St. Feofana

Him from the “Gospel Story”

Feast service

Rejoice, blessed Virgin Mary, / for from You has arisen the Sun of righteousness, Christ our God, / enlightening those in darkness. / Rejoice also, O righteous elder, / who accepted into the arms of the Liberator of our souls, / who gives us resurrection.

Read in full in Russian, in Church Slavonic

Andrey Kuraev - Miracle of meeting

Meeting is a meeting between man and God. The old, very old Jerusalem priest Simeon had been waiting all his life to meet God. Even old age itself was given to him as a punishment for having once lost his faith. And in that moment of long-standing doubt, he was told: you will not die until you yourself see the fulfillment of the prophecies. And now this day has come. And what - the heavens opened up, and in the jubilant choir of Angels the Heavenly Light descended to Simeon? Did the fiery chariot that appeared to Elijah and Ezekiel rush before Simeon? Did the cloud with a thundering voice and flashes of lightning, from which Moses once heard the Ten Commandments, shine upon the old man? No. A young mother came, and in her arms was a month-old baby... But that heart-tremor, which was familiar to Moses, Elijah, and Ezekiel, suddenly pierced Simeon, and the long-ready words were reflected in his heart: “Now you are releasing your servant , Lord..." “Now You let me go, You let me go on the road of the fathers, You allow me to go through the door of death, and these gates are no longer scary for me - for I have seen the Salvation of my and Your people”...

Do you understand the meaning of this miracle? It is not angels who bring God to man, but people! And to this day, the road that leads to Heaven is shown to us not by archangels or wondrous visions, but by people, their human words and human actions. Simple people, in whose words and retellings of the Gospel our heart suddenly recognizes a ray of Truth. But when we then follow this ray, it turns out that this method of transmitting the Heavenly Gospel to us through earthly people was by no means accidental. It turns out that without people you cannot come to God at all. And if the Creator did not disdain to become one of us, then it means that the so often encountered desire for “pure spirituality” (without people, without the Church, without communication with people in prayer and sacraments) obviously does not come from God.

Meeting with God. Trying to tell how and from what it comes is more difficult than trying to write instructions on how true love grows in the human heart.

Anthony of Sourozh - The Presentation of the Lord

There are holidays when the soul is so filled with jubilation that the hand does not rise to worldly labor, but there are also those when the hand does not rise, because the heart is full of either sorrow or sacred horror. The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord combines both of these features. Christ is met by Simeon the God-Receiver, an old man who lived a righteous life, who was promised by God that he would not see death until he met the Savior of the world, who came to accomplish His work of reconciliation and transformation of the world. Together with him, Anna the prophetess testifies to this joy. The expectation of not only the Old Testament, but of all humanity from the beginning of the world, its desire, longing, hope that the Lord would come and there would no longer be an impassable gulf between Him and us, was fulfilled. At the same time, these righteous people rejoice that not only the past, but also the future is now justified and shining with hope and joy. The Lord has come, and salvation has come, hope has come, which no grief, no earthly horror can extinguish, because God is already among us, Christ is among us, and no one will snatch us either from His hand or from His love.

But at the same time, the feast of the Presentation of the Lord bears the deep stamp of sacred horror and sorrow.

Read the entire sermon of Anthony of Sourozh

His other sermon

Georgy Chistyakov - Meeting

If you look at the story of the Meeting of the Lord as an icon, then in the center there will be a Baby in the arms of the Mother, Simeon and Anna are standing on the right. She brings Him to Simeon. In the person of Simeon the God-Receiver, all the wise men of the Old Testament seem to be represented, and in the person of 84-year-old Anna - all the wives of the Old Testament: Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Deborah, etc. The Mother of God is next to Joseph. Simeon with Anna and Maria are people whose lives can be described in one word: fidelity. But for Simeon or Anna it is the fidelity of expectation. Anna is already 84 years old, and she does not leave the temple day or night, remaining in prayer and fasting, that is, she lives in complete fidelity to God. Simeon is so faithful to the expectation of the Messiah, Christ, who must come in the flesh to this world, that he cannot even die until he sees Him. And fidelity to Mary is already fidelity to co-work, fidelity to being with Christ and working with Him.

And at the same time, the Mother of the Lord hears strange words, which neither She nor Joseph at first understood, and even seemed embarrassed. The Elder took the Baby in his arms and said: “Here lies this Child for the fall and rising of many in Israel,” that is, through Him many people will stumble and fall, and many will rise, rise, and come to life: “And a weapon will pierce your very soul.” This means that there will be trials in the heart of the Mother of God through Her Son. By this he predicted Her suffering from the first days. We think that the Mother of God had no temptations, but if even Her Divine Son had temptations, She also had such trials.