The saints hold an important and honorable place in the canon of our Church. Joachim and Anna, the forefather and promotor of our Lord Jesus Christ. In almost every sacred service, a special mention is made of their venerable persons, the ministers seeking their intercession to God. They are the parents of the Theotokos, who were worthy to give birth to the Mother of God in order to realize the plan of salvation for the human race.
Our information about them comes exclusively from the Sacred Tradition, since the New Testament does not mention anything. However, for us Orthodox, the Holy Tradition is just as valid and reliable as the Holy Bible, because the self-consciousness of our Church respectfully preserved what was not recorded by the Holy Authors in the New Testament texts. The ancient Fathers and the faithful people took care to preserve, among other things, the unwritten tradition regarding the grandparents of our Lord according to the flesh. Part of this tradition has been recorded in the so-called “apocryphal literature” of the ancient Church. The so-called apocryphal especially speaks extensively about the forefather and forerunner of the Lord. "Proto-Gospel of James".
Joachim was from the tribe of Judah, the son of Jacob, was the son of Eliakim and descendant of the glorious king DavidHis name means in Hebrew "the one raised up by God." He lived privately in Jerusalem in his own luxurious mansion, near the pool of Bethesda. He married Anna, his daughter. Matthan from his tribe Levi and Maria from the tribe of Judah. Her name means in Hebrew "grace, favor"He had two sisters, Maria, her mother Salome and Sovi, her mother Elizabeth, which gave birth to John the BaptistThey both belonged to the tribe of Judah, from which, according to the prophets, the Messiah would come. Messiah. They also both belonged to the small group of pious Jews who eagerly and faithfully awaited his coming and wished that he would come from their lineage. Joachim and Anna lived in prayer, fasting and doing charitable works. They were convinced that the time of his coming was near. However, they were unimaginably saddened by the fact that they were uninherited and would not be entitled to have the child from their lineage. Great Expected. Anna was barren and of advanced age. But they never lost their faith in God and begged Him day and night to grant them the right to become parents. The childless were considered by the Jews to be stigmatized by God and their gifts were not accepted by the priests of the Temple.
The prayers and supplications of the two pious elders were accepted by God. Miraculously, Anna became pregnant, despite her advanced age. Joachim was eighty-three years old and Anna seventy. They immediately hastened to dedicate their child to God, to whom it belonged, since He had given it to them. The period of pregnancy was a constant hymn of thanksgiving to God for the great gift He had given them, an unquenchable praise to the Lord, Who is able to break the laws of nature.
After nine months, Anna gave birth to a cute little girl, whom they named Mary, from the name of her grandmother, her mother's mother, which means in Hebrew "lady" and who was destined to become the Lady of the world and the angels.
After the little girl turned three years old, Joachim and Anna felt that the time had come to fulfill their promise to God. They took Mary and took her to
in the Temple of Jerusalem to dedicate it to God. The pious Jews believed that the Temple of Jerusalem was the place of God's dwelling and presence. The Holy of Holies, the dark and inaccessible part of the Temple, was only accessible to the high priest of the year and only on the day of his feast. "Exile", was considered the throne of God. The priests of the Temple, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, recognized the holiness of the girl and therefore did not lead her to the special wing of the adjacent buildings, where the consecrated virgins resided, but led her to the Sanctum sanctorum, to preserve its purity and holiness.
There she remained, nourished by heavenly food and served by holy angels, until the priests betrothed her to the righteous Joseph. In the meantime her parents had fallen asleep when she was eleven years old, Joachim at the age of ninety-two and Anna at eighty-three.
Their memory is celebrated gloriously by our Church on September 9, the day after the great feast of the Mother of God. Nativity of the Virgin Mary, as a supreme honor to their venerable persons, because they also contributed to the realization of the plan of salvation of the world, as the parents of the Mother of God.
The honor of the holy Godfathers Joachim and Anna dates back to apostolic times, when the Christians of the Jerusalem Church honored them together with the Theotokos. Saint Anna enjoys special honor on Mount Athos, where the largest Skete is dedicated to her and where her left leg is kept. The entire shin of her right leg is kept in the Holy Monastery of Koutloumousi. Her holy relics are fragrant and work miracles, proving her holiness and justifying the honor that the faithful of all times attribute to the holy Godfathers.
photo PEMPTOUSIA.GR
https://www.pemptousia.gr/2021/09/ag-ioakim-ke-anna-i-eftichesteri-g/
