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Icons of St. Anna of Novgorod
(+1050)
Feast days: February 10,
October 4
St. Anna, Grandduchess of
Novgorod, mother of St. Vladimir the Enlightener of Rus', was born and
baptized in the West. She was the daughter of Swedish King Olaf
Sketktung, the "All-Christian King," who did much to spread Orthodoxy
in Scandinavia, and the pious Queen Astrida. In Sweden she was known as
Princess Indigherd; she married Yaroslav the Wise, Grand Prince of
Kiev, in 1016, taking the name Irene. She gave shelter to the outcast
sons of British King Edmund, Edwin and Edward, as well as the Norwegian
prince Magnus, who later returned to Norway. She is perhaps best known
as the mother of Grand Prince Vladimir, the Enlightener of Rus' and
Equal-to-the-Apostles, and of Vsevolod of Pereyaslavl, himself the
father of Vladimir Monomakh and progenitor of the Princes of Moscow.
Her daughters were Queen Anne of France, Queen Maria of Hungary, and
Queen Elizabeth of Norway. The whole family was profoundly devout and
pious. In Kiev St.
Irene-Anna founded the convent of St. Irene the Great-Martyr, and ruled
it. She reposed in 1050 in the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom (St. Sophia) in
Kiev, having been tonsured a monastic with the name of Anna. Her feast
days were established by a sign given to Abp. Euphemius of Novgorod in
1439. On these days we also commemorate the Saints of Novgorod buried
in the side-chapel of St. Sophia, namely: St. St. Joachim of Korsun,
the first bishop of Novgorod (988-1030); St. Luke the Jew, bishop
(1030/1035? -1060; +October 15, 1060); St. Germanus, bishop
(1078-1096); St. Arcadius, bishop (1157-1162, 18th September); St.
Gregory, archbishop (1187-1193; +May 24, 1193); St. Martyrius,
archbishop (1193-1199; +August 24, 1199); St. Anthony, archbishop
(1212-1220, 1226-1228; + October 8, 1231); St. Basil Kalika, archbishop
(1331-1352; +July 3, 1352); St. Symeon, archbishop (1416-1421; +June
15, 1421); St. Gennadius, archbishop (1484-1504; 4th December); St.
Pimen, archbishop (1553-1571); St. Aphon, metropolitan (1635-1648;
+April 6, 1653). These saints' relics were buried or transferred into
the Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod (except for Saints Herman, Gennadius
and Pimen).
Holy Grandduchess Anna, pray
to God for us!
Top Icon:
of unknown provenance, but apparently from Russia.
Next Icon:
of unknown provenance, from the Orthodox England website.
Final Icon:
from an Orthodox church
in Esterskil, Sweden
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