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The Meeting of Our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ - February 2
The Feast of the Meeting of Our Lord Jesus Christ commemorates
the Entrance of Our Lord into the temple 40 days after His
Nativity. At that time, in fulfillment of the Old Testament Law,
 Christ Our Savior was carried by His Mother and the Holy and
Righteous Joseph to the temple, where a Holy Prophet, Simeon the
Just, received the Divine Savior into his arms and presented Him
at the Holy of Holies. Liturgically this feast is called “The
Meeting-The Encounter” for it was at this event that the Lord
God, Our Savior Jesus Christ, first “encountered” the people of
the Law in the Jewish Sanctuary. The Holy and Righteous Simeon
had been promised that he would not die before he would behold
with his own eyes the Messiah. When he received Our Lord, he
joyfully prayed this prayer - which is properly sung at the time
of Vespers:
Lord, now let You servant depart in peace, according to Your
Word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have
prepared before the face of all people, a light to enlighten the
Gentiles, and for the glory of Your people Israel.
Candles in our Holy Church
For the Feast of the Encounter-Meeting of Our Lord it is a pious
and venerable tradition in our Holy Church to bless candles. It
is impossible to imagine an Eastern Church without burning
candles. Candles made of beeswax are used in our Holy Church as
a form of sacrifice and devotion to God or Saints. They are used
in various Divine Services and ceremonies and are symbolic of
Christ, who is “the Light of the World.” According to a
different symbolism, the two elements of a candle represent the
two natures of Christ: the Divine (the burning wick) and the
Human (the wax body).
According to our venerable father Simeon of Thessalonica (XV
century), the pure wax symbolizes the purity and innocence of
people offering it. The wax is offered as a sign of our
repentance for our obstinacy and willfulness. The softness and
malleability of the wax speak of our readiness to obey God. The
flame of the candle shows the warmth of love to God. We should
not put up a candle just for the sake of the ritual, with our
hearts remaining cold.
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