| Saint Angelina of Serbia | |
|---|---|
St. Angelina of Serbia |
|
| Saint | |
| Born | 15th century AD Berat, present day Albania |
| Died | 16th century AD Krušedol monastery, present day Vojvodina, Serbia |
| Honored in | Serbian Orthodox Church |
| Feast | July 30 or December 10 |
Saint Angelina of Serbia (Serbian: Мати Ангелина, Ангелина Бранковић, Albanian: Shen Angjelina) was a 15th-century queen consort (Despotissa) of Serbian ruler Stefan Branković. She came from an Albanian noble family and was sister-in-law of Skanderbeg. For her pious life she has been proclaimed a saint and venerated as such by the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Angelina was born Angelina Arianit Komneni, and was a princess and sixth daughter of Albanian noble Gjergj Arianit Komneni,[1] in the time when most of the people of Albania were Orthodox Christians.[2] Angelina was married to Serbian ruler Stefan Branković, son of the Despot of Serbia called Lord George, and is venerated as saint Angelina of Serbia in the Serbian Orthodox Church.[3][4]
Angelina was the sister of Donika Kastrioti, who was the wife of George Kastrioti Skanderbeg.[5] Both Lady Angelina and Branković 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.[5]
In 1485, at the death of her husband, Angelina went to the Kingdom of Hungary, where her son had, 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, Syrmia, where she died in the beginning of the 16th century.[5]
She is venerated as a saint by the Serbian Orthodox Church and her feast day is July 30 or December 10.[5] She wrote a hagiography known as Hagiography of Mother Angelina (Serbian: Житије мајке Ангелине).