Purification of the Lord: a summary of the great church feast of February 15

Every year on February 15, the Orthodox Church celebrates the Presentation of the Lord, an important feast dedicated to the bringing of the Christ Child to the Jerusalem Temple. On this day, believers remember the meeting of the elder Simeon with the Son of God, symbolizing the transition from the Old Testament to the New. "Izvestia" tells about the content and meaning of this celebration.

The events of the Purification of the Lord are described in the Gospel of Luke. According to ancient Jewish law, 40 days after the birth of a son, a woman was obliged to visit the temple and offer a purification sacrifice. Until that time, she was forbidden to participate in worship services because of her "uncleanness". If a girl was born, the same ritual had to be performed on the 80th day.

In addition, the parents had to pay a separate ransom for the first-born boy, which was established to commemorate the exodus of the Jews from Egypt. According to legend, many of the children of Israel were enslaved by the Pharaohs. The prophet Moses demanded the release of his people, but the Egyptian ruler refused. Then 10 calamities (plagues) fell upon the country, the last of which was the death of all the firstborn. Only the Hebrew children survived. Pharaoh then allowed Moses and his men to leave.

The Virgin Mary had given birth as a result of immaculate conception, so she did not need purification. Nevertheless, on the appointed date, the Virgin came to the Jerusalem temple, thus demonstrating humility and respect for the ancient law. Being a woman from a poor family, she sacrificed two doves (wealthy people sacrificed a lamb and a dove).

After the rite was completed, the elder Simeon, one of the 70 scholars who translated the Holy Scriptures into Greek, approached her and Joseph the Betrothed. During his work, he doubted the accuracy of the prophecy about the birth of the Messiah from an innocent virgin and wanted to correct the word "virgin" to "wife". At that moment an angel appeared to him and told him that Simeon would not leave this world until he personally saw the Godchild.

After several centuries of waiting, the 360-year-old finally met the Son of God and his mother. Hence the name of the feast - Purification, which can be translated from Church Slavonic as "meeting". Taking Jesus in his arms, Simeon joyfully said: "Today you release your servant, O Lord." To the Mother of God he foretold the suffering due to Christ's death on the cross. "To You Yourself the weapon will pass the soul," he said, referring to the coming grief at the loss of her beloved son.

Following Simeon, the righteous Anna, an elderly widow who lived at the temple, approached the holy family. Many knew her as a prophetess who preached about God. After worshipping Christ, she went to Jerusalem to tell its inhabitants about the birth of the Savior.

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Theologically, the Purification is not simply the meeting of Saints Simeon and Anna with the Theotokos and Christ. The events in the Jerusalem temple are perceived as a moment of contact between the Old and New Testaments. The old laws lose their power, giving way to the future that the Son of God will bring.

In a broader sense, the Purification is man's encounter with God. It is believed that every person experiences it, crossing the threshold of the temple for the first time and turning to the Lord with a prayer.

Earlier "Izvestia" told about the history and traditions of the Orthodox holiday Trekhsvyatie.