Circumcision of our Lord & Feast of St. Basil and St. Gregory (English)

The Circumcision of Jesus

The Circumcision is the principal feast of the day. Eight days after His birth, the Child was circumcised according to the Mosaic Law and was given the name assigned to Him by an angel before He was conceived – Jesus.

The Church Fathers explain that the Lord, the Creator of the Law, underwent circumcision in order to give people an example of how faithfully the divine ordinances ought to be fulfilled. The Lord was circumcised so that later no one would doubt that he had truly assumed human flesh, and that his Incarnation was not merely an illusion.

St. Basil and St. Gregory
On the same day, we also celebrate the feast of St. Basil the Great. St. Basil is one of the most distinguished Doctors of the Church. Born about 330 A.D. he was the oldest of five sons. Three of his brothers became bishops, one of whom was St. Gregory of Nyssa who, together with St. Basil himself and his very close friend, St. Gregoryy of Nazianus, make up the trio known as “The Three Cappadocians.”

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