When there is saint named St. Anna and she
is often portrayed with images of sacred architecture, I am naturally curious.
The icons tell a story of a devout and strong woman, who knew whom she believed
in, who glorified God in her living.
She
was born around year 1001 in Sweden, daughter of a Swedish king, and her name
then was Ingegerd. King Olaf Skötkonung became baptized in
the year 1008 with his whole family, and this made a profound influence upon
how this Viking king thought and acted. Ingegerd was taught to read and she
studied the Holy Scriptures, according to the Orthodox website “Archangel
Gabriel”. She also studied history and literature. The Swedish princess married
Prince Yaroslav the Wise of Kiev, a man her father thought worthy of her. The
Kievan Rus had close relations with their Swedish roots.
The girl took the name Irina when she became the Great
Princess of Kiev, but what makes her interesting and inspiring is not her status
or family background. She lived in a time where the society around her was
dominated by pagan attitudes, and she shone like a beacon of Christ’s love in
her local and political environment. She was hospitable, generous, showing love
and great courage in times of opposition. She challenged the enemies of what
she valued, she defended her husband – who was, likewise, a deeply devoted
Christian.
Irina had 10
children, seven sons and three daughters, and
- to use a modern term – she home-schooled them. She taught her children
to read and write, and she taught them about Jesus Christ. One of my
sources for information about St Anna is the website “Archangel Gabriel”, and
the writer says that the family is a domestic church. This is an interesting
perspective from an orthodox pen, and worth noticing. I would like to include a longer quote from
this website, in relations to the role of motherhood:
“Christianity deeply values women as mothers. Motherhood
transfigures human love and unites mankind to the mystery of the birth of a
life that is created for eternity, joy, and beauty. By being a mother, a
woman becomes the protector of her family and the family hearth. The
inner life and stability of her family depend on her gentleness, care,
patience, and self-sacrificing service. Women have one of the highest and
most glorious tasks – raising new citizens of the Heavenly Kingdom. The
Great Princess Irina was this sort of mother.”[1]
The icons of picture her most often with St. Sophia
Cathedral, or a scroll, or with a set of sacred buildings. Together with her
husband, Yaroslav, she initiated the building of a great church, St. Sophia,
both in Kiev and in Novgorod. The complex in Kiev also houses the convent she
became part of, and is where she is buried. Kiev was to be like a City of God,
foreshadowing the celestial city.
 |
| St. Sophia Cathedral, Kiev, Ukraina |
I am honoured to share name with her. She took the name
Anna in the latter part of her life, when she was widowed and gave up worldly
desires for power and money to become a nun in the monastery. She dedicated her
life to prayer after raising her family, influencing society and giving of her
intellectual and physical strength to her people. She is a great saint, indeed,
and someone to be inspired of.
Incidentally, there is a congregation in Trondheim by the
name Hellige Anna Menighet.
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless the members!
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