St. Anna of Novgorod
My 30th great grandmother!
(Ingegerd Olafsdatter, prior to religious life)
Oldest daughter of the Swedish King, St. Olaf Skotkonung
In the above icon, we can see that my 30th great grandmother, Saint Anna of Novgorod, is holding the St. Sophia Catheral of Novgorod in her hand. Anna, the daughter of a saint, Olaf Skotkonung ("the All Christian King") was a member of an extremely pious royal family.
One of the Frescoes in the Cathedral of St. Sophia
Saint Anna, the youngest, is probably the daugher
furthest on the left.
As the wife of Yaroslav I "the wise" of Kiev, she initiated the construction of the Cathedral of St. Sophia in Kiev, which her husband supervised, and she also commenced the building of the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod. It was primarily for this that she was sainted, in addition to her pious and holy life.
Saint Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod
Like many of her era, she has many names. She was born Ingegerd Olafsdatter, took the Greek version of her name, "Irene," after her marriage and subsequent move to Kiev, and was given the name "Anna" when she entered religious life. Thus, she is styled "Saint Anna of Novgorod" by the Orthodox Christian church. Some times, the name is embellished, such as "Right Believing Princess Anna of Novgorod."
Irene and her husband had ten children in all, six sons and four daughters. The daughters married very well, becoming queens of France, Hungary, Norway and England. It appears as if I am descended from at least two of her daughters. If you go back far enough in your royal family genealogy, there is so much close relationship between the royal families that you find that you are a cousin to yourself many times over!
For instance, Anne of Kiev, wife of King Henry I of France, is my 29th great grandmother.
Anne of Kiev, wife of King Henry I of France
(My 29ths great grandmother)
Daughter of Saint Anna of Novgorod
When the Orthodox Church sainted Anna of Novgorod, they issued this statement:
"St. Anna, Grand Duchess of Novgorod, She was the
daughter of Swedish King Olaf Sketktung, the "All
Christian King," who did much to spread Orthodoxy
in Scandinavia, and the pious Queen Astrida.
In Sweden she was known as Princess Ingegard;
She married Yaroslav I "the Wise", Grand Prince
of Kiev, who was the founder of the Saint Sophia
Cathedral in 1016, taking the name Irene.
She gave shelter to the outcast sons of British
King Edmund, Edwin and Edward, as well
as the Norwegian prince Magnus, who later
returned to Norway.
She is perhaps best known as the mother of
Vsevolod, himself the father of Vladimir
Monomakh and progenitor of the Princes
of Moscow.
Her daughters were Anna, Queen of France;
Queen Anastasia of Hungary, and Queen
Elizabeth (Elisiv) of Norway. The whole
family was profoundly devout and pious.
She reposed in 1050 in the Cathedral of
Holy Wisdom (St. Sophia) in Kiev, having
been tonsured a monastic with the name
of Anna."
I was delighted to find my great great grandmother's hymn on the Wikipedia page devoted to her. Knowing that I may sing the praises of a saint in heaven from whom I am descended gives me a special feeling of protection, safety and guidance.
4 stichera
Tone 1
Special Melody: "Joy of the ranks of heaven"
"O joy of the Swedish people, thou didst gladden the
Russian realm, filling it with grace and purity,
adorning its throne with majesty, lustrous in piety
like a priceless gem set in a splendid royal crown.
Named Ingegerd in the baptismal waters, O
venerable one, thou wast called Irene by thy
Russian subjects, who perceived in thee the divine
and ineffable peace; but when thou didst submit to
monastic obedience, thou didst take the new name,
Anna, after the honoured ancestor of Christ, the
King of kings.
Wed in honourable matrimony, O holy anna, thou
didst live in concord with thy royal spouse, the right-
believing and most wise Prince Yaroslav; and
having born him holy offspring, after his repose
thou didst betroth thyself unto the Lord as thy
heavenly Bridegroom.
Disdaining all the allurements of vanity and donning
the coarse robes of a monastic, O wondrous and
sacred Anna, thou gavest thyself over to fasting
and prayer, ever entreating Christ they Master, that
He deliver thy people from the all want and
misfortune."
There are two feast days for Saint Anna of Novgorod; February 10 and October 4. I hope to get one of her icons before the October feast date.
In the meantime, I pray to become more like her and her pious family. Please pray for me.
Silver "Rose" Parnell
(c) 2015
PERTINENT LINKS
Archangel Gabriel Orthodox Church
Wikipedia link for Ingegerd Olofsdotter of Sweden
Uncut Mountain Supply - where you can buy her icon
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ReplyDeleteThanks for this. I'm inspired! I didn't know Olaf was considered a saint as well nor that Anna was called Irene of Novgorod. Saint Anna is my 33gg. Do you have a tree or pedigree for me to compare our common familial lines?-Ken
ReplyDeleteThank you for the comment, cousin! We have thousands of cousins. I published my family tree to Rootsweb in about 2002, and thereafter on Ancestry. Hundreds of people have copied my file, and the links are available for everyone to see. I highly recommend doing your own research, however. I used history books and a great website called thepeerage.com, which has considerable information about the nobility. Feel free to contact me on Ancestry.com for further conversation about our mutual ancestor! In the meantime, God bless you.
DeleteI also found Anna of Kiev among my ancestors. Through Ugo de Vermandois. It's true, in a thousand years back we are all relatives! Cheers cousins.
ReplyDeleteFrancesco FERRO MILONE, Turin, Italy
Hello cousin Francesco! I am linked to Turin, Italy by my FATHER'S side of the family also. The last name is Chiarle - from Balangero, Turin Province. That family, as it turns out, is still in Turin Province, but they were originally FRENCH and many Chiarle people live in Nice, France. I am betting that "Chiarle" was originally a reference to Charlemagne, from whom I ALSO descend on my MOTHER'S side. YES, many of us ARE related, from a thousand years back. From my experience, there are a few blocks of people who are related. The block of people that has many of the royal families and for whom there are historical records (like ours) is FUN to research. Every day I learn something new about our "royal rellies." Cheers to you! Silver Rose
Deleteyesterday I found out my wife is also a distant descendant of Ingegerd/Anna/Irene, and therefore my children carry a tiny bit of her DNA....I will send this out to her family. Thanks.
ReplyDelete