The Presentation in the Temple
In accordance with the law of Moses, forty days after the birth of a male child, his mother had to present the baby in the Temple and offer as a sacrifice either a lamb or a pair of doves or pigeons for purification from "the issue of her blood". The presentation of a first born son also signified redemption or a "buying back", since all first born creatures, whether animal or human, were considered to belong to God. Mary and Joseph obeyed this precept of the law. They brought Jesus to the Temple, where he was blessed by the aged Simeon, and recognised as the Saviour by the Prophetess Anna. It is this event which we celebrate on the feast of February 2nd (15th old style calendar).

Forty Days
We read the story of this feast in the Gospel of Luke (2:22-40) and we call it "the meeting" because Christ meets His people. He was brought to the Temple by His Mother and by Joseph forty days after his birth, to be dedicated to God according to the Mosaic law. So, in this way, Jesus Christ also fulfilled this law.

Simeon the Elder and Anna the prophetess
In the Temple, Jesus Christ met His people in the persons of Simeon the Elder and Anna the prophetess. These two persons had been preparing themselves for years for the day of this meeting with Christ. Simeon's prayer, "Lord now let Your servant depart in peace" has become part of the daily divine services. Simeon's words to Mary, " Yea, a sword shall pierce your own soul", throw a ray of light on the mystery of the most Holy Virgin's part in the Passion of her Son.

The prayer of Simeon
"Let us also go and meet Christ and let us receive Him...and welcome Christ the King; salute Mary, the heavenly gate." These texts from the feast of the Presentation can also be applied to our own souls. Each soul is a temple of God, to whom Mary brings Jesus. Each one of us should, like Simeon, take the child in his arms and say to the Father, "Mine eyes have seen Thy salvation". The prayer of Simeon, "Lord, now let Your servant depart in peace", does not simply mean that someone who has seen Jesus and held Him in their arms can now leave this life and die in peace; it also means for us that, having seen and touched the Saviour, we are released from the hold that sin has on us, and in peace we can leave the realm of evil.

The blessing of infants
According to the example that Jesus gave, even today, a forty-day old child can be brought to the church for a blessing. The infant is brought to the Church by his mother and the priest reads the prayers both for the child and the mother. Then the priest blesses the infant, takes him into his arms and making the sign of the cross with the child says, "The servant of God (name) is Churched in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen". This is repeated in the middle of the church and then the child is taken in front of the Royal Doors, where the priest blesses the child for the third time. After the third blessing the priest says the prayer of St. Simeon. After this the priest returns the child to his mother.
"Lord, now let Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word, for my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light to enlighten the Gentiles and for the glory of Your people Israel." (Luke 2:29-32)

[Text adapted from 'The Church Liturgical Year', by Eleni Ganouri, and 'The Icon Book', by Frs Essey, McLuckie, Boojamra & Matusiak]