The Mystery of Teaṙnəndaṙaǰ Trough Iconography and Liturgical Celebration

V. Rev. Fr. Bsag Tepirjian

Every year on February 14, according to the Armenian liturgical calendar, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple (in Arm. Տեառնընդառաջ / Teaṙnəndaṙaǰ) is celebrated. On this occasion, we are invited to meditate on both sacred art and liturgical practice and to reflect on the mystery of Christ’s presence among us.

1.     Armenian Iconography of The Presentation

In the Armenian manuscript tradition of the 11th to 15th centuries (cfr. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_abwTOti_w), the representation is usually depicted as follows: i) Christ is presented in the Temple of Jerusalem; ii) Mary holds the child in her arms with great attention; iii) Simeon the Elder and the prophetess Anna as central witnesses.

In these miniatures, which are often found in illuminated Gospel manuscripts, emphasize the liturgical action in the Temple. The figures are stylized, the space is symbolic, and the focus is on the sacred offering rather than on domestic life.

2.     Simone Martini: The Return into Ordinary Life

Unlike Armenian iconography, as we said above, which often emphasizes the solemnity and grandeur of the Temple, Simone Martini in his “Return of Jesus to Bethlehem after the Dispute with the Doctors” (14th century, now at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, United Kingdom) chooses to focus on the domestic aftermath – a return marked by both tension and love. Martini captures the moment following the extraordinary event narrated in the Gospel (cfr. Lk 2:41-50): the anxious search for the Child, His finding in the Temple, and the family’s return to ordinary life.

3.     Liturgical Celebration

In the Armenian tradition, the Teaṙnəndaṙaǰ is celebrated with special ceremonies on the eve of the feast, February 13. At the end of the solemn vespers, which include prayers, hymns, and Bible readings, the faithful go to the altar to light the candles they have brought from home, which symbolize the light of Christ and are lit from the altar. This is followed by a procession that culminates outside the church, where a bonfire (խառոյկ / xaṙoyk) has been lit with the flame from the altar. This ritual underscores the theological truth that Jesus Christ came into the world as the eternal light and fulfilled his divine mission as the light of all nations.

Through both Armenian icons and Latin painting, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple invites us to meditate on the interplay of divine mission and human relationships. Whether in the solemn Temple of Armenian miniatures or the domestic space of Martini’s masterpiece, the feast reminds us that every vocation is born within a bond, and that obedience to God transforms tension into love, guiding us into deeper communion with the Eternal Light.