Commontide
Christological Feast
January 1
January 1, the eighth day after Christmas, commemorates two connected events: the circumcision of Jesus according to the Law of Moses, and the bestowal of the name Jesus (Hebrew Yeshua, 'God saves') as the angel had commanded. The feast carries a dual theological weight: Christ's submission to the covenant of circumcision — the first shedding of his blood, anticipating the Cross — and the power of the Name that is above every name (Philippians 2:9-10). The ACNA calendar preserves the ancient dual emphasis that other modern calendars have simplified.
The theological tradition sees Christ's circumcision as his first obedience to the Law he came to fulfill — and his first shedding of blood, prefiguring the Cross. Patristic commentators (Origen, Ambrose) developed the typological significance: the circumcision of the flesh gives way to the circumcision of the heart (Romans 2:29; Colossians 2:11). The Holy Name tradition, growing from medieval devotion, emphasizes the power of the name Jesus itself — 'at the name of Jesus every knee should bow' (Philippians 2:10). The Litany of the Holy Name and the IHS monogram (from the Greek ΙΗΣΟΥΣ) reflect this devotional stream.
The scriptural basis is Luke 2:21: 'And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.' The observance naturally falls on the octave of Christmas — the eighth day — following the Jewish practice of circumcision on the eighth day (Genesis 17:12; Leviticus 12:3).
The feast has a complex dual identity. The Circumcision feast is ancient, attested from the Council of Tours (567) in the West and from Byzantine calendars by the eighth-ninth century. The Holy Name devotion developed later as a distinct emphasis: medieval Franciscan and Bernardine piety promoted devotion to the Name of Jesus, leading to a separate Holy Name feast established by the fifteenth century. Modern calendars have handled the relationship differently: the 1969 Roman revision dropped both in favor of the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God; the 1979 Episcopal BCP kept the Holy Name; ACNA's BCP 2019 preserves the combined title, honoring both the ancient Circumcision emphasis and the medieval Holy Name devotion.
Almighty God, your blessed Son fulfilled the covenant of circumcision for our sake, and was given the Name that is above every name: Give us grace faithfully to bear his Name, and to worship him with pure hearts according to the New Covenant; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.