Circumcision of the Lord

Feast of the Circumcision of our Lord Jesus Christ on the eighth day after His Nativity.

On the eighth day after His birth the Lord Jesus Christ was circumcised according to the Law of Moses and received the name Jesus, as the angel had announced to the Virgin Mary. The Church keeps this feast of the Lord on January 1, together with the memory of St. Basil the Great.

The feast shows Christ's humility in submitting to the Law He Himself had given, and is understood by the Fathers as a foreshadowing of Holy Baptism, the circumcision made without hands.

Feast day

On the New Calendar, Circumcision of the Lord is commemorated on January 1. Churches on the Old (Julian) Calendar keep the feast on January 14 of the civil calendar.

Also commemorated on January 1

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  Basil the Great

  Great Feast, Βασίλειος

  Archbishop of Caesarea, one of the Three Holy Hierarchs.

  Name days: Vasilis, Vasileios, Vassilis, Vasile, Basil, Bill, Vasilios, Vassilios, Vasos, Vasily, Vasil, Billy, Vasiliki, Vassiliki, Vasilia, Vaso, Vasso, Vasia

• Gregory of Nazianzus the Elder

  Hierarch, Γρηγόριος Ναζιανζού

  Bishop of Nazianzus, father of St. Gregory the Theologian.

• Theodotos the Martyr

  Martyr, Θεόδοτος

  Holy Martyr Theodotos, who ended his contest by the sword.

  Name days: Theodotos, Theodotus

• Peter the Peloponnesian

  Martyr, Πέτρος ο Πελοποννήσιος

  New Martyr Peter of the Peloponnese, martyred for Christ in the eighteenth century.

• Telemachos the Monk-Martyr

  Martyr, Τηλέμαχος

  Monk who gave his life to end the gladiatorial games in Rome.

  Name days: Telemachos, Tilemachos, Telemachus