Abstract
The first part of the paper deals with the unusual iconography of Presentation of Jesus at the Temple in the main-portal tympanum of the Nuremberg Frauenkirche. The presence of an angel is illuminated by the Biblical text from Malachi (3: 1-4) repeatedly sung during the celebratory rites on the day of the Purification of the Virgin.
The same explanation applies to the presence of an angel in the same scene on the carved pews in Cologne and on the Marian reliquary in Tournai Cathedral by Nicholas of Verdun. An analysis of contemporary liturgical sources made it possible to decipher the main "message" of the whole tympanum: the themes of the Coming of Christ, the Temple, and the Sacrifice correspond precisely to the liturgy of the feast of the Purification of the Virgin.
The third station of the candle-lit liturgical procession most probably took place in front of the closed portal depicting the scene of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. This station culminates with the symbolic Coming of Christ into the Temple which this paper designates as the central idea of the analysed relief.
The gate opens and the priest carrying the reliquary ceremoniously enters the durch and begins to celebrate the mass. The priest is accompanied by the believers with lit candles who - just like the wise virgins with oil lamps - wait for the bridegroom to usher them to the wedding feast (Adorna thalamum is sung at this occasion).
They thus express their desce to belong among those whom Christ will find ready at his second coming. The Nuremberg main altar represents an important part of what we call "espace ecclésial." The tympanum is not a mere explanation or reflection of the festive liturgy.
Like the antiphon sung during the mass, this image does not reproduce a specific ritual act. It re-enacts the Biblical event and thus connects the celestial with the earthly.