Joachim and Anne

Holy and God-Bearing Ancestors Joachim and Anne, parents of the Theotokos.

Saints Joachim and Anne were the parents of the Most Holy Theotokos. Righteous and devout, they remained childless into old age, bearing reproach with patience and beseeching God with tears; in answer to their prayer they were granted a daughter, Mary, whom they dedicated to the Lord in His Temple.

The Church honors them as the God-bearing ancestors of Christ, and their names are invoked at the close of every Orthodox service. Their synaxis is kept on September 9, the day after the Nativity of the Theotokos.

Feast day

On the New Calendar, Joachim and Anne is commemorated on September 9. Churches on the Old (Julian) Calendar keep the feast on September 22 of the civil calendar.

Who celebrates a name day

People with these names keep their name day on this feast:

Joachim, Ioakeim, Anna, Anne

Also commemorated on September 9

• Severian of Sebaste

  Martyr, Σεβηριανός

  Great Martyr Severian of Sebaste in Armenia.

  Name days: Severianos, Sevirianos, Severian

• Fathers of the Third Ecumenical Council

  Saint, Γ' Οικουμενική Σύνοδος

  Commemoration of the Holy Fathers of the Third Ecumenical Council at Ephesus.

• Theophanes the Confessor of Diabenos

  Venerable, Θεοφάνης ο Ομολογητής

  Venerable Theophanes the Confessor and faster of Mount Diabenos.

• Joseph of Volokolamsk

  Venerable, Ιωσήφ Βολοκολάμσκ

  Venerable Joseph, abbot and wonderworker of Volokolamsk.

• Ciaran of Clonmacnoise

  Venerable, Κιαράν

  Venerable Ciaran, abbot and founder of Clonmacnoise in Ireland.

  Name days: Ciaran, Kieran, Kiaran

Icon: public domain image from Wikimedia Commons.