Saint Anne (also Ann or Anna, from Hebrew Hannah חַנָּה or Channah, meaning "favor" or "grace.") of David's house and line, was the mother of the Virgin Mary and grandmother of Jesus Christ according to Christian and Islamic tradition. Her name Anne is the Greek rendering of the Hebrew name Hannah. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical Gospels and Qu'ran.
Christian view
According to the apocryphal Gospel of James, Anne and her husband Joachim, after years of childlessness, were visited by an angel who told them that they would conceive a child. Anne promised to dedicate the child to God's service. Joachim and Anne are believed to have given Mary to the service of the Second Temple when the girl was three years old.[1] Anne is the patron saint of Quebec, Brittany, the Mi'kmaq peoples, women in labor, and miners.
The story bears a superficial similarity to that of the birth of Samuel, whose mother Hannah had also been childless. Although Anne's cult receives little attention in the Western church prior to the late 12th century,[2] dedications to Anne in the Eastern church occur as early as the 6th century.[3] In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, Anne is ascribed the title Forbear of God, and both the Birth of Mary and the Dedication of Mary to the Temple are celebrated as two of the Twelve Great Feasts.
In Western iconography, Anne may be recognised by her depiction in red robe and green mantle, often holding a book. Images may also be found depicting Anne holding a small Mary who in turn holds an infant Christ (see gallery). Such trinitarian representations mirror similar depictions of the Trinity, and were sometimes produced as pairs.[4]
Varying theologians have believed either that Joachim was Anne's only husband, or that she was married thrice. Ancient belief, attested to by a sermon of St John Damascene, was that Anne married once. In late medieval times, legend held that Anne was married three times, first to Joachim, then to Clopas, and finally to a man named Solomas, and that each marriage produced one daughter: Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary of Clopas, and Mary Salomae, respectively.[5]. The sister of Saint Anne was Sobe who was the mother of Saint Elizabeth.
Similarly, in the 4th century, and then much later in the 15th century, a belief arose that Mary was born of Anne by virgin birth. [6] Those believers included the 16th century mystic Valentine Weigel who claimed Anne conceived Mary by the power of the Holy spirit. This belief was also condemned as an error by the Catholic Church in 1677. Instead, the Church teaches that Mary was conceived in the normal fashion, but that she was miraculously preserved from original sin in order to make her fit to bear Christ. The conception of Mary free from original sin is termed the Immaculate Conception -- which is frequently confused with the Virgin Birth or Incarnation of Christ.
The iconographic subject of Joachim and Anne The Meeting at the Golden Gate fitted both views, and was a regular component of artistic cycles of the "Life of the Virgin". The couple meet at the "Golden Gate" of Jerusalem and embrace. They are aware of Anne's pregnancy, of which they have been separately informed by an archangel. For those believing in the virgin birth of Mary, this moment stood for her conception, and the feast was celebrated on the same day as the Immaculate Conception. The Birth of Mary, the Presentation of Mary and the Marriage of the Virgin were usual components of cycles of the Life of the Virgin in which Anne is normally shown.
Anne is never shown as present at the Nativity of Christ, but is frequently shown with the infant Christ in various subjects. She is normally shown as present at the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple and the Circumcision of Christ. There was a tradition that she went (separately) to Egypt and rejoined the Holy Family after their Flight to Egypt. Anne is not seen with the adult Christ, so was regarded as having died during the youth of Jesus.[7] Anne is also shown as the matriarch of the Holy Kinship, the extended family of Jesus, a popular subject in late medieval Germany. In modern devotions, Anne and her husband are invoked for protection for the unborn.
The feast day of Anne is 26 July (Western calendar) and 25 July (Eastern calendar).
Patronage
Saint Anne is patron of the following places: Brittany, Castelbuono,(Sicily, Italy) ;Canada; France; Fasnia; Brittany; Quebec; Adjuntas, Puerto Rico; Norwich, Connecticut; Santa Ana Pueblo; Seama, New Mexico; Taos, New Mexico; Chiclana de la Frontera, Spain; Marsaskala; Tudela, Navarre; Philippines; Santana (São Paulo); (a neighbourhood of São Paulo,) and South Vietnam. She is also the Patron Saint of housewives, grandmothers, cabinet makers, and women in labor.
Islamic view
Though unnamed in the Qur'an, Islamic tradition identifies Anne (Hannah) as the mother of Mary. The daughter of Faqud, Hannah was childless until old age. She saw a bird feeding its young while sitting in the shade of a tree which made her want children of her own. She prayed for a child and eventually conceived. Her husband, called Imran by the Qu'ran, died before the child was born. Expecting the child to be male, Hannah vowed to dedicate him to isolation and the service in the Temple.[N 1] [8][9]
However, Hannah delivered a daughter whom she named Mary. Her words [N 2] after the birth of Mary reflect her status as a great mystic. Hannah wanted a son, but she believed that the daughter was God's gift to her.[8][9]
Gallery
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German, 15th century. Anne holds Mary and Christ
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German, 15th century, Legends of St Anne
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See also
Notes
- ^ "O my Lord! I do dedicate into Thee what is in my womb for Thy special service: So accept this of me: For Thou hearest and knowest all things." (Qur'an 3:35).
- ^ When Mary was delivered, she said, "O my Lord! Behold! I am delivered of a female child!" - and Allah knew best what she brought forth - "And nowise is the male like the female."(Qur'an 3:36)
References
- ^ Jacobus de Voragine’s Golden Legend, Volume II, Chapter 131
- ^ Virginia Nixon, Mary's Mother: Saint Anne in Late Medieval Europe (University Park, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University Press), 12-14.
- ^ Procopius' Buildings, Volume I, Chapter 11-12
- ^ Catholic Herald article,example of pairing in fresco, Article on pregnancy images
- ^ Golden Legend II.131
- ^ Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913 - see external links
- ^ Some writers gave her age at death, as part of a general family chronology, but no generally accepted tradition developed on this point, even during the Middle Ages.
- ^ a b Wheeler, Brannon M. (2002). Prophets in the Quran: an introduction to the Quran and Muslim exegesis. Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 0826449573.
- ^ a b Da Costa, Yusuf (2002). The Honor of Women in Islam. ISCA. ISBN 1930409060.
External links
