Anna in the Bible: The Prophetess and the Mother of Mary

There are two women named “Anna” who were very important in the events surrounding the birth of Jesus. One is the prophetess Anna who lived in the temple and constantly fasted and prayed. She was old by the time she encountered the infant Jesus. She had formerly prophesied about the coming of Christ and was present when Saints Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to the temple to offer sacrifice for him according to the law of Moses.

The other important Anna is St. Anna the mother of the Virgin Mary. While not named or mentioned in the Biblical canon, she is broadly attested in Christian tradition and has been venerated by Christians since before there were denominations.

What does the Bible say about the two Annas?

Saint Anna the Prophetess is mentioned briefly in Luke’s Gospel account:

“Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.” (Luke 2:36–38)

Saint Anna, mother of the Virgin, is not mentioned in the Gospel. Even Luke’s account, which goes back much farther than the others chronologically, begins Mary’s story after she is betrothed to Joseph.

Did the two Annas have husbands or children?

The husband of Anna the Prophetess is not named. The Bible mentions only that she had a husband and may indicate that she had only been married to him for seven years before she became a widow. There is no indication that she had a child at any point. In any case, she was a widow at the time she received the visit from Saints Joseph and Mary and the infant Jesus.

Saint Anna, mother of the Virgin Mary, was married to a man named Joachim. Anna and Joachim did have a baby: the Virgin Mary, making them the grandparents of Jesus. According to tradition which is accepted by most Christians historically, Joachim and Anna had been childless into their old age. They prayed to God that he would work the same sort of miracle in them that he had worked in Abraham and Sarah, who also had not had children and were advanced in age. Eventually both Anna and Joachim were visited separately by the Archangel Gabriel, who told them that they would be blessed with a child—and that through that child, the whole world would be blessed. They each promised the archangel that their child would be raised in the Temple. Anna conceived and bore a daughter, whom they named Mary. When Mary turned three years old, they took her to the Temple and presented her to the high priest at the time, the Righteous Zacharias. They offered sacrifice and dedicated Mary to the Temple, where she was raised until the time that she was betrothed to Joseph.

Prayer

The traditional hymns to Anna the mother of the Virgin Mary in the Eastern Orthodox church are:

“Let us sing praises to Joachim and Anna,
the couple honored by God
(and they are His kinsmen).
They have borne for us the Maiden
who in a manner beyond understanding
gave birth to Him Who though fleshless,
became the incarnate to save the world.
With her they intercede for our souls.”

And,

“Anna rejoices, released from her barrenness,
and nurses her most pure child.
She calls all people to glorify Him
Who gave the Virgin Mother to mankind from her womb.”

There are doubtless many other prayers and remembrances of St. Anna throughout different Christian denominations, as she was an early and ancient saint. She is commemorated on July 26 in the Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches, and on July 25 in the Eastern Orthodox church (and remembered on September 9 and December 9).

What is the significance of the two Annas?

It’s difficult to draw more than general lessons from the Prophetess Anna because her role in the New Testament is so brief. You could probably say that her faithfulness was rewarded or notice that she stayed faithful to her religion even after her husband died and she didn’t remarry, but we don’t know all that much about her.

For St. Anna the mother of the Virgin Mary, there are more obvious lessons to learn about faithfulness, trusting in God, and, I think, sacrifice.

One of the major themes running through Christianity, which you see all over the New Testament, is the idea that you have to give something up in order to gain it. Jesus says that whoever tries to save his life will lose it, but he who loses his life for Christ’s sake will find it. In a little way, we do this sort of thing every day: we sacrifice short-term comforts for long-term gains, such as abstaining from junk food and going to the gym, or going to school and studying rather than watching television. Saint Anna offered her child to God: she was so grateful to have a child in her old age that she was prepared to give the child back to God in gratitude—and that child turned out to be the mother of Christ, who went on to bless the whole world. Anna gave up one thing, but the blessing she received was big enough to bless the entire cosmos.