Сретение Господа Иисуса Христа в храме Симеоном и Анною

On the eighth day after his birth, the rite of circumcision was performed on the Infant of God, and he was given the name Jesus, predicted by the Archangel Gabriel during the Annunciation. On the fortieth day after his birth, another sacred rite had to be performed over Him - to present Him to the church. This ritual was established among the Jews during their exit from Egypt. On the night of the exodus, an angel of God struck the firstborn of Egypt, and the firstborn of Israel were delivered from defeat. In memory of this mercy of God to the chosen people, it was established that every newborn firstborn (male baby) should be brought to the church by the parents and placed before the Lord, and then, as it were, they would redeem him from the Lord. At the same time, the mother of the baby had to sacrifice a one-year-old lamb and a young dove to God. The poor were allowed to bring another dove instead of a lamb. Mary appeared in the church, carrying the Divine Infant Jesus in her arms, and Joseph carried two doves in a cage - the sacrifice of the poor. The ransom for firstborn babies was set at 5 shekels of silver (about 3 rubles). At this time, there lived in Jerusalem an old man named Simeon, who was a priest by position. He was a righteous and pious man, he waited for the Savior with all his heart, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. He was promised by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he saw the Lord's Christ. By a special inspiration from above, he entered the church of the Lord, took the Divine Infant Jesus into his arms, blessed God and said: “Now, O Master, you are releasing Your servant, 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 to be revealed by the tongue, and the glory of Your people Israel.” The words of righteous Simeon can be translated as follows: now You allow me, Master, according to Your promise, to die in peace, for with my own eyes I saw the Savior, Whom You gave to all nations: I saw the One who will enlighten the Gentiles with the light of truth and glorify His people the Israelites. After this, the holy elder turned to Joseph and Mary and, like a priest, blessed them. At the same time, he pronounced the following prophecy about the Lord Savior: “This lies for the fall and the rise of many in Israel and for the subject of contradiction... and for You yourself,” he said to the Mother of God, “a weapon will pierce the soul.” In other words, those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved, and those who oppose His teaching will perish. The Mother of God will have to endure many trials and sorrows. These sorrows will be great, as if a sword would pierce Her very heart. There was also an elderly (84 years old) widow named Anna. She was married only for seven years and then served God all the time, without leaving the church, in fasting and prayer, day and night. For this zeal, the Lord granted her the great mercy of seeing the Savior of the World. The holy old woman glorified God and announced the Infant of God to all who were awaiting His appearance in Jerusalem. Meeting of the Lord Jesus Christ in the church by Simeon and Anna. From a painting by Prof. Evgraf Semenovich Sorokin (1821–1892). Moscow. Church of Hagia Sophia. You might be interested in: