When the infant Christ was a week old "the time came to circumcise him, and he was given the name of Jesus". The operation was required by Mosaic law as a token of the Covenant, and might be performed by the parents or by a priest of the Temple specially allocated to the task. Luke does not relate the circumstances but Christian art always sets the scene in the Temple. The infant is usually held in the arms of Mary, while beside her stands the priest, in his hand a knife, which he has taken from a tray held by an acolyte. Joseph may be present. To the medieval Church the event was significant as the first occasion on which the Redeemer's blood was shed. The theme occurs in Italian Renaissance painting, and enjoyed a revival in the art of the Counter-Reformation in Jesuit churches. The Society of Jesus, for whom the Savior's name had a special sanctity, laid emphasis on the Feast of the Circumcision because of the association of the rite with the naming of the Infant.

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James Hall, Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art, New York: Harper & Row, rev. ed. 1979