Saint Joachim was the son of Barpaphiro, from the tribe of Judah, a descendant of King David, and Anna was the daughter of the priest Matthan, from the tribe of Levi, as was the high priest Aaron. Matthan had 3 daughters: Mary, Sobia, and Anna, who married Joachim in Nazareth, and who gave birth to the Most Holy Theotokos. Joachim and Anna lived 50 years in marriage and had no children. They lived a God-pleasing and quiet life, using only a third of their income for themselves, giving a third to the poor, and offering a third as a sacrifice in the temple. Once, the high priest Issachar rebuked the elder Joachim: “You are not worthy to receive a gift from your hands, because you are childless.” Then they both prayed to God to grant them a child. And Anna immediately conceived and after 9 months gave birth to the Most Holy Virgin.

Commemoration of the Third Ecumenical Council. Holy Martyr Severian. Saint Theophan the Confessor and Faster. Saint Nicetas the Pleasure of God. Feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos.