The Orthodox Church has always held that the conception of the Mother of God, the Theotokos, was not "immaculate" in the way taught by the church in the west, but rather that the child Mary was an answer to prayer in exactly the same way as was Isaac to Abraham and Sarah. The aged Joachim and Anna prayed fervently to God that He would release them from their bonds of barrenness, and that fervent prayer was answered in the way that all human births occur.
Saint Joachim was the son of Barpathir, who was of the tribe of Judah, and was a descendant of David the King. God had revealed to David that the Savior would be born from his progeny. Anna was of the tribe of Aaron, a Levite. And so the Theotokos was descended from royal blood through her father, and priestly blood through her mother. Living in Nazareth, Joachim and Anna were childless well into their old age. Joachim went one day to make an offering in the temple in Jerusalem. There, the high priest Issachar refused Joachim's offering, saying, "It is not right to accept gifts from you as from a true Israelite, for you are barren, and not blessed by God."
Joachim accepted the message as a judgment against himself for sin, and so he withdrew to the wilderness, near to his cattle, where he spent 40 days begging God to forgive him, and to bless him and Anna with a child.
For her part, Anna heard of what had happened to Joachim. She knew that others judged her for the guilt that resulted in the couple's barrenness. And so she confined herself to her room, in fasting, tears and repentance, asking God to bless her and Joachim.
After this, Anna heard the voice of the Angel, who proclaimed to her that God had heard her prayer. He foretold that she would give birth to a daughter before whom all knees will bend and bless her, and that through her the salvation of the world would be seen. The Angel proclaimed the child's name - Mary. Joachim also received a heavenly visit, giving the same message. The two met at the Golden Gate in Jerusalem, and they later conceived, on this blessed day, the child who would come to be known as "more honorable than the Cherubim, and more glorious beyond compare than the Seraphim."
In the Vespers for today's Feast, we sing the following in Tone 4:
The barren Anna leaped for joy when she conceived Mary the Virgin,
Who in turn will conceive in the flesh God the Word.
From the fullness of her joy, she cried out:
'Rejoice with me, all you tribes of Israel,
For I have conceived according to the will of God my Savior!
He has answered my prayer and ended my shame,
In fulfillment of His promise, He will heal the pains of my heart
Through the pains of child bearing.'
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