Giotto’s ‘Presentation of Mary’

On November 21, the Church celebrates the Presentation of Mary most holy in the Temple.  According to the Proevangelioum of James (ca. 2^nd  C.) the feast of The Presentation of Mary was celebrated as early as the second century.  The Church of the East has celebrated the feast since as early as the 6^th century.  Pope Sixtus IV was the first pope to receive it into the Roman Breviary; and it was officially approved a second time by Pope Sixtus V in 1585, who made November 21 its celebrated day.

Regarding The Presentation of Mary, a written account may come to us from one of three sources of Apocryphal writings:  The Protoevangelium of James, the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew (ca. 8^th C.), and the Gospel of the Nativity of Mary.  The Proto- evangelium of James states that "Joachim and Anna (parents of Mary), faithful to a vow they had made, presented the child Mary in the Temple when she was three years old; that the child herself mounted the Temple steps, and that she made her vow of virginity on this occasion."  Mary was presented to God by coming before the High Priest (a symbol of Christ, our High Priest) in the Temple for blessing and dedication.  Though the Church, prudently, does not specify at what age the child Mary was presented in the Temple, nor when she made her vow of virginity, nor what were the special nature and supernatural gifts with which God endowed her.

The Temple, we know, was in Jerusalem. There are, however, claims that Joachim and Anne lived in Sephoris (in Galilee) and this may be true of a previous time in their lives.  But, according to tradition (church tradition along with some archaeological support), Joachim and Anne, at the time of Mary's birth and Presentation, lived just north of the Temple mount, very near the site of the Bethesda pool.  The distance from their home to the Temple was a short walk – one they and their child, could easily make any number of times a day. 

The apocryphal writings to which we referred, state that Mary remained in the Temple after her presentation in order to be educated with other Jewish children. The Church also remains silent as to Mary's stay in the Temple.  However, St. Ambrose, describing Mary's life before the Annunciation, supposes expressly that she lived in the house of her parents.  Knowing the location of Mary's home, these reports can be reconciled:  From the time of her presentation in the Temple until the time she moved to Nazareth, prior to the Annunciation - Mary, along with other young Jewish virgins, studied somewhere within the Temple complex.  Since the house of Joachim and Anne was near to the Temple mount, we may suppose that the holy child Mary was making any number of daily trips to the sacred buildings to fulfill her dedication.  [The time of a girl's preparation, it is believed, was about 12 years (approximately the age a Jewish girl would make her Bat Mitzvah, or a Jewish boy his Bar Mitzvah).] 

When the Crusaders occupied the Holy Land (12^th C.) they discovered remains of a church built by the Byzantine Empress Eudocia over the site where Joachim and Anne would have lived. The Crusaders claimed to have found the venerated remains of Anne and Joachim's home, which would be the actual birthplace of Mary.  Believing in their finds, the Crusaders built a church over the site (which includes the venerated crypt) and named it The Church of St. Anne.  Since the late 1800's, the White Fathers of Africa, have been in charge of this beautifully preserved Crusader church that looks much the same as it did when first built. They, also, resumed archaeological work in the area and, to the surprise of the world, found sizeable remains from the original Bethesda pool. 

Earlier than this, archaeologists uncovered remains of another Byzantine basilica built by the emperor Justinian on the platform of the former Temple in memory of Our Lady's stay in the sanctuary; the church was called The New St. Mary's so as to distinguish it from the Church of the Nativity (in Bethlehem).  Today, the newer Moslem "El-Aksa" (meaning "distant") mosque on the Temple Mount stands where this basilica once stood.  The El-Aksa is not the famous golden Dome of the Rock prominently displayed on the Temple Mount, but a longer, public mosque standing on the southern end of the Temple Mount. 

The great Jerusalem Temple was originally constructed to hold the golden Ark of the Covenant. That vessel was lost in the destruction of 586 B.C. and never recovered.  Nevertheless, it makes sense that Mary stayed close to the Temple (which is a prefigurement of Jesus Christ, "Immanuel" – God with us) since their two hearts are so united. That is, until God's time was ready to send His incarnate Son to her and to the world.  Then, Mary herself, would become God's "Ark of the Covenant" carrying within her womb the very Presence of God Himself. 

Sometime before the Annunciation occurred, Mary moved to Nazareth.  Whether, or not, her parents were still living is not known.  Nor do we know when, or where, she was betrothed to Joseph.  Jewish maidens were considered marriageable at the age of twelve years and six months, though the actual age of the bride varied with circumstances.  The marriage was preceded by the betrothal, after which the bride legally belonged to the bridegroom, though she did not live with him till about a year later, when the marriage ceremony was celebrated.  Mary kept her perpetual vow of virginity to God; and also under Divine guidance, accepted the marriage proposal of Joseph (her most chaste spouse).  We know from Scripture, that she was already betrothed to Joseph of Nazareth when the Angel Gabriel appeared to her in Nazareth proclaiming, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you." 

[Author's note: Most of the information in this article is derived from living and studying in the Holy Land for seven years; some of the details in the text come from: the Catholic Encyclopedia (on-line), the Catholic Information Network, and Louisville-Catholic.net]