Saint Anna breastfeeds the Virgin Mary (byzantine fresco from the sanctuary of St. Stephen in Kastoria, Greece)

 

Photo from the blog of Proskynitis (Pilgrim)

Orthodox Holy Church of Transfiguration of Lord, Baltimore, USA

On December 9th (or 22nd = the 9th by the old calendar) the Church commemorates the conception of the Most-holy Theotokos by the righteous Saint Anna.

In the land of Galilee, in the city of Nazareth, there lived the righteous couple Joachim and Anna, who were descendants of kings and high priests. This couple so pleased God with their pious life, that He chose them to become the parents of the Holy Virgin, the fore-chosen Mother of God. But just as the Lord Himself was to become incarnate from a Most-holy Mother, so the Mother of God was to be born of holy and pure parents. By the will of God Joachim and Anna remained childless until a very old age, so that in the conception and birth of their Daughter from barren and aged parents the power of God’s grace would be manifest, and a divine sign would be given to mankind.

For a long time the righteous Joachim and Anna sorrowed and wept over their childlessness, and were subjected to mockery and scorn from those around them, because the Jews of those times, who awaited the coming of the Messiah from the ancestry of David, looked upon barrenness as a sign of God’s punishment. The pious spouses, however, never lost hope in God’s mercy, and for their patience and unfailing faith in God their grief finally turned into joy, and their disgrace – into great honor and dignity.

Once, when Saint Anna in great sorrow prayed to God in her garden, the Lord sent an Angel who foretold her of the forthcoming conception and birth of a Maiden, which soon came to pass. The Church commemorates the conception of the Holy Virgin as being in accordance with God’s pledge, but at the same time springing from a physical union, thus pointing out that the Virgin Mary was born under natural human laws, and that in His incarnation the Lord Jesus Christ fully inherited from His Most-holy Mother the essence of mankind. The conception of the Holy Virgin Mary brought joy not only to Her parents, but to the entire world, because it was the first harbinger of God’s promise of mankind’s redemption through the coming of the Saviour down to earth.

The Conception by Righteous Anna of the Most Holy Mother of God (December 9)

Orthodox Church in America

[...] The Orthodox Church does not accept the teaching that the Mother of God was exempted from the consequences of ancestral sin (death, corruption, sin, etc.) at the moment of her conception by virtue of the future merits of Her Son. Only Christ was born perfectly holy and sinless, as Saint Ambrose of Milan teaches in Chapter Two of his Commentary on Luke. The Holy Virgin was like everyone else in Her mortality, and in being subject to temptation, although She committed no personal sins. She was not a deified creature removed from the rest of humanity. If this were the case, She would not have been truly human, and the nature that Christ took from Her would not have been truly human either. If Christ does not truly share our human nature, then the possibility of our salvation is in doubt.

The Conception of the Virgin Mary by Saint Anna took place at Jerusalem. The many icons depicting the Conception by Saint Anna show the Most Holy Theotokos trampling the serpent underfoot.

“In the icon Saints Joachim and Anna are usually depicted with hands folded in prayer; their eyes are also directed upward and they contemplate the Mother of God, Who stands in the air with outstretched hands; under Her feet is an orb encircled by a serpent (symbolizing the devil), which strives to conquer all the universe by its power.”

There are also icons in which Saint Anna holds the Most Holy Virgin on her left arm as an infant. On Saint Anna’s face is a look of reverence. A large ancient icon, painted on canvas, is located in the village of Minkovetsa in the Dubensk district of Volhynia diocese. From ancient times this Feast was especially venerated by pregnant women in Russia. 

Icon from here

Troparion — Tone 4

Today the bonds of barrenness are broken, / God has heard Joachim and Anna. / He has clearly promised them that beyond hope, they would bear a divine child, / by whom the uncircumscribable One was born as a mortal Man, / Who commanded the angel to cry to her: / “Hail, O full of grace, / the Lord is with you!”

Kontakion — Tone 4

(Podoben: “You have appeared today...”)
Today the world keeps festival / at Anna’s conceiving, wrought by God; / for she bore her who inexpressibly conceived the Word of God.

See also

When the Orthodox Church celebrates pregnancy...

When the Orthodox Church celebrates pregnancy...

“The Gestating Virgin Mother” - an icon by hagiographer Sophia Papazoglou, in the church of Saint Eleftherios on Acharnon Street in Athens, Greece  (from here)

As we all know, on the 25^th of March our Church celebrates the Feast of the Annunciation of the Theotokos - that is, of Her conversation with the Archangel Gabriel - who (without offering Her a lily, as the myth would have it), announced that She was the chosen vessel who was to bear the Godman Christ.

According to the ancient Tradition of our Church, as soon as the Theotokos responded with Her assent (according to the famous phrase in Luke 1:38, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord; may it be to me according to Your word”), the Saviour of the world was conceived in Her holy womb as an embryo.  The Theotokos offered from Her own flesh to God, so that the second Person of the Holy Trinity would be born as a man, for the salvation of mankind.     

This is why at the beginning of the Salutation hymns to the Theotokos it says that the Archangel “along with the incorporeal voice, he did see You becoming incarnate, o Lord” – that is, Gabriel actually witnessed God taking on a material body, and was not just hearing the incorporeal God’s voice…

Between the 25^th of March and the 25^th of December – the Day of Christ’s Nativity – is a period of 9 months, which represents the gestation period of the Holy Mother.  The Feast of the Annunciation was placed on the 25^th of March, after the Day of the Nativity had been designated in the month of December.

Our Church accordingly designated the 9^th of December as the day of Saint Anna’s conception - that is, the day on which the Theotokos was conceived as an embryo in the womb of Her mother, Saint Anna.  Between the 9^th of December and the 8^th of September (the day of birth of the Theotokos) is likewise 9 months: the duration of Saint Anna’s pregnancy.

Finally, on the 23^rd of September our Church celebrates the conception of the Precious Forerunner – that is, the conception of Saint John the Baptist as an embryo in his mother Saint Elizabeth’s womb.  From the 23^rd of September until the 24^th of June (the day of birth of the Baptist) is likewise 9 months: the duration of Saint Elizabeth’s pregnancy.
We should note that the Church celebrates the birthdays of only these three persons: of Christ, of the Theotokos and of Saint John the Baptist. All the other Saints are celebrated only on the day of their terrestrial death - that is, on the day of their definite entry into the foretaste of the heavenly kingdom (because the heavenly kingdom will be manifested with the Second Coming of the Lord). (They are also celebrated on other days, which are related to their deaths - for example the translation of their holy relics.)

These three periods of nine months are indicative of the immense worth and significance that the Orthodox Church ascribes - even from Her ancient times - to full-term pregnancy and to embryos, and by extension to maternity.

We might also add that, according to Luke’s Gospel, when the Theotokos was carrying Christ in Her womb and Saint Elizabeth was carrying the Baptist in her womb and the two women (who were related) met - as soon as the Theotokos greeted Elizabeth from a distance, the Baptist embryo leapt inside his mother’s womb and Saint Elizabeth was immediately inspired by the Holy Spirit into recognizing that Mary, the Virgin Mother, was carrying the Messiah inside Her womb (Luke 1:39-56).  This excerpt is of huge significance and is recited as the Gospel reading during the Minor Canon for the Supplication to the Theotokos. (Representative icon of the event, below)

An embryo is not just a mass of cells; it is a normal, developing person according to our Holy Church and it has an immortal soul.

This is why abortion is murder and a horrendous sin.

I would ask you, dear brethren, to browse through our section on abortion, and specifically the posts and the related links:  

What does an abortion cost? A human life!

The horror of abortion

What the Saints of the Orthodox Church say about abortion

About abortion

A Romanian mom's miracle pregnancy
Shooting pregnant women as targets
Pan-Hellenic Society of Friends of Large Families (from here the icon - here)

I thank you in advance for your concern. May all you expectant mothers have a smooth delivery of your babies; as for the men, the families – and society itself – may they all take on their related responsibility. 

But even if they do not, our Church is always available to help out; while a visit to our parish Confessor is also a good first move (if you don’t know what to do, then go to church on Sunday and ask the sacristan to call the Priest so that you can talk to him).

May our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, my brethren, and with the entire world.

PS:  Below is an icon of the 14.000 Infants (the Holy Innocents) who were slaughtered by Herod; albeit indirectly, it too is related to our subject.  I thank you. 

Translation from Greek by A. N.