16,951
edits
Changes
m
link
The '''Presentation''' of Christ into the Temple is one of the [[Great Feasts]] of the [[Orthodox Church]], celebrated on [[February 2]]. This feast is also known as '''Candlemas''', particularly in Western nations, due to the custom of blessing candles on this day.
In Eastern tradition, it is often called '''The Meeting of Our Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ''', because the hymns emphasize the incarnate God, the [[Lord ]] [[Jesus Christ]], meeting with his people, Israel, in the persons of the [[Prophet]] [[Simeon the God-receiver|Simeon]] and the Prophetess [[Anna the Prophetess|Anna]].
In the [[Gospel of Luke]] 2:22-35, [[Theotokos|Mary]] and [[Joseph the Betrothed|Joseph]] took the infant Christ to the Temple in Jerusalem. He was received in the arms of the elder Simeon, who then prayed, "Now let Thy servant depart in peace... for I have seen Thy salvation." This was one of the things that Mary "pondered in her heart"—the fact that others recognized that her Son was the [[Messiah]].