Joachim (; ''Yəhōyāqīm'', "he whom
Yahweh
Yahweh *''Yahwe'', was the national god of ancient Israel and Judah. The origins of his worship reach at least to the early Iron Age, and likely to the Late Bronze Age if not somewhat earlier, and in the oldest biblical literature he poss ...
has set up"; ; ) was, according to Christian tradition, the husband of
Saint Anne and the father of
Mary, the mother of Jesus
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
. The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the
Biblical apocryphal
Gospel of James
The Gospel of James (or the Protoevangelium of James) is a second-century infancy gospel telling of the miraculous conception of the Virgin Mary, her upbringing and marriage to Joseph, the journey of the couple to Bethlehem, the birth of Jesus, a ...
. His feast day is 26 July, a date shared with Saint Anne.
In Christian tradition
The story of Joachim, his wife Anne (or Anna), and the miraculous birth of their child Mary, the mother of Jesus, was told for the first time in the 2nd-century apocryphal infancy-gospel the
Gospel of James
The Gospel of James (or the Protoevangelium of James) is a second-century infancy gospel telling of the miraculous conception of the Virgin Mary, her upbringing and marriage to Joseph, the journey of the couple to Bethlehem, the birth of Jesus, a ...
(also called
Protoevangelium of James
The Gospel of James (or the Protoevangelium of James) is a second-century infancy gospel telling of the miraculous conception of the Virgin Mary, her upbringing and marriage to Joseph, the journey of the couple to Bethlehem, the birth of Jesus, a ...
). Joachim was a rich and pious man, who regularly gave to the poor. However, Charles Souvay, writing in the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'', says that the idea that Joachim possessed large herds and flocks is doubtful.
At the temple, Joachim's
sacrifice was rejected, as the couple's
childlessness
Childlessness is the state of not having children. Childlessness may have personal, social or political significance.
Childlessness, which may be by choice or circumstance, is distinguished from voluntary childlessness, which is voluntarily havi ...
was interpreted as a sign of divine displeasure. Joachim consequently withdrew to the desert, where he
fasted
Fasting is the abstention from eating and sometimes drinking. From a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (see "Breakfast"), or to the metabolic state achieved after co ...
and did
penance for 40 days.
Angel
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inclu ...
s then appeared to both Joachim and Anne to promise them a child.
Joachim later returned to Jerusalem and embraced Anne at the
city gate, located in the
Walls of Jerusalem
The Walls of Jerusalem ( he, חומות ירושלים, ar, أسوار القدس) surround the Old City of Jerusalem (approx. 1 km2). In 1535, when Jerusalem was part of the Ottoman Empire, Sultan Suleiman I ordered the ruined city wa ...
. An ancient belief held that a child born of an elderly mother who had given up hope of having offspring was destined for great things. Parallels occur in the
Old Testament in the case of
Sarah, the wife of
Abraham
Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Je ...
and mother of
Isaac
Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was th ...
,
Hannah, the mother of
Samuel, and in the New Testament in the case of the parents of
St John the Baptist
John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
.
The cycle of
legend
A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...
s concerning Joachim and Anne was included in the
Golden Legend
The ''Golden Legend'' (Latin: ''Legenda aurea'' or ''Legenda sanctorum'') is a collection of hagiographies by Jacobus de Voragine that was widely read in late medieval Europe. More than a thousand manuscripts of the text have survived.Hilary ...
(around 1260) by
Jacobus de Voragine
Jacobus de Voragine (c. 123013/16 July 1298) was an Italian chronicler and archbishop of Genoa. He was the author, or more accurately the compiler, of the '' Golden Legend'', a collection of the legendary lives of the greater saints of the medi ...
. This cycle remained popular in
Christian art
Christian art is sacred art which uses subjects, themes, and imagery from Christianity. Most Christian groups use or have used art to some extent, including early Christian art and architecture and Christian media.
Images of Jesus and narrati ...
until the
Council of Trent
The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described a ...
(1545–1563) restricted the depiction of apocryphal events.
No liturgical celebration of Saint Joachim was included in the
Tridentine Calendar. It was added to the
General Roman Calendar
The General Roman Calendar is the liturgical calendar that indicates the dates of celebrations of saints and mysteries of the Lord (Jesus Christ) in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, wherever this liturgical rite is in use. These cele ...
in 1584, for celebration on 20 March, the day after the feast day of
Saint Joseph. In 1738, it was transferred to the Sunday within the
Octave of the
Assumption of Mary
The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution '' Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows:
We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by ...
. As part of his effort to allow the liturgy of Sundays to be celebrated,
Pope Pius X (term 1903–1914) transferred it to 16 August, the day after the Assumption, so Joachim may be remembered in the celebration of Mary's triumph. It was then celebrated as a
Double of the Second Class, a rank that was changed in 1960 to that of
Second Class Feast. In the
1969 revision of the General Roman Calendar, it was joined to that of Anne, for celebration on 26 July.
![Codex St Peter perg 7 10v](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Codex_St_Peter_perg_7_10v.jpg)
The
Eastern Orthodox Churches and
Greek Catholics The term Greek Catholic Church can refer to a number of Eastern Catholic Churches following the Byzantine (Greek) liturgy, considered collectively or individually.
The terms Greek Catholic, Greek Catholic church or Byzantine Catholic, Byzantine Ca ...
commemorate Joachim on 9 September, the
Synaxis
{{For, the moth genus, Synaxis (moth)
A synaxis ( el, σύναξις "gathering"; Slavonic: собор, ''sobor'') is a liturgical assembly in Eastern Christianity (the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the ...
of Joachim and Anne, the day after the
Nativity of the Theotokos
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Nativity of Mary, the Marymas or the Birth of the Virgin Mary, refers to a Christian feast day celebrating the birth of Mary, mother of Jesus.
The modern canon of scripture does not record Mary's bir ...
.
Joachim is
remembered (with Anne) in the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
with a
Lesser Festival Lesser Festivals are a type of observance in the Anglican Communion, including the Church of England, considered to be less significant than a Principal Feast, Principal Holy Day, or Festival, but more significant than a Commemoration. Whereas Prin ...
on
26 July.
Patronage
Joachim is named as the
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...
of fathers, grandfathers, grandparents, married couples, cabinet makers, and linen traders.
Iconography
![Friesach - Dominikanerkirche - Hochaltar - Hl Joachim](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Friesach_-_Dominikanerkirche_-_Hochaltar_-_Hl_Joachim.jpg)
In medieval art he often wears a conical
Jewish hat
The Jewish hat, also known as the Jewish cap, ''Judenhut'' ( German) or Latin ''pileus cornutus'' ("horned skullcap"), was a cone-shaped pointed hat, often white or yellow, worn by Jews in Medieval Europe. Initially worn by choice, its wearing wa ...
. He is often treated as a saint, with a
halo
Halo, halos or haloes usually refer to:
* Halo (optical phenomenon)
* Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head
HALO, halo, halos or haloes may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Video games
* ''Halo'' (franch ...
, but in the Western church there was some awareness that he had quite likely died too soon to strictly be counted as a Christian.
Joachim and Anne Meeting at the Golden Gate was a popular subject in artistic renditions of the
life of the Virgin
The Life of the Virgin, showing narrative scenes from the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus, is a common subject for pictorial cycles in Christian art, often complementing, or forming part of, a cycle on the Life of Christ. In both cases the ...
.
Symbols associated with Saint Joachim include a book or scroll representing linen makers, a
shepherd's staff for the Christian Word, and a basket of doves representing peace. He is almost always clothed in green, the color of hope.
[
The name of the ]San Joaquin River
The San Joaquin River (; es, Río San Joaquín) is the longest river of Central California. The long river starts in the high Sierra Nevada, and flows through the rich agricultural region of the northern San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suis ...
dates to 1805–1808, when Spanish explorer Gabriel Moraga
Gabriel Moraga (1765 – June 14, 1823) was a Sonoran-born Californio explorer and army officer. He was the son of the expeditionary José Joaquín Moraga who helped lead the de Anza Expedition to California in 1774, Like his father, Moraga is on ...
was surveying east from Mission San José Mission San José may refer to:
*Mission San José (California), a Spanish mission in Fremont, California
* Mission San Jose, Fremont, California, a neighborhood
* Mission San Jose High School, a high school in Fremont, California
*Mission San José ...
in order to find possible sites for a mission. The name was in common use by 1810.
In Islam
In Islam he is called Imran (), and one of his believed graves is in Salalah
Salalah ( ar, صَلَالَة, Ṣalālah) is the capital and largest city of the southern Omani governorate of Dhofar. Its population in 2009 was about 197,169.
Salalah is the third-largest city in the Sultanate of Oman, and the largest city ...
; which is claimed to be the "longest grave in the world" (12 metres).["Nabi Umran Tomb in Salalah City - Religious Sites, Tourist Attractions." ''Beautiful Salalah'', https://www.beautifulsalalah.com/nabi-umran-tomb/] According to the Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...
in Al Imran
Al Imran ( ar, آلِ عِمرَان, ; The Family of Imran his wife Hanth his daughter Hazrat Maryam and his grand son Hazrat Isa) is the third chapter (sūrah) of the Quran with two hundred verses ('' āyāt'').
Imran in Islam is regarded ...
Imran is the father of Maryam and grandfather of ʿIsa.
See also
* Chronological list of saints in the 1st century
A list of people, who died just prior to ( babies slaughtered in an effort to eliminate the newborn King of the Jews) or during the 1st century, who have received recognition as Saints (through canonization) from the Catholic Church:
Table
...
* Joachim, patron saint archive
References
External links
St. Joachim, Father of the Virgin
a
Christian Iconography
{{Authority control
50s BC births
15 deaths
1st-century BCE Jews
1st-century Jews
Angelic visionaries
Anglican saints
Family of Jesus
Infancy Gospels
Mary, mother of Jesus
New Testament apocrypha people
People from Nazareth
Saints from the Holy Land