Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary into the Temple

The Orthodox holiday of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the temple is celebrated by the holy church on December 4 according to the new style The basis for the celebration is the church tradition about the infant years of the Virgin Mary The parents of the future Mother of God were righteous people, but had no children Constantly praying for parental happiness to be granted to them, Joachim and Anna made a promise that they would dedicate their born child, regardless of gender, to Divine service The righteous couple did not forget about their vow, and as soon as Mary was three years old, her parents took her to the Jerusalem Temple It was a solemn procession with chants and lit candles, accompanied by relatives The smartly dressed Lady of God was led to the high steps of the temple To the surprise of the high priest and priests, Mary easily overcame the steep climb of 15 steps, despite her young age The High Priest Zechariah received a revelation about the girl's destiny Inspired by the discovery, Zechariah leads the infant Virgin through the temple and introduces her into the cathedral's sanctum sanctorum - a place where the high priest himself appeared only once a year After everything that happened, Joachim and Anna leave their daughter to grow up at the temple under the guidance of the holy fathers Here Mary was raised until the age of 12 or 15 along with pious virgins Their daily activities were prayers and diligent handicrafts With the help of the clergy, by the time she came of age, the Mother of God was ready to become a temple for the Son of God, whom she was soon to conceive and give birth to the world The Feast of the Entry into the Temple has a long history; a description of the event appears in the apocrypha of the second century, and was then repeatedly retold by church scholars and theologians Mention of the holiday in church calendars dates back to the 7th century The highlighting of the Entry into the Temple on a special holiday with a constant, unchangeable date speaks of the importance of this episode from the life of the Mother of God The outline of the event is the destiny of each person to become a receptacle for God An example is the path of young Mary, raised by priests Only by participating in church services, by regularly visiting the cathedral, and by observing Orthodox norms can a person become a temple of God Only a righteous vessel is worthy of such contents Hence the church’s caring attitude towards the human body, which should not be desecrated by a harmful lifestyle, inscriptions, drawings and other trends of modern life The great holiday is an occasion to realize one’s purpose and the true path, which lies through prayer, service and joining the Orthodox Church