CANDLEMAS (FEB. 2ND)

“The Presentation at the Temple” by Ambrogio Lorenzetti, AD 1342, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy

Edited by Bp. Joseph (Ancient Church of the West)

The Feast of the Presentation, or “Candlemas” is one of the oldest feasts of the Christian Tradition, celebrated since the 4th century AD in Jerusalem. There are sermons on the feast by the bishops Methodius of Patara (d. 312), Cyril of Jerusalem (d. 360), Gregory the Theologian (d. 389), Amphilochius of Iconium (d. 394), Gregory of Nyssa (d. 400), and John Chrysostom (d. 407). It is also mentioned in the pilgrimage of Egeria (AD 381–384), where she confirmed that the celebrations took place in honor of the presentation of Jesus at the Temple.

“But certainly the Feast of the Purification is celebrated here with the greatest honour. On this day there is a procession to the Anastasis; all go in procession, and all things are done in order with great joy, just as at Easter. All the priests preach, and also the bishop, always treating of that passage of the Gospel where, on the fortieth day, Joseph and Mary brought the Lord into the Temple, and Simeon and Anna the prophetess, the daughter of Famuhel, saw Him, and of the words which they said when they saw the Lord, and of the offerings which the parents presented. And when all things have been celebrated in order as is customary, the sacrament is administered, and so the people are dismissed.” - Egeria, XXVI, The Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary 

This feast appears on Byzantine Kalendars around the time of the Plague of Justinian in AD 541, before slowly spreading West. An early reference of Candlemas in the West is found in the correspondence of Pope Gelasius I to the Roman Senator Andromachus about the origins of this feast, arguing that it was a proper substitute for the celebration of Lupercalia, which the Senator wished to reestablish for the purpose of purifying the empire, and that it alone represents purity and preparation for the Christian faithful. 

These early references shows that the feast had been celebrated in February from a very early time within the Christian Tradition. Thus, our Western Orthodox celebration of Candlemas is rooted in the Gelasian Sacramentary, being compiled between AD 628 and AD 731, and reflecting a universal liturgical practice in the Ancient Church of East and West. 

COLLECT 

ALMIGHTY GOD, we humbly beseech thy Majesty that, as thy only-begotten Son was this day presented in the temple in the substance of our flesh, so we may be presented unto thee with pure and clean hearts by the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

(Text edited from Wikipedia)