The Orthodox Church celebrates the main events connected with the earthly life of Jesus Christ and the Mother of God very widely and deliberately solemnly. There are twelve such major holidays, as a result of which they are called the Twelfth. Only one event in the earthly life of the Savior does not fall into this series of celebrations. This is the Circumcision of the Lord. What kind of holiday this is, in general terms, can be understood from its name.
What the Church celebrates
On the eighth day after Christmas, which took place in the Bethlehem cave, the Virgin Mary and her betrothed (imaginary husband) Joseph brought the Divine Infant to the Temple in Jerusalem. As law-abiding Jews, they had to perform an obligatory ceremony. At the circumcision of the foreskin, the Son of the Virgin Mary was named Jesus. The performance of this ritual made it possible for the Savior to be considered a full-fledged descendant of Abraham, and therefore, to have the right to morally instruct fellow tribesmen and be the true Messiah for them. In accordance with the liturgical tradition of the Orthodox Church, this feast is called the Circumcision according to the flesh of the Lord Jesus Christ. Liturgical texts on this day also glorify the naming of the miraculous name.
Circumcision of the Lord. History of the holiday
The Church's establishment of the celebration of Circumcision was due to the need to counteract the intemperate pagan tradition of celebrating the onset of the New Year in the territory of the Roman Empire. By the beginning of the 4th century, the annual liturgical cycle was almost formed. It was logical to contrast the revelry of carnal pleasures with a church holiday and the fast preceding it. The Circumcision of the Lord was the best fit. That this was an extremely necessary measure is evidenced by the records of the church fathers of those years. Thus, St. Ambrose of Milan, on the very day of the newly established feast, complains, addressing the flock with the words of the Apostle Paul: “… I fear for you,” exclaims the bishop, “whether I labored for you in vain.” Was there any sense among the inhabitants of Mediolan (modern Milan) to preach Christianity at all - that's what the saint thinks about. In other words, the unbridledness of believers during the days of the January festivities reached such an extreme that the very meaning of faith in God was called into question. In the period between Christmas and Epiphany, fasting was additionally approved, culminating in the Circumcision of the Lord. What kind of holiday this Circumcision is, the question did not arise among ordinary members of the communities, although the fundamental meaning was the Jewish religious background. In an era when Christianity became the state religion, changes in the liturgical charter could be born not only within the church environment, but also by the willful decision of the hierarchs at the suggestion of the most august persons. A striking example is the Circumcision of the Lord. The history of the holiday testifies that the zealousThe propaganda activities of the Church Fathers led to the complete eradication of the January orgy. At least two centuries later, accusatory speeches on this subject are no longer found in the ancient chronicles.
Theological interpretation
Christ had to perform all the Old Testament rituals and confirm the legitimacy of the law of Moses by their execution. The first in the row of ritual order was the Circumcision of the Lord. Christianity, despite its obvious Old Testament origin, gives this event a weighty symbolic meaning. The holiday symbolizes the need for spiritual circumcision of the heart. In other words, without a fundamental change in the moral state, it is impossible for a person to enter the society of God's chosen people. Spiritual circumcision means victory over vicious inclinations, true repentance and the conversion of the sinner to God.
Ancient custom of the East
Orthodox tradition closely echoes many ancient Jewish attitudes. At the same time, theologians argue that the Old Testament history of mankind is a period of moral preparation for the coming of the Savior - a hint, a shadow, a prototype of the modern Christian church. The celebration of the Descent of the Holy Spirit took place on the day of the Hebrew holiday of Pentecost. The Presentation of the Lord, the performance of a sacrifice on the fortieth day after the birth of a male baby, the introduction of the Most Holy Theotokos into the temple are directly related to the Sinai legislation.
The Circumcision of the Lord also has a close connection with the Old Testament. Circumcision traditionwas established by the ancient patriarch Abraham by revelation from above. The Lord commanded the elder to circumcise the foreskin as a sign of the alliance between Him and the people. It was a kind of initialization of the members of the chosen society. Abraham ordered the rite to be performed on his son, all his fellow tribesmen, and even purchased slaves. Since then, Jews have obligatory circumcised all male babies on the eighth day after birth.
Apostles on circumcision
After the descent of the Holy Spirit, faith in Christ began to spread widely throughout the civilized world. At first, the sermon sounded among the Jewish communities of the Mediterranean. Over time, the pagans began to join. With this category of new converts, misunderstandings began to arise in some communities. The fact is that for several decades, Jews, entering the Christian community, had already been circumcised. The fulfillment of the Old Testament rite was also demanded from the pagans. That is, first it was necessary to perform the Jewish ritual, and then to be baptized. The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the community in the city of Colosse, compared baptism with ancient circumcision. The custom leading the story from Abraham was a sign of the union of people with God, and now the New Testament spiritual circumcision is being performed, not made by hands. Its essence lies not in material symbols, but in renunciation of a sinful life.
Required celebration
The Day of the Circumcision of the Lord combines two more significant events. In the Russian Empireusing the Julian calendar, the celebration of the New Year in relation to the modern chronology fell on January 14th. In the secularized Soviet era, after the transition to the Gregorian style, this day began to be called the authentic term "Old New Year". The Russian Orthodox Church, adhering to the orthodox calendar, on the first day of the secular new year in 1701, established a special holiday on January 14th. The circumcision of the Lord, in addition, is celebrated together with the memory of the great teacher of the Church, St. Basil, who served in the 4th century as an archbishop in the Middle Eastern city of Kessaria. In liturgical texts, all three events are organically intertwined.
liturgical features
All celebrations in honor of the Savior and the Mother of God have the so-called days of forefeast and afterfeast. That is, even before the main event and after it for several days, liturgical hymns glorify the great triumph. An analogy can be drawn with sunrise and sunset. In the morning the luminary has not yet risen, and the world around is already illuminated. It is the same in the evening: the sun has disappeared, but it is still light. The circumcision of the Lord is glorified only for one liturgical day. On the feast itself, a rare service is performed - the liturgy of Basil the Great. This rite is served on Great Lent, on Christmas Eve and Epiphany Eve, and on the Circumcision of the Lord. That this is the first day of the new year is evidenced by a special prayer service after the liturgy, during which God's blessing is asked for the "next summer" for citizens, rulers and the entire state.
Circumcision of the Lord. Icon
There are few pictorial images of this event. The feast of the Circumcision is not popular with icon painters. Usually in churches, an icon of St. Basil the Great is placed on the lectern, whose memory is celebrated on the same day. True, among the frescoes of the interior painting of ancient temples, you can see the Circumcision of the Lord. The icon, as a rule, depicts the Virgin Mary with the Divine Infant in her arms, Joseph the betrothed and an old man with a ritual knife, preparing to perform the ritual.
A moral lesson
Liturgical hymns contain not only laudatory content, but also have significant didactic meaning. Any event in the life of Jesus Christ, the Mother of God or the saints can be an occasion for drawing a moral lesson. The Circumcision of the Lord does not stand aside either. That this is a very important precedent can be seen by examining the following excerpt from the liturgical texts: “The All-good God was not ashamed to be circumcised by the flesh, but by Himself showed the image and mark of salvation: the Creator of the law fulfills the law.”
The leitmotif of the teachings sounding from the church ambos on the day of the Lord's Circumcision is a moral example of obedience to the laws for one's own good. The God-Man Jesus Christ had no need to perform any religious ritual on him. But did the Founder of a new spiritual society have the right to demand from his followers constant submission, if he Himself did not fulfill the laws established by the Divinerevelations?
Old Testament tradition and the mystery of the name
Also, the church on this day draws the attention of believers to their names. The name of a Christian is given at baptism not arbitrarily, but in honor of the saints. At the same time, a special prayer is read, connecting the new member of the Christian community with his heavenly patron. In addition to a certain semantic load (for example, Alexander in Greek means "courageous", Victor - "winner", etc.), the name is the most important component in the formation of a person's inner world, his secret personality. This is especially true in the modern world, when ex alted parents, for the sake of modern trends, call their children almost dog names.
Many peoples of antiquity had the custom of giving two names. The first, true, was known only by the carrier himself and his relatives. The second name was intended for use in everyday life. This was done so that ill-wishers through mystical influence could not harm the subject. If our ancestors attached such importance to names, then even more so a Christian name should not be an empty phrase, but evidence of belonging to the highest moral category of society.
