Saints Joachim and Anna, the Ancestors of God
Parents of the Most Holy Theotokos
- Feast day
- September 9
- Lived
- 1st century BC
- Patronage
- Childless couples, grandparents, expectant mothers
The parents of the Virgin Mary are commemorated at the end of every Orthodox service, when the priest dismisses the faithful invoking 'the holy and righteous ancestors of God, Joachim and Anna'.
Life
Joachim, of the royal line of David, and Anna, of the priestly line of Aaron, lived in Nazareth and were childless into old age — a reproach in Israel. Joachim's offering was refused at the Temple on that account, and he withdrew into the wilderness to fast and pray while Anna wept in her garden.
An angel appeared to each of them with the promise of a child, and they met again at the Golden Gate of Jerusalem. The Church keeps the Conception of the Theotokos by Saint Anna on December 9, her Nativity on September 8, and the feast of her parents the day after.
Veneration
Saint Anna is invoked throughout the Orthodox world by couples unable to conceive, and the skete of Saint Anna on Mount Athos, where her left foot is venerated, receives continual petitions from childless families.
When Saints Joachim and Anna is commemorated
The feast falls on September 9 on the Revised Julian (New) calendar used by most Greek, Antiochian and Romanian parishes. Parishes that keep the Julian (Old) calendar — much of the Russian, Serbian and Georgian Churches, and Mount Athos — celebrate it on the civil date September 22, thirteen days later. You can switch between both reckonings anywhere on this site.
See the full liturgical day for September 9, 2027
That page gives the fasting rule in force, the Epistle and Gospel appointed for the day, and every other saint commemorated alongside Saints Joachim and Anna. To keep the feast, look for a parish in the USA, Canada or Australia directory, and read the Akathist hymns appointed for private prayer.