Icon of the righteous saints Joachim and Anna, what helps, prayer and how to pray. Saint Anna in Orthodoxy - the most famous saints and how do they help? At what age did Saint Anne give birth to Mary?

Joachim and Anna became the happiest parents in all of human history. The saints gave life to the most beautiful and holiest child - the Mother of God, who surpasses all things. And if the whole world is on one side of the scale - all the stars, all the people and all the saints, and on the other - the Mother of God, then the latter will outweigh.

Saint Anna did not perform a miracle, she did not suffer martyrdom or venerable deeds. She bore other sorrows. And those that every woman carries when building her family. And the sorrow of barren loneliness, and the patient hope of motherhood, which I had to carry until old age. TWith patience and hope, righteous Anna acquired her 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: “With your patience save your souls” (Luke 21:19). (Priest Pavel Adelgeim)

According to the teachings of the Holy Fathers, the whole world was created for the sake of the Mother of God, and the Mother of God - for Christ.

After all, Christ is the cause and purpose of creation. Christ was able to become a man, a God-man, only with the help of the Virgin Mary. Just as a tree exists for the sake of its fruit, so all people and Angels exist for the sake of the Virgin Mary, whose greatness surpasses not only people, but also Angels and Archangels.

So, is it possible to imagine happier parents than the parents of the Virgin Mary? Saint John of Damascus glorifies these parents, saying: “O happy spouses Joachim and Anna, all creation glorifies you, for you have awarded the Creator with the greatest gift - a humble, only, worthy mother for the Creator. Wonderful is the womb of Anna, who gradually nurtured and gave birth to the Most Holy Child. This womb carried within itself a living Sky, its breadth eclipsing the boundless heavens.”

Humanity is indebted to Joachim and Anna for this great gift.

They gave us the Virgin Mary. But at the same time, they are infinitely indebted to God and feel great gratitude for the great joy that He has given them.

We know other Old Testament women who miraculously were healed of infertility, but they all had sons

The name "Anna" means "grace". The Lord gave them this grace. Who was Anna? A barren woman, unable to have a child. But her prayers were heard, and she found a child. We know of other Old Testament women who were miraculously cured of infertility. However, they all had sons: Sarah had Isaac, Anna, Elkanah’s wife, had Samuel, Elizabeth had the prophet John.

Anna, Joachim's wife, became the only barren woman who gave birth to a daughter. Why?

Because it was woman, the first Eve, who through her disobedience gave birth to sin and death. Another woman, the new Eve, the Mother of God, with her humility, gave life to the sinless Savior of the world.

Joachim and Anna were worthy of joy. They were both blessed. Christ said: “By their fruits you will know them” (Matthew 7:16). Children are a fruit, an image of their parents. Pious and believing parents give birth to good children. What kind of children do you expect from unbelieving, wicked, worldly parents? A rotten tree is rotten fruit, wicked parents are corrupt children. Of course, there are exceptions. However, the parents of the Mother of God led a righteous life: holy parents - the Most Holy Child. In one of the troparions we read: “He who has exalted life, and the life of lordship, has exceeded all the earthly parents of all, who has given birth to the Imperishable Virgin” (1st hymn of the canon of Matins, September 9/22).

Joachim and Anna, in terms of the purity and morality of their lives, became the greatest of all parents, since they brought the Most Pure Virgin into the world.

Saint John of Damascus writes: “By leading a holy and pure life, you have borne fruit that has become an adornment of purity. Pure before birth, during birth and after birth, beautiful, remaining pure forever in mind, soul and body.”

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

On this Sunday we commemorate the holy righteous Godfather Joachim and Anna.

The memory of them is inextricably linked with the Virgin Mary, who gave birth to the God-man Jesus Christ. Since the Son of God was incarnate from Her womb and appeared to the world, it means that She gave birth not just to the human nature of the Son, but to the very Person, Face and Hypostasis of the incorruptible God the Word. And since Mary is the Mother of God, then Her parents are not just the grandfather and grandmother of Jesus, but are the parents of the Mother of God Herself and, thus, are themselves Godfathers.

In the liturgical texts of today's holiday, both of them - Joachim and Anna - are often designated by one word - parents, holy duo, Godfathers. Although only Anna gives birth, Joachim seems to give birth together with her; although only Joachim is the father in the proper sense of the word, Anna, as inseparable from him, is mentioned in the same word - Godfather. Two are like one, the holy duo gives birth, nourishes, educates and introduces the Divine Maiden into the temple.

They are no longer two, but one flesh (see: Matt. 19:6). Saints Joachim and Anna set an example of fulfilling the commandment that God gave to Adam in Paradise: “A man shall leave his father and his mother and cleave to his wife; and the [two] will become one flesh” (Gen. 2:24).

Moreover, they were not only one flesh, but also one soul and one spirit. Their marriage was not a Jewish obligation to procreate, nor a duty to society to solve the demographic problem. They were united by a gracious, indescribable, deep mutual reckless romantic feeling, which we call love. Their mutual love lasted until old age, until death.

These features of human love between husband and wife are very touchingly depicted in Orthodox icons Oh. The icon painters created an amazing and seemingly not at all religious image of marital unity and fusion - not only spiritual, but also carnal. The portrait of the holy Godfathers Joachim and Anna is a unique case when the Church glorifies marital love in color.

Here in a small image around the icon of the Novgorod letter “Introduction into the Temple” Holy Mother of God with the Life" we see how the high priest expels Joachim from the temple for childlessness; in the next two images Joachim and Anna are sad separately: he is in the desert, and she is in the forest. Joachim, like a cursed man, goes into the desert because the priest did not accept his sacrifice. Birds making nests on tree branches remind Anna of what she is crying about. But their suffering alone in the desert and in the forest is eased by the vision of a comforting angel proclaiming future joy.

On icons such as “The Meeting of Joachim and Anna at the Golden Gate” of Jerusalem, Joachim and Anna are represented in full height, directed towards each other, their hands are closed in an embrace, their faces touch, as if in a kiss.

In the icon “The Conception of Anna,” the purely intimate meaning of the scene, thanks to the chastity of the image, does not seem shameful. Contemplating the icon, the viewer does not feel awkward and does not feel like he is peeping behind the curtain of the canopy of the marital bedroom. The embrace of the holy spouses exudes incredible purity, and therefore the sight of the icon “The Conception of Anna” even turns out to be instructive for those for whom this lesson of love is intended.

On ancient icons of Pskov churches in the image of the “Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary” you can see how Joachim and Anna caress a newborn baby and white doves flock to watch family joy. Poultry - a goose and a duck - give the picture the character of a happy family idyll, in the center of which is the mutual love of husband and wife.

Like the sun from the sun and the moon from the moon, Holy Mary is born from holy, loving parents. The liturgical chants of the holiday place Joachim and Anna above all other parents on earth. They overcome the Old Testament dependence of the happiness of spouses on the fact of the presence or absence of children. And in the time of Christ, by the way, a husband could give a divorce if his wife simply over-salted the food.

According to Elder Paisius the Holy Mountain, Christ would have come to earth earlier if such a pure, chaste married couple as Saints Joachim and Anna had appeared on earth earlier. At the same time, Elder Paisius the Svyatogorets called them the most dispassionate married couple, since “they had no worldly wisdom.” The Holy Fathers of God were already advanced in years, they were more than 60 years old when they conceived Mary. Their mutual attraction no longer contained youthful passion. They suffered from the fact that they did not have children, and therefore fervently prayed to God to give them a child. After prayer and the gospel from the angel, they came together as spouses “not out of carnal lust,” wrote Paisius, “but out of obedience to God.”

Judging by ancient legends, Saints Joachim and Anne loved each other undividedly, but dispassionately. Their love is characterized by words such as loyalty, compassion and tenderness towards each other. They wanted a child not from the lust of the flesh, but from mutual love.

The Apostle Paul wrote that if in one body “a member suffers, all the members suffer with it, and if one member is glorified, all the members of the body rejoice with it” (see: 1 Cor. 12:26). From the lives of the holy Fathers of God, we see how touchingly they hide their pain from each other (and Joachim goes into the desert, and Anna away from home) and how happy they are to share joy with each other (they run towards each other and squeeze into each other’s arms).

How different their portrait is from what we see today!

The minds of many these days are infected with the idea that the ideal man is a bag of money, and the ideal woman is a top model on the cover of a magazine. The birth of a child, and this, as they say, sometimes happens “by chance,” is driven by passion, but not by love. The words “loyalty” and “devotion” are not in fashion now, the main thing is that to me“It was good with him.” And if young people decide to “bind themselves into legal marriage” (pay attention to the negative meaning of each word: yourself, tie, law, marriage), then the family becomes not the center of happiness, but a space where everyone in their own way “relaxes” from outside world. Outside, at work in the work collective, everyone tries to keep themselves “in line” and seem “good.” But at home, within four walls small apartment, everyone allows themselves to “discharge”, to throw lightning at their other half, thereby killing both her and themselves.

In almost every third family confession, we priests hear a plaintive story about an impending divorce. Often such a confession is not a desire to strengthen one’s desire to save the family, not a quick reaction to the fact that mutual feelings have changed by a milligram, but an attempt to find in a priest a worthy co-conspirator for one’s complaints, when everything has actually been decided. And at the same time, it is quite possible that the complainant, due to internal spiritual blindness, once gradually killed the feelings in his other half. He or she, expecting love from another, no longer has an ounce of love in themselves.

“Love does not seek its own, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, endures all, covers all, believes all,” wrote the Apostle Paul (see: 1 Cor. 13: 5-7). If we had this mindset: “I trust him because he is mine.” husband", "I cover up his offense, because I I could be wrong”, “I tolerate his shortcomings because herself far from an angel”, “I don’t rejoice at his shortcomings, because his pain is my pain too“,” “I wish him happiness and for this I give him my love,” then perhaps such a family would not be on the verge of divorce.

The marriage of Joachim and Anna is an example of a timeless, unceasing appeal to each other, a constant aspiration towards each other, which, despite the hostility of the world, remains so until the end of life. Everything that happens around the holy spouses (news, society, work) is all secondary in comparison with their attitude towards each other. Each of the spouses looks for himself in his other half, “self-realizes” in her, wants to see all the harmony of the world in her face, wants to give himself to her.

The image of such aspiration towards each other is an image of Divine love. God seeks His image in man, God wants to be reflected in man, God wants to give Himself to man.

If we can find love in ourselves that is at least a little similar to the love of Joachim and Anna, we will be on the same wavelength as Divine love. But if we look for prayers “for our spouses” and at the same time cold-bloodedly disdain our other half, we are wasting both our time and the priest’s. God is not stupid, and He sees if there is even a drop of love in our hearts. If, in the depths of the spouse’s soul, “divorce” already reigns, God cannot give her or him anything more.

Let, dear brothers and sisters, the example of the righteous saints Joachim and Anna, whom we commemorate every day during the liturgical holiday, be for us an example of what the love of spouses should be: love beyond space and time, love to the point of gray hair, eternal love.

Holy Godfathers Joachim and Anno, pray to God for us!

ANNA

IN 80 BC was born Joachim, Maria's father.

Anna born in 74 BC V large family, becoming the fourteenth child. Anna's mother was then 45 years old. Anna's parents were middle-income people at that time. They lived in the city of Nazareth, were engaged in cattle breeding and had a small herd. In addition, Anna's father kept a small inn. There were three rooms in the courtyard where visiting merchants stayed.

Nazareth was located very well, just on the way from Egypt to India, and caravans constantly visited this town.
Very often Simeon, a famous fortuneteller, stayed at their house. This is the same 113-year-old elder Simeon who waited for the newborn Jesus to appear in the temple. It was he who said then: “Praise the Lord that I waited for this!” At that time, Simeon was still young. He practiced medicine, treated with herbs and could predict the future. He did this with the help of thirteen stones and a lamb shoulder. Simeon threw them up, and then carefully studied what kind of layout was obtained from the stones that fell to the ground. At that moment, the unknown future of man was revealed to him. Previously people They treated the predictors with great respect and faith. Simeon's prophecies always came true, and people often turned to him for help.

Little Anna was then 12 years old. Anna amazed everyone with her hard work and did her best to help her mother with the housework. At such a young age, she already knew how to work like an adult: milk a cow, and household lead. At the same time, she was distinguished by her enormous love of life, irrepressible gaiety and, most importantly, a childish sense of pity for all living things. She felt sorry for everyone - the old people, the weak and sick wanderers and neighbors, animals, she could not calmly look at anyone’s suffering. Anna had a big and kind heart. Anna simply fell in love with the fortuneteller Simeon. He was so unusual and mysterious. He was doing something incomprehensible and mysterious - a real magician...
The room in which Simeon stayed was divided into two parts by a curtain. Anna, a terribly curious girl, hid in the second half of the room and from there carefully watched Simeon from the side, fascinated by his actions. She really wanted to understand what their mysterious guest was doing, and she wanted to learn it herself. Simeon also paid attention to the curious child. He liked Anna for her spontaneity, kindness and obvious, undisguised thirst for new knowledge. He slowly began to teach the girl the art of healing and revealed to her some of the secrets of medicine.
Simeon was not mistaken - Anna turned out to be a capable student and grasped everything right on the fly. Soon she herself could speak out a toothache, remove a purulent abscess from a patient’s body, or soothe a pain in the stomach.
Previously, home healing was practiced everywhere. Each family had a person who could provide assistance to sick household members or pets. Magic, healing and predictions of the future did not surprise or frighten anyone; they treated this calmly, with faith and understanding. No one divided medicine into official and folk.

One day Anna begged Simeon to tell him what would happen to her when she grew up, what future awaited her. Simeon, agreeing, spread out the stones and silently looked at the resulting layout for a long time. He sighed, looked at Anna and did not say anything.
The intrigued girl began to persistently tease him, persuading him to tell her the truth. Simeon refused for a long time, but then in the end, succumbing to her persuasion, he said: “You will live a difficult and short life. And you will die when you give birth to a child, at the age of 54. You will have a girl, whom you will have to name Maria. This will be an extraordinary girl. Time will pass, and she will have a son named Jesus. This man will be the Messiah, he will bring people a new faith that will save the world.”
After this prediction, Simeon began to look at the little girl with completely different eyes. From ancient prophecies, Simeon knew that someday on the land of Judea a man would be born who in the future would turn the whole world upside down, cleanse it of filth and vice, and give people new life. And now - wow - this prophecy comes true right before his eyes!
Simeon now prayed for only one thing - if only he could live to see this bright day and see the Savior of the world with his own eyes, if only he had enough strength to wait for this miracle!
After all, it turned out according to the prophecy that the Mother of God Mary would be born when Simeon would be almost a hundred years old! If only I could live to see this day!

At the age of 13, Anna was married to 19-year-old Joachim. In those days, children grew up very quickly; at the age of 13, a girl was considered already of age and ready for marriage. They lived in the Holy Land, were well-born and rich, but they had no children. In the society around them, the absence of children in the family was tantamount to a curse, disfavour from Above, and therefore the priest stopped allowing Joachim into the temple. He left home into the desert and decided never to return. Anna was left alone in the house, grieving over her misfortune. On her wedding anniversary with Joachim, she wept bitterly in the garden: “Woe to me, to whom I have become like; I have not become like the birds of the air, because the birds of the air are fruitful before you, Lord! Woe to me, I have not become like the beasts of the earth, because they too have children! Even the waves will give birth to waves that play and splash, praising God. And I cannot compare with the earth, because the earth bears its fruits...” Anna’s cry was heard, the heavenly messenger - an Angel - assured Anna that she would soon have a girl, who would be called Mary.

Icon "Meeting of Joachim and Anna"
Images of Joachim and Anna are not uncommon in icon painting; they were always represented in the same way: Joachim - as an old man with a long beard, Anna - in a long himation with a covered head. Sometimes they were among the selected saints of the icon. There was also a special composition “Meeting of Joachim and Anna.” Joachim and Anna hugged each other when they met after the gospel and Joachim's return from the desert to his home.

Nativity of the Virgin Mary

Years passed. Anna had long forgotten about Simeon’s prophecy. Business, housekeeping, everyday life - life went on as usual. Joachim and Anna were considered prosperous in Nazareth married couple middle income. They kept livestock - goats, cows, horses, bulls. And a large flock of sheep. In addition, Joachim owned a small creamery, which produced sour cream, cottage cheese, and butter. Despite his advanced age of 60, Joachim still worked hard, trying to keep up with the housework everywhere.
Suddenly the unexpected happened - his wife Anna became pregnant again. At 54 years old! Just some kind of miracle! And only now Anna remembered about Simeon! She told all her loved ones - her husband, relatives - about the prophecy made to her in childhood: that she would become pregnant at 54 years old and die in childbirth, and the resulting child should be named Mary, and this girl would then become the mother of Jesus - the Messiah, who would suffer a lot and will bring new faith to this world.

Anna's loved ones were simply confused. What kind of prophecy, where does it come from, what kind of Messiah, will Anna really die, how can this be, and who will then raise the child?
Joachim was already 60 years old, and he was unlikely to be able to raise the girl alone.
In those days, having many children was common. And none of the relatives could take little Maria into their home. And then Anna remembered her distant relative Elizabeth. Elizabeth's mother was a second cousin of Anna's mother. Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah had no children of their own, so they agreed to take Mary in with them.

Early in the morning, at 6:15 a.m., July 21, 20 BC. e. In the house of Joachim, a girl was born who was named Maria. Anna, unable to endure a difficult birth, died, as predicted by Simeon.

Saints Joachim and Anna
The icon painter was usually commissioned to depict the parents of the Mother of God by families who had no children or were expecting their first child.

The child was very sick, and it was not certain that the girl would survive without mother's milk. Therefore, Joachim entered his daughter into the family genealogical lists only when the danger of early death had passed, i.e. exactly two months later - September 21.
This date began to be considered Mary’s birthday. In our time, on this day, September 21, one of the twelve great church holidays- Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
All babies born three days before July 21 and September 21 are often gifted children, and all of them are under the protection of the Virgin Mary.
July 21 is a special day. Nature itself rejoices and celebrates the birth of the Virgin Mary - the air is filled with the heady smells of summer and sun, an extraordinary lightness settles in the soul of all people, in the morning everyone wakes up with good mood, sensing that something extraordinary was going to happen today.

Dormition of Righteous Anna

July 25/August 7 - Dormition of Righteous Anna, mother of the Most Holy Theotokos.

Icon of the Dormition is right. Anna, mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary

According to legend, Saint Anna acquired two estates in Jerusalem: the first at the Gethsemane Gate, and the second in the Valley of Jehoshaphat. In the second estate, she built a crypt for deceased family members, where she was buried along with Joachim. The most pure body of the Mother of God was buried in this family cemetery. A temple was erected at the burial site. There is a legend that St. Equal to the Apostles Helena built a basilica here. In 614, the temple was destroyed, but the tomb of the Mother of God was preserved. Most of modern building dates back to the times of the Crusaders. This is an underground temple, with 50 steps leading to it, with chapels of Sts. Godfathers Joachim and Anna and Joseph the Betrothed, located on the sides of the stairs.

Funeral crypt of Joachim and Anna in the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary

Tombs of St. Joachim and Anna in the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary

In con. X century On 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 in the 17th century. was restored by the 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. Anna. 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.

Under the holy blessed king Justinian (527-565), a temple was built in her honor in Deutera, and Emperor Justinian II (685-695; 705-711) renovated her temple, because righteous Anna appeared to his pregnant wife ; at the same time, her body and maforium (veil) were transferred to Constantinople. The Dormition of St. Righteous Anna is celebrated on August 7 (July 25).

Currently, particles of the relics of St. Anne are located:
- in the monasteries of Mount Athos (left foot in the Great Skete of Righteous Anna, right foot in the Kutlumush monastery, left hand in the Stavronikita monastery);
- in various monasteries and churches in Greece (including the Monastery of St. John the Evangelist on Patmos, the Church of Panagia Gorgoepikoos in Thessaloniki);
- to the church of St. Nicholas in Pyzhi, Moscow;
- October 26, 2008, a particle of the relics of St. Anna was brought from Athos to the temple complex of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God in Dnepropetrovsk, where she was placed in an ark in the lower aisle of the cathedral church in the name of Joachim and Anna;
- July 10, 2011, a particle of the relics of St. Anna was transferred to the Valaam Monastery.

Troparion of Righteous Anna

Voice 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.

Kontakion of Righteous Anna

Voice 2
We celebrate the memory of the ancestors of Christ, who faithfully ask for help, to free everyone from all sorrow, calling: Our God is with us, glorify these, as you have been pleased.

Glorification of the Dormition of Righteous Anna:

We magnify you, holy and righteous Anno the Pramate of Christ our God, and we all honorably glorify your dormition.

The miraculous icon and part of the relics of St. Righteous Anna in the monastery of St. Anna on Mount Athos.

On June 17, 2006, Valaam met the icon of the holy righteous Anna, the foremother of Christ, who has great grace from the Lord to heal from the disease of infertility. This is a list with miraculous icon, which is located in the Skete of St. Anne on Mount Athos. There are now three such lists in the monastery, all are exact copies of the miraculous image of St. Anna, and were written directly to the monastery of St. Righteous Anna. Countless numbers have come and come to Athos letters of thanks from parents who gained the opportunity to have children thanks to the intercession of the holy righteous Anna.

Prayers for marital infertility

For help with marital infertility, turn with prayers to the righteous Godfathers Joachim and Anna, the prophet Zechariah and Elizabeth, the Monk Roman, the martyr Paraskeva, named Friday.

Meeting of St. Righteous Joachim and Anna. Fragment of an icon from the 17th century.

Prayer to the righteous Godfathers Joachim and Anna:
About the ever-glorifying righteous women of Christ, the holy godfathers Joachim and Anno, standing before the heavenly throne of the Great King and having 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 prayer books for us, we, sinners and unworthy (names), resort to you. Pray for His goodness, that He may turn away His anger from us, righteously moved against us by our deeds, and may, despising 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 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, 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, through 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, belongs all glory , honor and worship forever and ever. Amen.

Personal petition of Righteous Anna for the gift of a child(from the Chetyi-Menya of St. Demetrius of Rostov):
Woe is me, Lord! Who will I be like? Neither to the birds of the air, nor to the beasts of the earth: for they too bring You, O Lord God, their fruit, but I alone am barren. Woe is me, Lord! I am alone, sinful, without offspring. You, who once gave Sarah the son Isaac in her old age. You, Who opened the womb of Anna, the mother of Your prophet Samuel, look now upon me and hear my prayers. Stop the sadness of my heart and open my womb, and make me, barren, fruitful, so that we bring what I have born to You as a gift, blessing, singing and glorifying Your mercy.

Kissing Zechariah and Elizabeth. End of XV - began. XVI century

ANNA

IN 80 BC was born Joachim, Maria's father.

Anna born in 74 BC in a large family, becoming the fourteenth child. Anna's mother was then 45 years old. Anna's parents were middle-income people at that time. They lived in the city of Nazareth, were engaged in cattle breeding and had a small herd. In addition, Anna's father kept a small inn. There were three rooms in the courtyard where visiting merchants stayed.

Nazareth was located very well, just on the way from Egypt to India, and caravans constantly visited this town.
Very often Simeon, a famous fortuneteller, stayed at their house. This is the same 113-year-old elder Simeon who waited for the newborn Jesus to appear in the temple. It was he who said then: “Praise the Lord that I waited for this!” At that time, Simeon was still young. He practiced medicine, treated with herbs and could predict the future. He did this with the help of thirteen stones and a lamb shoulder. Simeon threw them up, and then carefully studied what kind of layout was obtained from the stones that fell to the ground. At that moment, the unknown future of man was revealed to him. Previously, people treated fortune tellers with great respect and faith. Simeon's prophecies always came true, and people often turned to him for help.

Little Anna was then 12 years old. Anna amazed everyone with her hard work and did her best to help her mother with the housework. At such a young age, she already knew how to work like an adult: milking a cow and running a household. At the same time, she was distinguished by her enormous love of life, irrepressible gaiety and, most importantly, a childish sense of pity for all living things. She felt sorry for everyone - the old people, the weak and sick wanderers and neighbors, animals, she could not calmly look at anyone’s suffering. Anna had a big and kind heart. Anna simply fell in love with the fortuneteller Simeon. He was so unusual and mysterious. He was doing something incomprehensible and mysterious - a real magician...
The room in which Simeon stayed was divided into two parts by a curtain. Anna, a terribly curious girl, hid in the second half of the room and from there carefully watched Simeon from the side, fascinated by his actions. She really wanted to understand what their mysterious guest was doing, and she wanted to learn it herself. Simeon also paid attention to the curious child. He liked Anna for her spontaneity, kindness and obvious, undisguised thirst for new knowledge. He slowly began to teach the girl the art of healing and revealed to her some of the secrets of medicine.
Simeon was not mistaken - Anna turned out to be a capable student and grasped everything right on the fly. Soon she herself could speak out a toothache, remove a purulent abscess from a patient’s body, or soothe a pain in the stomach.
Previously, home healing was practiced everywhere. Each family had a person who could provide assistance to sick household members or pets. Magic, healing and predictions of the future did not surprise or frighten anyone; they treated this calmly, with faith and understanding. No one divided medicine into official and folk.

One day Anna begged Simeon to tell him what would happen to her when she grew up, what future awaited her. Simeon, agreeing, spread out the stones and silently looked at the resulting layout for a long time. He sighed, looked at Anna and did not say anything.
The intrigued girl began to persistently tease him, persuading him to tell her the truth. Simeon refused for a long time, but then finally, succumbing to her persuasion, he said: “You will live a difficult and short life. And you will die when you give birth to a child, at the age of 54. You will have a girl, whom you will have to name Maria. This will be an extraordinary girl. Time will pass and she will have a son named Jesus. This man will be the Messiah, he will bring people a new faith that will save the world.”
After this prediction, Simeon began to look at the little girl with completely different eyes. From ancient prophecies, Simeon knew that someday a man would be born on the land of Judea, who in the future would turn the whole world upside down, cleanse it of filth and vice, and give people a new life. And now - wow - this prophecy comes true right before his eyes!
Simeon now prayed for only one thing - if only he could live to see this bright day and see the Savior of the world with his own eyes, if only he had enough strength to wait for this miracle!
After all, it turned out according to the prophecy that the Mother of God Mary would be born when Simeon would be almost a hundred years old! If only I could live to see this day!

Nativity of the Virgin Mary

Years passed. Anna had long forgotten about Simeon’s prophecy. Business, housekeeping, everyday life - life went on as usual. Joachim and Anna were considered a prosperous, middle-income married couple in Nazareth. They kept livestock - goats, cows, horses, bulls. And a large flock of sheep. In addition, Joachim owned a small creamery, which produced sour cream, cottage cheese, and butter. Despite his advanced age of 60, Joachim still worked hard, trying to keep up with the housework everywhere.
Suddenly the unexpected happened - his wife Anna became pregnant again. At 54 years old! Just some kind of miracle! And only now Anna remembered about Simeon! She told all her loved ones - her husband, relatives - about the prophecy made to her in childhood: that she would become pregnant at 54 years old and die in childbirth, and the resulting child should be named Mary, and this girl would then become the mother of Jesus - the Messiah, who would suffer a lot and will bring new faith to this world.

Early in the morning, at 6:15 a.m., July 21, 20 BC. e. In the house of Joachim, a girl was born who was named Maria. Anna, unable to endure a difficult birth, died, as predicted by Simeon.

Saints Joachim and Anna
The icon painter was usually commissioned to depict the parents of the Mother of God by families who had no children or were expecting their first child.

The child was very sick, and it was not certain that the girl would survive without mother's milk. Therefore, Joachim entered his daughter into the family genealogical lists only when the danger of early death had passed, i.e. exactly two months later - September 21.
This date began to be considered Mary’s birthday. Nowadays, on this day, September 21, one of the twelve great church holidays is celebrated - the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
All babies born three days before July 21 and September 21 are often gifted children, and all of them are under the protection of the Virgin Mary.
July 21 is a special day. Nature itself rejoices and celebrates the birth of the Virgin Mary - the air is filled with the heady smells of summer and sun, an extraordinary lightness settles in the soul of all people, in the morning everyone wakes up in a good mood, anticipating that something extraordinary is about to happen today.

Dormition of Righteous Anna

July 25/August 7 - Dormition of Righteous Anna, mother of the Most Holy Theotokos.

Icon of the Dormition is right. Anna, mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary

According to legend, Saint Anna acquired two estates in Jerusalem: the first at the Gethsemane Gate, and the second in the Valley of Jehoshaphat. In the second estate, she built a crypt for deceased family members, where she was buried along with Joachim. The most pure body of the Mother of God was buried in this family cemetery. A temple was erected at the burial site. There is a legend that St. Equal to the Apostles Helena built a basilica here. In 614, the temple was destroyed, but the tomb of the Mother of God was preserved. Much of the modern building dates back to Crusader times. This is an underground temple, with 50 steps leading to it, with chapels of Sts. Godfathers Joachim and Anna and Joseph the Betrothed, located on the sides of the stairs.

Funeral crypt of Joachim and Anna in the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary

Tombs of St. Joachim and Anna in the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary

Currently, particles of the relics of St. Anne are located:
- in Athonite monasteries (left foot in the Great Skete of Righteous Anna, right foot in the Kutlumush monastery, left hand in the Stavronikita monastery);
- in various monasteries and churches in Greece (including the Monastery of St. John the Evangelist on Patmos, the Church of Panagia Gorgoepikoos in Thessaloniki);
- to the church of St. Nicholas in Pyzhi, Moscow;
- October 26, 2008, a particle of the relics of St. Anna was brought from Athos to the temple complex of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God in Dnepropetrovsk, where she was placed in an ark in the lower aisle of the cathedral church in the name of Joachim and Anna;
- July 10, 2011, a particle of the relics of St. Anna was transferred to the Valaam Monastery.

Troparion of Righteous Anna

Kontakion of Righteous Anna

Voice 2
We celebrate the memory of the ancestors of Christ, who faithfully ask for help, to free everyone from all sorrow, calling: Our God is with us, glorify these, as you have been pleased.

Glorification of the Dormition of Righteous Anna:

We magnify you, holy and righteous Anno the Pramate of Christ our God, and we all honorably glorify your dormition.

The miraculous icon and part of the relics of St. Righteous Anna in the monastery of St. Anna on Mount Athos.

On June 17, 2006, Valaam met the icon of the holy righteous Anna, the foremother of Christ, who has great grace from the Lord to heal from the disease of infertility. This is a list from the miraculous icon, which is located in the Skete of St. Anna on Mount Athos. There are now three such lists in the monastery, all are exact copies of the miraculous image of St. Anna, and were written directly to the monastery of St. Righteous Anna. Countless letters of gratitude have come and are coming to Mount Athos from parents who have gained the opportunity to have children thanks to the intercession of the holy righteous Anna.

Prayers for marital infertility

For help with marital infertility, turn with prayers to the righteous Godfathers Joachim and Anna, the prophet Zechariah and Elizabeth, the Monk Roman, the martyr Paraskeva, named Friday.

Meeting of St. Righteous Joachim and Anna. Fragment of an icon from the 17th century.

Kissing Zechariah and Elizabeth. End of XV - began. XVI century

Meeting of Joachim and Anna at the Golden Gate

Among Orthodox icons there is one special one, with a rather unexpected plot. It depicts a man and a woman clinging to each other in a tender embrace. This icon reminds believers of the power of prayer, of living in piety and purity, of trust in God and the reward for righteousness. The heroes of this image are Saints Joachim and Anna, parents of the Virgin Mary. And the icon is called “Meeting at the Golden Gate” or “ Conception of Saint Anne”.

The Gospels say nothing about Joachim and Anna. We know the story of the spouses from the apocrypha “Proto-Gospel of James” - a text that is not considered completely canonical, but is partially included in the Tradition of the Church.

It is believed that Joachim was a wealthy man who lived in Nazareth. Anna, his wife, came from Bethlehem. The couple were distinguished by their piety: they gave alms to the poor and donated to the temple. But Joachim and Anna had no children. Such people were looked down upon in Jewish society. Childlessness was considered abandonment of God, punishment, a sign of God’s displeasure...

Life of Saints Godfather Joachim and Anna

WITH Holy righteous Joachim came from the tribe of Judah, from the house of King David. 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.

Saint Joachim lived in the city of Nazareth of Galilee and had a wife named Anna from the tribe of Levi, from the family of Aaron, the daughter of the priest Matthan, who lived before the reign of Herod, the son of Antipater. This priest Matthan had as his wife Mary, from the tribe of Judah, from the city of Bethlehem, and three daughters: Mary, 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, as we have already said, the mother of the Most Holy Theotokos, was given in marriage to Joachim in the country of Galilee, in the city of Nazareth. These spouses, Joachim and Anna, coming from a noble family, studied the law of the Lord and were righteous before God.

Having material wealth, they were not deprived of spiritual wealth. Adorned with all virtues, they immaculately observed all the commandments of God's law. For each holiday, pious spouses separated two parts from their property - one was given for church needs, and the other was distributed to the poor.

With their righteous life, Joachim and Anna pleased God so much that He vouchsafed them to be the parents of the Blessed Virgin, the chosen Mother of the Lord. From this alone it is already clear that their life was holy, pleasing to God and pure, since they had a Daughter, the Holiest of all saints, who pleased God more than anyone else, and the Most Honest of the Cherubim. At that time there were no people on earth more pleasing to God than Joachim and Anna, because of their immaculate lives.

Although at that time many could be found living righteously and pleasing God, these two surpassed everyone in their virtues and appeared before God the most worthy of it so that the Mother of God would be born from them. Such mercy would not have been granted to them by God if they had not truly excelled everyone in righteousness and holiness.

But just as the Lord Himself had to be incarnate from the Most Holy and Most Pure Mother, so it was fitting for the Mother of God to come from holy and pure parents. Just as earthly kings have their purples, made not from simple matter, but from gold-woven material, so the Heavenly King wanted to have His Most Pure Mother, in whose flesh, as in royal purple, He had to put on, born not from ordinary incontinent parents, as would be from simple matter, but from chaste and holy ones, as if from cloth woven with gold, the prototype of which was the Old Testament tabernacle, which God ordered Moses to make from scarlet and scarlet cloth and fine linen (Ex. 27:16). This tabernacle prefigured the Virgin Mary, in whom God dwelt “ live with people" as it is written: " Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them"(Rev. 21:3).

The scarlet and scarlet cloth and fine linen from which the tabernacle was made typified the parents of the Mother of God, who came and was born from chastity and abstinence, as if from scarlet and scarlet clothing, and their perfection in fulfilling all the commandments of the Lord, as if from fine linen.

But these holy spouses, by God's will, for a long time were childless, so that in the very conception and birth of such a daughter the power of God’s grace, the honor of the Born and the dignity of the parents would be revealed; for it is impossible for a barren and aged 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 fifty 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, thereby becoming like the holy patriarch Abraham and his pious wife Sarah, who, according to the promise of God, gave birth to Isaac in his old age (Gen. 21:2).

However, without a doubt, we can say that the Nativity of the Mother of God 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, their dishonor was a harbinger of great honor, and diligent petition was a guide to receiving benefits, and prayer is the best intercessor.

Joachim and Anna grieved and cried for a long time that they had no children. Once, on a great holiday, Joachim brought gifts to the Lord God in the Jerusalem Temple; together with Joachim, all the Israelites offered their gifts as sacrifices to God. Issachar, the high priest at that time, did not want to accept Joachim’s gifts because he was childless.

“We should not,” he said, “accept gifts from you, because you do not have children, and therefore no blessings from God: you probably have some secret sins.”

Also, one Jew from the tribe of Reuben, who brought his gifts along with others, reproached Joachim, saying:

“Why do you want to make sacrifices to God before me?” Don't you know that you are not worthy to bring gifts with us, for you will not leave descendants in Israel? 1 ?

These reproaches greatly saddened Joachim, and in great sorrow he left the temple of God, disgraced and humiliated, and the holiday for him turned into sadness, and the festive joy was replaced by sorrow. Deeply grieving, he did not return home, but went into the desert to the shepherds who tended his flocks, and there he cried about his barrenness and about the reproaches and reproaches made to him.

Remembering Abraham, his forefather, to whom God had given a son already in old age, Joachim began to earnestly pray to the Lord that He would grant him the same favor, would hear his prayer, have mercy and take away the reproach from people from him, granting him in his old age the fruit of his marriage, as Abraham once was.

“May I,” he prayed, “have the opportunity to be called the father of a child, and not endure reproaches from people childless and rejected from God!”

Joachim added fasting to this prayer and did not eat bread for forty days.

“I won’t eat,” he said, “and I won’t return to my house; Let my tears be my food, and let this desert be my home, until the Lord God of Israel hears and takes away my reproach.

In the same way, his wife, being at home and hearing that the high priest did not want to accept their gifts, reproaching her for barrenness, and that her husband had retired into the desert out of great sorrow, cried inconsolable tears.

“Now,” she said, “I am the most unfortunate of all: rejected by God, reproached by people and abandoned by my husband!” What to cry about now: about your widowhood, or about childlessness, about your orphanhood, or about the fact that you are not worthy to be called a mother?!

She cried so bitterly all those days. Anna's slave, named Judith, tried to console her, but could not: for who can console one whose sadness is as deep as the sea?

One day, sad Anna went into her garden, sat down under a laurel tree, sighed from the depths of her heart and, raising her eyes, full of tears to the sky, saw a bird’s nest with little chicks on the tree. This sight caused her even greater grief, and she began to cry with tears:

- Woe to me, childless! I must be the most sinful among all the daughters of Israel, that I alone am so humiliated before all the wives. Everyone carries the fruit of their womb in their hands - everyone is comforted by their children: I alone am alien to this joy.

- Woe is me! The gifts of all are accepted in the temple of God, and they are shown respect for their childbearing: I alone am rejected from the temple of my Lord. Woe is me! Who will I be like? Neither to the birds of the air, nor to the beasts of the earth: for they too bring You, O Lord God, their fruit, but I alone am barren. I cannot even compare myself with the earth: for it vegetates and grows seeds and, bearing fruit, blesses You, the Heavenly Father: I alone am barren on earth.

- Woe to me, Lord, Lord! I am alone, sinful, without offspring. You, Who once gave Sarah the son Isaac in her old age (Gen. 21:1-8), You, Who opened the womb of Anna, the mother of Your prophet Samuel (1 Sam. 1:20), look now upon me and hear my prayers. Lord Hosts! You know the reproach of childlessness: stop the sadness of my heart and open my womb and make me barren and fruitful, so that we bring what I have born to You as a gift, blessing, singing and glorifying Your mercy in agreement.

When Anna cried and sobbed, an angel of the Lord appeared to her and said:

- Anna, Anna! Your prayer has been heard, your sighs have passed through the clouds, your tears have appeared before God, and you will conceive and give birth to the 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 Maria.

Hearing the angelic words, Anna bowed to God and said:

“The Lord God lives, if a child is born to me, I will give him to serve God.” Let him serve and glorify Him holy name God is day and night all the time of his life.

After this, filled with indescribable joy, Saint Anna quickly went to Jerusalem, there to give thanks to God with prayer for His merciful visit.

At the same time, an Angel appeared to Joachim in the desert and said:

- Joachim, Joachim! God has heard your prayer and is pleased to grant you His grace: your wife Anna will conceive and give birth to you a daughter, whose birth will be a joy for the whole world. And here is a sign for you that I am preaching the truth to you: go to Jerusalem to the temple of God and there, at the golden gates, you will find your wife Anna, to whom I announced the same thing.

Joachim, surprised by such angelic news, praising God and thanking Him with his heart and lips for his great mercy, hastily went to the Jerusalem temple with joy and joy. There, as the angel had told him, he found Anna at the golden gate, praying to God, and told her about the angel’s gospel. She also told him that she had seen and heard an angel who announced the birth of her daughter. Then Joachim and Anna glorified God, who had shown them such great mercy, and, having worshiped Him in the holy temple, they returned to their home.

And Saint Anna conceived on the ninth day of December, and on the eighth of September ( 21st according to the new style), she gave birth to a daughter, the Most Pure and Most Blessed Virgin Mary, the beginning and intercessor of our salvation, 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.

Holy Righteous Anna with the Mother of God Ever-Virgin Mary in her arms

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 the One who was to be the Mother of our Savior. 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 angelic words.

When the youth Mary was three years old, her parents led Her with glory into the temple of the Lord, accompanying her with lighted lamps, and dedicated Her to the service of God, as they had promised. Several years after the introduction of Mary into the temple, Saint Joachim died, eighty years from birth. 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. Having lived in Jerusalem for two years, she rested in the Lord at 79 years of age. 2 .

Oh, how blessed are you, holy parents, Joachim and Anna, for the sake of your Most Blessed Daughter!

You are especially blessed for the sake of Her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom all the nations and tribes of the earth received blessings! Rightly the Holy Church called you Godfathers 3 , for we know that God was born from your Most Holy Daughter. Now standing close to Him in heaven, pray that at least some part of your endless joy will be given to us. Amen.

JOAKIM AND ANNA
Troparion, tone 2

We celebrate the memory of Thy righteous ones, O Lord, / with these we pray to Thee: / save our souls.

Another troparion, tone 1

Who was righteous in legal grace, / Joachim and Anna gave birth to us the God-given Child. / Meanwhile, today the Divine Church brightly triumphs, / cheerfully celebrating, honoring your memory, / glorifying God, / who raised the horn of salvation for us in the house of David.

Kontakion, tone 2

Now Anna rejoices, / having resolved her infertility, / and nourishes the Most Pure One, / calling upon all to sing / who from her womb was bestowed by man, / the only Mother and the Inexperienced One.

Prayer to the holy righteous Joachim and Anna

Oh, the blessed 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 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, freeing us from all misfortunes and troubles and vain deaths through your intercession, 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, 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 and honor and worship forever and ever. Amen.

*

1 Even the patriarchs of the Israeli people were repeatedly given by God a promise to multiply their descendants; therefore, the Israelis looked at numerous offspring as the highest happiness and blessing of God. On the other hand, according to the ancient promise of God, the Israelites hoped to find in their offspring the “Seed of the woman” promised by God - the Messiah. That is why childlessness was considered by the Jews to be a grave misfortune and God's punishment for sins, and the Jews looked at people who did not have children as great sinners.

3 Every day, at the end of divine services, during the dismissal, the Church asks those leaving the church for mercy and salvation from the Lord through the prayers of the Mother of God and St. the righteous Godfather Joachim and Anna, and annually commemorates them on the next day of the Nativity of the Mother of God, for after the feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God it is fitting to glorify St. Her parents.