Every day millions of believers ask an important question: what holiday is today in the Church calendar, what are the folk signs and customs, what is strictly forbidden on this day, whose name day is celebrated, and how to call down God’s blessing on the family through a strong prayer. September 9 is a special and very family-oriented day in the Orthodox calendar (new calendar / Revised Julian): the day after the great feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, the Church celebrates the Synaxis of the Holy Righteous Ancestors of God Joachim and Anna — the parents of the Most Holy Theotokos, the grandparents of Christ Himself. This is a feast of married faithfulness, patient waiting and family prayer — and so it is considered especially close to married couples, parents, grandfathers and grandmothers. This guide explores the lives of the righteous Joachim and Anna, the meaning of their synaxis for the family, the folk traditions of the day, and offers the canonical prayers.
1. The Orthodox Feast — the Synaxis of the Holy Righteous Ancestors of God Joachim and Anna
According to ancient Church tradition, the day after great feasts the Church honors those saints who are closest to the main event — such a service is called a synaxis. Therefore September 9, immediately after the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, the Church gathers the faithful around the parents of the Most Pure Virgin — the righteous Joachim and Anna, whom it calls “ancestors of God”, for from them was born the Mother of the Savior. This synaxis is a rare feast dedicated not to one saint but to a married couple: the Church glorifies not only their personal righteousness but also their common road to God — a family that became the cradle of salvation.
Righteous Joachim was of the lineage of King David, and righteous Anna of the tribe of Aaron; according to tradition they lived together about fifty years in love, prayer and almsgiving, generously helping the poor and the temple. Their deepest wound was barrenness, which in those times was considered a sign of God’s disfavor — but they did not grow bitter, they turned their pain into prayer. After decades of waiting and tears, an Angel of the Lord announced to them the birth of a Daughter, and they vowed to dedicate Her to God. Mary was born — the Mother of the Savior. The righteous Joachim and Anna became the model of how God answers faithful prayer not “in time” by human measure but best of all. According to tradition, righteous Joachim died at the age of eighty and righteous Anna at seventy-nine, and both remained faithful to their vow to the end of their days.
2. What Is Prayed For to the Righteous Joachim and Anna
The righteous Joachim and Anna are among the most beloved family saints, and they are prayed to above all for everything concerning the family:
- For the gift of children — barren couples waiting for children pray to the righteous Joachim and Anna after their own example of long and faithful waiting;
- For harmony in marriage — for peace, faithfulness and patience in family life;
- For children and grandchildren — grandfathers and grandmothers pray to them for their grandchildren, for they themselves are the grandparents of Christ Himself;
- For a happy marriage — for a good marriage and the blessing of a new family;
- For conception and pregnancy — for a happy pregnancy and the birth of a healthy child.
That is why the feast of September 9 is considered an especially favorable day for family prayer: couples waiting for children come to church together on this day, and parents and grandparents pray for their descendants, asking the righteous Joachim and Anna to intercede before God.
3. The Catholic Feast — the Veneration of Saints Joachim and Anna
In the Roman Catholic Church Saints Joachim and Anna are solemnly honored on July 26, but their veneration lives in the Western tradition every day: Saint Anna is one of the most popular saints of the West, patroness of mothers, grandmothers, widows and travelers, and Saints Joachim and Anna together are honored as patrons of married couples and grandparents. In many countries there are confraternities and congregations in honor of Saint Anna, and the name “Anna” is among the most common women’s names in the Christian world. Thus September 9, when the East celebrates the synaxis of the parents of the Theotokos, reminds both branches of Christianity of one truth: salvation came into the world through a simple righteous family, and every family is called to become such a cradle of faith.
4. What Is Forbidden on September 9 — Folk Signs and Customs
In the folk calendar September 9 is connected with the memory of the righteous Joachim and Anna, so the day was considered especially family-oriented. The main customs: to go to church for the festive Liturgy, to pray to the righteous Joachim and Anna for the family, children and grandchildren; on this day especially couples waiting for children prayed, and also grandfathers and grandmothers for their grandchildren. It was believed that on this day the whole family should gather for a common meal, pray together and thank God for their family. In many places on Joachim and Anna’s day the autumn family works began: houses were prepared for winter, stores were made, and the household was repaired. Folk signs for September 9: clear and calm weather — a warm autumn; rain on this day — a wet autumn; much spiderweb — a clear autumn; cranes flying high and slowly — a late winter; if Joachim and Anna’s day is clear, all September will be clear.
What is forbidden on September 9: one must not quarrel, swear or wish evil on one’s neighbor — the family feast teaches peace and gentleness, and a quarrel on this day was considered especially inappropriate; one should not work hard without necessity, it is better to give the day to prayer and family; swearing, envy and refusing help to those who ask are forbidden; one must not be sad or grumble about one’s family, for the feast is a day of thanksgiving for one’s kin; by belief, one should not lend money or begin great undertakings without prayer on this day. Instead, the day is best given to the Liturgy, family prayer, a common meal and quiet family joy.
5. The Spiritual Laws of Life: the Law of Thanksgiving and the Commandment of Love
The prayer life of a Christian obeys unshakable spiritual laws. The first is the law of thanksgiving and spiritual abundance. The Apostle Paul teaches: “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess. 5:18). The synaxis of Joachim and Anna is a feast that teaches us to give thanks for the family: the righteous Joachim and Anna, having waited for their child, brought Her to the temple with thanksgiving, and this thanksgiving became the beginning of salvation. When we sincerely thank God for our family, for the years lived, and continue to ask with trust, we release the power of His grace, which acts in His time. The second is the fulfilment of the Commandments of Love for God and neighbour (Mt. 22:37-39): Joachim and Anna did not grow bitter over their long barrenness, but turned their pain into prayer and a vow of love. Let us too learn to turn our family trials into prayer and love, and then our family, like the family of Joachim and Anna, will become a cradle of faith.
6. Hesychast Watchfulness (Nepsis) and Prayer on the Rope
In Orthodox hesychasm and the Athonite tradition, spiritual watchfulness (nepsis) is the foundation of the soul’s salvation, and the righteous Joachim and Anna are the model of such watchfulness in family life: they kept their family in prayer and faithfulness even in the hardest years of barrenness. When our mind is attacked by thoughts of despair — “it is too late”, “God does not hear”, “nothing will change” — the hesychasts advise immediately cutting them off with the short, rhythmic prayer on the rope (komboskini), joining it with the invocation of the righteous Joachim and Anna. A short prayer for the day:
Saints righteous Joachim and Anna, ancestors of God and well-pleasing servants of God, teach me to wait with faith and thanksgiving, intercede for my family before God, and entreat the Son of your Daughter to have mercy on me, a sinner.
7. The Power of Communal Prayer
Communal prayer has the promise of extraordinary power from the Lord Himself: “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them” (Mt. 18:20). Dear brothers and sisters! We invite you to join the prayer circle on Pray.ee. If you or your loved ones are praying for the gift of children, waiting for an answer to a long prayer, wishing to pray for your family, children or grandchildren, or if you simply wish to congratulate your Joachims and Annas on their name day, write the names (for health and God’s protection) and your needs in the comments below. Our great Christian family will remember them daily in prayers before the Throne of God, asking the intercession of the saints righteous Joachim and Anna, peace for families and a good year.
8. A Living Testimony: the Prayer of Joachim and Anna for the Family
Parish chronicles and home testimonies preserve many stories of the intercession of the righteous Joachim and Anna for families. Maria’s family from the Ternopil region tells one of them. She and her husband prayed for a child for eight years: examinations, treatments, disappointments. Once on the feast of Joachim and Anna a priest advised them to pray to the righteous ancestors of God — “for they themselves waited long and know how waiting hurts” — and to begin reading the prayer to them every day together with the married prayer. “We stopped demanding a child from God as a debt and began to ask for him as a gift,” Maria recalls. In the ninth year of waiting Maria became pregnant, and a healthy boy was born. “Our son was born nine months after the day when, for the first time in many years, we prayed not with tears but with thanksgiving,” Maria says. “I do not know whether it is a coincidence or an answer. But I know that all those eight years I was not praying into emptiness, but to those who themselves know what it means to wait and to receive. Now every year on Joachim and Anna’s day our son and I go to church to give thanks.”
9. The Strongest Canonical Prayers of the Day
Troparion of the Saints Righteous Joachim and Anna, Tone 2:
For the sake of God, who was born of you, entreat, ancestors of God Joachim and Anna, that He deliver our souls from all sorrow, for He is good and the Lover of mankind.
Prayer to the Righteous Joachim and Anna for the Gift of Children (home prayer of the day)
O righteous Joachim and Anna, ancestors of God and well-pleasing servants of God! For long years you waited for the promised child and, having waited, brought Her to the temple with thanksgiving. Hear our prayer: intercede for the couples waiting for the gift of parenthood, ask for them from the Lord patience in waiting, faith without doubt and hope without despair; and for those whom He blesses with a child — health for mother and child and wisdom to raise the child in the faith. Pray also for all families, for children and grandchildren, so that they too, like you, may be faithful to God and glorify the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
10. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is the Synaxis of the Saints Righteous Joachim and Anna, and why is it celebrated on September 9?
A synaxis is the honoring of the saints closest to a great event, on the day after it. Since on September 8 the Church celebrates the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, on the next day, September 9, it gathers the faithful around the parents of the Most Pure Virgin — the righteous Joachim and Anna, whom it calls “ancestors of God”.
Who were the righteous Joachim and Anna?
The righteous Joachim and Anna were the parents of the Most Holy Theotokos, the grandparents of Christ Himself. They were of the lineage of David (Joachim) and of the tribe of Aaron (Anna), lived together long years in prayer and almsgiving, and after decades of barrenness bore a Daughter, Mary, the Mother of the Savior.
What is prayed for to the righteous Joachim and Anna?
They are prayed to above all for the gift of children for barren couples, for harmony in marriage, for children and grandchildren, for a happy marriage, and for happy conception and pregnancy. The feast is considered especially favorable for family prayer.
Whose name day is September 9?
By folk custom the Joachims and Annas are congratulated on this day, as well as all whose saints are commemorated on this day. The chief feast is dedicated to the righteous Joachim and Anna, the parents of the Most Holy Theotokos.
11. Sources
1. Righteous Joachim, father of the Theotokos — Wikipedia article: en.wikipedia.org (Joachim).
2. Saint Anna, mother of the Theotokos — Wikipedia article: en.wikipedia.org (Saint Anne).
3. 9 вересня: день пам’яті святих праведників Йоакима і Анни — Ukrainian-language version of this article: pray.ee (9 вересня).