To Fulfill All Righteousness: The Presentation of Christ in the Temple

This post comes from an email in the "Walk Through the Church Year" series which goes out to folks who sign up to receive two emails per month about major feasts and selected commemorations in the liturgical calendar. To receive these emails in your inbox, sign up here.

The original email was sent out in February of 2025.

by Brendan

By Your birth, You sanctified a virginal womb, and fittingly You blessed Simeon’s hands, O Christ God; even now You have saved us by anticipation. Grant peace to Your faithful people whom You have loved, O only Lover of mankind. – Kontakion, Tone 1

The Great Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple concludes the Nativity season which began on November 15. It is also the last Great Feast before Triodion, the three Sundays that precede Lent (starting March 3 this year). As such, it is a significant signpost in the Church Year connecting the Incarnation and Resurrection.

Quickly following the Nativity Story, the story of Christ’s Presentation in the Temple is recorded only in St. Luke’s Gospel (2:22-40). As faithful, observant Jews, Saint Joseph the Betrothed and the Theotokos bring Jesus to the temple 40 days after his birth. Having given birth to the Source of all purity, the Theotokos had no need of the ritual; and Christ, of course had no need of a sacrifice given on his behalf – He would be the Sacrifice for all mankind as He offered Himself on the Cross! Nevertheless, keeping the Mosaic Law (Exodus 13:1, Leviticus 12:2-8) out of humility, they bring their firstborn son to the temple, offering two turtle doves.

What seems like a normal infant dedication quickly grows in importance. Stepping out of the shadows – and in some ways the Old Testament itself – two elderly figures approach the Holy Family. Prompted separately by the Holy Spirit to wait for this moment, the Elder Simeon and Prophetess Anna greet the Child. Each of them know that He brings an end to the millennia-long wait for victory against man’s enemies.

The Elder embraces the infant in his arms first. Looking upon Him and His parents, he proclaims the last recorded prophecy of the Messiah. Known in the East as the Song of Simeon or the Nunc Dimittis in the West, it is one of the most renowned praises of the Church. It is chanted during Vespers and in the post-communion prayers of many liturgies throughout the year.  

Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel. (Luke 2:29-32)

But the Elder is not finished. He gives another prophecy to the Theotokos:

Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. (Luke 2:34b-35)

Next, the Prophetess Anna echoes St. Simeon’s prophecy, giving hope to all hear and speaking “of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.” (Luke 2:38)   

Besides the brief glimpses we receive of the Holy Family en route to Egypt and Christ’s visit to  Jerusalem at age 12, this is the final public record in Scripture before His Baptism. Perhaps that is why it is so fitting to have this feast and that of Theophany (January 6) so close together. Both feasts commemorate the progressive revelations of Christ to the world. In each, He chooses to reveal the glory of His Incarnation to only a handful of people.

There is also a vital parallel in the actions of Christ and His parents. Although she has just given birth to the Second Person of the Trinity, the Theotokos submits to the Old Covenant’s practice and expectations of redeeming her son with a sacrifice at the temple. Thirty years later, Jesus Himself will insist on receiving baptism, not as a sinner himself but as an initiation of his public ministry and continuation of taking upon Himself the human condition. When St. John the Forerunner attempts to prevent Jesus from doing this, Christ answers, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15), demonstrating the way of humility for every disciple who will follow after Him.

Like Theophany, the Feast of the Presentation sets the model for what it means to “be about the Father’s will.” The Elder Simeon and the Prophetess Anna displayed perseverance in their steady endurance of waiting (several decades for Anna and several centuries for Simeon!) to see their Salvation. The Holy Parents demonstrate this quiet faithfulness as they prepare to give the rest of their lives to rearing this miraculous child. Christ Himself will spend the next 30 years living an unknown, hidden life in an obscure town before He begins his public proclamation of the Kingdom of God.

According to tradition, Saint Simeon was one of the Jewish scribes who translated the Septuagint version of the Old Testament from Hebrew into Greek in the 3rd century BC. While translating the Book of Isaiah, he came to the verse which says, "a Virgin shall conceive." While he marveled at this verse, a voice from heaven told Simeon that he would not die until he saw this prophecy fulfilled. Thus he lived in the Temple for centuries until he met Christ and the Virgin Mary.

So, how does this apply to me? How are we called “to fulfill all righteousness?” No doubt, each of us will have a distinctive way offered to live this out. A common thread of faithfulness will undoubtedly include following the example of Christ, His parents, and these two elderly saints. The Father’s work is not fulfilled in one’s own timetable or typically with many people looking on in admiration or wonder. It is simply done by doing what is asked. Showing up, doing the next thing, and being faithful in the small things is what ultimately forms a faithful life. Each of these small things, by God’s grace, leads to the fulfillment of who each of us is destined to be.

This Great Feast serves as one more sign post in the Church Year to point us to our true destination, our true identity. Father Lev Gillet of blessed memory connects the essential meaning of the feast with each of us, writing,

Each soul ought to be a Temple of God, to which Mary brings Jesus. And each one of us should, like Simeon, take the child in his arms and say to the Father: ‘My eyes have seen thy salvation.’ (1)

This is exactly what we need as we enter February and begin preparing for Lent in a few short weeks. The time is nigh; salvation has come. Will we be ready to do the next thing, “to fulfill all righteousness,” and to embrace and receive Him?

(1) The Year of Grace of the Lord, By a Monk of the Eastern Church (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Press, 1971) 90.