Saint Anna of Kashin (russian: Святая
лаговерная великая княгиня - инокиняАнна Кашинская) (1280 – 2 October 1368) was a Russian princess from the
Rurik Dynasty
The Rurik dynasty ( be, Ру́рыкавічы, Rúrykavichy; russian: Рю́риковичи, Ryúrikovichi, ; uk, Рю́риковичі, Riúrykovychi, ; literally "sons/scions of Rurik"), also known as the Rurikid dynasty or Rurikids, was ...
, who was
canonized
Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christianity, Christian communion declaring a person worthy of Cult (religious practice), public veneration and enterin ...
in 1650.
Life
Anna was a daughter of
Prince Dmitry Borisovich of
Rostov
Rostov ( rus, Росто́в, p=rɐˈstof) is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population:
While t ...
and a great-granddaughter of
Prince Vasily of Rostov. From her earliest years, Anna was brought up strictly
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
. She was taught the virtues of humility and obedience. Her teacher was Saint Ignatius, Bishop of Rostov (died 1288), who was noted for strict selflessness and pacifism. Like all royal daughters of her time, Anna learned different kinds of needlework. When the princess grew up, Princess
Xenia of Tver, second wife of Grand Prince
Yaroslav of Tver
Yaroslav III Yaroslavich (1230–1271) (Russian: Ярослав Ярославич) was the first Prince of Tver and the tenth Grand Prince of Vladimir from 1264 to 1271. Yaroslav and his son Mikhail Yaroslavich presided over Tver's transfor ...
sent ambassadors to Rostov with a request to marry Anna to her son
Mikhail. The embassy was successful, and Anna became the wife of Prince Mikhail.
Princess Anna's marriage to Prince Mikhail took place on 8 November 1294 in the Preobrazhensky cathedral of
Tver
Tver ( rus, Тверь, p=tvʲerʲ) is a city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is northwest of Moscow. Population:
Tver was formerly the capital of a powerful medieval state and a model provincial town in the Russian ...
. In celebration of this event, dwellers in the city of
Kashin built the Saint Michael Church and the triumphal gates from the local
Kremlin
The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty, Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of th ...
to the Tver road, naming the gates also "Mikhaylovsky." In the Kashin Uspensky cathedral a special Feast was established and celebrated annually on 8 November.
Anna and Mikhail had five children:
# Feodora (died in infancy)
# Prince
Dmitry of Tver
Dmitry Mikhaylovich of Tver (russian: Дми́трий Миха́йлович Тверcко́й) (1299 – 15 September 1326), nicknamed The Fearsome Eyes (), was a Grand Prince of Tver (from 1318 to 1326) and Grand Prince of Vladimir (from 1322 t ...
(1299–1326)
# Prince
Alexander of Tver
Grand Prince Alexander or Aleksandr Mikhailovich (russian: Александр Михайлович Тверской; 7 October 1301 – 29 October 1339) was a Prince of Tver as Alexander I and Grand Prince of Vladimir-Suzdal as Alexander II. His r ...
(1301–1339)
# Prince
Konstantin of Tver (1306–1346)
# Prince
Vasily of Kashin
Vasili, Vasily, Vasilii or Vasiliy (Russian: Василий) is a Russian masculine given name of Greek origin and corresponds to ''Basil''. It may refer to:
*Vasili I of Moscow Grand Prince from 1389–1425
*Vasili II of Moscow Grand Prince fro ...
(d. after 1368)
In 1294, her father died, and in 1295 a terrible fire destroyed Tver. Soon after that, Anna and Mikhail's first-born daughter, Feodora, fell severely ill and died in infancy. In 1296, another fire destroyed their palace, and the prince and princess were barely rescued. In 1317, a war began between her husband and Prince
Yury of Moscow
Yuriy Danilovich, also known as Georgiy Danilovich (Юрий Данилович in Russian) (1281 – 21 November 1325) was Prince of Moscow (1303–1325) and Grand Prince of Vladimir (from 1318).
Yury was the oldest son of Daniel, the first p ...
.
In 1318 the princess said goodbye to her husband forever, who was summoned to the
Horde
Horde may refer to:
History
* Orda (organization), a historic sociopolitical and military structure in steppe nomad cultures such as the Turks and Mongols
** Golden Horde, a Turkic-Mongol state established in the 1240s
** Wings of the Golden Hord ...
, where he was brutally tortured to death on 22 November 1318. Only in July of the following year did Anna hear about her husband's martyrdom. Learning that Mikhail's remains had been brought to
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, she sent an embassy there, and her husband's body was transferred into Tver and buried in Preobrazhensky cathedral.
In 1325, her eldest son, Dimitry, was tortured in the Horde. In 1327, her second son, Alexander, broke the Tartar army, which devastated the duchy. In revenge
Uzbeg Khan
The Uzbeks ( uz, , , , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the wider Central Asian region, being among the largest Turkic ethnic group in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakh and Karakalpak min ...
gathered a new army and destroyed Tver; Prince Alexander was forced to hide in
Pskov
Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=pskov-ru.ogg, p=pskof; see also names in other languages) is a city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, located about east of the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population ...
. For ten years, Anna did not see her son, and in 1339 Prince Alexander and his son Feodor were killed by the Horde.
After the death of Prince Mikhail, Anna carried out an old desire "in silence to work only for God." She took vows in Sofia's monastery in Tver and adopted the name Evfrosiniya. In 1365 the youngest son of the princess, Vasiliy, her only child remaining alive by that time, entreated his mother to move to his principality. The Uspensky monastery was built in Kashin, and there the saint accepted the schema with the name of Anna.
She died of old age on 2 October 1368, and was buried in the cathedral temple of the Blessed Virgin.
Canonization
The name of the Princess Anna was forgotten for many centuries. It was during the 1611 siege of Kashin by
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
n troops that Anna appeared to Gerasim, Sexton of the Dormition Cathedral, and it is said that she prayed to the Saviour and
Our Lady for the deliverance of her city from the foreigners. Her relics were reported to work miracles.
The
synod
A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...
of the
Russian Orthodox Church
, native_name_lang = ru
, image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg
, imagewidth =
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia
, abbreviation = ROC
, type ...
convened in 1649 and declared her relics worthy of a universal homage. The princess was glorified as a saint. Twenty-eight years later, Patriarch
Joachim
Joachim (; ''Yəhōyāqīm'', "he whom Yahweh has set up"; ; ) was, according to Christian tradition, the husband of Saint Anne and the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the Biblical apocryphal ...
addressed the Moscow Synod with a suggestion to decanonize her because of the uncommon veneration and esteem for Anna among the
Old Believers
Old Believers or Old Ritualists, ''starovery'' or ''staroobryadtsy'' are Eastern Orthodox Christians who maintain the liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian Orthodox Church as they were before the reforms of Patriarch Nikon of Moscow bet ...
.
It was traditionally thought the Old Believers chose Anna as their palladium because the princess was represented on icons as making the
Sign of the Cross
Making the sign of the cross ( la, signum crucis), or blessing oneself or crossing oneself, is a ritual blessing made by members of some branches of Christianity. This blessing is made by the tracing of an upright cross or + across the body with ...
with two fingers, as the Old Believers practiced, rather than with three, as official church policy required after
Patriarch Nikon
Nikon ( ru , Ни́кон, Old Russian: ''Нїконъ''), born Nikita Minin (''Никита Минин''; 7 May 1605 – 17 August 1681) was the seventh Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' of the Russian Orthodox Church, serving officially from ...
in 1656. However, writings used by the Old Believers show that one of the reasons they venerated her so highly was that her incorrupt body, on display, showed her hand in the two-fingered
Sign of the Cross
Making the sign of the cross ( la, signum crucis), or blessing oneself or crossing oneself, is a ritual blessing made by members of some branches of Christianity. This blessing is made by the tracing of an upright cross or + across the body with ...
favoured by the Old Believers, vindicating their stance. Despite numerous efforts of the Church authorities to "correct" the situation, her hand always went back to the same two-fingered position. In response, Patriarch Joachim removed the relics of Anna from public view.
Grand Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Joachim collected, held in Moscow from January to February 1678
decanonization
Decanonization or de-canonization (prefix de- ← preposition: ''down, from, away'' + ← — list, catalog) — exclusion of a person's name from the list, catalog; the opposite of canonization. The list or catalog is the calendar of th ...
Anna of Kashin: forbade her to pray, and allowed only pray for her - by her serve memorial service.
It was not until 12 June 1909 that the
Russian Orthodox Church
, native_name_lang = ru
, image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg
, imagewidth =
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia
, abbreviation = ROC
, type ...
glorified Anna again and sanctioned a general celebration of her cult. That year a monastic community was dedicated to her in
Grozny
Grozny ( rus, Грозный, p=ˈgroznɨj; ce, Соьлжа-ГӀала, translit=Sölƶa-Ġala), also spelled Groznyy, is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia.
The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2010 census, it had a pop ...
. A year later, a church was consecrated in her name in
St Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
.
Bibliography
* S. Arkhangelov. Житие и чудеса святой благоверной княгини Анны Кашинской, St Petersburg, 1909
* T. Manukhina. Святая благоверная княгиня Анна Кашинская, Paris, 1954
External links
St Anna at the site of the Eparchy of TverBiographywww.anna-kashin.ru
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anna Of Kashin
Date of birth unknown
1280 births
1368 deaths
13th-century Christian saints
13th-century Eastern Orthodox Christians
13th-century Russian princesses
14th-century Christian saints
14th-century Russian princesses
14th-century Eastern Orthodox nuns
Rurik dynasty
Russian nuns
Russian saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church
Russian princesses
People from Rostov
Christian female saints of the Middle Ages
13th-century Russian women
13th-century Russian people
14th-century Russian people
Yurievichi family