The Presentation of the Lord - the history of the holiday and its meaning: traditions, rituals, signs

What does the word "Candlemas" mean?

The most common question that can be heard about Candlemas is: “Okay, today is Candlemas. And what is it?"

The Presentation of the Lord is one of the Twelfth Feasts of the Christian Church, that is, the main holidays of the church year. This is a permanent holiday; in the Russian Orthodox Church it is celebrated on February 15.

Translated from Church Slavonic “sretenie” means “meeting”. Candlemas Day is the point in time where the Old and New Testaments met. The ancient world and Christianity. This happened thanks to a man who is given a very special place in the Gospel. But first things first.

Candlemas. A cycle of mosaics with six scenes from the life of Mary in the Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere in Rome, Pietro Cavallini

Purification sacrifice from the Most Pure Virgin

On February 15, we remember the events described in the Gospel of Luke. The meeting took place 40 days after the Nativity of Christ.

The Jews of that time had two traditions associated with the birth of a child in the family.

Firstly, after giving birth, a woman could not appear in the Jerusalem Temple for forty days (and if a girl was born, then for all eighty). As soon as the period expired, the mother had to bring a cleansing sacrifice to the Temple. It included a burnt offering - a one-year-old lamb, and a sacrifice for the remission of sins - a dove. If the family was poor, instead of a lamb they also brought a dove, which resulted in “two turtle doves or two pigeon chicks.”

Secondly, if the first-born in the family was a boy, the parents came to the Temple with the newborn on the fortieth day for a rite of dedication to God. This was not just a tradition, but the law of Moses: the Jews established it in memory of the exodus of the Jews from Egypt - liberation from four centuries of slavery.

And so, Mary and Joseph arrived from Bethlehem to the capital of Israel, Jerusalem. With the forty-day-old Infant of God in their arms, they stepped onto the threshold of the Temple. The family did not live richly, so two doves became the purifying sacrifice of the Mother of God. The Blessed Virgin decided to make a sacrifice out of humility and respect before Jewish law, despite the fact that Jesus was born as a result of the immaculate conception.

Meeting in the Jerusalem Temple

After the ceremony, the Holy Family was already heading towards the exit from the Temple, but then an ancient old man, perhaps the oldest man in Jerusalem, approached them. His name was Simeon. Translated from Hebrew, “šim'on” means “hearing.” The righteous man took the Child in his arms and joyfully exclaimed: “Now, O Master, you are sending Your servant away in peace, according to Your word, for my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all nations, a light to enlighten the Gentiles and the glory of Your people Israel” ( OK 2:29-32).

According to legend, at the time of his meeting with Christ, Simeon was more than 300 years old. He was a respected man, one of seventy-two scholars tasked with translating the Holy Scriptures from Hebrew into Greek. The translation of the Septuagint was made at the request of the Egyptian king Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285-247 BC).

It was no coincidence that the elder found himself in the Temple this Saturday—the Holy Spirit brought him. Many years ago, Simeon was translating the book of the prophet Isaiah and saw the mysterious words: “Behold, the Virgin will be with child and give birth to a Son.” How can a virgin, that is, a virgin, give birth? The scientist doubted and wanted to correct “Virgo” to “Wife” (woman). But an Angel appeared to him and not only forbade him to change the word, but said that Simeon would not die until he was personally convinced that the prophecy was true. The Evangelist Luke writes about this: “He was a righteous and pious man, looking forward to 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" (Lk 2:25-26).

And now, the day has come. What the scientist had been waiting for all his unbearably long life came true. Simeon took into his arms the Child born of the Virgin, which means that the Angel’s prophecy was fulfilled. The old man could die peacefully. “Now you are releasing Your servant, O Master...” The Church named him Simeon the God-Receiver and glorified him as a saint.

Bishop Theophan the Recluse wrote: “In the person of Simeon, the entire Old Testament, unredeemed humanity, passes into eternity in peace, giving way to Christianity...” The memory of this gospel story is heard every day in Orthodox services. This is the Song of Simeon the God-Receiver, or in other words - “Now you let go.”

“A weapon will pierce your very soul”

Having received the Child from the hands of the Most Pure Virgin, Elder Simeon addressed her with the words: “Behold, because of Him the people will argue: some will be saved, while others will perish. But a weapon will pierce your own soul, so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” (Luke 2:34-35).

Disputes among the people are persecutions that were prepared for the Savior. Opening thoughts - God's Judgment. What kind of weapon will pierce the heart of the Virgin Mary? This was a prophecy of the Crucifixion that awaited her Son. After all, the nails and spear from which the Savior died passed through her mother’s heart with unbearable pain. There is an icon of the Mother of God - a vivid illustration of this prophecy. It's called "Softening Evil Hearts." Icon painters depict the Mother of God standing on a cloud with seven swords stuck in her heart.

Anna the prophetess

On the day of the Presentation, another meeting took place in the Jerusalem Temple. An 84-year-old widow, “the daughter of Phanuel,” approached the Mother of God. The townspeople called her Anna the Prophetess for her inspired speeches about God. She lived and worked at the Temple for many years, as Evangelist Luke writes, “serving God day and night with fasting and prayer” (Lk 2:37–38).

Anna the prophetess bowed to the newborn Christ and left the Temple, bringing the news to the townspeople about the coming of the Messiah, the deliverer of Israel. And the Holy Family returned to Nazareth, since they fulfilled everything prescribed by the law of Moses.

Meeting of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ

The Legend of the Presentation of the Lord

As presented by St. Demetrius of Rostov

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 through the offering of an appropriate sacrifice to God and through priestly prayer, and, secondly, it was necessary to present the firstborn child before the Lord and make a ransom for him at the established price (Lev. 12:7 ). This was commanded by the Lord in the Old Testament to Moses, in whose books about the law of mother’s purification it is written like this: “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 he must sit for thirty-three days, cleansing himself from his blood; She must not touch anything sacred and must not come to the sanctuary until the days of her purification are completed. At the end of her days of purification, she must offer a one-year-old lamb as a burnt offering and a young dove or turtle dove as a sin offering. But if she is not able to bring a lamb, then she is to take two turtledoves or two young doves, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering, and the priest shall atone for her, and she shall be clean” (Lev. 12:7-8, 12 :2-4).
And about the dedication of the firstborn males to God, the law says this: “Sanctify to Me every firstborn (male) firstborn who opens the womb” (Ex. 13:2)[1]. And another time: “Give me the firstborn of your sons” (Ex. 22:29). This was required for that great good deed of God in Egypt, when the Lord, having beaten the Egyptian firstborn, spared the Israelites (Ex. 11: 5-7). 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 redeemed them 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 (Num. 3:49-51). The established ransom price consisted of five sacred shekels of church weight, and each sacred shekel contained twenty pennies[2]. 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 wise men (Matthew 2:11), 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 offered Her firstborn Child. “They brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him before the Lord” (Luke 2:22) - says the Evangelist Luke, that is, to return God’s things to God, for in the law of the Lord it is written that every male child who opens the womb must be dedicated to the Lord (Ex. 13:2). 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 world (Heb. 1:2), and with Whom You commanded the light to shine: receive Your Word made flesh from me, with whom You established the heavens, founded the earth, gathered the waters together: receive from me Your Son, whom I offer to You for this great purpose, 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[3] .

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, expecting the joy of Israel that would come with the coming of the Messiah[4]. 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 fail from Judah until the expectation of the nations, Christ the Lord, came (Gen. 49:10). 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 I waited 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 other holy fathers and prophets, I will bring unspeakable joy to them, who are hitherto in sorrow; to them and let me go, so that, leaving sorrow, they may rejoice 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 the enlightenment of peoples, for the revelation to them of unknown Divine Mysteries - Light, shining forth for the glorification of Your people Israel, Whom You promised through the prophet Isaiah, saying: “I will give salvation to Zion, My glory to Israel” (Is. 46:2).

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”[5], 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 let go the elder to another life, or to keep him 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 in Her with his eyes the husbandless Mother - Simeon said:

- This will serve for the fall and uprising of many in Israel: for the downfall of those who do not want to believe His words, for the uprising of those who will lovingly accept His holy preaching - for the downfall of the scribes and Pharisees, blinded by malice, for the uprising of simple fishermen and unwise people. 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[6], 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 set Him, according to the word of the prophet Jeremiah, “as if it were a target for arrows” (Pl. 3:12); 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, lived a life pleasing to God, 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 Infant brought to the temple of the Lord, to all those awaiting deliverance in Jerusalem[7]. 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[8]. 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[9], and from there they quickly disappeared into Egypt (Matthew 2:13-14). The youth grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and the grace of God abided on Him (Matthew 2:40).

The celebration of the Presentation of the Lord was established during the reign of Justinian[10], but earlier, although the Presentation of the Lord was remembered in the Church[11], 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[12] 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[13], Bishop of Antioch, crushed to death during the fall of the temple. 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 2nd, when they began to celebrate with an all-night vigil and procession with crosses[14], 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.

Notes

[1] By the force of this law, in memory of the fact that on the night before the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, the Destroying Angel destroyed all the firstborn of Egypt, all the firstborn of the Jews were to be dedicated to special service to God, that is, to serve at the sanctuary. When subsequently only the tribe of Levi was chosen for this purpose, a ransom of five shekels of silver was set for the firstborn.

[2] The sacred shekel is about 5 kopecks in our money.

[3] According to the legend of Saint Demetrius of Rostov, the holy fathers add that the holy prophet Zechariah, the parent of the Forerunner, placed the Most Pure Virgin and Child, who came to the temple for purification, not in the place of wives coming for purification, but in the place of maidens, in which wives who have husbands were not allowed to become. And when the scribes and Pharisees, at the sight of this, began to express indignation, Zechariah, standing before them, announced that this Mother was a pure Virgin even after her birth. When they did not believe this, Zechariah said that human nature, like every creature, must serve its Creator, and in His omnipotent hands lies the arrangement of His creation, as it pleases His will, as well as the arrangement for the Virgin to give birth , and after Christmas she remained a Virgin: “For this reason, I did not remove this Mother,” he said, “from the place appointed for maidens, because She is above all virgins.”

[4] The prophecy of the 70 weeks is found in Daniel, chapter 9.

[5] Under the image of the ancient of days, that is, a very old man, the prophet Daniel saw God (Dan. 7: 9-13). In St. In Scripture, old age sometimes serves as a symbol of God’s eternity.

[6] The subject of controversy, the controversial banner, is an image taken from a military banner during a battle, which one side is trying to recapture and the other to defend. The Lord became a banner of controversy in the same sense that some - unbelievers - tried to destroy Him (which they thought was achieved by the crucifixion of the Son of God), while others - believers - stood and stand under this banner and stand up for it.

[7] From this it is clear that in Jerusalem at that time there were quite a few people who lived in hope of the speedy appearance of the Promised Messiah, true Israelites, who, no doubt, rejoiced with great joy when they heard about the fulfillment of their expectations and prayers.

[8] Herod, called in history the Great, the son of Antipater, king of the Jews, was at first the ruler of Galilee, but under the first Roman emperor Octavius ​​Augustus, in 40 BC, received the title of king of the Jews and ruled all of Judea, which then was subordinated to the Roman state.

[9] Luke 2:39. Bethlehem is a small city, not far from Jerusalem, towards the south, and from Nazareth, a city of Galilee, Bethlehem is at a distance of three days' journey or a little more.

[10] Emperor Justinian the Great reigned from 527 to 566. He issued a decree on the solemn celebration of the Presentation of the Lord throughout the empire in 542.

[11] There are indications for this holiday in the writings of the Church Fathers of the 3rd, 4th and 5th centuries.

[12] Here, of course, Antioch is one of the oldest and richest cities in Syria, its capital city; lies at the river Oronte, about 10 versts from its confluence with the Mediterranean Sea. For the Christian Church, Antioch is of particular importance as the second great center of Christianity after Jerusalem, and as the mother of pagan Christian churches. Currently, Antioch is a small and poor town with up to 10 thousand inhabitants.

[13] Euphrasius was Bishop of Antioch from 523 to 527.

[14] In memory of the end of the plague that was in Constantinople, and the terrible earthquake in Antioch, in some places it is customary for the Church to proceed with lithium before the liturgy outside the monasteries and during this procession to chant the stichera of the holiday and the canon, according to custom; and upon returning to the temple, perform the Liturgy.

[15] In the kontakion for the Presentation of the Lord, the Church remembers deliverance from the troubles that befell the Eastern Church and, by the grace of God, ceased under the Emperor Justinian.

Yuri Ruban

On the way to the Meeting

Meetings are different. Some of them pass without a trace and are immediately forgotten, others remain, and sometimes determine our entire future life. But there is the only Meeting in the world that has not only been preserved in Sacred history, but has even become a great annual Christian celebration (February 2/15). Its Slavic archaic name - “Meeting” - is translated as “Meeting”. We read about this significant meeting, which took place several years before the advent of the calendar “new era,” in the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke. Let's try to imagine what is happening.

Two thousand years ago, the dusty road between Bethlehem and Jerusalem was, as usual, filled with the sonorous chords of the bustle of the road - the exclamations of drivers, the cries of animals and the creaking of wheels. Pious pilgrims and busy merchants, stern Roman legionnaires and peaceful villagers moved along it in both directions. The modest couple did not stand out among the others in any way, having made their significant journey a very long time ago - at the end of the times now called “Old Testament”.

A young mother with a forty-day-old baby son sat on a meek donkey, measuring the rocky road with its fractional steps. The donkey was led by the bridle by an elderly, lean man, gray-haired and gray-bearded, with the stamp of manly good looks and hard everyday worries on his tanned brow. The leather sandals on his feet had seen a lot of roads, and his simple clothes and rough hands showed him to be a craftsman.

This couple was Joseph and the Virgin Mary. Having decided to settle in Bethlehem, the homeland of their royal ancestors, they headed to the Jerusalem Temple to perform the rites prescribed by the Law of Moses on that day. The forty-day-old firstborn was dedicated to God, and a ritual of postpartum cleansing was performed on the mother. At the same time, a lamb (lamb) and a turtle dove were sacrificed.

We do not know what thoughts possessed the Holy Family. The Virgin Mary was probably embarrassed by the upcoming rite of purification. Her husband probably lamented his poverty, which did not allow him to save money for the sacrificial lamb prescribed by law. He looked with embarrassment at the light wooden cage he had made, intended for two “pigeon chicks.” Joseph will buy them at the noisy market near the Temple, and they will become a substitutionary sacrifice brought in this case by poor families. We can be sure of only one thing: neither the Blessed Virgin nor the righteous Joseph expected an imminent and significant Meeting in the Jerusalem Temple, which overshadowed the obligatory sacred rites so much that the Evangelist Luke mentioned them only in passing: “When they had done everything according to the Law of the Lord, then returned... to their city.”

“Now you are letting go...”

Having crossed the threshold of the temple courtyard, the travelers saw a majestic old man walking towards them. His name was Simeon. This mysterious man was “promised by the Holy Spirit” that he would not die until he met the Messiah (Christ). According to medieval tradition, Simeon was one of the translators of the Bible into Greek. While translating the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, he doubted the prophecy about the birth of the Messiah-Emmanuel from the Virgin (chapter 7), was punished for this by painful waiting and lived an incredibly long time - more than three centuries! The learned elder became the personification of the entire Old Testament, the meaning of the history of which was embodied in the centuries-old expectation of the Savior of the world. Simeon became decrepit and tired, his loved ones had long since passed away, and he felt like a stranger on this earth.

But the day came that closed the series of endless years, and the sage, fed up with days, headed to the Temple. In the Son of a poor carpenter from Nazareth, Simeon immediately recognized the long-awaited Messiah. "Finally! – a sigh escapes from his chest. - It's finished! I waited for You, and now I can leave to venerate my forefathers.”

Having received the Divine Infant in his arms (and receiving the nickname God-Receiver for this), standing on the threshold of the New Testament, which he is not given the opportunity to cross, he pronounces on behalf of Old Testament humanity his significant words, which became a prayer and are repeated at every Vespers:

“Now You are sending Your servant away in peace, having fulfilled Your word, O Lord, for my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared for all nations - a light for the enlightenment of the pagans and the glory of Your people Israel” (translated by S. Averintsev)

The symbolism of the meeting endlessly outgrows the literal meaning of this gospel event, and it becomes the meeting of the Old and New Testaments, the justification and fulfillment in Jesus Christ of ancient messianic aspirations. For the Jews He is glory, for the idolatrous pagans He is light.

Foreseeing the struggle that would unfold around the personality of Christ who appeared in the world (for His teaching will become a stumbling block for many), Elder Simeon added, turning to young Mary: “And a sword will cut your very soul...”. These words will accompany the entire way of the cross of the Mother of God: from the night streets of Bethlehem stained with the blood of innocent babies to the terrible hill with the ominous name of Golgotha ​​(“Skull”).

This is the main content and meaning of the Meeting-Meeting holiday, which completes the cycle of Christmas celebrations and memories dedicated to the glorification of the God-man Jesus Christ who appeared in the world.

To the history of the holiday

The oldest historically reliable evidence of the liturgical celebration of the Presentation of the Lord in the Christian East is found in the famous Itinerarium Aetheriae, otherwise “Pilgrimage to the Holy Places” (Peregrinatio ad Loca Sancta); This most valuable monument dates back to the end of the 4th century. and belongs to the pen of the inquisitive Western pilgrim Etheria (in old literature - Sylvia of Aquitaine). Her Peregrinatio, one of the first Christian monuments of this genre, does not yet give the Meeting an independent liturgical title and calls it simply “the fortieth day from Epiphany (Epiphany),” but briefly describes the celebration itself, which takes place on this day in Jerusalem. Let us present this evidence in full.

“The fortieth day of Epiphany (quadragesimae de epiphania) is celebrated here with great honor. On this day there is a procession to Anastasis, and everyone marches, and everything is done in order with the greatest triumph, as if on Easter. All the presbyters, and then the bishop, preach, always talking about the place in the Gospel where on the fortieth day Joseph and Mary brought the Lord to the Temple, and Simeon and Anna the prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, saw Him, and about their words that they said when they saw the Lord, and about the offering that the parents brought. And after this, having sent everything in the usual order, they celebrate the Liturgy, and then there is dismissal” (Itinerarium Aetheriae, 26).

Sources indicate that the feast of the Presentation arose and in the 4th-5th centuries existed in the liturgical calendar of the Jerusalem Church as a celebration that completed the forty-day cycle of Epiphany (Greek Epiphany, or Theophany), dedicated to the remembrance of a number of Gospel events. This explains the initial absence of its own liturgical title and its naming, according to a formal chronological principle, “The Fortieth Day from Epiphany.”

At the end of the decisive stage of Christological disputes (at the Council of Chalcedon in 451, which approved the dogma of the equal unity of the human nature of the Incarnate Logos with His Hypostatic nature), nothing prevented the liturgical glorification of significant events in the earthly life of Jesus Christ. The appearance of Candlemas as an independent lord's (lord's) holiday of the annual cycle in the calendars of the capital Churches: Rome (end of the 5th century) and Constantinople (1st half of the 6th century) dates back to this time.

"Giving" Christmas

The history of the Christmas cycle and its liturgical formation is very complex and has been clarified only in its general outlines. Historically, it is undeniable that from a certain synthetic holiday of Theophany ( Epiphany), which included a number of semantic aspects, a cycle of historical memories gradually grows: Christmas in Bethlehem, Baptism in the Jordan, Meeting in the Temple of Jerusalem. It also includes less solemn holidays, which are, as it were, derivatives of these main ones: the Week of the Holy Forefathers, etc.

The historical purpose and dogmatic meaning of the holidays of the Christmas cycle is not only to remember in all details the significant facts of the earthly life of Jesus Christ, but, above all, to “reveal, understand and, as far as possible, experience the mystery of the Word made flesh " And therefore, “he who recognizes it [Candlemas] as a feast of feasts, a Sabbath of Sabbaths, will not be mistaken, will call [it] the Holy of Holies. For here the whole mystery of the incarnation of Christ is concentrated, the mystery of the incarnation of the Only Begotten Lord is explained: in it [the incarnation] the Child Christ was exalted and was confessed by God, and, sitting in his arms as on a throne, He, the Creator of our nature, was revealed.”

Literature: Ruban Yu. I. The Presentation of the Lord. (Experience of historical and liturgical research). St. Petersburg, 1994. – 213 pp., illus. (Detailed bibliographical instructions are provided.) Ruban Yu. Christian liturgical calendar: History and source study (On the example of the Feast of the Presentation). Abstract of the dissertation for the degree of candidate of historical sciences. M.: RSUH, 1997.

Poetry page (application)

Candlemas – Joseph Brodsky to Anna Akhmatova

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

And the elder took the Child from the hands of Mary; and three people around the Child 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 gaze of heaven, the peaks hid, having managed to spread out, that morning Mary, the prophetess, the elder.

And only on the crown of the head did a random ray of light fall on the Baby; but He still didn’t know anything and snored sleepily, resting in Simeon’s strong arms.

And it was told to this old man that he would not see the darkness of death before he saw the Son of the Lord. It's finished. And the elder said:

“Today, keeping the word that was once spoken, You release me in peace, Lord, because my eyes saw it

Child: He is Your continuation and a source of light for the idolatrous 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, circled for some time 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. The silence was no less strange than the speech. Confused

Maria was silent. “What words...” And the elder said, turning to Mary: “In the one who now lies on Your shoulders is the fall of some, the exaltation of others,

a subject of controversy and a cause for discord. And with the same weapon, Mary, with which His flesh will be tormented, Your soul will be wounded. This wound

will allow You to see what is hidden deep in the hearts of people, like some 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, diminishing in importance and in body for these two women under the shadow of the columns. Almost urging them on with their glances, he

walked through the frozen, empty Temple towards 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 held back his step a little: but they weren’t calling out to him, but the prophetess had already begun to praise God. And the door was approaching. Clothes and forehead

The wind had already touched, and the noise of life behind the walls of the Temple stubbornly burst into my ears. He was going to die. And not into the noise of the street, he opened the door with his hands and stepped,

but into the deaf and dumb domains of death. He walked through a space devoid of solidity, he heard that time had lost its sound. And the image of the Child with radiance around

Simeon's soul carried the fluffy crown along the mortal path before it, like some kind of lamp, into that black darkness, in which until then no one had ever had the opportunity to illuminate the path for themselves. The lamp shone and the path widened.

March, 1972

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See also: Bitbunov G.S. Meeting of the Lord. The event of the holiday and its eorthological dynamics

The meaning of the Feast of the Presentation

Archpriest Igor Fomin, rector of the Alexander Nevsky Church at MGIMO, cleric of the Cathedral of the Icon of the Kazan Mother of God on Red Square.

Meeting is a meeting with the Lord. Elder Simeon and Prophetess Anna left their names in the Holy Scriptures because they gave us an example of how to accept the Lord with a pure and open heart.

After meeting Christ, Simeon went to the forefathers to await the Resurrection of Christ. And, imagine, death became a great happiness for him! The righteous old man lived a long life - according to legend, he was more than three hundred years old. Many will say “lucky” because they dream of living forever. But read the stories of centenarians who have exceeded the age allotted to man by God - one hundred and twenty years. I remember one TV story: an ancient old woman was brought out to the journalists by her great-great-great-granddaughter, who was also far from young. The bent grandmother was straightened up and asked: “Television has come to you here. What can you say?" And she answered: “Why was the Lord angry with me? Why doesn’t He take me?” So Simeon waited for deliverance from the burden of a long life. And, having received the Divine Infant from the hands of the Virgin Mary, he rejoiced.

“Now you are releasing your servant,” says Simeon. Now that he has seen the Savior with his own eyes, the Lord releases him from the corruptible world into the Heavenly world. So we, once we have met God, must understand: the time of sin, weakness and self-will has passed. It's time for bliss!

It is no coincidence that the Presentation occurs with the forty-day-old Infant. He is small and defenseless, but at the same time he is great and full of triumphant joy. This is how a person who has come to know Christ should be—a newborn Christian. Full of jubilation.

Meeting is not just a day from distant New Testament history. At least once in his life, any person finds himself in the house of God - in the temple. And there each person experiences his personal Meeting—a meeting with Christ. How to understand whether a Meeting has occurred in your life? It’s very simple - ask yourself: am I joyful? have I changed? how much love is in my heart? Let's meet the Lord, let's see Him with our hearts!

Excerpt characterizing the Presentation of the Lord

- Your Excellency, I thought... - You thought! - the prince shouted, pronouncing the words more and more hastily and incoherently. – You thought... Robbers! scoundrels! “I will teach you to believe,” and, raising a stick, he swung it at Alpatych and would have hit him if the manager had not involuntarily deviated from the blow. - I thought so! Scoundrels! – he shouted hastily. But, despite the fact that Alpatych, himself frightened by his audacity to dodge the blow, approached the prince, obediently lowering his bald head in front of him, or maybe that’s why the prince continued to shout: “scoundrels! throw up the road! He didn’t pick up his stick another time and ran into the rooms. Before dinner, the princess and M lle Bourienne, who knew that the prince was out of sorts, stood waiting for him: M lle Bourienne with a beaming face that said: “I don’t know anything, I’m the same as always,” and Princess Marya - pale, frightened, with downcast eyes. The hardest thing for Princess Marya was that she knew that in these cases she had to act like m lle Bourime, but she could not do it. It seemed to her: “If I act as if I don’t notice, he will think that I have no sympathy for him; I’ll make it look like I’m boring and out of sorts, he’ll say (as it happened) that I’m hanging my nose,” etc. The prince looked at his daughter’s frightened face and snorted. “Dr... or stupid!...” he said. “And that one is gone! They were already gossiping about her too,” he thought about the little princess, who was not in the dining room. -Where is the princess? - he asked. “Hiding?...” “She’s not entirely healthy,” said Mlle Bourienne, smiling cheerfully, “she won’t come out.” This is so understandable in her situation. - Hm! hmm! ugh! ugh! - said the prince and sat down at the table. The plate did not seem clean to him; he pointed to the spot and threw it. Tikhon picked it up and handed it to the barman. The little princess was not unwell; but she was so insurmountably afraid of the prince that, having heard how out of sorts he was, she decided not to go out. “I’m afraid for the child,” she said to m lle Bourienne, “God knows what can happen from fright.” In general, the little princess lived in Bald Mountains constantly under a feeling of fear and antipathy towards the old prince, which she was not aware of, because fear was so dominant that she could not feel it. There was also antipathy on the part of the prince, but it was drowned out by contempt. The princess, having settled down in the Bald Mountains, especially fell in love with m lle Bourienne, spent her days with her, asked her to spend the night with her, and often talked to her about her father-in-law and judged him. “Il nous arrive du monde, mon prince,” said M lle Bourienne, unrolling a white napkin with her pink hands. – Son excellence le prince Kouraguine avec son fils, a ce que j'ai entendu dire? [His Excellency Prince Kuragin with his son, how much did I hear?] - she said questioningly. “Hm... this boy of excellence... I assigned him to the college,” the prince said offended. “Why son, I can’t understand.” Princess Lizaveta Karlovna and Princess Marya may know; I don’t know why he’s bringing this son here. I don't need it. – And he looked at his blushing daughter. - Unwell, or what? Out of fear of the minister, as that idiot Alpatych said today. - No, mon pere. [father.] No matter how unsuccessfully M lle Bourienne found herself on the subject of conversation, she did not stop and chatted about greenhouses, about the beauty of a new blossoming flower, and the prince softened after the soup. After dinner he went to his daughter-in-law. The little princess sat at a small table and chatted with Masha, the maid. She turned pale when she saw her father-in-law. The little princess has changed a lot. She was more bad than good now. The cheeks sank, the lip rose upward, the eyes were drawn downwards. “Yes, it’s some kind of heaviness,” she answered when the prince asked what she felt. - Do you need anything? - No, merci, mon pere. [thank you, father.] - Well, okay, okay. He went out and walked to the waitress. Alpatych stood in the waiter's room with his head bowed. – Is the road blocked? - Zakidana, your Excellency; Forgive me, for God's sake, for one stupidity. The prince interrupted him and laughed his unnatural laugh. - Well, okay, okay. He extended his hand, which Alpatych kissed, and walked into the office. In the evening Prince Vasily arrived. He was met at the prespekt (that's the name of the avenue) by coachmen and waiters, who shouted and drove his carts and sleighs to the outbuilding along a road deliberately covered with snow. Prince Vasily and Anatoly were given separate rooms. Anatole sat, having taken off his doublet and resting his hands on his hips, in front of the table, at the corner of which he, smiling, fixed his beautiful large eyes intently and absent-mindedly. He looked upon his entire life as a continuous amusement that someone like that for some reason undertook to arrange for him. Now he looked at his trip to the evil old man and the rich ugly heiress in the same way. All this could have turned out, he supposed, very well and funny. Why not marry if she is very rich? It never interferes, Anatole thought. He shaved, perfumed himself with care and panache, which had become his habit, and with his innate good-natured, victorious expression, holding his handsome head high, he entered his father’s room. Two valets were busy around Prince Vasily, dressing him; he himself looked around animatedly and nodded cheerfully to his son as he entered, as if he were saying: “So, that’s exactly what I need you for!” - No, no joke, father, is she very ugly? A? – he asked, as if continuing a conversation he had had more than once during the trip. - That's enough. Nonsense! The main thing is to try to be respectful and reasonable with the old prince. “If he scolds, I’ll leave,” said Anatole. “I can’t stand these old people.” A? – Remember that everything depends on this for you. At this time, the arrival of the minister with his son was not only known in the maiden's room, but the appearance of both of them was already described in detail. Princess Marya sat alone in her room and tried in vain to overcome her inner agitation. “Why did they write, why did Lisa tell me about this? After all, this cannot be! - she said to herself, looking in the mirror. - How do I get out into the living room? Even if I liked him, I couldn’t be on my own with him now.” The thought of her father's gaze terrified her. The little princess and m lle Bourienne had already received all the necessary information from the maid Masha about what a ruddy, black-browed handsome minister's son was, and about how daddy dragged them with force to the stairs, and he, like an eagle, walking three steps at a time, ran after him. Having received this information, the little princess and M lle Bourienne, still audible from the corridor in their animated voices, entered the princess’s room. – Ils sont arrives, Marieie, [They arrived, Marie,] do you know? - said the little princess, wobbling her belly and sitting heavily on the chair. She was no longer in the blouse in which she had sat in the morning, but she was wearing one of her best dresses; her head was carefully adorned, and there was a liveliness on her face, which, however, did not hide the drooping and deadened contours of her face. In the attire in which she usually wore to social gatherings in St. Petersburg, it was even more noticeable how much she had looked worse. M lle Bourienne also unnoticed some improvement in her outfit, which made her pretty, fresh face even more attractive. – Eh bien, et vous restez comme vous etes, chere princesse? – she spoke. – On va venir annoncer, que ces messieurs sont au salon; il faudra descendre, et vous ne faites pas un petit brin de toilette! [Well, are you still wearing what you were wearing, princess? Now they will come to say that they are out. We’ll have to go downstairs, but at least you’ll dress up a little!] The little princess got up from her chair, called the maid and hastily and cheerfully began to come up with an outfit for Princess Marya and put it into execution. Princess Marya felt insulted in her sense of self-worth by the fact that the arrival of her promised groom worried her, and she was even more insulted by the fact that both of her friends did not even imagine that it could be otherwise. To tell them how ashamed she was for herself and for them was to betray her anxiety; Moreover, to refuse the outfit that was offered to her would have led to lengthy jokes and insistence. She flushed, her beautiful eyes went out, her face became covered with spots, and with that ugly expression of victim that most often settled on her face, she surrendered to the power of m lle Bourienne and Lisa. Both women cared quite sincerely about making her beautiful. She was so bad that not one of them could think of competing with her; therefore, quite sincerely, with that naive and firm conviction of women that an outfit can make a face beautiful, they set about dressing her. “No, really, ma bonne amie, [my good friend], this dress is not good,” said Lisa, looking sideways at the princess from afar. - Tell me to serve, you have masaka there. Right! Well, this may be the fate of life is being decided. And this is too light, not good, no, not good! It was not the dress that was bad, but the face and the whole figure of the princess, but M lle Bourienne and the little princess did not feel this; It seemed to them that if they put a blue ribbon on their hair combed up, and pulled down a blue scarf from a brown dress, etc., then everything would be fine. They forgot that the frightened face and figure could not be changed, and therefore, no matter how they modified the frame and decoration of this face, the face itself remained pitiful and ugly. After two or three changes, to which Princess Marya obediently submitted, the minute she was combed up (a hairstyle that completely changed and spoiled her face), in a blue scarf and an elegant dress, the little princess walked around her a couple of times with her small hand she straightened a fold of her dress here, tugged at a scarf there and looked, bowing her head, now from this side, now from the other. “No, that’s impossible,” she said decisively, clasping her hands. – Non, Marie, decidement ca ne vous va pas. Je vous aime mieux dans votre petite robe grise de tous les jours. Non, de grace, faites cela pour moi. [No, Marie, this definitely does not suit you. I love you better in your gray everyday dress: please do this for me.] Katya,” she said to the maid, “bring the princess a gray dress, and see, m lle Bourienne, how I will arrange it,” she said with a smile of artistic anticipation joy. But when Katya brought the required dress, Princess Marya sat motionless in front of the mirror, looking at her face, and in the mirror she saw that there were tears in her eyes and that her mouth was trembling, preparing to sob. “Voyons, chere princesse,” said M lle Bourienne, “encore un petit effort.” [Well, princess, just a little effort.] The little princess, taking the dress from the maid’s hands, approached Princess Marya. “No, now we’ll do it simply, sweetly,” she said. The voices of her, M lle Bourienne and Katya, who laughed about something, merged into a cheerful babbling, similar to the singing of birds. “Non, laissez moi, [No, leave me,” said the princess. And her voice sounded with such seriousness and suffering that the babbling of the birds immediately fell silent. They looked at the large, beautiful eyes, full of tears and thoughts, clearly and pleadingly looking at them, and realized that it was useless and even cruel to insist. “Au moins changez de coiffure,” said the little princess. “Je vous disais,” she said reproachfully, turning to M lle Bourienne, “Marie a une de ces figures, auxquelles ce genre de coiffure ne va pas du tout.” Mais du tout, du tout. Changez de grace. [At least change your hairstyle. Marie has one of those faces that doesn’t suit this type of hairstyle at all. Change it, please.] “Laissez moi, laissez moi, tout ca m'est parfaitement egal, [Leave me, I don’t care,” answered the voice, barely holding back tears. M lle Bourienne and the little princess had to admit to themselves that the princess. Marya looked very bad in this form, worse than always; but it was already too late. She looked at them with that expression that they knew, an expression of thought and sadness. This expression did not instill fear in them towards Princess Marya. (She did not instill this feeling in anyone.) But they knew that when this expression appeared on her face, she was silent and unshakable in her decisions. – Vous changerez, n'est ce pas? [You will change, won't you?] - said Lisa, and when Princess Marya did not answer anything, Lisa left the room. Princess Marya was left alone. She did not fulfill Lisa’s wishes and not only did not change her hairstyle, but also did not look at herself in the mirror. She, powerlessly lowering her eyes and hands, sat silently and thought. She imagined a husband, a man, a strong, dominant and incomprehensibly attractive creature, suddenly transporting her into his own, completely different, happy world. Her child, the same as she had seen yesterday with the nurse’s daughter, appeared to her at her own breast. The husband stands and looks tenderly at her and the child. “But no, this is impossible: I’m too bad,” she thought. - Please come to tea. The prince will come out now,” the maid’s voice said from behind the door. She woke up and was horrified by what she was thinking. And before going down, she stood up, entered the image and, looking at the black face of the large image of the Savior illuminated by the lamp, stood in front of it with her hands folded for several minutes. There was a painful doubt in the soul of Princess Marya. Is the joy of love, earthly love for a man possible for her? In her thoughts about marriage, Princess Mary dreamed of family happiness and children, but her main, strongest and hidden dream was earthly love. The feeling was the stronger the more she tried to hide it from others and even from herself. “My God,” she said, “how can I suppress these thoughts of the devil in my heart? How can I renounce evil thoughts forever, so as to calmly fulfill Your will? And as soon as she made this question, God already answered her in her own heart: “Do not desire anything for yourself; don't search, don't worry, don't envy. The future of people and your destiny should be unknown to you; but live in such a way that you are ready for anything. If God pleases to test you in the responsibilities of marriage, be ready to do His will.” With this calming thought (but still with the hope of fulfilling her forbidden, earthly dream), Princess Marya, sighing, crossed herself and went downstairs, not thinking about her dress, or her hairstyle, or how she would enter and what she would say. What could all this mean in comparison with the predestination of God, without whose will not a single hair will fall from a human head?

Song of Simeon the God-Receiver

The Song of Simeon the God-Receiver, or “Now you let go...” are the words of Simeon the God-Receiver from the Gospel of Luke.

This prayer is mentioned for the first time in the Apostolic Constitutions. In the Russian Orthodox Church, the words of Simeon the God-Receiver are read during the service or sung at the end of Vespers. They are also said in Prayers of Thanksgiving for Holy Communion.

Text:

Church Slavonic:

Now do You let Your servant go, O Master, according to Your word, in peace; For my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all people, a light for the revelation of tongues, and the glory of Your people Israel.

Russian:

Now do You let Your servant go, Master, 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 the glory of Your people Israel.

Poems and songs

Many poets dedicated their poems (some of which later became songs) to the Feast of the Presentation. Here are just a few similar poetic works:

Alexander Bekhtin. Candlemas

In the soundless silence to hear, And in the noise of the city to recognize. Don't be deceived, And don't miss each other. See, Love, Understand. Don't hide and don't turn away. And for a blind soul to see! And see. And, having diminished oneself, be able to Open up, bowing in admiration. Cry, Wash, And Accept! And return to recognize yourself. And in the future, no matter what happens, Always hope, hold on and pray. And don't lose anymore.

February 14, 2012

***

Victor Tour. Simeon. Presentation of the Lord

In the Rephaim Valley there are only stones, In the Rephaim Valley there is fatigue and pain. The Lord gave me too long days, Many years of suffering - an honorable role.

Bethlehem is far away - what is there, how is it there? How long should I wait? What should I tell people? And ridicule follows me on my heels, I’ve been waiting for a hundred years... I’m tired of waiting so long...

I, the Lord, do not complain, my faith is with me, But when will the Savior come to earth? Your angel appeared one day in a dream, Illuminated the entire firmament with Your wisdom.

He told about the happiness of seeing the One who will atone for human sins at execution. Are you really going to kill your son? Are things really that bad?

In your foolishness it is difficult to understand God; God’s providence is not for earthly sages. If I can neither comprehend nor grasp the plan, I am ready to humbly fulfill Your will...

The day will come - I know it! I will dress in silk... I will enter the temple, glorious is Your house, Lord! To me, happy one, will you let me hold in my arms the miracle of life and faith - your blood and flesh.

With tears in my eyes, I will believe again that you will destroy the world ruled by evil Rome. I will understand at this moment that the Lord is love, And I will calmly appear before Your face...

February 15, 2006

***

Igor Onufrienko. Candlemas

There is God and I, there is me and God - Two inseparable units... The result of sincere quests Allowed us to unite.

Of all the roads - the road to the temple!.. I will stop at a crossroads - In gratitude to those tears, In gratitude to that minute,

When, in the silence of sin, the lips opened with repentance, listening to fiery verses in the rays of supermundane radiance.

Through people - to people's hearts. Through people - to an attempt to believe. The road to the temple is open to everyone - Just open the doors with prayer.

Towards a miracle, man! In a happy, joyful epiphany, Let us join in the blissful covenant of the Soul and Spirit of unity!

***

A. Ogilvy. Presentation of the Lord

Simeon stands in the Temple - He is brought by the Spirit of God. His heart burns with flame, He prays and waits.

And so, with the Baby in her arms, walking lightly along the steps, with gentle love in her eyes, Saint Mariam comes.

The old man took the baby in his hands. He offered a prayer to the Creator of the Universe, And, inspired by the Gods from above, In tears, he joyfully said:

“Behold, now, in gracious peace, You take me, O good Lord - I see with joyful joy, the Holy Providence of Salvation.

Honest, Lord, is Your power. Behold, the light of love, Thy bounties, For the enlightenment of the children of the earth, And glory to the children of Israel.”

***

Nikolai Vasilyevich Remorov (1875–1919), priest since 1904. Published in the Tambov Diocesan Gazette

Simeon the God-Receiver

He came to the temple obediently, surrendered to God’s will... The face on the mountain glorifies God, smoke rose up from the incense.

The elder took the baby in his hands, raised his gaze to the sky... The angelic sounds fell silent, the face of the archangels listened:

- “You came welcome, awaited! You came to save people! Light for the unfaithful, honor for the chosen, The hour of my death!”

The old man finished. ... His decrepit eyes sank to the bottom, And tears of gratitude rolled from his eyelashes

History of the celebration

The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord is one of the most ancient in the Christian Church. The first Sretensky sermons were delivered to the people in the 4th-5th centuries - for example, Saints Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory the Theologian, Gregory of Nyssa and John Chrysostom.

The oldest and at the same time historically reliable evidence of the celebration of the Presentation in the Christian East is the “Pilgrimage to the Holy Places.” It was written by the pilgrim Etheria (Sylvia) at the end of the 4th century. She writes: “On this day there is a procession to Anastasis, and everyone marches, and everything is done in order with the greatest triumph, as if on Easter. All the presbyters preach, and then the bishop... After this, having sent everything in the usual order, they perform the Liturgy.”

The holiday became national for Byzantium in the 6th century. Following this, the tradition of the solemn celebration of the Presentation spread throughout the Christian world.

Links

• Twelve's	Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary • Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord • Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary into the Temple • Nativity of Christ • Baptism of the Lord • Presentation of the Lord • Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary • Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem • Ascension of the Lord • Day of the Holy Trinity • Transfiguration of the Lord • Dormition of the Virgin Mary
  Non-Twelfth Greats	Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos • Circumcision of the Lord • Nativity of John the Baptist • Day of Peter and Paul • Beheading of John the Baptist •
  Average	New Year • St. Sergius of Radonezh • St. John the Evangelist • Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary • Cathedral of John the Baptist • St. John Chrysostom • Cathedral of the Three Hierarchs • Finding of the Head of John the Baptist • Memory of the Holy Martyrs of Sebaste • St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (December • May) • Cyril and Methodius • Prince Vladimir • Kazan Icon Mother of God

Divine service of the Presentation

The Presentation of the Lord has an invariable place in the church calendar. February 15 (February 2, old style). If Candlemas falls on the Monday of the first week of Lent, which happens very rarely, the festive service is moved to the previous day - February 14.

Meeting is a feast of the Lord, that is, dedicated to Jesus Christ. But in the first centuries of Christianity, the Mother of God was honored on this day. Therefore, those who say that this is the feast of the Mother of God will be partly right.

Meeting is close to the holidays in honor of the Mother of God and according to the structure of the service. In the troparion of the holiday, in the prokeimnas at Matins and Liturgy and other hymns, appeals to the Mother of God occupy a central place.

Interestingly, the duality of the Presentation influenced the color of the vestments of the clergy at the festive service. They can be white - as on the Lord's holidays, and blue - as on the Mother of God. In church tradition, white color symbolizes Divine light. Blue - the purity and purity of the Virgin Mary.

Religious rites

Orthodox worship necessarily remembers Simeon the God-Receiver. In memory of the meeting, the song “Now You Let Go” is sung. In fact, these are the words that Simeon uttered when he took the Infant God in his arms. They express the joy of deliverance and the glorification of the future prepared for the people of Israel.

The song is part of the solemn worship of all Christian churches. Its text exists in Russian, Church Slavonic, and Greek. And also in Latin and English. In Orthodoxy, the song is also played during the baptism of male infants. It is performed when the child is brought into the altar and carried around the throne.

In the first centuries of Christianity, Presentation was the feast of the Virgin Mary. It corresponded to the tradition of cleansing sacrifices that women made after childbirth. Later, the center of the celebration shifts to the Infant of God, since the main characters are Simeon the God-Receiver and Jesus Christ. Therefore, the full name of the holiday is “The Presentation of the Lord.” The name was officially approved at the Second Vatican Council in 1965. In Orthodoxy, this is a dual holiday - the Mother of God and the Infant, which is expressed in the festive attire of the clergy. White is the color of Jesus, blue is the color of the Virgin Mary.

The Orthodox Church begins the celebrations with a service on the eve of the holiday. This is followed by an all-night vigil with a special set of prayers: troparion tone 1, kontakion tone 1, honorer, magnification. At 6 a.m., the candles are blessed as a symbol of the light that Jesus brings to the world. Pilgrimage services are held in Jerusalem.

The custom of blessing candles

The custom of blessing church candles on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord came to the Orthodox Church from Catholics. This happened in 1646, when Metropolitan of Kiev Saint Peter (Mogila) compiled and published his missal. In it, the author described in detail the Catholic rite of religious processions with lit lamps. With the help of such a torchlight procession, the Roman Church tried to distract its flock from pagan holidays associated with the veneration of fire. On these days, the pagan Celts celebrated Imbolc, the Romans celebrated Lupercalia (a festival associated with the shepherd cult), and the Slavs celebrated Gromnitsa. It is interesting that in Poland, after the adoption of Christianity, the Presentation began to be called the feast of the Gromnica Mother of God. This is an echo of the myths about the thunder god and his wife - people believed that Sretensky candles could protect a house from lightning and fire.

The Orthodox Church treated the Sretensky candles in a special way - not magically, but reverently. They were kept all year and lit during home prayer.

Traditions and rituals of this day

It so happened historically that in Rus', on the day of Candlemas, people celebrated spring. This time was considered a turning point, since winter was almost over, and warmth would soon come. In another way, this holiday was called Gromnitsa, because in bad weather you can hear thunder rolling across the sky. People joyfully perceived the event and prepared for it: they organized ritual dances, carried out conspiracies, burned bonfires and told fortunes for the next year.

A ritual known since ancient times is associated with candles. They were specially illuminated, then set on fire and brought into the house. This was a talisman for the home: fire drove away evil spirits and grief from all corners. Then the candle was extinguished and carefully stored in the house in case of protection. When help was needed or a blessing was needed for marriage, on the road, the owners called the priest, and the priest read prayers and lit a candle. It was necessary to use the sacred fire only when solving very important matters, since it was saved.

Another tradition that our ancestors necessarily carried out was collecting water. It was believed that all the water at Candlemas had healing powers, so icicles were knocked off the roofs, snow was melted and mixed with ordinary water. It could be used to treat illnesses, bathe babies, and get rid of the evil eye. Beekeepers sprinkled it on their hives in the spring, and ordinary people sprinkled it on the ground to achieve a good harvest. If a cow or horse fell ill, they were given water and anointed the sore spot. After a few days the illnesses disappeared.

Folk traditions of Meeting

In the folk traditions of celebrating the Presentation, church and pagan traditions are mixed. Some of these customs are completely unchristian, but even they say something important about this day - it was very joyful for people.

A simple calendar analogy was found for the meeting of the Holy Family with Elder Simeon. On this day, the common people began to celebrate the meeting of winter and spring. Hence many sayings: “at Candlemas, winter met spring,” “at Candlemas, the sun turned to summer, winter turned to frost.”

The last winter frosts and the first spring thaws were called Sretensky. After the holiday, the peasants began many “spring” activities. They drove the cattle out of the barn and into the corral, prepared the seeds for sowing, and whitewashed the fruit trees. And of course, in addition to housework, festivities were held in the villages.

Signs

• If the holiday was frosty and white stars could be seen in the sky, then spring will be cold and snowy.
• Bright sun during the day and a bright sunset in the evening in any weather - spring will be early.
• If it snowed on Candlemas, it was believed that there would be heavy rains in the spring, and there would be little harvest in the summer. But if it snowed only in the morning, then spring will be early. And if in the evening, then spring will be late.
• If a person gets sick on the day of the holiday, then he will be haunted by illness all year.
• If the flame of a candle lit in a house is calm, then the people living in it will rarely get sick.
• If the flame, on the contrary, is restless, then expect an imminent illness in that house.
• If you lend money, there will be financial failures. If the debt is repaid, then to wealth.
• Losing money on Candlemas meant big profits in the future.
• Finding money on the street and picking it up means picking up negative energy and bringing it into your home.

3 interesting facts about Candlemas

1. Many settlements in Russia and abroad are named in honor of the Presentation. The largest is the city of Sretensk, the regional center of the Chita region.
2. In the USA and Canada, the famous national holiday - Groundhog Day - is dedicated to the holiday of Candlemas, which is celebrated there on February 2.
3. The Presentation of the Lord is also the Day of Orthodox Youth in some countries. The idea of ​​this holiday belongs to the World Orthodox Youth Movement - “Syndesmos”. In 1992, with the blessing of all heads of local Orthodox Churches, Syndesmos approved February 15 as Orthodox Youth Day.

Notes

1. particularly in Lutheranism
2. See Old Calendar churches
3. [slovari.yandex.ru/%D0%A1%D1%80%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5/%D0%91%D0%B8%D0 %B1%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%B9%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F%20%D1%8D%D0%BD%D1%86%D0%B8%D0 %BA%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B8%D1%8F/%D0%A1%D1%80%D0%B5%D1%82%D0% B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5%20%D0%93%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%BD%D0%B5%20% D0%B2%D0%BE%20%D1%85%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%B5/ Biblical encyclopedia. — 3rd ed. - M.: LOKID-PRESS, 2005. - 768 p.: ill. — (Library of encyclopedic dictionaries)](inaccessible link since 06/14/2016 (2086 days))
4. ↑ 1 2 Ruban Yu. I.
   [azbyka.ru/days/prazdniki_dvunadesiatie/sretenie.shtml Presentation of the Lord. (Experience of historical and liturgical research). St. Petersburg, 1994]
5. Lukashevich A. A.
   [www.pravenc.ru/text/166339.html Lord's holidays] // Orthodox Encyclopedia. Volume XII. - M.: Church-scientific, 2006. - P. 173-178. — 752 p. — 39,000 copies. — ISBN 5-89572-017-Х
6. [analogion.gr/glt/texts/Feb/02.uni.htm Liturgical books in Greek. February Menaion, day 2.]
7. ↑ 12
   [days.pravoslavie.ru/Days/fewral%272.htm Orthodox calendar. February, day 2.] // Pravoslavie.ru
8. [www.polska.ru/kultura/religia/swieta.html Holidays of the Roman Catholic Church]

Icons of the Presentation

The iconography of the Presentation is an illustration of the narrative of the Evangelist Luke. The Virgin Mary hands the Divine Child into the arms of Elder Simeon - this is the main plot of the icons and frescoes of the holiday. Joseph the Betrothed is depicted behind the back of the Mother of God; he carries two pigeons in his hands or in a cage. Behind righteous Simeon they write Anna the prophetess.

The oldest image of the Presentation can be found in one of the mosaics of the triumphal arch in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. The mosaic was created in the first half of the 5th century. On it we see the Mother of God walking with the Child in her arms towards Saint Simeon, accompanied by angels.

Candlemas. Mosaic from the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. 5th century

The most ancient images of the events of the Presentation in Rus' are two frescoes of the 12th century. The first is in the St. Cyril Church in Kyiv. The second is in the Church of the Savior on Nereditsa in Novgorod. It is interesting that in the fresco of the Cyril Church the Child does not sit, but lies in the arms of the Mother of God.

Introduction to the Temple of the Virgin Mary. Meeting of the Lord. Frescoes of the Church of the Savior on Nereditsa, 1199

An unusual version of the iconography of the Presentation can be found in medieval Georgian art. On these icons there is no image of an altar; instead there is a burning candle, a symbol of sacrifice to God.

The icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “Softening Evil Hearts” is associated with the event of the Presentation; it is also called “Simeon’s Prophecy.” The iconographic plot reminds us of the words of Simeon the God-Receiver addressed to the Virgin Mary: “And a weapon will pierce your own soul.”

By the way, this image is very similar to the “Seven Arrow” icon of the Mother of God. But there is one difference. The arrows piercing the heart of the Mother of God are located on the “Softening of Evil Hearts” icon, three on the right and left, one on the bottom. The “Seven Arrows” icon has four arrows on one side and three on the other.

Prayers

At the Presentation of the Lord, Orthodox Christians perform prayers that are of a grateful nature. They glorify Christ. It is also important to turn to the Virgin Mary. Such words on this day are endowed with a special meaning.

Requests relate to well-being in the family, protection of children, prosperity and enlightenment: Virgin Mary, rejoice! Blessed Mary, the Lord is with you. Blessed are You among women and blessed is the Fruit of Your womb. From the immaculate conception You gave birth to the Savior of our souls.

Prayers are also offered to Jesus, parents ask him for the health and well-being of their children: Our Lord, All-Merciful. Just as the Virgin Mary brought you to the temple to bow, so we ask for our children. Protect them from grief and sadness, protect them from the unclean and precipitate the joys of existence in their souls. Become their hope and support in life, and we, Your sinful servants, will pray for You and for the angels who preach Your word!

Prayer for prosperity on the Feast of the Presentation

At the Presentation of the Lord, it is customary to offer prayers for well-being to the Virgin Mary: “Oh, Most Holy Virgin! Give me your blessing and forgiveness. I pray to You, deliver me from my sins, guide me on the true path. I repent of all my sinful actions and ask You, Holy Mary, give me prosperity and happiness and protect me from all troubles. May I glorify Your name! Forever and ever. Amen".

Prayer for happiness at the Presentation of the Lord

On this great holiday, you need to pray not only to the Mother of God, but also to the Lord: “Oh, Most High Lord! I ask You to give me earthly happiness and spiritual blessings. I pray, hear me on this bright day, do not renounce me, give me strength. Forgive me, a sinner, and forgive me all my sins, for I repent and wish to take the true path in order to be closer to You, my Lord. I pray to You, give me happiness, prosperity and joy in life. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen".

Troparion (text)

Rejoice, Blessed Virgin Mary, for from You has risen the Sun of Truth - Christ, our God, enlighten those in darkness. Rejoice also, O righteous elder, received into the arms of the Liberator of our souls, who gives us resurrection.

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 has accepted into the arms of the Liberator of our souls, who gives us resurrection.

Kontakion

You sanctified the womb of the Maiden with Your Nativity / and blessed the hand of Simeon, as befitting, having preceded, and now save us, O Christ God, but die in battle and strengthen the people whom You have loved, the only One who loves mankind.

You sanctified the womb of the Virgin by Your Birth, and blessed the hands of Simeon, in advance, as it should have been, and now You have saved us, O Christ our God. But protect Your people in peace amidst wars and strengthen those whom You have loved, O One Lover of Mankind.

Greatness

We magnify You, Life-Giving Christ, and honor Your Most Pure Mother, Who, according to the law, has now been brought to the temple of the Lord.

At Candlemas, the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, called “Quench My Sorrows,” is venerated. The story of its appearance is connected with the warning of Simeon the Receiver of God that Jesus would be betrayed and his mother would suffer greatly. Before it you should read:

Mother of God, soften our evil hearts, extinguish the flame of those who are angry with us and cleanse our souls from pride. We pray to You, Mother of Our God, with prayerful words softening Your pain from the terrible wounds that torment You. Bless us and protect us from ourselves, do not let us perish in our anger and close our souls to the words of salvation. You are the only hope for our softening. By Your grace we live and rejoice in every day given.

Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh on the Presentation

“...Together with Him, the Mother is, as it were, sacrificed. Simeon the God-Receiver says to Her: But a weapon will pass through your heart, and you will go through torment and suffering... And the years pass, and Christ hangs on the cross, dying, and the Mother of God stands at the cross silently, resignedly, with complete faith, complete hope, complete love giving Him to death, just as She brought Him to the temple as a living sacrifice to the living God.

Many mothers over the centuries have experienced the horror of their son dying; many mothers have had weapons pass through their hearts. She can understand everyone, She embraces everyone with Her love, She can reveal to everyone in the silent sacrament of communication the depths of this sacrifice.

Let those who are dying a terrible and painful death remember Christ crucified and give their lives as the Son of God, who became the son of man, gave it: without anger, resignedly, lovingly, for the salvation of not only those who were close to Him, but and those who were His enemies, with the last words, drawing them out of destruction: Father, forgive them, they do not know what they are doing!

And mothers whose sons, whose children die an evil death - oh, their Mother of God can teach them how to give to the heroism, to the suffering and to the death of those whom they love most on earth and in eternity...

Therefore, let us all reverently worship the Mother of God in Her suffering on the cross, in Her crucified love, in Her endless sacrifice, and in Christ the Savior, Who is brought to the temple today, and whose sacrifice will be accomplished on Calvary. The Old Testament is ending, a new life of love for life and death has begun, and we belong to this life.”

Old Testament ritual of dedicating a baby to God

After childbirth, a Jewish woman was required to observe the so-called “days of purification.” A mother was considered unclean for 40 days after the birth of a boy and 80 days after the birth of a girl. In the Old Testament, the Jews attached great importance to external cleanliness. Therefore, a woman during bleeding was considered unclean. During this period, she was not allowed to visit the Jerusalem Temple.

When the established period expired, the mother brought a cleansing sacrifice to God to the Temple. In the Old Testament, animals were sacrificed. In this case it could have been a yearling lamb and a dove. If a family could not sacrifice a lamb due to poverty, then 2 doves were sacrificed.

The initiation rite concerned directly newborn boys. The parents brought the baby to the Temple on the 40th day. A ritual was performed to dedicate the boy to God. Moreover, this sacred rite was not just a religious rite, but a law for the entire Jewish people.

The rite of passage was established to commemorate the liberation of the Jews from Egyptian slavery and as a sign of gratitude to God. Joseph the Betrothed with the Virgin Mary and the Baby Jesus came to Jerusalem on the fortieth day to perform all the required rituals. Thus, from the first days of His incarnation, the Savior fulfilled all the requirements of the Jewish Law. Two doves were sacrificed - the family of Joseph, an ordinary carpenter, could not boast of wealth.

Archbishop Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky). Word on the Day of the Presentation of the Lord

“In the world, in the deep spiritual world, Saint Simeon the God-Receiver passed into eternity after a 300-year life in anticipation of the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isain: “Behold, the Virgin will be with child and give birth to a Son, and they will call His name Emmanuel, as it is said, “God with us.” .

Why do you constantly hear this prayer now? Why is it, like no other, repeated at every vespers?

Then, in order for them to remember the hour of death, so that they remember that you too must die in such deep peace as Saint Simeon the God-Receiver died...

...If you want the words of the prayer of Simeon the God-Receiver to be fulfilled on you, if you want to have boldness in the hour of death, to repeat his prayer and say: “Now you are releasing Your servant, O Master, according to Your word in peace,” - if you want this, then go for Christ, taking His yoke upon yourself, learning from Him, for He is meek and lowly in heart.”

1953

Poetry:

Meeting with Righteous Anna

On the same day, another event occurred confirming the fulfillment of Messianic prophecies on Jesus. Anna, who was popularly considered a prophetess, served in the Jerusalem Temple. After the death of her husband, she continuously spent 84 years in the Jerusalem Temple and reached a ripe old age. God rewarded Anna with the gift of clairvoyance for her strict ascetic life, fasting and continuous prayer. She announced to people about the imminent coming of the Messiah. Anna met the Holy Family and worshiped Christ. And after that she joyfully informed all those waiting for the Messiah that He had been born and was bringing salvation to Israel, the People of God.

“Elder Simeon and Anna the Prophetess meet the Savior on behalf of all the righteous of the Old Testament. All those who have lived all these centuries in anticipation of God's Salvation. And Simeon confesses that with this Child salvation has come - to Israel and to all nations. Prophecies were fulfilled, hopes were realized: God settled among people” (theologian Sergei Khudiev).

How to congratulate on the holiday

It is customary for Orthodox Christians to congratulate each other on church holidays, especially such big ones as Candlemas.

Which is very relevant in our atheistic times. In addition to the usual congratulations: “Happy holiday!”, you can read or sing his troparion, kontakion or magnification, which are given below.

If the congratulatory person has a good memory, he can read one of the above verses or at least one verse of it. Surely your believing relative or friend will be pleased with such a congratulation!

Archpriest Georgy Gorodentsev