02/03/2023
Encounter of Our Lord Jesus Christ
The oldest depiction of this holiday is preserved on one of the mosaics in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, dated around 440. It pictures Christ, who sat before his people and before the pagans, and as we know, Rome accepts Christ.
The Feast of the Encounter of Our Lord Jesus Christ is a feast about meeting. A meeting for which the whole nation has been waiting for centuries, a meeting prophesied, a meeting dreamed of by the people. A meeting is, as it were, a tactical meeting, because Simeon - the prototype of the Old Testament - takes Jesus - the Messiah, who is already the fulfillment of the New Testament. Previously, Simeon doubted that the Virgin could give birth and, translating the prophet Isaiah from Aramaic to Greek, he wanted to correct "Virgin" to "Wife" in the translation. Then an Angel appeared to him and said that the old man would not die until he saw with his own eyes the one conceived by the Virgin .
The Icon of the Encounter of Our Lord Jesus Christ is divided, as it were, into two covenant parts. The first - Mary and Joseph, as a symbol of the New Testament, and the second - Simeon and Anna, as a symbol of the Old Testament. In the center, Jesus is depicted as the one who connects them. Often Mary and Simeon's hands are covered, because Jesus is a shrine that can be touched. Another symbol of the meeting of the two Covenants is the background buildings depicted on the icon. Behind Joachim and Anna is the Old Testament temple and between them is the temple of the New Testament Church. It is interesting that the Christian throne is depicted and not the altar of the Jerusalem temple, which is still visible in the background of the image. The Christian throne can sometimes be distinguished by the crimson canopy, which was used in the Byzantine tradition as a symbol of the New Testament.
The Mother of God is depicted as enlightened and humble. Joseph, standing behind Her, holds two doves in his hands. It was this kind of sacrifice that poor people were allowed to offer in the Jerusalem temple in honor of the birth of a child. Joseph's protrail is dual: on the one hand, he is a righteous man who observes all traditions and customs and on the other hand, he is the guardian of the new that Jesus will bring into the world. This duality is also emphasized by its position on the icon.
Jesus was a baby at the time of his stay in the temple, but his face is shown as the face of a mature person. Thus the iconographer conveys the essence of God, the primordiality of Jesus. Jesus is dressed in golden clothing, which is a symbol of divinity. Already "like a baby obeys the law" - from the stichira of the evening Communion, He is not only subject to the law, but being God is also the lawmaker, and thus, he unites the two Testaments.
We don't know much about Simeon from the Gospel whether he was a priest, but in the icon he performs a priestly function. He holds Christ as a priest of the Byzantine Church would and after Baptism and Anointing performs the rite of ecclesiastication. Simeon's life has come to an end, and we have a hymn that is his words: "Now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word." The stairs on which Simeon stands also have their own special meaning - they have been preserved in modern churches, because the sanctuary, where the throne stands, where the Sacrament of the Eucharist is performed, is also higher than the general area of the temple, at least by one step.
This holiday feast is about a step: God took this step towards mankind, becoming a man, for the purpose of its salvation. The Son of God fulfills the precepts of the law, unites the Testaments, and changes the history and future of mankind.
