Every year, couples who cannot conceive children hit the thresholds of expensive paid clinics. Often their efforts are not rewarded, and on the contrary, there is a feeling of helplessness and hopelessness. It is precisely such couples that the icon of Anna and Joachim can help. It is known that the parents of the Virgin Mary have been waiting for a miraculous conception for almost 50 years.
Miraculous icon
In order not to despair, young couples are encouraged to have before their eyes the example of Saints Anna and Joachim. The couple lived in Nazareth, led a righteous life, but for some reason they could not have children. Only at the age of 70 they were able to become parents.
For many centuries, their icon has been miraculous. Righteous Joachim and Anna, according to parishioners, grant healing to spouses from such a terrible disease as infertility.
There are several versions of the Christian story. On some icons, the spouses are depicted frontally, on others we see their profile. In some images, the elderly couple embrace each other tenderly. There are pictures where Anna and her husband are already nursing the Virgin Mary.
At the same time, almost always elderly spouses with tenderness and lovelook at each other. The clothes are emphasized red, which indicates the approaching joy. Often the halo of the holy husband is larger than that of the beloved. This symbol shows that Joachim is the head of their family.
The icon of Anna and Joachim is an image of marital love. A love that can work miracles.
Why did society condemn Godfathers?
The parents of the Virgin Mary lived in Nazareth. Both were from good families. Two-thirds of the income was given to the poor and to the temple. Despite this, the Nazarenes condemned the married couple. It was believed that if people in a legal marriage do not have children, then they are not blessed by God. Barrenness was a punishment and a severe misfortune.
According to the law, Joachim could divorce his childless wife and remarry. However, the righteous man loved Anna too much and could not reject her.
But the residents of the city calmly turned away from their family. One feast day, a man brought gifts to the Temple in Jerusalem, but the priest refused to take them. The servant of God was sure that since the Almighty did not give a couple of children, it means that they have hidden grave sins.
On the same day, one of the residents of Nazareth told the righteous man that a childless person cannot offer sacrifices to God.
Then no one knew that it was Saints Joachim and Anna who would bring the Savior to the sinful earth. The icon of spouses is probably why it has such miraculous healing properties.
Joachim's fast in the wilderness
The grandfather of Jesus Christ was very upset that on this holiday he was refused in the church. He remembered his family tree andrealized that all the worthy men in it had children. True, the forefather Abraham was able to take his newborn son in his arms only at an advanced age.
Joachim that day could not return to his wife, but went into the desert. He spent 40 days in prayer and fasting. The righteous man asked the Almighty to give him a child. He was willing to stay in the wilderness until God granted his request.
On the 40th day an angel appeared to him and told him to go to Jerusalem. His wife was already there waiting for him. Thus, the icon of the Godfather of Joachim and Anna shows the world that faith in God and true love can be higher than the opinions of others.
Anna's Prayers
Anna was born in the family of the priest Matthan. All her brothers and sisters had children. The venerable lady believed that it was her grave sins that prevented her from becoming a mother.
All her life a woman was supported only by her husband, when Joachim went into the desert, Anna decided that now the whole world had definitely turned away from her.
One day while walking in the garden, she saw a nest with chicks. This sight upset the righteous even more. It seemed to her that she was the only woman whose womb could never raise a child.
Then Anna began to tearfully pray, promising to bring her child as a gift to the Almighty. After the prayer, an angel descended to her and said that God had heard her request. And now she should have a daughter named Maria. The angel also told the woman to urgently go to the Jerusalem temple to thank God.
It is the conception of Mary that is depicted by the most famous icon of the righteous GodfatherJoachim and Anna. On it, the saints stand on the threshold of the temple.
Miraculous birth
After visiting the temple, the elderly couple finally had a long-awaited daughter. According to legend, when the baby was six months old, Anna let her go to the ground. Little Mary walked exactly 7 steps and returned to her mother. Then the woman decided that until the girl went to the temple, she should not walk on earth.
The icon of Anna and Joachim is often complemented by a third character - the baby Mary. True, the girl lived in the family for only three years. Then, as promised, she was sent to the temple. Joachim himself thought to do it a year earlier, but Anna was afraid that the little girl would miss her parents a lot. Perhaps she just wanted to spend more time with her long-awaited daughter.
The miraculous birth of Mary forced the inhabitants of Nazareth to change their anger to mercy. True, they did not yet know that the history of the New Testament was beginning before their very eyes.
Shortly after the parents gave their daughter to the service of God, they left this sinful earth.
How to pray to an icon?
According to numerous reviews, the icon of Anna and Joachim can not only help childless couples, but also strengthens marriage and helps restore women's he alth. Lonely parishioners can turn to the saints to help them find a lawful life partner. Pregnant women ask St. Anne for an easier birth and a he althy baby.
There are special prayers that can be addressed to family patrons:
- troparion to the righteous;
- kondak;
- first and second prayer to Godfathers.
And also Anna's personal appeal to the Almighty about the gift of the baby.
It's hard to say what is the right way to pray. You can learn famous words, but then you need to understand their meaning and ask from the heart. And you can try to ask the saints in your own words. As they themselves did in their time. The main thing is that the prayer comes from the heart.
Where can you bow to the saints?
In many churches of the East and West, the icon of Joachim and Anna is kept. Its value is difficult to overestimate. The holy couple is venerated by Christians around the world, including Catholics.
The first temple to the righteous was built in the 4th-5th century AD in Jerusalem. It has survived to this day. According to legend, the tomb of the godfathers is also located there.
In Russia, they began to read Joachim and Anna almost immediately after the adoption of the Orthodox faith. To this day, the names of the righteous are commemorated during divine services. And the day of the saints falls on September 9 (22), coinciding with the birth of Mary.
Today you can bow to the relics of the righteous in Athos and Greek monasteries. In Russia, a particle of the relics of the holy wife is in the Valaam Monastery.
The icon of the righteous godfathers is in the Moscow church of St. John the Warrior on Yakimanka. You can also order a copy for yourself. Small images are sold within 500-700 rubles. Larger icons already cost from 1,500 rubles. It is best to acquire the image of saints in temples. This is especially true for spouses who dream ofchildren.
