The feast of the Presentation of Mary is the celebration of Mary's parents, Anne and Joachim, dedicating their daughter in the Temple. Another name for this festive event is the “Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple”. In the Orthodox Church, the feast is called the “Presentation of the Mother of God in the Temple”. In this Church, it is one of the 12 Great Feasts.
The feast of the Presentation of Mary is based on the Proto-evangelium of James, which belongs to the apocryphal texts of the New Testament. The word apocryphal is derived from the Greek word “apokruphos”, meaning hidden. Most apocrypha of the New Testament originated in the first centuries AD. The Proto-evangelium of James states, among other things, that Anna and Joachim, out of gratitude for the miraculous birth of their daughter, dedicate her to God in the temple. Mary resides in the temple from the age of 3 until she reaches the age of 12. Through the Presentation of Mary in the temple, she is filled with the Holy Spirit and is therefore dedicated to God from her Immaculate Conception, celebrated on December 8th.
The Proto-Gospel of James was recorded in the mid-2nd century. The core of chapters 1-8 reads: The affluent couple, Anna and Joachim, have been involuntarily childless for many years. As a result, both receive reproach for still having no children. In despair, Joachim flees to the desert, and Anna is under the impression that he has perished. She laments to God about her widowhood. An angel appears to her and says that God has heard and answered her prayer. Anna is thus informed by the angel that she is with child. Anna then promises to dedicate her child to God. In the desert, Joachim hears from an angel that his wife is expecting, and he returns to her. At the Golden Gate in Jerusalem, Anna and Joachim meet, and an intimate embrace follows. Some time later, Anna gives birth and names her daughter Mary. When the little one turns 1, Joachim and Anna hold a feast for the entire neighbourhood. At the age of 3, Mary is brought to the temple by her parents, as Anna had promised God. Mary ascends the altar steps without looking back at her parents. She spends her youth in the temple. She remains there until the age of 12 and is fed by angels.
The feast has been celebrated in the Eastern Church since the 8th century. The celebration of the Presentation of Mary is not as old in the Catholic Church. It was introduced by clerics from Constantinople. In 1472, Sixtus IV (Pope from 1471 to 1484) wrote about the importance of the Presentation of Mary. Sixtus V, Pope in the period 1585-1590, placed the feast on the church calendar, namely in the “Calendarium Romanum generale”. It follows from this that in the Catholic Church the feast is celebrated on 21 November. In the Eastern Church, the feast day is set for 4 December, according to the Gregorian calendar.
