The Meeting of the Lord

The old man Simeon takes the infant God in his arms, the Old Covenant meeting the New.

The Meeting of the Lord, kept on February 2, remembers the infant Christ brought to the Temple in Jerusalem forty days after His birth, as the Law required. There the elder Symeon took Him in his arms, and the prophetess Anna gave thanks. It is one of the Twelve Great Feasts; on the Old Calendar it falls on February 15.

In 2027 the Meeting of the Lord falls on Tuesday, February 2, on the New Calendar, and on Monday, February 15, on the Old Calendar.

Also called the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, Candlemas.

Reckoning the date…

Next in the calendar: New Calendar, February 2, 2027 · Old Calendar, February 15, 2027

Forty days after the Nativity, Mary and Joseph bring the child Jesus to the Temple, as the Law required of every firstborn son. There the aged Simeon, who had been promised he would not die before seeing the Messiah, receives the infant into his arms and blesses God: “Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation.”

The feast is called the Meeting because in this moment the Old Covenant meets the New. Simeon and the prophetess Anna stand for all the long waiting of Israel, and in the child they hold, that waiting is answered. The one who gave the Law is now carried, as a forty-day-old infant, into His own Temple.

Simeon's words have become the Church's evening prayer, sung at Vespers as the day declines: the recognition that in Christ our own departure can be in peace, because our eyes too have seen salvation. The feast falls on February 2, closing the cycle of the Nativity.

Questions about the Meeting

When is the Meeting of the Lord?

On February 2, forty days after Christmas, or February 15 on the Old Calendar.

Why is it called the Meeting?

Because in the Temple the Lord meets His people: the righteous Symeon, who had been promised he would not die before he saw the Christ, and Anna the prophetess, who spoke of Him to all who awaited the redemption of Jerusalem (Luke 2:22-38).

What is the Song of Symeon?

The words Symeon spoke holding the child: "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word." The Church sings them at Vespers every evening.

Is the Meeting of the Lord the same as Candlemas?

It is the same feast. In the West it is called the Presentation of the Lord, or Candlemas.

When is the Meeting of the Lord in 2027?

In 2027 the Meeting of the Lord falls on Tuesday, February 2, on the New Calendar, and on Monday, February 15, on the Old Calendar.

What are the readings for the Meeting of the Lord?

For the feast:

At the Liturgy, the Epistle is Hebrews 7.7-17 and the Gospel is Luke 2.22-40.
The Matins Gospel is Luke 2.25-32.
At Vespers, the readings include Isaiah 6.1-12.

On the day itself the calendar also lists that weekday's or Sunday's readings, and any other saint's.

More questions about the Orthodox Church, answered ›

The saints of February

The saints of February, day by day ›

In Orthros

The Song of Simeon is among the evening prayers kept in Orthros, and the feast is marked on the calendar with its hymns and catechesis, each with its source shown.