Anna the Prophetess
From Textus Receptus
Anna (חַנָּה, Ἄννα) or Anna the Prophetess is a woman mentioned in the Gospel of Luke. According to that Gospel, she was an elderly Jewish woman who prophesied about Jesus at the Temple of Jerusalem. She appears in Luke 2:36–38 during the presentation of Jesus at the Temple.
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New Testament
The passage mentioning Anna is as follows: Luke 2:36–38
- 36 And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity;
- 37 And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
- 38 And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
From these three verses in Luke, the following is known of Anna:
- She was a prophetess.
- She was a daughter of Phanuel.
- She was a member of the tribe of Asher.
- She was widowed after seven years of marriage (her husband is not named).
- She was a devout Jew who regularly practiced prayer and fasting.
Luke describes Anna as "of a great age."
- She was a widow of eighty four years.
Church traditions and veneration
The cults of the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church commemorate Anna as a saint, Anna the Prophetess. The Eastern Orthodox Church consider Anna and Simeon the God-Receiver as the last prophets of Old Testament and observes their feast on February 3/February 16 as the synaxis (afterfeast) following the Presentation of Christ, which Orthodox tradition calls "The Meeting of Our Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ". Along with Simeon, the prophetess Anna is commemorated on February 3 in the Byzantine rite of the Catholic Church.
Also her figure is drawn in the idolatrous icons of the Presentation of Christ, together with the Holy Child and the Virgin Mary, Joseph and Simeon the God-Receiver. Orthodox tradition considers that Christ met his people, Israel, in the persons of those two, Simeon and Anna.
