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Anne/Anna is a female name of Jewish origin (from Hebrew חַנָּה, Khan(n)a – “grace, prettiness”; also ancient Greek – Άννα), although there is an assumption that ancient Jews borrowed it from earlier languages of the Middle East , for example, from ancient Sumerian. Since in Sumerian mythology and religion Anne/Anna (originally Inanna) was the central female deity, the daughter of god Nanna, the great-granddaughter of god An. Usually the following meanings of this name are distinguished: “courage, strength, grace, mercy of God; pretty, attractive”.
The name came to Rus’ with the adoption of Christianity and became popular due to its easy pronunciation and the pious image of Saint Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary and grandmother of Jesus Christ. Girls from different social classes were called Anna – from nobles to peasants. In the second half of the 18th century, every eighth noblewoman, every tenth merchant’s wife and every thirteenth peasant woman bore this name.
If noblewomen had a variety of names, among peasant women the same name was considered commonplace. Custom excluded the possibility of choosing a name that no one else in the village had. Thus, in some families there were several Annas. In the 1777 census of the population of Lepekhino, a village in the Kostroma province, families were noted where both the mother and daughters were called Anna.
As the name gained popularity among peasant women, it rapidly declined among noblewomen. This process can be traced from the lists of students of the Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens from 1758 to 1914. During 156 years, the percentage of girls with the name Anna decreased from 12.7 to 2.9.
After the revolution, the name Anna began to disappear in villages and small towns. By 1930, it had become rare, and instead it such names as Valentina, Nina, Galina and Tamara became more popular.
Today, according to statistics, Anna is one of the most favorite names of Muscovites. It ranks third in popularity, behind Maria and Sofia.
By the way, in the Russian language there are more than 50 derivatives of the name Anna, among which the most common are Anya, Anechka, Anyutka, Anyuta, Anyutik, Annushka, Annetta, Anka, Anka, Anita, Anyusha, Anyusik, Ancha, Anchik, Anyutochka, Annochka, Annyusya, Annunya, Annusya, Anyusya, Anusya, Asya, Nyura, Nyusha, Nyusya, Nyuta…
In Christianity, the name of Saint Anne is not mentioned even once in the four canonical Gospels. It appears only in the apocryphal tradition, in particular in the Proto-Gospel of James, as well as in the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew and the Golden Legend. The tradition was also influenced by the “Sermon on the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary” by Saint Andrew of Crete (VII-VIII centuries).
Well, what do we know about this Saint?
Anne was the youngest daughter of Matthan, a priest from the high priestly family of Aaron, from the tribe of Levi – on her father’s side, and from the tribe of Judah – on her mother’s side. Her parents raised her to be a faithful, pious woman who lived with her husband Joachim in Nazareth of Galilee. They were good, simple people, had wealth in their home, and donated part of their property to the local temple and helped the poor. Despite the fact that the couple had been married for quite a long time (“they lived in marriage for fifty years”), they did not have children. In those days, childless families were considered sinful, and the people around them even began to reproach them for this.
Once, when the high priest denied Joachim the right to make a sacrifice to God, since he “did not create offspring for Israel”, he withdrew into the desert, where an angel appeared to him with the news that his wife would soon give birth to a daughter. Delighted, Joachim decided to return home. According to the Hagiography, at the same time in her garden, the pious Anne prayed for the gift of a child, and an angel of God also appeared to her saying, “Your prayer was heard, your sighs penetrated the clouds, and your tears were noticed by the Lord! You will conceive and give birth to a blessed daughter, above all the daughters of the earth. For Her sake all earthly generations will be blessed, She will give salvation to the whole world and She will be called Maria”! Hearing these words, Anna bowed to the angel and said, “As the Lord my God lives. If I have a child, I will give it to the Lord to serve, let it serve Him day and night, praising His Holy Name throughout its life”. And Anne’s former sadness turned into joy with which she met her husband at the Golden Gate of Jerusalem, and the Good News turned out to be true: Anna conceived and on 8 September (21 September according to the new style) around 16–15 BC gave birth to Maria.
Catholicism also celebrates 8 December as a holiday – the day of the conception of the Virgin Mary, which the Catholic Church considers immaculate. According to Franciscan doctrine, the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary occurred because of the embrace and kiss at the Golden Gate, and this miracle was the first act of Divine Salvation.
According to Jewish custom, on the 15th day after the birth of the baby, it was given the name indicated by the angel of God – Maria, and the parents, out of gratitude to the Lord, promised to give the child to the Temple.
The legend says that when the girl was six months old, Anna put her on the ground to see if she could stand. Maria took seven steps and returned to her mother’s arms. Therefore, Anna decided that her daughter would not walk on earth until she was brought into the Temple of the Lord.
When Mary was one year old, Joachim arranged a feast, for which he gathered priests, elders, and many people, and brought Mary to this meeting, asking everyone to bless Her.
“God of our fathers, bless this Child and give Her a glorious and eternal name throughout all generations” – was the blessing of the priests. Anne joyfully glorified God that He resolved her infertility and “took away the reproach of her enemies”.
A year later, Joachim was going to fulfill the vow of dedication Mary to God, but Anna, wanting to keep Her with her longer, persuaded her husband to postpone his intention for at least one year.
So Mary was introduced into the Jerusalem Temple at the age of three. Joachim and Anna placed their daughter on the first step of the Temple, and, to everyone’s amazement, three-year-old Mary climbed to the very top without outside help, where the High Priest Zechariah received her.
According to the Orthodox version of the Hagiography, Saint Joachim reposed at the age of 80, several years after his daughter was introduced into the Temple. Saint Anne died at the age of 79, two years after him, having spent those years at the Temple next to her daughter.
Joachim and Anne were buried near the future tomb of their daughter and the future grave of Joseph the Betrothed, in the Garden of Gethsemane, near the Mount of Olives, not far from Jerusalem. Those tombs were located on the edge of the Valley of Jehoshaphat, which lies between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives.
In the Catholic tradition, there are references to the fact that Anne, after the death of Joachim, managed to get married twice more, give birth to children, and join the Holy Family in Egypt to raise her grandson. It means that these legends consider her to be younger and date her death to a later time.
In the East, churches dedicated to Saint Anne began to appear in the 6th century, while in the West the Saint did not attract much attention until the 12th century. In the middle of the 6th century, a temple in the name of Anne was built in Constantinople. The earliest image testifying to the cult of Saint Anne is fragments of frescoes from the 8th century in the Church of Santa Maria Antiqua in Rome; a fresco from Faras (Egypt) also dates back to the same century. In the Middle Ages, in the cities of Apt (Provence) and Duren (Germany) they believed that they possessed the relics of Saint Anne. In the West, intense veneration of Saint Anne began in the 14th century and became very popular in the 15th century, reaching its peak by the 16th century. The first monastery in her honor in the West arose in 701 in Floriac near Rouen.
The figure of Saint Anne gained considerable popularity in Germany, affecting large sections of the people, but then Martin Luther subjected her to severe attacks, and a significant number of her images were destroyed during the iconoclasm of Lutherans in the 16th century, who wanted to return to the simplicity and clarity of the Holy Scriptures.
The Orthodox Church calls Joachim and Anna Godfathers, referring to the fact that in the flesh they were the ancestors of Jesus Christ.
In 710, the relics and a maphorion of Saint Anne were transferred from Jerusalem to Constantinople. The records of medieval Western pilgrims report the discovery of the shoulder and palm of Saint Anne in the Cyprus monastery of Stavrovouni. Currently, particles of the relics of Saint Anne are located in:
- Athos monasteries (left foot – in the Great Skete of Holy Righteous Anna, right foot – in the Koutloumousiou Monastery, left hand – in Stavronikita monastery);
- various monasteries and churches in Greece (including the Monastery of Saint John the Evangelist in Patmos, the Church of Panagia Gorgoepikoos in Thessaloniki);
- The Valaam Monastery (the only particle of the relics of Saint Anne in Russia).
What was Saint Anne like during her lifetime? – Artistic in nature, well aware of the ephemeral line between brightness and vulgarity, with a friendly and open character; tender, caring, with touching affection and selfless devotion; tactful and diplomatic, capable of not only finding a compromise solution, but also awakening the best feelings in a person… Well, plus… – curiosity, modesty and good manners!
That is, Saint Anne was soft and “of character” at the same time!
How does Saint Anne, the Patroness of married couples, women in labor, widows, and the poor, help? What requests do people turn to her with?
Turning to Anne the Prophetess, people make requests to:
- heal from various diseases and ailments, but especially from the plague (although we think of the plague as something outdated and irrelevant, every year the number of people sick with the plague in the world is about 2.5 thousand, and with no downward trend);
- relieve grief, despair, despondency, melancholy and anxiety;
- overcome apathy and depression;
- cope with negative emotions;
- cope with the loss of a loved one;
- help get pregnant;
- recover from infertility;
- if a married couple’s relationship is not going well, help bring peace and harmony into their lives;
- if financial difficulties occur, help find the right path and resolve complex issues in this area.
The Memorial Days of Saint Anne are celebrated on:
- 25 July (7 August) – The Dormition of the Righteous Anne;
- 9 September (22 September) – memory of the Holy and Righteous Ancestors of God, Joachim and Anne, Afterfeast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary;
- 9 December (22 December) – The Conception by the Righteous Anne of the Most Holy Mother of God.
