Sunday, February 26, 2012

Saint Angelina of Serbia

          Saint Angelina is a Christian Orthodox saint.  She was the daughter of Prince Skenderberg of Albania, but the name of her mother is unknown.  Angelina was raised to be a good Christian, and was taught to love God.  Saint Stephen, prince of Serbia, fled to Albania from people who wanted him dead.  He had been blinded by the Turkish Sultan for offenses he had not committed, but he was welcomed into Albania by Angelina's father.  As time went on, Stephen became more than an honored guest:  he was treated like part of the family.  Soon enough, Angelina and Stephen fell in love and were married with both the blessings of Angelina's parents and of the Church.   They had two children who grew up to become saints:  George and John.  However, after the boys had become men, Albania was invaded by the Turks.  Men, women, and children were slaughtered with no regard for their gender or age.  Stephen, Angelina, George, and John were forced to flee from Albania and take refuge in Italy.  There, they lived peacefully until Stephen died in 1468.  In her grief and poverty, Angelina asked the Hungarian ruler for help, and he allowed her and her sons to have the town of Kupinovo in Sirmie.  In 1486, St. Angelina led her small family out of Italy and buried the remains of her husband in his homeland: Serbia.  Angelina ended up outliving both her husband and her sons, and entered a convent where she spent her last years praying and living piously.  She died in peace and was buried in the same tomb as her sons in the monastery of Krushedol in Frushka Gora, Serbia.  Even today, she is still honored at that church on July 30th and also on the 10th of December with her husband, St. Stephen, and her son, St. John.

Works Cited:

"St. Angelina of Serbia." ROCA.org. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://www.roca.org/OA/34/34k.htm>.

"St. Angelina of Serbia." Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://www.antiochian.org/node/19134>.

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