Great Feast

Entry of the Theotokos into the Temple

The Presentation of the Virgin Mary

Icon: Entry of the Theotokos into the Temple
Russian - Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple - Walters 372410 · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

When: November 21 (Old Calendar: 13 days later on the civil calendar).

According to ancient tradition, Joachim and Anna brought their young daughter Mary to the Temple in Jerusalem to dedicate her to God, as they had promised. The high priest Zacharias received her and, the hymns say, led her into the Holy of Holies.

The feast teaches that Mary herself was being prepared to become the living temple of God, in whom the Son of God would take flesh. It falls during the Nativity Fast and is one of its bright points.

The icon shows the small girl, dressed like a grown woman, climbing the Temple steps toward the priest, followed by her parents and maidens with lamps.

Written for this app in our own words from the Gospels and long-standing Church tradition. All Great Feasts & Holy Week · Calendar