Saint Anna was the youngest of the three daughters of the priest Matthan, who lived in Bethlehem; his wife, who also came from the tribe of Judah, was called Mary. In total they had three daughters. The eldest Mary was the first to get married in Bethlehem and gave birth to Salome; the second, Sovia, gave birth to Elizabeth, the future mother of John the Baptist, and also remained in the city of her parents. But the younger Anna was married to Joachim from Nazareth in the country of Galilee.
It is known that the couple married very young, but, coming from noble and pious families, from birth they grew up and were brought up in the strictness of the Law of God, and their righteousness was exemplary and sincere. With spiritual wealth, they also had material wealth, but they knew the true value of both: every holiday, observing the commandments of the Law and the customs that flowed from them, Saints Joachim and Anna allocated considerable funds from their property, dividing them, as it should have been, into two parts - one was donated to the temple, the second was distributed to the poor and needy.
However, despite the godly life of Joachim and Anna, the Lord did not immediately realize His great plan for this family - the Nativity of our Lady, the Most Holy Theotokos and the Ever-Virgin Mary, although, as we see, this plan was prepared by Him for many, many generations from generation to generation, from knee to knee. For a long time, the holy parents of the Most Pure One were childless, however, as St. Demetrius of Rostov says, “in the very conception and birth of such a daughter, the power was revealed God's grace, and the honor of the Born, and the dignity of the parents; for it is impossible for a barren and old woman to give birth otherwise than by the power of God’s grace: it is no longer nature that acts here, but God, who conquers the laws of nature and destroys the bonds of infertility.” “Finally,” the saint continues, “through such a birth the dignity of the parents themselves is revealed, since after a long period of infertility they gave birth to joy to the whole world, thereby becoming like the holy patriarch Abraham and his pious wife Sarah, who, according to the promise of God, gave birth to Isaac in old age” (Gen. 21:2). Demetrius of Rostov’s reflections on the miracle of the Virgin’s birth from elderly parents once again confirms the greatest opportunities that a virtuous, God-loving life gives a person, despite any trials sent to him from the Lord: “This dignity (Christmas in their family of the Blessed Virgin Mary. - author) They did not immediately achieve it, but only with diligent fasting and prayers, in spiritual grief and heartfelt sorrow, they begged God for this: and their sorrow turned into joy, and their dishonor was a harbinger of great honor, and the leader’s fervent petition to receive benefits , and prayer is the best intercessor.”
However, the secrets of God, which have not yet been revealed by Him to everyone, people tend to explain to themselves in their own way, according to existing customs and ideas. Everyone around saw that time is running, and the addition to the family of Joachim and Anna never comes. Infertility in the family in those days was tantamount to admitting that there was no God’s favor over this house, since He suddenly decided to stop this family. Childlessness was considered a dishonor, which was so great that when Joachim brought gifts to God to the Jerusalem Temple on a great holiday, Issachar, who was then the high priest of Jerusalem, refused to accept them, saying that since Joachim was still childless, it means that despite his outward piety he had secret sins. Another parishioner also stated that Joachim is not worthy to bring gifts to God, since there are no descendants from him to Israel.
Since ancient times, patriarchs were repeatedly given a promise from God to multiply the people, and the more children there were in the family, the more mercifully God blessed the parents, it was believed. On the other hand, the memory of numerous prophecies about the coming Messiah gave all clans and tribes the opportunity to hope that He would appear in their clan, and those who did not have children were accordingly deprived of such a prospect, and childlessness was considered a punishment, and the childless among the Old Testament Jews they were considered undeniable sinners before God.
Saddened Joachim left the temple. This holiday turned into deep sorrow for him. He did not go home to Anna, who was waiting for him, but into the desert to the shepherds who tended his flocks, and, crying, began to remember all his ancestors, looking for who might have had such a fate, because his line was not interrupted. So, going through his family tribe by tribe, he remembered Abraham and Sarah, who gave birth to Isaac at a very old age, and began to pray to God that He would grant him such joy - to have a child, no matter how old he becomes, and thus revealed His favor to him. For forty days Saint Joachim prayed and fasted on the same water, and made a vow that he would not eat and would not return to his home, remaining alone among the flocks, until God, by His will, showed him mercy and gave a sign that the dishonor had been removed from him. Houses.
And Saint Anna, joyfully awaiting her husband home with holiday service, received completely different, bitter news: the high priest did not accept their gifts, and their husband withdrew into the desert, and all this because of their long-term infertility. Crying inconsolably, the poor woman did not even know which suffering to recognize as greater: rejection by God, unexpected orphanhood, for her husband was her entire family, as custom dictated, or infertility - she considered all the guilt for the lack of children in her marriage with Joachim to be her own.
According to legend, fifty years passed this way. The holy righteous Joachim prayed and fasted in the desert, and the holy righteous Anna lived as best she could with her maid Judith, who, although she tried to somehow console her mistress, understood that human words are powerless where only the word of God can decide everything. People avoided her house because a woman lived there in double dishonor: childless, abandoned by God and abandoned by her husband.
Once, already in old age, Saint Anna went out into her garden and sat down under a large laurel, on which birds had built a nest, and the chicks were already chirping there, and their parents were fluttering above them. The little bird's happiness touched her so much, so stirred up all her many years of grief that in complete despair she again turned to God with tears and prayer, complaining that, in the eyes of God, she was probably the most sinful of women. Her gifts to God are not accepted by the high priests in the temple, and people turn away from her, and since she is barren, it means that it is not pleasing to the Lord for the people of Israel to multiply from her. But, perhaps, since He once gave a son to ninety-year-old Sarah, that once upon a time, for many years, childless Anna, the wife of a certain Elkanah, prayed to God for offspring, promising that if she gave birth, she would give the child to serve Him, and found joy , having given birth to the prophet Samuel (I Samuel 1:9–18), then the Lord will not leave her. And, crying and praying, holy righteous Anna made a vow that if, according to the will of God, a Child was born to her, she would bring him as a gift to God.
As soon as righteous Anna uttered the words of her sacred vow, an Angel of the Lord appeared to her, who brought the news that, as St. Demetrius of Rostov writes beautifully and inspiredly: “...Your prayer was heard, your sighs passed through the clouds, your tears appeared before God, and you will conceive and give birth to a most blessed Daughter; through Her all the tribes of the earth will receive blessings and salvation will be granted to the whole world; her name will be Mary.” To which, having bowed to God, Anna replied that when the child is born, she will give him to serve God. "Let it serve Him and glorify holy name God is day and night all the time of his life.”
With a long-forgotten feeling of indescribable joy, holy righteous Anna hurried to the Jerusalem Temple, where in the house of God she bowed to Him for His great mercy towards her.
At the same time, when the Messenger of God appeared to Anna, he also appeared to the holy righteous Joachim in the desert and announced that joy awaited him - they would have a daughter, whose birth would be a joy for the whole world. The angel ordered Joachim to immediately go to Jerusalem, where at the Golden Gate he would meet his wife Anna, who was told the same thing.
Amazed and delighted, Joachim hurried to Jerusalem and met his wife Anna where the Angel showed him. After exchanging stories about the angelic visit, the couple praised God in the temple and went home. On December 9/22, the Conception of Righteous Anna took place, which we now celebrate among other holidays. On September 8/21, the promised joy to the world happened - the righteous Anna gave birth to a Daughter, the Blessed Virgin Mary. The holy righteous Joachim hurried to the Temple of Jerusalem, where, thanking God with all his heart, from the depths of his soul, he brought gifts, sacrifices, burnt offerings to God, and all the high priests, all the clergy blessed him. Then in his house he arranged a plentiful and rich meal, distributed great alms to the poor, and everyone who had previously turned away from their home rejoiced with him and his wife Anna.
The young Virgin, holy righteous Anna and righteous Joachim, remembering given to God The vow and words of the Angel about Her great purpose were cherished and raised in piety, feeling the wondrous grace emanating from the Ever-Virgin, who grew up as an amazing child, quickly maturing beyond her years. When the Virgin Mary was three years old, the time came for the Entry into the temple, where her parents reverently escorted Her to serve God, as they had promised. After a short time, holy righteous Joachim appeared before God; he was 80 years old. After the death of her husband, Holy Righteous Anna left Nazareth, came to the Jerusalem Temple and lived with her Most Pure Daughter, praying to God, and left this world, outliving her husband by two years. We commemorate her Dormition on July 25/August 7.
Their remains were laid to rest on the edge of the Valley of Jehoshaphat, which lay between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives. There the tomb of the Mother of God was later built and Joseph the Betrothed was buried.
Veneration of Saint Righteous Anna after life
The first small monastery - a monastery in honor of the holy righteous Anna was built on Holy Athos, and this is one of the most ancient Athonite monasteries, but at that warlike time it was repeatedly destroyed by sea pirates. In the 17th century, the monastery was restored and strengthened by Patriarch Dionysius of Constantinople, who by that time had acquired the foot of Saint Righteous Anna. Here in 1680 he built the cathedral church of the Dormition of St. Anna, and since then the monastery has been named after the Most Pure Mother and is famous on Mount Athos for the special exploits of the monks who labor there. Next to it is the New Skete of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or “Little Anna,” which emphasizes the special grace, the feeling of priesthood, spilled over those places that carry the sacred invisible presence of the connection between the conception of St. Anna and the Nativity of her Most Pure Daughter.
In the 6th century, under the holy blessed king Justinian, a temple was erected in her honor in Deftera on the island of Cyprus, in the 17th century XVIII centuries It was renewed by Emperor Justinian II after the holy righteous Anna appeared in a dream to his pregnant wife. Then her holy relics and the veil in which they were wrapped were transferred with honor to Constantinople.
Meaning of the icon
The love of both parents for their child, be it a daughter or a son, is always important for the mutual completeness necessary for his happy growth. However, it is not without reason that maternal love has been deified in all nations since the beginning of time, and a mother’s prayer is no other prayer stronger than her holy request for children. And although the icons of the Mother of God “Holy Righteous Anna with the Infant Mary” are more common, where the Intercessor is shown in Her infancy with both parents, there are ancient lists where only the righteous mother and her Most Pure Daughter are depicted.
On this list, its composition is completely similar to the composition of the Mother of God icons, where the Virgin is depicted as the Mother of God with the Infant Jesus in her arms, and this image is clearly similar in typology to the oldest image of Her “Eleus” - “Tenderness”. Just as sadly, righteous Anna bows to the face of the Infant Mary, foreseeing with maternal intuition all the earthly labors of her Daughter and remembering the vow given to God: her long-awaited, later and only Child is destined for Him; Just as touchingly Mary’s baby cheek clung to Her mother’s cheek, She looks just as understandingly and comfortingly at her mother’s face, holding in her small hand a blue flower - a symbol of Her ever-present Divine Heavenly purity and chastity. Traditionally, the Mother of God blue color in the robe of the Infant Mary, nobly combined with emerald, symbolizing life, first of all, life in the Spirit, taught by Christ to the disciples (on the Trinity holiday, the clergy are dressed in green clothes), emphasizes Her status as the Ever-Virgin. The golden stars on the omophorion on the forehead and shoulders - indicate Her as the Mother of God, being an indispensable detail of Her images.
The omophorion of righteous Anna on the most ancient lists was predominantly depicted in scarlet, but, thanks to the capabilities of Kuznetsov’s dotting technique, in the floral ornament of her robe the same Virgin Mary cabbage roll and gold were added as a sign of involvement in her Divine chosenness in the series of Christ’s ancestors in the flesh from the royal house of David .
The fields of Kuznetsov's icons always not only absorb all the color of the pre-lich and continue the ornamental style chosen by the icon painter for a given image. They inherit the emotional and event symbolic series. Rondos with floral patterns of gold, ruby, and sapphire tones inscribed in them, located around the holy mother and her Most Pure Daughter, seem to be three-dimensional spheres. They soar like angelic ethereal creatures, as if welcoming and protecting the Divine duo. A multi-valued image, voluminous in feeling and meaning, repeating the ancient drawings, but re-voiced through the color and ornamental techniques of the new in the technique of icon painting, opens up to us, and the soul prayerfully opens up to meet it.
Saint Anna, the mother of the Most Holy Theotokos, was the youngest daughter of the priest Matthan from Bethlehem, who came from the tribe of Levi, the clan of Aaron, and his wife Mary, from the tribe of Judah. Her parents had three daughters: Maria, Sovia and Anna. Of these, Mary was the first to marry in Bethlehem and gave birth to Salome; then Sovia married, also in Bethlehem, and gave birth to Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist; the third, Anna, the future mother of the Most Holy Theotokos, married Joachim, who was from Gaul, in the city of Nazareth.
The holy righteous Joachim, son of Barpaphir, was a descendant of King David, to whom God promised that the Messiah, the Savior of the world, would be born from the seed of his descendants. His genealogy is as follows: David’s son Nathan gave birth to a son, Levi, Levi gave birth to Melchia and Panfir, Panfir gave birth to Varpafir, and Varpafir gave birth to Joachim, the father of the Mother of God.
The couple lived in Nazareth of Galilee (northern part of Palestine) and dreamed of children all their lives, but, by the special Providence of God, Saint Anna was barren for a long time. They led a righteous life, they were united by tender love. Every year they gave two-thirds of their income to the Jerusalem Temple and to the poor.
Joachim and Anna did not have children until they were very old, and all their lives they grieved and cried about it. They had to endure contempt and ridicule, since at that time childlessness was considered a shame. Throughout the 50 years of their marriage, the couple only fervently prayed to God, humbly trusting in His Will.
One day, during a great holiday, the gifts that the righteous Joachim took to Jerusalem to bring them to God were not accepted by the priest Reuben, who believed that a childless husband was not worthy to make a sacrifice to God. This greatly saddened the old man, and he, considering himself the most sinful of people, decided not to return home, but to settle alone in a deserted place. He decided to spend 40 days and nights in fasting and prayer, begging the Lord for mercy.
His righteous wife Anna considered herself the main culprit of the grief that befell them. Having learned about her husband’s act, she also began, through fasting and prayer, to mournfully ask God to give her a child, promising to bring the born child as a gift to God.
And the prayer of the holy spouses was heard: an Angel appeared to both of them and announced that a Daughter would be born to them, Who would bless the entire human race.
The conception of Saint Anna took place on the ninth day of December in Jerusalem (on this day - December 9 (22)- The Orthodox Church celebrates Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary by Righteous Anna), and on September 8 she gave birth to a daughter, the Most Pure and Most Blessed Virgin Mary, at whose birth both heaven and earth rejoiced. On the occasion of Her birth, Joachim brought great gifts, sacrifices and burnt offerings to God and received the blessing of the high priest, priests, Levites and all the people for being worthy of God’s blessing. Then he arranged a rich meal in his house, and everyone glorified God with joy.
Her parents took care of the growing Virgin Mary like the apple of their eye, knowing, by a special revelation of God, that She would be the light of the whole world and the renewal of human nature. Therefore, they raised Her with such careful prudence as befitted One Who was to be the Mother of the Savior of the world. They loved Her not only as a daughter, long awaited, but also revered Her as their mistress, remembering the Angelic words spoken about Her, and foreseeing in spirit what would happen to Her. She, filled with Divine grace, mysteriously enriched her parents with the same grace. Just as the sun illuminates the stars of heaven with its rays, giving them particles of its light, so God’s chosen Mary, like the sun, illuminated Joachim and Anna with the rays of the grace given to her, so that they too were filled with the Spirit of God, and firmly believed in the fulfillment of the Angel’s words .
Up to three years of age Holy Mary lived in the house of her parents, and then was solemnly brought by Saints Joachim and Anna to the Temple of the Lord, where she was raised until she came of age.
Several years after the introduction of Mary into the temple, Saint Joachim died at the age of 80. Saint Anna, remaining a widow, left Nazareth and came to Jerusalem, where she remained near her Most Holy Daughter, praying incessantly in the temple of God. After living in Jerusalem for two years, she died peacefully at the age of 79, before the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The glory of the Daughter was revealed to her in eternal life.
Joachim and Anna are buried near the future tomb of their daughter, as well as the grave of Joseph the Betrothed, in the Garden of Gethsemane, under the Mount of Olives, near Jerusalem. These tombs were located on the edge of the Valley of Jehoshaphat, which lay between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives.
The dignity and holiness of the righteous Joachim and AnnaThe advanced age of the righteous spouses shows that the birth of their Daughter was an act of special Providence of God. In the very Conception and Birth of such a Daughter was revealed And the power of God's grace, and the honor of the Born and the dignity of the parents; for it is impossible for a barren and old woman to give birth otherwise than by the power of God’s grace: it is no longer nature that acts here, but God, who defeats the laws of nature and destroys the bonds of infertility.
To be born from barren and elderly parents is a great honor for the one born herself, because she is born not from incontinent parents, but from abstinent and elderly ones, such as Joachim and Anna, who lived in marriage for 50 years and had no children. Finally, through such a birth the dignity of the parents themselves is revealed, since after a long period of infertility they gave birth to joy to the whole world, to which the holy patriarch Abraham and his pious wife Sarah, who, according to the promise of God, gave birth to Isaac in old age, were likened (Gen. 21:2). However, without a doubt, it can be said that the Nativity of the Virgin Mary is higher than the birth of Isaac by Abraham and Sarah. How much Virgo born Mary is higher and more worthy of honor than Isaac, just as the dignity of Joachim and Anna is greater and higher than that of Abraham and Sarah. They did not immediately achieve this dignity, but only through diligent fasting and prayers, in spiritual grief and in heartfelt sorrow, they begged God for this: and their sorrow turned into joy, and their dishonor was a harbinger of great honor, and the diligent petition of the leader to receive benefits, and prayer is the best intercessor.
The holy righteous Joachim and Anna are called "Godfathers" because they are the direct ancestors of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Saints Anna and Jacob did not perform a miracle, did not suffer martyrdom or venerable deeds. They bore other sorrows - the sorrow of fruitless loneliness, and patient hope in God, which they would carry until old age. With patience and hope, the righteous Anna and Joachim acquired their treasure in earthly life. Patience and hope culminated in the joy of Christmas and became the guarantee of eternal joy in God. And Christ the Savior commands us: “Through your patience save your souls”(Luke 21:19).
Traditionally, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary pray for the gift of children.
Troparion of the Righteous Saints Joachim and Anna
Those who were righteous in the grace of the law,
Joachim and Anna gave birth to the God-given child.
Meanwhile today the light triumphs,
joyfully celebrating the divine Church,
your honest memory,
glorifying God, who raised up the horn of salvation for us in the house of David.
Troparion of Righteous Anna, tone 4
You, the Pure Mother of God, God-wise Anno, bore the life that you gave birth to in your womb. Moreover, you have now reposed in heavenly acceptance, where those who rejoice are the dwelling place, rejoicing in glory, honoring you with the love of sins, asking for cleansing, ever-blessed.
Prayer to the holy righteous Joachim and Anna
O holy righteous woman, Godfathers Joachim and Anno! Pray to the Merciful Lord, that He may turn away His anger from us, righteously moved against us by our deeds, and may, despising our countless sins, turn us, the servant of God (names), to the path of repentance, and may He establish us on the path of His commandments. Also, with your prayers in the world, save our life, and in all good things, ask for good haste, all that we need from God for life and piety, from all misfortunes and troubles and sudden death, through your intercession, delivering us and protecting us from all enemies, visible and invisible, and So in the world this temporary life has passed. Let us achieve eternal rest, where through your holy prayer may we be worthy of the Heavenly Kingdom of Christ our God, to Him, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, due all glory, honor and worship forever and ever. Amen.
Image No. 6758 (20.5X53 cm. Wood, tempera, gilding with carvings, enamel.)
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(15X20 cm. Wood, tempera, gilding of the ark, assists, miniature.) Saints Joachim and Anna did not have children until old age, but they did not lose heart and prayed to God to give them a child. For their righteous life, the Lord made them the parents of the Most Holy Theotokos. This icon shows the tenderness and joy of the holy parents about their Daughter - the Most Pure Virgin Mary.
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(21X28 cm. Wood, gesso, pavolok, tempera, gilding.) This rare iconography It is also called the “Tree of Jesse.” This icon is the genealogy of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Jesse - the father of King David, from whose family came Joachim (father of the Mother of God) "The rod from the root of Jesse" - calls the Church the Most Holy Theotokos, and Christ - the color of this rod. Here we see the head of this genealogy, Jesse, lying on the ground, from which grows a tree - the life of the entire subsequent generation. In temple paintings, holy prophets and forefathers - the ancestors of the Mother of God - are often depicted in the buds of this tree. On the icon painted in our workshop, this iconography is executed in an abbreviated version, where the Lady Mary is depicted only with Her parents - Joachim and Anna.
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(15X20 cm. Wood, gesso, pavolok, tempera, gilding.) The icon of the holy parents of the Mother of God - the patrons of marriage - will be a wonderful gift for a young couple. Saints Joachim and Anna did not have children for a long time and grieved greatly about this. But for their righteousness, the Lord honored them in their old age to become the parents of She through whom God Himself became incarnate. Joachim and Anna are called holy godfathers, as relatives of Christ in the flesh. Saints were revered as helpers in resolving marital infertility.
This article contains: prayer to St. Anne the Mother of God - information taken from all over the world, the electronic network and spiritual people.
Saint Anna mother of the Virgin Mary. August 7 – Dormition of Righteous Anna, Mother of the Virgin Mary
The Most Pure Virgin Mary, who, by the will of God, gave the Messiah to the world of people, is revered in Russian Orthodox Church, and in Christianity as a whole, almost on a par with Jesus. It is not for nothing that she is called an intercessor, an intercessor, because the Mother of God is able to convey any prayer to the Creator, to help when there is no hope for improving the situation, avoiding danger, or healing the disease. Meanwhile, the holy parents of the Most Pure One: Joachim and Anna also enjoy special veneration among believers. On August 7, the Church celebrates the Dormition of Righteous Anna, Mother of the Virgin Mary.
The life and personality of Saint Righteous Anna, Mother of the Virgin Mary
The Mother of the Most Holy Theotokos was born into the family of the priest Matthan from Bethlehem and Mary, his wife. The latter came from the tribe of Levi, the clan of Aaron. Almost nothing is known about the childhood and youth of the righteous woman, but it is clear that she grew up in an atmosphere of deep religiosity and fear of God, taking into account the specific nature of the activity of the father of the saint of God. When the time came, righteous Anna married Joachim, a man originally from Gaul. They lived in perfect harmony, but both spouses were saddened by one circumstance: the couple could not have children. In those days, childlessness was considered a shame, so Joachim and Anna were continually subjected to ridicule and public contempt. We must give them their due: the couple did not grumble, but only fervently prayed to the Lord to grant them the happiness of becoming parents, showing absolute humility before the will of the Almighty.
Thus passed 50 years of their life together. One day during the holiday, Joachim went to Jerusalem to bring gifts to God. Imagine his disappointment and sorrow when the Israeli priest rejected his husband’s offerings, citing the latter’s childlessness as the reason for his refusal: supposedly, a person who does not have children is not worthy to show his respect and love to the Creator in this way. The elder, plunged into deep sadness, did not return home, but settled in the desert, where, observing strict fasting, he spent days and nights in prayer to God for the gift of a baby to him and his wife. Righteous Anna, having learned how her husband was humiliated in Jerusalem, followed his example: she retired into seclusion and began to constantly pray to God through fasting for deliverance from infertility.
The common prayer of Joachim and Anna was heard by the Lord many years later. An angel appeared to them and told the couple about the imminent birth of their daughter, who would be blessed by the entire human race. Having heard the prophetic words, righteous Anna vowed to dedicate to God the child that would be born to her, so that she would serve the Lord faithfully. The conception of the child took place in Jerusalem, and the birth of the long-awaited baby also took place there. On this occasion, Joachim again went to Jerusalem and this time, without obstacles, he brought gifts to the Creator, favorably received and approved by the local priest. Afterwards, he organized a celebration in his house with a hearty meal in honor of the fulfillment of his and his wife’s main desire by the merciful God.
Maria's parents loved her very much. They protected her in every possible way and raised her in love for the Lord, so that the prophecy announced by the Angel would be fulfilled in due time. The love of Joachim and Anna for their daughter was twofold: on the one hand, the spouses experienced tender feelings for their child, which should be felt for an offspring; on the other hand, they revered the future Mother of God like a mistress, understanding that she was chosen by the Creator to carry out a great mission. Mary responded to her parents in complete reciprocity, bestowing them with her grace.
When the baby reached the age of three, Anna and Joachim took her to the temple of God in order to fulfill the promise they once made to the Creator to dedicate the child given to them to serve the Creator. About this wonderful and in many ways significant event reminds us every time big Christian holiday entitled "Introduction of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple." Since then, the future Mother of God remained in the house of God in the care of the clergy, where, one might say, she was preparing to fulfill her great destiny.
Dormition of Righteous Anna
A couple of years after the Entry of young Mary into the temple, the Father of the Most Pure One died. He was 80 years old at that time. Left a widow, righteous Anna left Nazareth for Jerusalem, to the temple, where her daughter was henceforth raised. The saint prayed to the Creator day and night and was next to her extraordinary child. She lived like this for two years and then died at the age of 70. The said temple was renovated soon after this event by order of Emperor Justinian II. The reason was a dream that the ruler’s pregnant wife had: in it she saw Saint Anne. Justinian also ordered the body of the Mother of God and her maforium (veil) to be transferred to the Byzantine capital - Constantinople.
Thus, if you believe church tradition, the dormition of Saint Anna occurred even before the Annunciation. As a result, the glory of her daughter, who was honored to become the mother of the Messiah, was revealed to the righteous woman only in eternal life, “in the next world.” Why does the Church consider Anna herself a saint? She did not suffer from mortal torment for Christ, did not perform feats that are characteristic of people leading an ascetic lifestyle, and did not heal the sick. Here is something else: righteous Anna, during her earthly existence, experienced purely feminine sorrows. And she deserved to be canonized by the unshakable patience and persistent, unceasing hope she demonstrated during her life. The latter were crowned with the joy of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, although tasted towards the end of existence, in old age. However, this is exactly what Jesus Christ commanded us, saying: “Through your patience save your souls” (Luke 21:19).
How and what to pray to a saint
Righteous Anna helps in many life situations. Mostly women turn to her in prayer. The main requests of the saint are addressed to those representatives of the fair sex who suffer from infertility.
There are icons depicting righteous Anna holding the Blessed Virgin Mary in her arms as an infant. One of these images, a very old one, was in the village of Minkovitsy, Dubensky district, Volyn diocese. The very feast of the Dormition of Righteous Anna, the mother of the Mother of God, has been revered by pregnant women from time immemorial.
You can pray to the saint in your own words, but it is better to read special prayers in front of her icon at home every day. The text of the latter is given below.
Troparion of Righteous Anna, tone 4
You bore the life that you gave birth to in your womb, the Pure Mother of God, / God-wise Anno. / Moreover, to heavenly acceptance, where the merry dwelling is, / rejoicing in glory, you now reposed, / to those who honor you with love / asking for cleansing of sins, / / ever-blessed.
Kontakion of Righteous Anna, tone 2
We celebrate the memory of the ancestors of Christ, / those who faithfully ask for help, / to deliver everyone from all sorrow, calling // Our God is with us, glorify these, as you have been pleased.
Particles of the relics of St. Anne are found in many churches in different countries.
Holy Righteous Anna, Mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Memorial Day 22.12 AD. Art. (09.12 old style), 07.08 new style (25.07 old style), 22.09 new style (09.09 old style)
Her husband, holy righteous Joachim, was from the tribe of Judah, from the house of King David. According to an ancient promise, the Messiah was to come from the line of David. The couple lived in Nazareth of Galilee. Every year they gave two-thirds of their income to the Jerusalem Temple and the poor. By the special providence of God, the holy couple had no children until their old age. The couple grieved greatly over this, since childlessness among the Jews was considered a grave misfortune and a punishment from God. The saints fervently prayed for the granting of offspring to them.
On one of the holidays, when the Israelites brought gifts to God to the Jerusalem Temple, the high priest, believing that the childless Joachim did not have God’s blessing, refused to accept them from him. Saint Joachim was deeply upset. He turned to the genealogy of the twelve tribes of Israel and made sure that all the righteous men had offspring, including the hundred-year-old Abraham. Without returning home, Saint Joachim went into the desert and spent forty days there in strict fasting and prayer, calling upon himself the mercy of God and washing away his dishonor with bitter tears.
With the same gospel, an Angel appeared to Saint Joachim in the desert and commanded him to go to Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, holy righteous Anna conceived the Blessed Child and gave birth to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Until the age of three, the Most Holy Mary lived in the house of her parents, and then she was solemnly brought by Saints Joachim and Anna to the Temple of the Lord, where she was raised until she came of age.
Soon after the introduction of the Most Holy Theotokos into the temple, the 80-year-old elder Joachim died. Saint Anna survived him by two years and departed to the Lord at the age of 79. The advanced age of the righteous spouses shows that the birth of their Daughter was the action of the special Providence of God.
The Church calls Joachim and Anna Godfathers, for they were the ancestors of Jesus Christ in the flesh, and every day on vacation Divine service asks for their prayers for the believers leaving the temple.
At the end of the 10th century on St. Mount Athos The monastery of St. Anna was built - the most ancient of all Athonite monasteries. Devastated for many years by sea robbers, it was restored in the 17th century. Patriarch of Constantinople Dionysius, who acquired the foot of the holy righteous Anna from the Christians of Asia Minor. In 1680, a cathedral church was erected there in memory of the Dormition of St. Anne. From that time on, the monastery began to bear the name “St. Anna”. It is famous on Mount Athos for the high ascetic deeds of its monks.
Not far from the skete of St. Anna there is the so-called New Skete of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary or “Little Anna”. The proximity of these blessed places emphasizes the connection between the sacred events of the conception and birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Glorification of the Dormition of Righteous Anna:
Troparion for the Feast of the Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary by Righteous Anna, tone 4
(Sotiris Kadas. Holy Mount Athos. Monasteries and their treasures. - Athens, 2006).
“Both of them were righteous before God, walking according to all the commandments
and the statutes of the Lord without blame” (Luke 1:6).
When they have done all this, they should invite a priest to their house so that he can perform a water-blessing prayer service in the house and blessed water they should also pour in the holy water that was consecrated at the relics of St. Anna.
monastery Rostov the Great.
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Prayer to Saint Anne
Iconographically, the sacred image of the holy righteous Anna resembles “The Virgin and Child”. In her arms the saint holds her God-blessed Daughter. In the akathist the saint is named “who saves those who resort to her from all sorts of troubles”. They especially pray to her for the gift of children. She is a comforter for those who are unfairly reviled and humiliated.
Saint Anne helps with illnesses. They ask her for deliverance from a vain and arrogant death. The saint's prayer helps to find a way out of life's misadventures. Joachim and Saint Righteous Anna are ordered to pray during natural disasters.
Prayer to Saint Righteous Anna
Saint Anne
O holy righteous woman, Godfathers Joachim and Anno! Pray to the Merciful Lord, that He may turn away His anger from us, righteously moved against us by our deeds, and may, despising our countless sins, turn us, the servant of God (names), to the path of repentance, and may He establish us on the path of His commandments.
Also, with your prayers in the world, save our life, and in all good things, ask for good haste, all that we need from God for life and piety, from all misfortunes and troubles and sudden death, through your intercession, delivering us and protecting us from all enemies, visible and invisible, and So in the world this temporary life has passed.
Let us achieve eternal rest, where through your holy prayer may we be worthy of the Heavenly Kingdom of Christ our God, to whom, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be due all glory, honor and worship forever and ever.
Prayer to Saint Anne, mother of the Virgin Mary
Holy Righteous Anna
About the ever-glorifying righteous women of Christ, the holy Godfathers Joachim and Anno, who stand before the heavenly throne of the Great King and have great boldness towards Him, as from your Most Blessed Daughter, the Most Pure Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, who deigned to be incarnate, to you, as a powerful intercessor and zealous intercessors for us, We resort to sin and unworthiness.
Pray for His goodness, that He may turn away His anger from us, righteously moved towards us by our deeds, and may, having despised our countless sins, turn us to the path of repentance and may He establish us on the path of His commandments.
Also, with your prayers, preserve our life in the world and ask for all good haste, everything that we need from God for life and piety, from all misfortunes and troubles and vain deaths, through your intercession, delivering us, and protecting us from all enemies, visible and invisible. , for let us live a quiet and silent life in all piety and purity, and so in the world this temporary life has passed, we will achieve eternal peace, where by your holy prayer, may we be made worthy of the Heavenly Kingdom of Christ our God, to Him, together with the Father and the Most Holy Spirit, all glory is due , honor and worship forever and ever. Amen.
Saint Anne Mother of God prayer
A pleasing root that grew the former fruitful and ever-blooming - the revered Mother of God, from Her came the Author of life and the Finisher of faith, Jesus Christ, a multi-flowing source, from Her came forth like a stream of sweetness and a river of peace, Blessed among women, flowing an abyss of blessings and an ineffable sea of goodness and endless bliss.
The predestined womb is incomparably brighter than the rays of the sun, She received her sight and preached prophetic trumpets. Known from Her Fruit, the Queen of Angels and the highest being of heaven, as the chosen vessel of the Holy Spirit and the clearest receptacle of grace.
The image of righteousness and blameless life and wisdom is a fragrant and sweetly fragrant meadow. Fulfilling the lawful commands in rightness of heart and burning reverence and with all diligence with her blessed husband and God-bearer Joachim. By divine will, she conceived in old age and gave birth to the predestined Mother of God.
Pramati of the All-Merciful and All-Beneficent God, ready intercession and intercession of those who come running to you with faith, consolation of the suffering and peace to the sorrowing, by the grace of your Grandson showing childless and barren wives to be gracious, accept the prayer of us sinners and turn the sadness of the childlessness of those praying to you into joy.
To her, blessed and gracious Anna, to all, like the brightest moon, sending the peaceful and quiet light of the God-given talents in you, who appeared to Sarah the most honest, Anna to the mother of Samuel the brightest, Elizabeth the most glorious and all the righteous wives, whom the law glorifies, the most honest and as if from this there is much honor and worthy of grace, fill the hearts of those who come running to you with joy and gladness and give grace to your servant who receives your immediate help, opening her womb, so that through your intercession and intercession she may improve the conception of a child and glorify the all-holy Name of the God-man - your Grandson and our Savior Jesus Christ.
To Him belongs all glory, honor and worship, together with His Beginning Father and His Most Holy and Good and Life-Giving Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Embroidered icons
Prayer to Ambrose of Optina
Prayers to Anna Mother of God
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Prayers to Anna, the Mother of God, are considered one of the most effective and powerful. All this is associated with the fact that Anna was the mother of the Virgin Mary. People approach her with various requests. During her life, the woman also experienced some unpleasant moments and that is why she tries to help all those who really need her help. Each person who asks has his own reason, but many say that prayers to St. Anne, the Mother of God, do not go unheeded.
Anna and Joachim
She was the youngest daughter of a priest from the Aaronic family. Her husband Joachim was an heir from the line of David. The legend said that it was in the line of David that the Messiah would appear. The couple lived in Nazareth of Galilee. Having lived to a ripe old age, there were no children in the family. For Jews, childlessness was considered the most terrible punishment. They were very sad about this. They constantly prayed for the gift of children. Every year they gave part of their income to the poor and to the temple.
One day, on a big holiday, Joachim came to the temple and wanted to give a gift. But the priest did not take him, believing that he did not have God’s blessing. He studied his pedigree right up to the 12th generation and was convinced that everyone had offspring except him. Frustrated, he went into the desert, where he stayed for 40 days. There he adhered to strict fasting and constantly prayed.
In turn, his wife also considered herself to be the culprit of the grief that befell them. One day she saw a nest with chicks on a branch of a laurel tree. She leaned on a branch and began to tearfully pray that the Lord would look at her and give her a child. In return, she promised to bring it as a gift to the Lord. Before she could fully pronounce the words of the vow, an angel appeared before her, bringing the good news that she would become a mother. The girl will be called Mary and through her all the tribes of the world will be blessed. After such news, Anna hurried to the Jerusalem Temple, where she thanked God and repeated her vow once again.
The angel brought the same news to Joachim. He said that he should return to Jerusalem, where the Blessed Virgin Mary was eventually born. Until the age of three, the girl lived with her parents, but then she was brought to the Temple of the Lord to serve.
Veneration of St. Anne
Appearance of this child was truly a divine miracle, since at that time Anna and Joachim were very old people. Soon after Mary was transferred to the monastery, her parents died.
At this time, the church considers them to be ancestors. The Feast of Conception is considered especially revered among women who want to get pregnant. The monastery of St. Anne was built on Mount Athos in the 10th century. Over time, a cathedral church was erected there in her honor. Not far from it is the so-called “New Skete” or Little Anna. The days of remembrance of this saint are:
How does the icon of Joachim and Anna help?
Most often this icon is approached with the following requests:
- About the gift of children.
- About marital unity.
- About curing infertility.
- About every family need.
In our time, the relics of St. Anna, the Mother of God, are located in: various churches and monasteries in Greece, the Valaam Monastery, Athos monasteries. Many pilgrims flock to these places to venerate and pray for help and intercession.
Prayers to Anna the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary
There is a specific text for this prayer. Where, when and how to read it is everyone's choice. If you decide to do this at home, then you must do it in front of the image of this saint. You can also light a candle.
Oh, holy righteous women, Godfathers Joachim and Anno! Pray to the Merciful Lord, that He may turn away His anger from us, righteously moved against us by our deeds, and may, despising our countless sins, turn us, the servants of God (name), to the path of repentance, and may He establish us on the path of His commandments.
Also, with your prayers in the world, save our life, and in all good things ask for good haste, all that we need from God for life and piety, freeing us from all misfortunes and troubles and sudden death through your intercession, and protecting us from all enemies, visible and invisible, and so this temporary life in the world has passed, we will achieve eternal peace, where through your holy prayer may we be worthy of the Heavenly Kingdom of Christ our God, to Him, together with the Father and the Most Holy Spirit, befits all glory, honor and worship forever and ever.
About the ever-glorifying righteous women of Christ, the holy Godfathers Joachim and Anno, who stand before the Heavenly Throne of the Great King and have great boldness towards Him, as from your Most Blessed Daughter, the Most Pure Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, who deigned to be incarnated to you, as a powerful intercessor and zealous intercessor for us, we resort to sins and unworthiness. Pray for His goodness, that He may turn away His anger from us, righteously moved towards us by our deeds, and may, having despised our countless sins, turn us to the path of repentance and may He establish us on the path of His commandments.
Also, with your prayers, preserve our life in the world and ask for all good haste, everything that we need from God for life and piety, from all misfortunes and troubles, and vain deaths, through your intercession, delivering us, and from all enemies visible and invisible protecting, as if we may live a quiet and silent life in all piety and purity, and so in the world this temporary life has passed, we will achieve eternal peace, where, through your holy prayer, we may be worthy of the Heavenly Kingdom of Christ our God, to which, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, all befits glory, honor and worship forever and ever. Amen.
Prayer to the Holy Mother of God Anna, resolving the bonds of childlessness and infertility:
A pleasing root that grew the former fruitful and ever-blooming - the revered Mother of God, from Her came the Author of life and the Finisher of faith, Jesus Christ, a multi-flowing source, from nothing else, like a stream of sweetness and a river of peace Blessed in women, flowing an abyss of blessings and an ineffable sea of goodness and infinity bliss.
The predestined womb is incomparably brighter than the rays of the sun, even having received its sight and preached prophetic trumpets. Known from her Fruit, the Queen of Angels and the highest being of heaven, as the chosen vessel of the Holy Spirit and the clearest receptacle of grace. The image of righteousness and blameless life and wisdom is a fragrant and sweetly fragrant meadow. Fulfilling the lawful commands in rightness of heart and burning reverence and with all diligence with her blessed husband and God-bearer Joachim.
By divine will, she conceived in old age and gave birth to the predestined Mother of God. Pramati of the all-merciful and all-generous God, ready intercession and intercession of those who come running to you with faith, consolation of the suffering and peace to the grieving, by the grace of your Grandson showing childless and barren wives to be gracious, accept the prayer of us sinners and turn the sadness of the childlessness of those praying to you into joy.
Give the fruit of the womb to those who call upon you, resolving the darkness of their infertility and, as the resolution of infertility, create blessed wives who please you and glorify the God-man - your Grandson and Creator and Lord.
To Him belongs all glory, honor and worship, together with His beginningless Father and His all-holy, good and life-giving Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
The Gospel says nothing about parents Holy Virgin Maria. The silence of the Holy Scriptures is filled with riches apocryphal literature, thanks to which their names are known: this is the Proto-Gospel of James, written c. 150, the Gospel of pseudo-Matthew of the 6th century, also the Book of the Nativity of Mary, dating back to the 8th century. The first of the mentioned apocrypha deserves the greatest attention, since it comes from the very origins of Christianity, due to which it may contain grains of truth preserved by tradition.
Anna came from a Bethlehem priestly family. Hebrew name"Anna" means "grace, mercy." From the 4th century to this day in Jerusalem they show the place where the house of Joachim and Anna stood. On this site stands a temple, the third one built by the Crusaders.
St. Joachim was probably from Galilee and came from a wealthy and noble family. His very name carried a prophetic meaning, for it meant “Preparation for the Lord.” He died when Maria was still a child. Together with St. Anna is the patron saint of married couples.
The Proto-Gospel of Jacob conveys that Joachim and Anna were childless. The couple prayed in vain and made generous donations to the temple in order to ask for a child. Joachim, already in old age, retired to the desert and spent 40 days there in prayer and fasting to beg this mercy from the Lord God. And then an Angel appeared to him and announced that his prayers had been heard and that his wife Anna would give birth to a child who would be a joy to the whole world. And so it happened. At the birth of the beloved daughter, who, according to custom, was given the name “Mary” on the fifteenth day, among the many meanings of which one can single out the meaning of “Lady,” the closest relatives were present. A joyful celebration was celebrated on the anniversary of this birth. When the girl was 3 years old, according to a vow, she was dedicated to serving God and sent to be raised in a temple, where she grew up among her peers, practicing prayer, singing, and reading Holy Scripture and embroidery of priestly vestments. Joachim died in the meantime. Anna, according to one legend, married twice more after that.
Cult of St. Joachim and Anna is very ancient and living throughout the Church, both in the East and in the West. As the cult of the Mother of God spread, public veneration of Her parents also increased. Already in the IV-V centuries. in Jerusalem, near the former bath of Bethesda, there was a church dedicated to Sts. Joachim and Anna. The temple on this site still exists today. Even, according to legend, their tomb should be located here. Another place of their burial is indicated on the Mount of Olives. Emperor Justinian erected in Constantinople c. 550 basilica in honor of St. Anna. In the East, St. Such outstanding saints as St. dedicated sermons to Anna. Epiphanius (+ 403), St. Sophronius (+ after 638), St. John of Damascus (1 c. 749), St. Herman of Constantinople (+ 732), St. Andrew of Crete (+ 750), St. Tarasius of Constantinople (+ 806), and in the West - St. Fulbert of Chartres (+ 1029), St. Bernardin of Siena (+ 1444), as well as Bl. Władysław of Gielniów (+ 1505).
St. was always surrounded with special veneration. Anna. Her cult was and remains very much alive today. In the West, the first temple and monastery of St. Anna arose in 701 in Floriac near Rouen. A sign of the popularity of St. Anna is that her name is often given to girls. There are also very many temples and sanctuaries dedicated to her. In honor of St. Anna there were 5 female monastic orders. In ancient liturgics, St. As many as 118 hymns and 36 sequences were dedicated to Anna (XIV-XVI centuries)..
Saints Joachim and AnnaThe liturgical commemoration of the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary arose first in the East. It was introduced in 710 by Emperor Justinian II under the title “Conception of St. Anna." It celebrated on different days, together or separately with St. Joachim. In the West it began to be celebrated later. It has been known in Naples since the 10th century. Pope Urban VI, in the bull Splendor æternæ gloriæ of June 21, 1378, allowed this holiday to be celebrated in England. Julius II in 1522 extended it to the entire Church and set its date as March 20. Paul V, however, abolished this holiday in 1568, citing the fact that nothing was said about the parents of the Mother of God in the books of Holy Scripture. However, the opinion prevailed that these parents existed and that special honor was due to them. Therefore, Gregory XIII restored the holiday (1584) and appointed the day for it on July 26. Pope St. Pius X in 1911 introduced a special holiday of St. Joachim, appointing it for August 16. St. Anne continued to be celebrated on July 26th. The liturgical reform of 1969 brought their names together again on July 26th.
Lord, God of our fathers, blessed Joachim and Anna, who endowed such grace that the Mother of Your incarnate Son was born from them, grant through the prayers of both, that we may achieve the salvation You promised to Your people. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen.
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