LUX VERITAS

Apocrypha · Chapter 5 of 25

Protoevangelium of James 5

Infancy of Mary

The next day, when he went to offer his gifts to the Lord, he said to himself: 'I shall know if God will be favorable to me if I come to see the ephod of the priest.' And, when offering the sacrifice, he observed the ephod of the priest, when he approached the altar of God, and, finding no sin on his conscience, said: 'Now I see that the Lord has been pleased to forgive all my sins.' And Joachim descended from the temple justified and went home.

2And Anna's time was fulfilled, and in the ninth month she gave birth. And she asked the midwife: 'To whom have I given birth?' And the midwife answered: 'A girl.' Then Anna exclaimed: 'My soul has been exalted.' And she laid the girl in the cradle. At the end of the time prescribed by the law, Anna purified herself, gave the breast to the girl and named her Mary.

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About Protoevangelium of James

The childhood of Mary, the choosing of Joseph and the birth in a cave. It is the source of nearly all later Marian devotion — including the names Anne and Joachim.