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The '''Conception of the [[Theotokos]]''' by Saint [[Anna]] is commemorated by the Orthodox Church on [[December 9]].
St Anna, the mother of the Virgin Mary, was the youngest daughter of the priest Nathan from Bethlehem, descended from the tribe of Levi. She married St [[Joachim and Anna|Joachim]], who was a native of Galilee. For a long time St Anna was childless, but after twenty years, through the fervent prayer of both spouses, an [[angel]] of the Lord announced to them that they would be the parents of a daughter, who would bring blessings to the whole human race.
The Orthodox Church does not accept the teaching of the [[Immaculate Conception]], but has also always believed that the Virgin Mary was, from her conception, filled with every Grace of the Holy Spirit in view of her calling as the Mother of Christ our God.
The Church also celebrates other [[Saintsaint]]s who were sanctified in the womb of their mothers. St [[John the Baptist]] is one example, and St [[Nicholas of Myra|Nicholas the Wonderworker]] is another.
The feast is not a perfect nine months before the feast of the [[Nativity of the Theotokos]] ( [[September 8]]) as it is in the westWest, but a day later.
==Hymns==
[[Troparion]] (Tone 4)
:For Anna has conceived the Theotokos through God's dispensation,
:For she has brought forth the One who is to bear the Ineffable Word!
==Sources and Externals links==
*[http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?SID=4&ID=1&FSID=103506 OCA's Conception of the Theotokos]
[[Category:Feasts]]
