Saint Angelina of Serbia
| Venerable Mother Angelina, Despotess of Serbia | |
|---|---|
 Serbian Orthodox icon depicting Saint Angelina |
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| Saint, Venerable | |
| Born | 15th century Berat (present day Albania) |
| Died | Beginning of the 16th century Krušedol monastery (present day Serbia) |
| Honored in | Serbian Orthodox Church |
| Major shrine | Krušedol monastery |
| Feast | July 30 or December 10 |
Angelina Branković (Serbian Cyrillic: Ангелина Бранковић; ca. 1440–1520) was the despotess consort of Serbian Despot Stefan Branković (r. 1458—1459), and a daughter of Albanian nobleman Gjergj Arianit Komneni. For her pious life she was proclaimed a saint and venerated as such by the Serbian Orthodox Church as Venerable Mother Angelina (Serbian: Преподобна мати Ангелина[a]).
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Life [edit]
Angelina was the sixth daughter of Albanian nobleman Gjergj Arianit Komneni[1] (1383–1462) in a time when most of the people of Albania were Orthodox Christians.[2] Angelina was married to Serbian ruler Stefan Branković (r. 1458—1459), son of the former Serbian Despot Đurađ Branković (r. 1427—1456).[3] Angelina was the sister of Donika, who married Skanderbeg.[4]
The couple fled to the territories of the League of Lezhë and then to Italy, when the regions of the Serbian Despotate and those of the League were invaded by the Ottoman Empire.[4]
In 1485, at the death of her husband, Angelina went to the Kingdom of Hungary, where her son, George, had become a titular despot in exile of the Serbian Despotate. The territory of the Despotate had been under the Ottoman Empire since its collapse in 1459. Later Angelina retired in the Krušedol monastery, in the Fruška Gora mountain of Syrmia, where she died in the beginning of the 16th century.[4]
She is venerated as a saint by the Serbian Orthodox Church as Venerable Mother Angelina and her feast day is July 30, while she is also venerated on December 10, together with her husband, St. Stephen, and her son, St. John.[4][3] She wrote a hagiography known as Hagiography of Mother Angelina (Serbian: Житије мајке Ангелине).
Annotations [edit]
- ^ Name: Her name was Angelina Branković (Serbian Cyrillic: Ангелина Бранковић), née Arianit Komneni (Serbian: Аријанит Комниновић). She is also known as simply Despotess Angelina (Serbian: деспотица Ангелина). The Serbian Orthodox Church and Serbian epic poetry calls her Venerable Mother Angelina (Serbian: Преподобна мати Ангелина), or simply Mother Angelina or Saint Angelina (Serbian Cyrillic: Света Ангелина, Albanian: Shën Angjelina).
References [edit]
- ^ Musachi, John (1515). "1515". Retrieved 3 October 2010. Text " John Musachi: Brief Chronicle on the Descendants of our Musachi Dynasty" ignored (help)
- ^ Lives of the Serbian Saints, by Voyeslav Yanich
- ^ a b St. Angelina of Serbia
- ^ a b c d Elsie, Robert (2000). A dictionary of Albanian religion, mythology and folk culture. New York University Press. p. 9. ISBN 0-8147-2214-8.
Further reading [edit]
- Mileusnić, Slobodan (2000). Sveti Srbi (in Serbian). Novi Sad.
- Крстић, Ђорђе (1896). Мати Ангелина (in Serbian). Чуруг.
