Presentation of Jesus
The Presentation of Jesus is an early episode in the life of Jesus Christ, describing his presentation at the Temple in Jerusalem. It is celebrated by many churches on February 2nd, 40 days after Christmas on Candlemas, or the "Feast of the Presentation of Jesus". The episode is described in chapter 2 of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament. Within the account, "Luke's narration of the Presentation in the Temple combines the purification rite with the Jewish ceremony of the redemption of the firstborn."
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Presentation of Jesus at the temple is celebrated as one of the twelve Great Feasts, and is sometimes called Hypapante.
The Orthodox Churches which use the Julian Calendar celebrate it on 15 February, and the Armenian Church on 14 February.
In Western Christianity, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord is also known by its earlier name as the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin or the Meeting of the Lord. In some liturgical calendars, Vespers on the Feast of the Presentation marks the end of the Epiphany season, also in the Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland. In the Church of England, the mother church of the Anglican Communion, the Presentation of Christ in the Temple is a Principal Feast celebrated either on 2 February or on the Sunday between 28 January and 3 February. In the Roman Catholic Church, especially since the time of Pope Gelasius I who in the fifth century contributed to its expansion, the Feast of the Presentation is celebrated on 2 February.
In the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, and the Lutheran Church, the episode was also reflected in the once-prevalent custom of churching of women forty days after the birth of a child. The Feast of the Presesentation of the Lord is in the Roman Rite also attached to the World Day of Consecrated Life.
Scripture
The event is described in the Gospel of Luke. According to the gospel, Mary and Joseph took the Infant Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem forty days after his birth to complete Mary's ritual purification after childbirth, and to perform the redemption of the firstborn son, in obedience to the Torah. Luke explicitly says that Joseph and Mary take the option provided for poor people, sacrificing "a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons." indicates that this event should take place forty days after birth for a male child, hence the Presentation is celebrated forty days after Christmas.Upon bringing Jesus into the temple, they encountered Simeon. The Gospel records that Simeon had been promised that "he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ". Simeon then uttered the prayer that would become known as the Nunc Dimittis, or Canticle of Simeon, which prophesied the redemption of the world by Jesus:
"Lord, now let your servant depart in peace,
according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel"..
Simeon then prophesied to Mary: "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against, that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed..
The elderly prophetess Anna was also in the Temple, and offered prayers and praise to God for Jesus, and spoke to everyone there of his importance to redemption in Jerusalem.
Cornelius a Lapide comments on Mary and Joseph sacrificing a pair of turtledoves: "…because they were poor; for the rich were obliged to give in addition to this a sacrificial lamb. Although the three kings had offered to Christ a great quantity of gold, still the Blessed Virgin, zealously affected towards poverty, accepted but little of it, that she might show her contempt of all earthly things…. The couple offered two turtledoves or two pigeons presumably because they could not afford a lamb.
Liturgical celebration
Name of the celebration
In addition to being known as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, other traditional names include Candlemas, the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin, and the Meeting of the Lord. Candlemas is an English name for the feast because of the procession with lighted candles at the Mass on this day, reflecting Simeon's proclamation of "a light for revelation to the Gentiles", which, in turn, echoes Isaiah 49:6 in the second of the "servant of the Lord" oracles.The date of Candlemas is established by the date set for the Nativity of Jesus, for it comes forty days afterwards. Under Mosaic law as found in the Torah, a mother who had given birth to a boy was considered unclean for seven days; moreover she was to remain for three and thirty days "in the blood of her purification." Candlemas therefore corresponds to the day on which Mary, according to Jewish law, should have attended a ceremony of ritual purification. The Gospel of Luke 2:22–39 relates that Mary was purified according to the religious law, followed by Jesus' presentation in the Jerusalem temple, and this explains the formal names given to the festival, as well as its falling 40 days after the Nativity.
In the Roman Catholic Church, it is known as the Presentation of the Lord in the liturgical books first issued by Paul VI, and as the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary in earlier editions. In the Eastern Orthodox Church and Greek Catholic Churches, it is known as the Feast of the Presentation of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ in the Temple or as The Meeting of Our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ.
It is known as the Presentation of Our Lord in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod observes 2 February as The Purification of Mary and the Presentation of Our Lord.
In the churches of the Anglican Communion, it is known by various names, including The Presentation of Our Lord Jesus Christ in The Temple , The Presentation of Christ in the Temple, and The Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, The Presentation of Christ in the Temple , and The Presentation of Christ in the Temple.
Practices
Traditionally, Candlemas had been the last feast day in the Christian year that was dated by reference to Christmas. It is another "epiphany" type feast as Jesus is revealed as the messiah by the canticle of Simeon and the prophetess Anna. It also fits into this theme, as the earliest manifestation of Jesus inside the house of his heavenly Father. Subsequent moveable feasts are calculated with reference to Easter.Western Christianity
Candlemas occurs 40 days after Christmas.Traditionally, the Western term "Candlemas" referred to the practice whereby a priest on 2 February blessed beeswax candles for use throughout the year, some of which were distributed to the faithful for use in the home. In Poland the feast is called Święto Matki Bożej Gromnicznej. This name refers to the candles that are blessed on this day, called gromnice, since these candles are lit during storms and placed in windows to ward off storms.
This feast has been referred to as the Feast of Presentation of the Lord within the Roman Catholic Church since the liturgical revisions of the Second Vatican Council, with references to candles and the purification of Mary de-emphasised in favor of the Prophecy of Simeon the Righteous. Pope John Paul II connected the feast day with the renewal of religious vows. In the Roman Catholic Church, the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple is the fourth Joyful Mystery of the Rosary.
In the Liturgy of the Hours, the Marian antiphon Alma Redemptoris Mater is used from Advent through 2 February, after which Ave Regina Caelorum is used through Good Friday.
Eastern Christianity
In the Byzantine tradition practised by the Eastern Orthodox, the Meeting of the Lord is unique among the Great Feasts in that it combines elements of both a Great Feast of the Lord and a Great Feast of the Theotokos. It has a forefeast of one day, and an afterfeast of seven days. However, if the feast falls during Cheesefare Week or Great Lent, the afterfeast is either shortened or eliminated altogether.The holiday is celebrated with an all-night vigil on the eve of the feast, and a celebration of the Divine Liturgy the next morning, at which beeswax candles are blessed. This blessing traditionally takes place after the Little Hours and before the beginning of the Divine Liturgy. The priest reads four prayers, and then a fifth one during which all present bow their heads before God. He then censes the candles and blesses them with holy water. The candles are then distributed to the people and the Liturgy begins.
It is because of the biblical events recounted in the second chapter of Luke that the Churching of Women came to be practised in both Eastern and Western Christianity. The usage has mostly died out in the West, except among Western Rite Orthodoxy, very occasionally still among Anglicans, and Traditionalist Catholics, but the ritual is still practised in the Orthodox Church. In addition, babies, both boys and girls are taken to the Church on the fortieth day after their birth in remembrance of the Theotokos and Joseph taking the infant Jesus to the Temple.
Some Christians observe the practice of leaving Christmas decorations up until Candlemas.
Date
In the Eastern and Western liturgical calendars the Presentation of the Lord falls on 2 February, forty days after Christmas. In the Church of England it may be celebrated on this day, or on the Sunday between 28 January and 3 February. This feast never falls in Lent; the earliest that Ash Wednesday can fall is 4 February, for the case of Easter on 22 March in a non-leap year. However, in the Tridentine rite, it can fall in the pre-Lenten season if Easter is early enough, and "Alleluia" has to be omitted from this feast's liturgy when that happens.In Swedish and Finnish Lutheran Churches,
Candlemas is always celebrated on a Sunday, at earliest on 2 February and at latest on 8 February, except if this Sunday happens to be the last Sunday before Lent, i.e. Shrove Sunday or Quinquagesima, in which case Candlemas is celebrated one week earlier.
In the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Feast, called "The Coming of the Son of God into the Temple", is celebrated on 14 February. The Armenians do not celebrate the Nativity on 25 December, but on 6 January, and thus their date of the feast is 40 days after that: 14 February. The night before the feast, Armenians traditionally light candles during an evening church service, carrying the flame out into the darkness and either take it home to light lamps or light a bonfire in the church courtyard.