Feast of the Circumcision of Christ

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The Feast of the Circumcision of Our Lord is a Christian celebration on the eighth day after the birth of Jesus. It observes the day that Jesus was circumcised, showing by tradition the Infant's descent from Abraham, and extols the name Jesus received during the ceremony, which is derived from Hebrew meaning "salvation" or "savior."[1] [2] To believers, it is a feast celebrating not only Jesus, the "Giver of the Law", consenting to submit to Jewish Law, but also the first time that Jesus spilled His blood for mankind. It thus demonstrates not only Jesus' obedience, but also foreshadows the Crucifixion.

The feast day is celebrated by Eastern Orthodox Church and Traditionalist Roman Catholic churches, some churches of the Anglican Communion, and Eastern Catholic Churches on January 1[3] (or on January 14, which corresponds to January 1 on the traditional Julian calendar for those churches which continue to use it).[4]

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[edit] Eastern Orthodox Churches

Eastern Orthodox Churches also celebrate this Feast on January 1 of either the Gregorian calendar or the Julian Calendar, depending on which style is used in a particular church. In Russia, the day of Old Style Circumcision (January 14 according to Gregorian calendars in 20th and 21st centuries) is known as "The Old New Year", because before 1918 it was the New Year day. The feast is celebrated as an All-Night Vigil, and the hymns of the feast are combined with those for St. Basil the Great. After the Divine Liturgy, Russian Orthodox churches will often celebrate a New Year Molieben (intercession).

[edit] Roman Catholic Church

The Feast of the Circumcision was formerly celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church as a holy day of obligation (a day on which Roman Catholics must attend Mass).[5] In addition to Eastern Orthodox adherents, Traditionalist Roman Catholics still celebrate this feast under this name, but most Roman Catholics now, with the revisions of the Mass that followed the Second Vatican Council, celebrate January 1 as the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, and it remains a holy day of obligation. The day is actually both of these feasts along with the Octave Day of Christmas, its name in the 1962 Missal, and the liturgy includes elements reflective of all three.

[edit] Church of England

The Church of England's Book of Common Prayer liturgy celebrates this day as the Circumcision of Christ. The newer Common Worship liturgy observes this day as a Festival called the Naming and Circumcision of Jesus.

[edit] See also

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[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Luke 2:21 (King James Version): "And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb."
  2. ^ Catholic Encyclopedia: Feast of the Circumcision
  3. ^ Greek Orthodox Archdiocese calendar of Holy Days
  4. ^ Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarchate of Moscow
  5. ^ Liguorian, July-August 2007