Saint Anna - life of the Mother of God
The righteous one, whose name means “mercy” in Hebrew, was the youngest daughter of the priest Matthan, who descended from Aaron, the elder brother of Moses, while the girl’s mother came from the tribe of Judah. The girl was raised in severity and piety, and at a very young age she was given in marriage to Joachim of Nazareth, a descendant of King David. Such a marriage had a deep sacred meaning - it reunited the lines of earthly rulers and spiritual mentors, symbolically announcing the coming coming of the Messiah.
Saint Anna and her husband led a virtuous and highly moral life - they donated a lot to the temple, supported the needy, and kept the Lord's commandments. But, despite the zeal of the spouses, they were childless for a long time. Due to the fact that the family “did not create offspring,” Joachim was denied the right to make a sacrifice to the Creator, and other Israelites cruelly mocked them. The grieving man went into the desert, and there an angel appeared before him, declaring that the righteous man would soon become a father. The joyful ascetic ran home, meeting his wife at the Golden Gate of Jerusalem - the seraphim also appeared to her. And after 9 months the woman gave birth to a daughter, who was named Maria.
As a sign of gratitude to God, the parents promised to send the child to the temple. When the baby was 3 years old, she was taken to church - and, to everyone’s surprise, as soon as the girl was placed on the first step, she independently ascended to the high priest Zechariah, where she was dedicated to the service of the Lord.
As some apocrypha say, the righteous woman joined the Holy Family when they were forced to flee to Egypt from Herod, and helped take care of Jesus Christ. Anna died at the age of 79, having spent the last years of her life at the Jerusalem Temple. The woman, like her husband, was buried in the Garden of Gethsemane on the edge of the Valley of Jehoshaphat.
Temple of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God in the Dnieper, where the relics of St. Anna have been kept since 2008
Prayer to Joachim and Anna
First prayer: Oh, holy righteous people, Godfathers Joachim and Anna! Pray to the Merciful Lord that He would turn away His anger from us, righteously moved against us by our deeds, and for our countless sins would not consider us unworthy, and would turn us, the servants of God (names), to the path of repentance and to the path of His commandments would strengthen us. Also, with your prayers in the world, preserve our life, and ask for good assistance in all good things, granting us everything we need for life and piety from God, from all misfortunes and troubles and unexpected death, through your intercession, delivering us and protecting us from all enemies, visible and invisible, and So let us pass through this temporary life in peace and reach eternal rest, where through your holy prayers may we be worthy of the Heavenly Kingdom of Christ our God, to Whom, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, befits glory, honor and worship forever and ever.
Second prayer: O ever-glorious righteous people of Christ, the holy Fathers of God Joachim and Anna, who stand before the Heavenly Throne of the Great King and have great boldness towards Him, also from your Most Blessed Daughter, the Most Pure Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, who wished to be incarnate! We, sinners and unworthy, resort to you, as powerful intercessors and zealous intercessors for us. Pray for His goodness, may He turn away His anger from us, which is righteously approaching us through our deeds, and may He, having seen 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 in the world, preserve our life and ask for good haste in all good things, give us everything we need for life and piety from God, through your intercession deliver us from all misfortunes and troubles and accidental death, and protect us from all enemies, visible and invisible, so that We lived a calm and silent life in all godliness and purity (1 Tim. 2:2), and also, when we pass through life in this temporary world, we would achieve eternal peace, and through your holy supplication we would be worthy of the Heavenly Kingdom of Christ our God, Who is with the Father and To the Most Holy Spirit be glory, honor and worship forever and ever. Amen.
Commemoration of the righteous in Orthodoxy
Saint Anna in Orthodoxy is one of the most famous women. Her memory is celebrated on the day of her Assumption - August 7 (according to the old style - July 25), on the feast of the Nativity of the Madonna on September 22 (September 9) and on December 22 (December 9), when, according to legend, the Conception of the Blessed Virgin took place.
Until the VIII century. The relics of the Mother of God were kept in Jerusalem, but later they were transferred to Constantinople. Parts of the remains are located in the monastery of Stavrovouni in Cyprus, in the monasteries of Kutlumush and Stavronikita on Athos. Since 2008, particles of the relics of St. Anna were transferred by monks to the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “Iverskaya” in the Dnieper. The first monastery in honor of the righteous woman was built in 701 in Florian, not far from Rouen (France). Now the churches of St. There are Annas in many domestic and foreign cities - for example, one of them, built over a healing spring, is located in the Rivne region, in the village of Onishkivtsi.
The source of St. Anne in the Rivne region in the village of Onishkivtsi
Anna from Russia
Another saint, Anna Kashinskaya, also managed to fully acquire a peaceful spirit. It is patience that becomes the path that can lead to salvation. Although she was born into a princely family, young Anna fully learned what losses were. She lived in turbulent times, at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries.
Her husband, Prince Mikhail, was killed by denunciation. The eldest son took revenge on the offender for his father, but also died. The same fate befell the second son and even the grandson of the princess. Many in her place would have fallen into despair. But Anna continued to engage in administrative affairs and only at the request of life accepted monasticism.
Prayer is a great help in business; while some are at war, others must make requests to God. The youngest son built a monastery especially for her in Kashin. Her body now rests there; thousands of pilgrims come to the relics every year to receive healing.
Tests awaited the missus even after death. She has already been canonized by Patriarch Nikon. But after he fell out of favor, the name of Anna Kashinskaya was erased from church books. The fact is that on the icon of St. Anna her hands were folded in the two-finger sign of the cross (now it is three-finger). This hinted at the unjustification of reforms.
However, the people did not forget their favorite - recordings of miracles continued, religious processions took place. In the 19th century justice was restored, even re-canonization took place. By the way, this caused a big surge in the popularity of the name Anna. Even the tram in the center of Moscow, which was designated by the letter “A”, was nicknamed “Annushka”.
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Now the saint has three holidays: the discovery of relics, another discovery of relics, and the day of departure to God. The icon of Anna Kashinskaya helps believers cultivate a spirit of humility. She stands up for those who have lost their parents, are widowed, or have lost their children. According to popular tradition, they prayed to St. Anna those who were planning to get married. Monastics also turned to her before tonsure.
On icons, the saint is most often depicted in dark vestments, with a cross, rosary or scroll in her hands. Special prayers have been compiled to address the righteous princess. When praying to the saints, you should first read daily prayers, thank the Lord, and then move on to personal requests
- Icon of Cyprian and Ustinya
- Icon of Saint Alexandra - here
- Zhirovitsk icon -
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BRIEF LIFE OF RIGHTEOUS ANNA, MOTHER OF THE HOLY VIRGIN
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.
She married Saint Joachim (September 9), who was from Gaul. For a long time Saint Anna was barren, but after 20 years, through the fervent prayers of the holy spouses, the Angel of the Lord announced to them the conception of a Daughter, who would bless the entire human race. The conception of Saint Anne took place in Jerusalem, where the Blessed Virgin Mary was born. Most of the icons dedicated to the Conception of St. Anne depict the Blessed Virgin trampling underfoot a serpent. “At the bottom of the icon, on its sides, Saints Joachim and Anna are usually depicted with their hands raised up and folded in prayer; their eyes are also directed upward and contemplate the Mother of God, who seems to be floating in the air with outstretched hands; under Her feet there is depicted a ball entwined with a serpent, denoting the devil, who, in the person of the fallen ancestors, seeks to subjugate the entire universe to his power.” There are also icons in which Saint Anna holds the Blessed Virgin Mary as an infant in her left hand. St. Anne's face shows special reverence. An ancient icon of large size, painted on canvas, was located in the village of Minkovitsy, Dubno district, Volyn diocese. Since ancient times, this holiday was especially revered in Russia by pregnant women.
COMPLETE LIVES OF THE RIGHTEOUS FATHERS JOACHIM AND ANNA
The 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 clan 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 Most Holy 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 it was possible to find many living righteously and pleasing God, these two surpassed everyone in their virtues and appeared before God as the most worthy for the Mother of God to 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 if from simple matter, but from the chaste and holy, 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 “to dwell with men,” 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, were childless for a long time, so that in the very conception and birth of such a daughter the power of God’s grace, and 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. Just as much as the born Virgin Mary herself is higher and more worthy of honor than Isaac, so much greater and higher is the dignity of Joachim and Anna than 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.
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, the blessing of 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?” Do you not 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 Anna, sad, 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 everyone 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 is 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, 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, the 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 Angel's 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 it serve Him and glorify the holy name of God day and night throughout its 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 Gate you will find your wife Anna, to whom I announced the same thing.
Joachim, surprised by such an angelic gospel, glorifying 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 her daughter was born, 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.
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 Angel’s 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 at the age of eighty 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, being 79 years old[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! The Holy Church rightly called you Fathers of God[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.
Notes
[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.
[2] The church commemorates the repose of Righteous Anna on July 25.
[3] The Church daily, at the end of divine services, at dismissal, 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.
