Presentation of Three-Year-Old St. Mary to the Church

One of the feasts dedicated to the Holy Virgin is the presentation of three-year-old Mary (Holy Mother of God) to the temple. All Christian Churches celebrate this feast of November 21.

According to the Holy Tradition of the Church, after Mary’s becoming three-year-old, the parents of the Holy Virgin, Jehoiakim and Anna, fulfilling their promise, bring Mary to the Temple and present her to God. Mary remains in the Church till her engagement.
Establishment of the feast is related to the Cathedral, which was built by the King Justinianos in honor of St. Mary, the Holy Mother of God, in the place of the old Jewish temple, on the hill Moria. The cathedral had been consecrated on November 21, 543 AD.

After 638 AD, when the Cathedral, built by the King Justinianos, is converted into a Moslem temple, the celebration of the feast spreads throughout the entire Christian world. The Feast of presentation of St. Mary to the Church has been included in the Armenian Apostolic Church Calendar in the nineteenth century.