Righteous 16th century

Saint Angelina of Serbia

c. 1440 – 1520

Also known as Angelina Brankovic · Mother Angelina

The devout wife of St Stephen Brankovic who, widowed and driven into exile, raised holy sons and ended her days in the monastic life; the mother of a household of Serbian saints.

Feast Day
July 1
Also Jul 30, Dec 10
Draft
Draft — pending review. Not yet verified for publication.
Commemorated as

Our Venerable Mother Angelina, Despotess of Serbia

Life

Angelina of Serbia (c. 1440 – 1520) was a noblewoman of the late medieval Balkans, the wife of the Serbian ruler Stephen Brankovic and the mother of a household later venerated together as Serbian saints. Born into the Albanian noble house of Arianiti, she married Stephen in 1460, shared his years of exile after the Ottoman advance, and in widowhood took up the monastic life. She is commemorated on July 1 and July 30, and on December 10 together with her husband Stephen and her son John.

According to the synaxarion her father was a prince of Albania, and she was raised in Christian piety; genealogical sources name him as George Arianiti and record that her elder sister Andronika was the wife of Skanderbeg. Her husband Stephen, son of the former despot Djuradj Brankovic, had been blinded by Ottoman order and held only a titular claim to the Serbian despotate. When Ottoman power overran their lands, the family was forced into flight, leaving Albania for northern Italy, where Stephen died in 1476.

After her husband's death Angelina secured a refuge for her family in the lands north of the Danube. By the synaxarion's account the ruler of Hungary granted them the town of Kupinovo in Sirmium, and in 1486 Angelina returned with her sons to bury Stephen's body. Her two sons were both glorified as saints: George renounced his station, became the monk Maximus, and rose to be a metropolitan, while John, titular despot of Serbia, died childless, with miracles reported at his relics.

In her later years Angelina entered a women's monastery, and together with her son the Metropolitan Maximus she founded the monastery of Krusedol in the Fruska Gora mountains of Syrmia, which became the burial place and shrine of the Brankovic family. She died at Krusedol in 1520 and was buried in the same tomb as her sons, making the monastery a major center of Serbian veneration.

Timeline 6 moments Read Hide
  1. c. 1440 Birth Born into the Albanian house of Arianiti; the synaxarion names her father as a prince of Albania.
  2. 1460 Marriage to Stephen Brankovic Married Stephen Brankovic, son of the former despot Djuradj Brankovic, who by the synaxarion's account had been blinded by Ottoman command.
  3. 1476 Death of Stephen Her husband died, leaving her a widow in exile.
  4. 1486 Return to bury Stephen Angelina returned with her sons to bury her husband's body.
  5. 1509–1514 Founding of Krusedol Monastery With her son the Metropolitan Maximus she founded Krusedol Monastery in the Fruska Gora as the Brankovic family mausoleum.
  6. 1520 Repose Died at Krusedol Monastery and was buried in the same tomb as her sons.

Contributions & Legacy

3 contributions Read Hide

Marriage and Exile

Angelina belonged to the Arianiti family of Albania, a noble house caught up in the resistance to Ottoman expansion. In 1460 she married Stephen Brankovic, a son of the former despot Djuradj Brankovic; the synaxarion records that he was a ruler of Serbia who had been unjustly blinded by Ottoman command and bore only a titular claim to the despotate. He had sought safety in Albania, where the marriage was made.

As Ottoman power advanced, the family was forced into flight, and the OCA synaxarion relates that they sought refuge abroad. After Stephen's death in 1476, Angelina was left a widow with young children and no secure home. By the synaxarion's account she appealed to the ruler of Hungary, who granted the family the town of Kupinovo in Sirmium, providing a foothold in the lands north of the Danube where displaced Serbs were settling. In 1486 she returned with her sons to bury her husband's body.

A Household of Saints

Angelina's enduring place in Orthodox memory rests on the holiness attributed to her whole family. Her two sons, George and John, were both glorified as saints. Her son John, titular despot of Serbia, reposed without children, and the synaxarion records that miracles were reported at his relics. Her son George renounced his worldly station to become a monk under the name Maximus and rose to the rank of metropolitan.

Angelina herself took up the monastic life in widowhood, entering a women's monastery. Husband, mother, and sons are commemorated together, and on December 10 the Church remembers Angelina with Stephen and John. The Brankovic family was buried together, and Angelina was laid in the same tomb as her sons.

Relics & Shrines

Between 1509 and 1514, Angelina and her son the Metropolitan Maximus founded the Krusedol Monastery on the Fruska Gora mountain in the Syrmia region of present-day northern Serbia. The monastery was conceived as the mausoleum of the Brankovic family, and the dynasty was interred there.

Angelina died in 1520 and was buried at Krusedol, where her shrine is located and where the relics of the Brankovic saints have been honored. The monastery drew early support from beyond Serbia, including the Wallachian prince Neagoe Basarab and Grand Prince Vasili III of Russia, and it became one of the principal spiritual centers of the Fruska Gora.

Notes

Also commemorated Jul 30. Dec 10 = commemorated with her son John of Serbia.

Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints