Anna Kashinskaya memorial day in a new style. Reverend Blessed Grand Duchess nun Anna Kashinskaya

The Russian noble princess Anna Kashinskaya during her lifetime was distinguished by her great patience, which in its strength was comparable to the courage of a warrior. She experienced the pain of losing the closest people, managing to save kind heart and remained a support for her people in all hardships. Canonized after death, she was destined for a controversial share. Anna Kashinskaya was twice affirmed in holiness, and only she has six days of remembrance a year.

Young years

Anna Kashinskaya was born in the family of the Rostov prince Dmitry in the city of Kashin approximately in 1279. The name at baptism was given in honor of the righteous Saint Anna, mother of the Virgin. There were other children in the family. A close person in the family was the Horde prince - St. Peter, a Tatar baptized into Orthodox Christianity, who distinguished himself by great faith and saw the apostles Peter and Paul during his earthly life.

Little is known about St. Anna's childhood and youth; chronicle sources say that her life fell on times of hard times. There were many troubles in Rostov, which brought Tatar yoke. Finally, the patience of the Rostovites snapped, they no longer had the strength to endure requisitions and harassment from the Tatars who inhabited the land and constantly arriving combat detachments. The alarm bell rang and a Russian rebellion began, demolishing all the Tatar houses, the townspeople drove the surviving freeloaders out of the city walls.

The princes of Rostov went to the khan with a confession and persuasion not to inflict great damage people and kingdom. Anna Kashinskaya and her sisters remained at home under the care of the boyars and no one knew whether the khan would leave the delegation alive or everyone would be killed. At that time, there was no bloodshed and revenge. A few years later, in 1293, a struggle for power began between Andrei and Dmitry Nevsky, which led to an internecine war that devastated the North-Eastern lands of Russia, the damage done was comparable to the devastation caused by the Batu invasion.

Marriage

Blessed Anna Kashinskaya early became famous for her kindness, extensive charitable work and beauty. In 1294, the prince's children were orphaned, Anna's father died, and Uncle Konstantin became a trustee. Troubles did not leave the Rostov possession, many people lost their homes, poverty haunted entire families, forcing people to wander and beg.

Anna Kashinskaya gave the order to feed the destitute in the princely chambers, not to refuse anyone a piece of bread. She was very active in helping - to those who could not come for food, she herself appeared at the place of residence, treated the sick and wounded, looked after the crippled and the elderly. Special attention gave to widows and orphans. People treated her like the sun, she softened the most cruel hearts with her kind disposition, patience and a great desire to help all those who suffer.

The fame of her deeds and beauty reached the limits of the Tver principality and Princess Xenia, the mother of Mikhail, Prince of Tver, wished to see her as the wife of her son, which she asked the orphan's trustee: I want to see my son in marriage as a wife; having loved for her good morals for the sake of it, ”which was recorded in the Resurrection Chronicle. The wedding took place in 1294 at the Transfiguration Cathedral in Tver.

Children and principality

Anna Kashinskaya, holy noble princess, lived in hard time when Russia was fragmented, and the Russian princes, in an effort to consolidate power, sought support from the Mongol invaders. Some time after the marriage, the entire city of Tver burned down, and three years later the fire completely consumed the entire princely court, but the inhabitants managed to escape. In the same year, in the summer, there was a drought, which burned all the crops and fodder for livestock, which again led to devastation.

The first child, the daughter of Fedor, was born to a young couple in 1299, but the girl did not live long. In 1300, the first son, Dmitry, was born, Alexander was born a year later. In 1306, Konstantin joined the family, and in 1309, Vasily. Anna Kashinskaya was a good mother and she herself participated in the upbringing of children, was engaged in their education, gave a personal example of a virtuous life. Children took part in all charitable affairs, attended church and adopted from their mother love for their neighbor.

Loss of a husband

In 1304, Mikhail of Tver took over the reign. In order to establish himself on the throne in those days, it was necessary to obtain special approval from the khan - a label, Mikhail went to the headquarters, but Yuri, the son of the deceased Moscow prince Daniel, made claims. A confrontation began that covered the two principalities for a century and a half.

In 1313, the Horde of Khan Uzbek converted to Islam, which ended the era of religious tolerance. The position of Mikhail of Tverskoy and his patrimony worsened, and the marriage of Yuri, Prince of Moscow, to the sister of the khan, added to the precariousness of the situation. Four years later, Mikhail of Tverskoy decided to give up the principality in favor of Yuri, but the fact of ruling was not enough for him, he wished to destroy the enemy. Having invaded the Tver Principality with a well-armed large retinue, he destroyed settlements, trampled and burned the fields, drove people into slavery. Mikhail led a campaign to counter and entered into battle forty miles before Tver, Yuri, leaving his squad, fled.

Mikhail captured the boyars, the princes and Yuri's wife, the Tatar Konchaka, negotiations began with the khan. While diplomatic meetings were being held, Konchaka died in Tver. With this news, Yuri went to the Khan, telling in a denunciation that Mikhail's people had poisoned her. Khan fell into a rage and chose a method of revenge. Michael, having decided not to subject his people to another ruin, went to the Horde himself. Anna Kashinsky, the holy noble princess, understood that her husband was going to martyrdom, but she blessed him on his way. The parting of the spouses took place on the banks of the Nerl River, now there is a chapel, it previously had an image of the scene of farewell between the prince and the princess.

At the headquarters of the khan, Michael accepted a martyrdom, which could have been avoided at the cost of worshiping idols, which the prince refused. The prince of Moscow was informed of his death and the body was sent there. Anna Kashinskaya and the children did not know for a long time what had become of him. When the situation cleared up, she begged Yuri for a long time to give her husband's body for burial, he demanded humiliating conditions for the contract and got his way.

The mutilated body of Prince Mikhail traveled a long way, but did not decompose, which was regarded as God's miracle. Michael was canonized by the church in 1549, and the people began to venerate him as a saint immediately after his burial.

sons

Anna Kashinskaya survived many troubles that occurred both in the family and in the state. In 1325, her son Dmitry slaughtered Yuri, Prince of Moscow, in the Horde, on whose denunciation his father was tortured. Dmitry was immediately executed. A year later, the Tatar ambassador settled in the Tver principality and occupied the princely chambers for his residence, almost driving Anna and the children out into the street. Grievances accumulated among the people, a riot broke out, and the blood of the invaders flowed. The battle lasted for a day, the Khan's ambassador and his retinue were burned alive in the chambers, by the dawn of the next day not a single Tatar was left alive.

Anna's family and herself managed to escape from the city. In autumn, the troops of the khan, the Moscow prince Ivan Kalita and several other princes moved to Tver. The pogrom was total, the scorched earth had never known such a pogrom before or since. Princes Konstantin and Vasily returned to their lands in 1327 and found devastation, desertion, sorrow there and began the revival of the principality.

The eldest son Alexander remained in exile, where he started a family and a son, Fedor. Threatening ruin, the khan demanded that the Russian princes give him Alexander of Tver. Ten years later, in 1339, he arrived from Lithuania and went to the Horde with his son. The princess once again said goodbye to her relatives, seeing them off to certain death. After these events, there was some calm, Constantine was appointed to reign, but he also ended his days in the Horde in 1346.

Monasticism

Having gone through many sorrows, losses, torments, Anna Kashinskaya retained great patience, did not fall into despair, which helped her to endure and maintain a kind loving heart. During the reign of Constantine, she took monastic orders in the St. Sophia Monastery in Tver, taking the name Euphrosyne. During her monastic life, she did not leave the needy without attention and helped in every way she could, to whom in word and to whom in deed, while leading a strict lifestyle. She devoted most of her time to prayer, fasting, vigils and meditation.

Approximately in 1364, her last son, Prince Vasily, built the Assumption Monastery in Kashin and persuaded his mother to move into it. Here she took the schema under the name of Anna and died in 1368 at the very beginning of October. Her body was buried in the cathedral.

First canonization

Holy Orthodox Anna of Kashinskaya was forgotten for many years. In memory of the descendants, she returned during the siege of Kashin by Lithuanians and Poles in 1611. Despite the duration and intensified hostilities, the city was not captured, and the townspeople were inclined to think about someone's holy intercession. Anna appeared in the form of a schema to the sexton of the Assumption Cathedral, who was experiencing a serious illness. From her, he received healing and an order to tell Archpriest Vasily and the inhabitants of Kashin about her prayers and intercession, while she ordered to honor her coffin, read prayers over it and light candles over it in front of the image of the Savior. So the people of Kashin believed in their patroness and began to tremblingly protect her grave.

The rumor about the patron saint reached Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and Patriarch Nikon, they initiated her canonization in front of the Moscow Cathedral. In 1649, Anna Kashinskaya was canonized by the church. The opening of the grave and examination of the relics took place in 1649, and in 1650 the tsar came to participate in the solemn transfer of the relics to the Resurrection Cathedral. On the same day, a miraculous healing of a seriously ill woman took place.

Not a single saint has such a complex posthumous history as befell the Reverend Anna of Kashinsky. Three decades later, the Old Believers began to especially revere her, and the only event in the history of the Russian church happened - the Patriarch, by his decree, in 1677, forbade the veneration of the saint. The coffin was sealed, the icons with her image were seized and taken to Moscow, the cover was removed from the coffin. They even sealed the temple, once consecrated in her honor, later it was renamed the Cathedral of All Saints.

Second canonization

No matter how the earthly rulers ordered, miracles at the tomb continued, there were healings. The inhabitants independently kept a chronicle, painted icons and rewrote the life of St. Anna of Kashin. three times in different years the Orthodox community appealed with a request to restore the veneration of the saint, but they were rejected.

It was possible to achieve consideration of the next petition only when the law on Old Believers was adopted, in 1905. In 1908, all the information about Anna Kashinskaya was collected, they went to St. Petersburg along with a petition addressed to the sovereign to restore veneration. July 10 bell ringing gathered all the townspeople to the church, where a collective petition was signed. In the fall, the tsar gave permission to the Synod to restore the memory and venerate the saint, the date was set for June 12.

Celebrations on the occasion of the canonization took place in June, they were held with a huge gathering of people. More than 100 thousand guests and pilgrims arrived in the city. Many miracles happened at the tomb of Anna Kashinskaya, she became the only saint whose memory is honored six times a year.

After the revolution to the present day

After 1917, the temples in Kashin were gradually closed, the coffin with the relics was constantly transferred, but the intercession of the saint did its job here too, not leaving the city without a functioning church. According to eyewitnesses, some saw Anna Kashinsky in the first year of the Great Patriotic War, and she said that she was protecting her city from invaders. Until 1987, the holy relics of Anna Kashinsky were in the church of Peter and Paul.

Now you can bow to the relics of the saint in Voznesensky cathedral city, the tomb has been there since 1993 and is available to all believers. The cathedral is located on Unity Square in the town of Kashin, Tver Region. There is a temple of Anna Kashinskaya in several cities, and not everything is simple with them either. One of them is located in St. Petersburg and belongs to the Orthodox Christian Church. But the church named after her in Kuznetsy belongs to the Old Believer concession of Orthodox Christianity, it is being actively restored. Another Old Believer church of the Holy Princess Anna of Kashinsky was founded in Tver.

Pilgrims often come to the saint for help, and Anna Kashinskaya gives consolation to many. How does a saint help? She responds to requests for strengthening family ties, strengthening in the Christian Orthodox faith and patience. She also becomes the intercessor of all the suffering, widows, orphans and helps those who choose the path of monasticism.

Holy Blessed Princess Anna Kashinskaya was born in the second half of the 13th century in the city of Kashin, which was part of the Rostov-Suzdal Principality. She was the daughter of the Grand Duke of Rostov Dimitri Borisovich. With young years Saint Anna was brought up in the fear of God, taught humility and obedience. Her mentor was St. Ignatius, Bishop of Rostov (+1288; Comm. 28 May), who is known for his strict asceticism and peacefulness. Like all princely daughters, Saint Anna was taught different types needlework. When the princess grew up, the fame of her mind, modesty and beauty became known in other principalities. Princess Xenia of Tver sent ambassadors to Prince Dimitri of Rostov with the following order: “He has a single daughter, very virtuous, wise and beautiful, this one ... I want to see my son in marriage as a wife; love her for her good manners.” The embassy of the Tver princess was crowned with success: Saint Anna was given as a wife to Prince Michael of Tver, later a noble prince-martyr (+1318, Comm. 22 November).

The wedding of the Blessed Princess Anna with the Holy Prince Michael took place on November 8, 1294 at the Transfiguration Cathedral in Tver. The sacrament of marriage was performed by Bishop Andrey of Tver. The chronicler notes, speaking of the marriage of Prince Mikhail, that "there was great joy in Tver." Kashintsy in connection with joyful event built in Kashin the Mikhailovsky temple and the triumphal gates from the Kremlin to the Tver road, also calling them "Mikhailovsky". In the Assumption Cathedral in Kashin, a festive service was established annually on November 8.

Blessed Princess Anna was a model of a Christian wife and mother and was adorned with many family virtues. The holy spouses lived in love and harmony, cared for the welfare of their people, were merciful to the poor and orphans. They had five children: sons Demetrius (1299), Alexander (1301), Constantine (1306), Basil (1309) and daughter Theodora (1300), whom they brought up in the fear of God and taught Christian virtues.

Despite the disasters, Saint Anna was happy. She endured hardships with her characteristic humility and obedience to the will of God. In 1295 Tver was destroyed by a terrible fire. In 1296 a new fire destroyed the Grand Duke's palace; the holy prince and princess barely escaped. “Behold, a miracle happened,” the chronicler notes, “what God intercede for the prince.” In the same year there was a pestilence and a severe drought, the Grand Duke fell seriously ill. The loving and compassionate heart of the Blessed Princess Anna experienced all the sorrows that befell her people. The constant strife of the princes, the struggle for the throne of the grand prince often caused the princes to campaign against each other. This led to the ruin of the Fatherland and many other troubles. The Holy Princess Anna had to repeatedly accompany her husband on campaigns, mourning him as before death.

In 1318, Saint Prince Michael, in order to avert the Tatar invasion of Tver, which was supposed to bring death to many people, the destruction of temples and monasteries and the ruin of the entire Tver land, went to the Horde. The Holy Princess Anna knew that he was going to certain death, but as a true Christian and patriot, she courageously blessed him on this journey. Before parting, she admonished the noble prince: “I beg you, my lord ... when you appear before the wicked king, like a good warrior of Christ, and when you are betrayed by malicious torments, do not be afraid of the evils that are coming against you, may neither fire nor wheels frighten you , neither a sword nor a cut, but be patient, going to this voluntarily ... Love, my lord, the One Lord Jesus Christ. AT parting words Saint Princess Anna - all the depth of her love for God, her sacrificial devotion to His holy will, the greatness of her Christian soul.

Saint Anna with her children accompanied Saint Prince Michael to the Nerl River. It is believed that near the village of Malinik, Kalyazinsky district, there were last goodbye faithful spouses. Saint Prince Michael was martyred in the Horde on November 22, 1318. Only in July of the following year did the blessed Princess Anna learn about the martyrdom of her husband. Upon learning that his holy relics had been brought to Moscow, she sent an embassy there. The incorrupt body of the holy martyr was transferred to Tver and buried in the Cathedral of the Transfiguration.

In subsequent years, the sorrows of Blessed Princess Anna multiplied even more. In 1325, her eldest son, Grand Duke of Tver, Dimitri the Terrible Eyes, was tortured to death in the Horde. In 1327, the second son Alexander defeated the Tatar army, which was devastating the Tver lands. In revenge, the Khan gathered a new army and defeated Tver; Prince Alexander was forced to hide in Pskov. For ten years, the long-suffering mother did not see her son, and in 1339 Prince Alexander and his son Theodore were killed in the Horde. An ancient life describes the life of the Blessed Princess Anna before becoming a monk in this way: And a lot of fasting and abstinence for yourself, adorn yourself with meekness and humility, nourishing the poor, and command the strange and wretched to bring into your house and feed, and orphans, and widows interceding. After the death of Prince Michael, Saint Anna decided to fulfill her long-standing desire - "to work alone with God in silence." She took the tonsure in the Tver Sophia Monastery with the name Euphrosyne. Having changed the princely chambers for a wretched monastic cell, Saint Anna began to ascetic in still greater fasting, vigil and prayer.

Maternally sympathetic to the poor and unfortunate, she still tried to help them.

In 1365 younger son Blessed Princess Vasily, the only survivor by that time, begged his old mother to move to his specific principality - to the homeland of St. Anna. With sorrow, Tver escorted the faithful nun Euphrosyne to Kashin. The people of Kashin met her with great joy there. All the inhabitants came out to meet the holy ascetic known for her piety. The Dormition Monastery was built in Kashin, where the saint took the schema with the name Anna. All-night vigils, unceasing prayer, abstinence - were the daily feat of schema nun Anna. The saint remained in silence, which she interrupted only for the instruction of Prince Vasily. She taught him to remember death, to hold on to the truth, to be humble, meek and long-suffering.

The Lord revealed to Saint Anna the day of death. She died in extreme old age on October 2, 1368 and was buried in the cathedral church in honor of the Assumption. Mother of God. The holy noble princess Anna did not leave her earthly Fatherland even after her death: with her prayers she protected the city of Kashin from misfortunes. Repeatedly in the city there was a fire, but quickly stopped, not spreading to large spaces. In 1606-1611, the Poles besieged Kashin several times, but could not take it.

After her death, the Blessed Princess Anna was honored locally, but after several centuries, the memory of her weakened. When, in 1611, Saint Anna healed Gerasim, the sexton of the Assumption Church, from a serious illness (the saint appeared to him in a schema robe), the veneration of the Blessed Princess Anna resumed; Healings began to take place at the tomb of the saint. In 1649, at the request of the clergy and citizens of Kashin, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich ordered to examine the relics of Princess Anna. On July 21, 1649, the Archbishop of Tver and Kashin, Jonah, with the clergy, opened the tomb and found the incorruptible relics of the Blessed Princess Anna. In the same year, the Council of the Russian Church decided to canonize the blessed Princess Anna and open her honest relics for general worship. A service was composed for the acquisition of relics.

The church glorification of the Blessed Princess Anna and the solemn opening of her relics took place on June 12, 1650. On that day, the holy relics of the Blessed Princess Anna were transferred from the wooden Assumption Cathedral to the ancient stone Resurrection Cathedral. Hieromonk Epiphanius Slavinetsky composed a service for the transfer of the relics. At the same time, a church-wide celebration was established twice a year: on July 21, on the day of finding the relics, and on October 2, on the day of death. Today, the memory of St. Anne is also celebrated on June 12, the day of the transfer of relics. The Life of the Blessed Princess Anna was written shortly after her glorification by the elder of the Solovetsky Monastery, Ignatius (later Metropolitan of Siberia).

In 1677, Patriarch Joachim (1674-1690) and the Cathedral abolished the celebration of the memory of the Blessed Princess Anna in connection with the aggravation of the Old Believer schism, which used her name for their own purposes. However, the veneration of Saint Anna did not stop among the people. The memory of the saint was supported by miracles from her relics. During the war of 1812, through the prayers of the Blessed Princess Anna, Kashin was spared from devastation by the French. Grateful residents of the city in 1817 transferred the holy relics of the Blessed Princess Anna from the ancient to the newly built Resurrection Cathedral. In 1848, during cholera, the pestilence stopped after a procession through the city with the icon of St. Anna. Many pilgrims from other provinces of the country came to the holy relics.

In 1909, according to the numerous petitions of the people of Kashin, church veneration of the holy noble princess Anna was restored. The celebration is timed to June 12, the day of the first transfer of her relics. Now the holy relics rest in the church in honor of the holy apostles Peter and Paul in the city of Kashin.

holy missus grand duchess Anna was born at the end of the 13th century, when Russia was groaning from a terrible Tatar invasion. By the providence of God, she, the daughter of the Rostov prince and the wife of the Grand Duke Mikhail of Tver, was destined to drink the bitter cup of suffering and become a comforter of the people's grief, known in history as "Anna, the Wonderworker of Kashin".

Princess Anna is the great-granddaughter of the holy noble prince Vasily of Rostov (Cornflower) and the granddaughter of the holy prince Michael of Chernigov, who were martyred in the Horde for refusing to betray the holy Orthodox faith. She grew up in the fear of God, in tenderness before her relatives - martyrs for the faith. Blessed Princess Anna throughout her long-suffering life carried the feat of righteous femininity - chastity, unconditional obedience to the will of God, selflessly meek humility and fidelity to her husband, and then - the feat of inconsolable widowhood, adorned with a monastic rank.

The Lord blessed her marriage with four sons and a daughter who died in infancy. In the era of the Mongols, the life of the noble princesses was hard: an incessant sense of anxiety, uncertainty about the future, fears for the life of the prince, children, for native land. Princess Anna more than once had to accompany her husband on campaigns, mourning him, as before death.

In 1318, Prince Mikhail went to the Horde to avert the invasion of the Tatars, which was supposed to bring ruin to the entire Tver land. Princess Anna knew that he was going to certain death, but as a true Christian, she blessed him on this path. Before parting, she admonished the noble prince: “I beg you, my lord, when you appear before the impious king as a good warrior of Christ and when you are betrayed by malicious torments, do not be afraid of the evils that are coming against you, may not fire, nor wheels, nor sword frighten you, do not cut, but be patient, going to this voluntarily ... Love, my lord, the only Lord Jesus Christ. In the parting words of Princess Anna - all the depth of her love for God, sacrificial devotion to His holy will, the greatness of her Christian soul. The Christian separation of Prince Mikhail and Princess Anna, when he consciously set out for a feat, and she accepted the will of God and saw her off in passion, forever remained in the people's memory as the beauty of faith and conjugal love. Saint Prince Michael of Tverskoy was martyred in the Horde. Only a year later Anna received the imperishable body of her prince.

Upon the death of her husband, the sorrows of Princess Anna multiplied. In 1325, her eldest son, Grand Duke of Tver Dimitri "Terrible Eyes", was tortured to death in the Horde. In 1327, the second son Alexander defeated the Tatar army, which was devastating the Tver lands. In retaliation, the Khan defeated Tver. Princess Anna, with her daughters-in-law and grandchildren, had to wander for a long time, while her sons were on the run. In 1339, Prince Alexander and his son Fedor were killed in the Horde. Tests followed one after another, it seemed impossible to survive them without indulging in despair. Anna took it all. Exhausted by grief, she accepted monasticism, already being an old woman, after the death of her son Alexander and grandson Fedor - the extreme limit of her suffering. "In a woman's nature, thou hadst a man's fortress" - this is how the Church appeases St. Anna for her spiritual steadfastness. At the request of her beloved son Vasily, Princess Anna moved to his inheritance, to the city of Kashin, to the Assumption Monastery built especially for her.

Anna the nun is a popular image of a suffering Russian woman who, as usual in Ancient Russia, finally found peace in God behind the monastery wall. On October 2 (15), 1368, she reposed as a revered schema nun. Thus ended the long-suffering earthly life of Grand Duchess Anna.

After her death, Saint Anna was venerated locally. Miracles at the tomb of St. Anna began in 1611, during the siege of Kashin by Lithuanian troops. On July 21 (August 3), 1649, her incorruptible relics were found, and on June 12 (25), 1650, Princess Anna was canonized, and her relics were transferred to the Resurrection Cathedral for worship. But in 1677, Patriarch Joachim raised the question at the Moscow Council about the abolition of her veneration in connection with the aggravation of the Old Believer schism, using the name of Anna Kashinskaya for their own purposes. In 1909, on June 12 (25), her second glorification took place and a widespread celebration was established.

Now the relics of St. Anna rest in the Ascension Cathedral. Many believers come to them for the help of the blessed princess, who is especially manifested in caring for the weak, sick and suffering. Blessed Princess Anna is the patroness of the family, its well-being, the pacifier of strife and turmoil.

Holy Reverend Blessed Princess Anna Kashinskaya was the daughter of a prince Rostovsky Dmitry Borisovich, great-granddaughter of the holy noble prince Vasily of Rostov, who was martyred for refusing to change the holy Orthodox faith. Blessed Anna's grandfather's brother-in-law was Saint Peter, Tsarevich of Orda, a baptized Tatar, canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church.
The princes of Rostov were pious, and Anna grew up in the traditions Orthodox faith, love for the Church, veneration of relatives-martyrs for the faith. She lived in those times when Holy Russia carried the harsh feats of confession and martyrdom under Tatar-Mongol yoke and also suffered from internecine wars.
In 1294, her father died when Anna was about seventeen. In the same year, she was given in marriage to Prince Mikhail of Tver. Princess Xenia, mother of Prince Tverskoy, having learned about Anna's beauty and virtues, sent matchmakers to Rostov. Anna was brought to Tver, where the marriage took place immediately. The bride and groom saw each other for the first time, standing in the temple under the wedding crowns, but their marriage was prepared in heaven: mutual love and respect, devotion and understanding carried the spouses through the years, despite all the hardships that fell to their lot.

Many sorrows befell Saint Anne. In the spring of 1295, the entire city of Tver burned down, in the spring of 1298 the entire princely tower with all its property burned to the ground, the prince and princess escaped the fire by jumping out of the window. In the same year there was a great drought, forests burned, livestock died. The prince fell seriously ill. In 1299 it was terrible solar eclipse; born in this year, the very first child of Anna, the daughter of Theodore, dies in infancy. Anna then had four more sons.
In 1304, Prince Mikhail of Tver received a label (a special letter confirming the rights of the prince) to the great reign of Vladimir, but along with the honor of primacy among other princes, he acquired a mortal enemy in the person of Prince Yuri of Moscow, who also claimed the great reign. In 1313, a new khan Uzbek reigned in the Horde, and Prince Mikhail had to go to the new khan to receive a label. Mikhail stayed in the Horde for about two years, while the princess waited, wept and mourned, not knowing what to think.
Returning, the prince waged war with Novgorod, which ended in a heavy defeat for him. In 1317, the treacherous Yuri arrived from the Horde with a label for "seniority"; Prince Mikhail resigned himself and ceded his rights to him. However, Yuri was not satisfied with this and went to war against Tver. Mikhail was forced to fight back and defeated his opponent, capturing the Tatar ambassador Kavgady and the sister of Khan Uzbek, the wife of Yuri, who, unfortunately, died suddenly in Tver.
Slandered by enemies, in 1318 Prince Mikhail, who had just won a brilliant military victory, but who did not want to use it to the detriment of others, again goes to the Horde to turn away from hometown the threat of a Tatar pogrom and become an innocent victim. Prince Michael was ready for anything, confessed and took communion. Everyone present was crying. But Saint Anna inspired her husband to a feat: “And if you, my lord, noble prince, want to go to the Horde and voluntarily suffer for the name of the Lord Jesus, then you will truly be blessed in all generations and your memory will be forever.”
A month and a half later, St. blgv. Prince Mikhail of Tver was martyred in the Horde, but the body of the saint was delivered to Tver only a year later. It did not decay, although it was carried both in the heat and in the frost, now on a cart, now on a sleigh, and for the whole summer it remained unburied in Moscow. All worries about the principality, about the sons fell on the shoulders of Anna; more and more troubles rained down, the raids of the Tatars began. In 1325, her eldest son, hot-tempered and hot-tempered Dimitry the Terrible Eyes, killed Prince Yuri of Moscow in the Horde, whom he considered responsible for the death of his father, and for this he was executed by the khan.
In 1327, when the Tatar ambassador Shevkal, a cousin of Khan Uzbek, arrived in Tver with a large retinue, the inhabitants of Tver raised a spontaneous rebellion and killed all the Tatars. After that, the whole land of Tver was devastated by fire and sword, the inhabitants were exterminated or driven into captivity. The Tver Principality has never experienced such a pogrom. Anna Kashinskaya and her relatives had to flee and hide in exile for a long time, and return home to bare ashes. The second son of the princess Alexander, after many years of exile, went to ask for mercy from the khan, but in 1339 he was executed in the Horde along with his son Theodore.
The suffering of the princess reached the limit of human capabilities. Nevertheless, the meek, patient enduring of suffering did not harden the deeply believing soul, but clothed it with great humility. The saint decided to leave the world in the Tver St. Sophia Monastery and took the vows of a nun with the name Sophia (according to some sources, Euphrosyne), the saint began to ascetic in prayer and fasting. Subsequently, the youngest son of Princess Vasily begged his mother to move to Kashin, where he had his inheritance. Especially for her, he built the Assumption Monastery, where the much-sorrowful princess-nun could remain in silence and seclusion. Here the nun took the schema, with her former name Anna. Here she reposed in 1368 in the schema, her body was buried in the Dormition monastery church.

The blessed princess died on October 2 (15), 1368. She was 90 years old. Her son Vasily died of grief the next day, they were buried together in the Assumption Cathedral.

The name of the blessed princess Anna was forgotten over time to the point that her tomb was treated disrespectfully, and only in 1611, as a result of the appearance of her pious clergyman, did the inhabitants of the city of Kashin awaken a special reverence for her heavenly patroness, who invisibly protected them from enemies and saved their city from ruin.
During the Time of Troubles (1606-1611), the Polish-Lithuanian troops approached Kashin three times, but not only failed to take the city, but also did not cause him much harm. At the same time, a strong fire broke out in Kashin, but quickly stopped. Involuntarily, the God-fearing townspeople began to wonder: what saint is guarding their city? But in 1611, the princess appeared in a dream to the seriously ill sexton of the Assumption Cathedral Gerasim, promised to heal him and said: “My coffin is imputed to nothing by the people. Do you not know that I pray to the All-Merciful God and the Mother of God that your city not be betrayed into the hands of your enemies, and that I save you from many evils and misfortunes? The next morning Gerasim was healthy. From that day on, healings and miracles at the tomb of St. Anna did not stop. The people immediately began to revere the coffin of the Blessed Princess Anna as a great shrine.
The rumor about miracles from the relics of the blessed Princess Anna reached the pious Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and His Holiness Patriarch Nikon, and at the Moscow Council of 1649 it was decided to open the relics of Princess Anna. In 1649, her relics were examined. Anna's body and clothes did not decay, but right hand lay on her chest “bent, as if blessing” (the index and middle fingers are extended, that is, they are folded with a two-fingered cross).
The transfer of the relics of Blessed Anna Kashinskaya from the dilapidated wooden cathedral church to the stone Resurrection Cathedral with the participation of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich himself took place on June 12, 1650. In the entire history of the Russian Church to this day, not a single saint has been honored with such a brilliant and magnificent celebration.
However, soon Saint Anna Kashinskaya unexpectedly becomes a symbol of schismatics, when the Old Believer schism began in the second half of the 17th century, and many began to be embarrassed that imperishable fingers, according to legend, were folded according to the custom that existed in Russia in the 14th century (besides, St. Anna was sometimes depicted on icons with her hand folded for the sign of the cross with two fingers). No one questioned the sanctity of the blessed princess, but in order not to give rise to temptation, Patriarch Joachim and the fathers of the Councils of 1677-1678. destroy the canonization of the saint, prohibit the worship of the holy relics of Anna Kashinskaya, cancel the prayers and services of the saint until the time "until God announces and approves." This extraordinary event is the only one in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Although the ecclesiastical dethronement of the Blessed Princess Anna lasted 230 years, the grateful people's memory kept a strong faith in the intercession before the Lord of her heavenly patroness. Before marriage, before service, before taking vows, before starting classes, making some serious decision, not to mention all sorts of troubles, illnesses and sorrows, believers went to pray at the tomb of Blessed Anna.
On June 12 (25), 1908, Emperor Nicholas II, by the will of God, again glorified the blessed princess, restoring the due veneration of the saint.
And already in 1909, in the city of Grozny, in the region of the Tver Cossacks, a women's community arose in honor of the Holy Blessed Princess Anna Kashinskaya. In 1910, a church was consecrated in the name of St. Anna of Kashinsky in St. Petersburg.
During the troubled years of the war and revolution, the image of the Blessed Princess Anna became even closer and more understandable to the Russian people. It was recalled that the faithful Anna, also escorting her husband and sons to that dangerous unknown, from where they often do not return, buried and mourned them, was also forced to flee and hide, while the enemies smashed and burned her land.

Prayers to the Reverend Grand Duchess Anna of Kashinsky.

O Reverend and Blessed Mother Anno! Humbly bowing down to your honest relics, we pray diligently with tears: do not forget your poor ones to the end, but always remember us in your holy and auspicious prayers to God. O blessed Grand Duchess Anno! Do not forget to visit your children, even if you have passed away from us in body, but you are still alive after death and do not depart from us in spirit, preserving us from the arrows of the enemy, all the charms of demons and the machinations of the devil. Our zealous prayer book! Do not stop praying for us to Christ, our God, even if your relics of cancer are visible before our eyes, but your holy soul, with the Angelic hosts at the Throne of the Almighty, is worthy of fun. We fall down to you, we pray to you, have mercy on you: pray, blessed Anno, to our All-Merciful God for the salvation of our souls, to ask us time for repentance and unhinderedly pass from earth to Heaven, he will be delivered from bitter ordeals and eternal torment and heir to the Kingdom of Heaven to be with all the saints who from the beginning have pleased our Lord Jesus Christ, glory to Him, with His Father without beginning, and with the Most Holy, and Good, and His Life-giving Spirit, now and forever, and forever and ever. Amen.

Troparion to the Reverend Grand Duchess Anna of Kashinsky.

Troparion, tone 3

Today we praise you, reverend mother, Grand Duchess nun Anna: as if it were fruitful in the midst of thorns, you flourished in the city of Kashin with your virtues, you surprised everyone with your wonderful life, you also pleased Christ God, and now, rejoicing and having fun, stay with faces reverend wives, enjoying the beauty of paradise and fun. We pray to you: pray for us the Lover of mankind, Christ our God, grant us peace and great mercy.

Kontakion, tone 4

Like a bright star, you appeared in the Russian land, in the city of Kashin, Reverend Mother Anno, in all pious and faithful wives, like krin, you flourished with your pure and immaculate life, in the nuns your labors and deeds were completed, and you ascended to the Highest city rejoicing and rejoicing, as if having done your course well, and now your honest relics, like precious beads, appear for healing to all who come with faith. And so we cry out to you: Rejoice, all-beautiful soul, and pray to Christ God for the salvation of our souls.

magnificence

We bless you, reverend mother, Grand Duchess Anno, and honor your holy memory, mentor of nuns and interlocutor Angel.

The loss of historical memory is one of the main problems in the life of our society. People not only forget their genealogy, roots, traditions - events and names of a historical scale are erased from memory. Unfortunately, sometimes the loss of historical memory and respect for patristic shrines becomes the result of a conscious policy. In the era of spiritual secularization that came after church schism and lasting from the end of the XVII century to the first half of XIX centuries, there was a disastrous for the national and folk spirit the phenomenon of neglect of ancient Russian holiness. The case of the Reverend and Blessed Princess-nun Anna Kashinskaya was the most a prime example of such kind.

Tver land has always been famous for talented, smart, bright people, which left a significant mark on the entire Russian history. Among them are the noble princesses of the Russian land, such as the Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga, the Monk Fevronia of Murom, the Holy Blessed Princess Vasilisa, the Holy Blessed Princess Anna Kashinskaya and many others.

October 15 according to the new style (October 2, old style) - Day of the Repose of the Holy Blessed Princess-Nun Anna of Kashinskaya. Anna Kashinskaya occupies a special place in the history of the Church. She lived in a difficult period medieval Russia: during the Horde yoke over the Russian land, during the period of the struggle for rivalry between Moscow and Tver, she was twice canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church.

Anna Kashinskaya was mentioned in her writings in the 18th century. MM. Shcherbatov, A. Shchekatov, the first Tver historian D.I. Karmanov. Kalyazinsky tradesman S.P. Sokovnin devoted an entire article to her. In the 19th century historians V.O. wrote about it. Klyuchevsky, N.M. Karamzin, P.M. Stroev, E.E. Golubinsky. Bishop Dimitry (Sambikin) included articles about Anna Kashinskaya in the Months of the Saints and the Tver Patericon. In the XX century. the priests S. Arkhangelov, I. Zavyalov, I. Vostorgov, and the Old Believer researcher A. Pavlov wrote about the blessed princess. Studies of hagiographic works about Anna Kashinskaya were carried out by S.A. Semyachko. However, the work of T.I. Manukhina "Holy Blessed Princess Anna Kashinskaya", published in Paris in 1954.

The future princess saw her husband for the first time only at the wedding

Princess Anna was the daughter Dmitry Borisovich Rostovsky. Chroniclers do not report the exact date of birth of the princess. However, T.I. Manukhina resorts to an approximate calculation: since the girls got married at the age of 15-17, and the marriage of the princess with Mikhail of Tver took place, in her opinion, in 1294, therefore, Anna could have been born in 1278 or 1279. Anna's great-grandfather is the prince Vasilko of Rostov, captured by the Tatars in 1238 on the river. City, angrily rejected the offer to go over to their side and was killed; Grandfather Boris, together with his brother Gleb, ruled peacefully for 40 years. Maternal grandfather - Prince Mikhail Chernigov - died heroically in the Horde for the Christian faith, refusing to bow to the Mongol idols; Mikhail's daughter, Princess Maria Rostovskaya, according to D.S. Likhachev, was the first woman chronicler.

Anna grew up in the traditions of a strong Orthodox faith, love for the Church, in the veneration of the clergy and the "monastic order", the traditions of Rostov. Bishop Ignatius, as the head of the Rostov diocese and Anna's confessor, was close to the prince's house. Firm faith was taught to Anna by the living example of Bishop Ignatius.

It is safe to say that the bride for her son Mikhail was found by Princess Xenia, as required by custom. Grand Duchess Xenia, Mikhail's mother, having heard about Anna's virtues, sent matchmakers to Rostov, who agreed on everything.

On November 8, 1294, on the day of the Archangel Michael, on the day of the groom's angel, a wedding took place in the Transfiguration Cathedral, where the bride and groom saw each other for the first time. Bishop Andrei married Michael and Anna. In his book, the author characterizes Anna's husband as a mentally gifted, strong, noble and courageous person. In 1298, the first-born son Dmitry was born to Princess Anna, in 1299 - the daughter of Theodore (nothing is known about her and Manukhina suggests that she died in infancy), in 1300 - Alexander, in 1306 - Konstantin, and then another son - Vasily, whose date of birth is unknown.

The tragedy of wife and mother

In 1305, Prince Mikhail of Tverskoy received a label for the Great Reign and thereby made himself an enemy in the person of Prince Yuri of Moscow. Besides, family life overshadowed by the illness of the prince and children, natural disasters (pestilence, drought). Prince Yuri of Moscow opposed the legitimate heir to the throne. And in 1317, having won over the khan, he married his sister Konchaka and was elevated to the dignity of the Grand Duke of Vladimir. Prince Yuri of Moscow decided to subjugate Tver. However, Yuri understood that he received a label not according to the laws of Ancient Russia. In 1317, a battle took place near the village of Bortenevo, but Yuri was defeated and fled to Novgorod, and Mikhail captured Yuri's wife, Konchaka, who was probably poisoned by the Mongols and died in Tver. Grand Duke Mikhail of Tverskoy was slandered before the Khan. In August 1318, Mikhail was summoned to the Horde, where the Tver prince was soon executed.

After the tragic death of her husband, Princess Anna in 1319-1320. marries one by one his three sons. In 1322, the eldest son Dmitry received a label for the Great reign. However, having met the killer of his father in the Horde, Dmitry, in a fit of anger, stabbed Prince Yuri of Moscow to death. Khan, angry at Dmitry for his arbitrariness, ordered his execution on September 15, 1326, but handed over the label to the Great reign to Prince Alexander of Tver.

In 1327, an uprising took place in Tver, and a Tatar punitive campaign immediately set off against the Tver principality. Anna with her sons Konstantin and Vasily, with the boyars took refuge in Ladoga, and Alexander Mikhailovich with his wife and children - in Pskov. Alexander and Anastasia had eight children. Alexander lived with his family in Pskov for ten years. In 1337, Alexander arrived in Tver on his way to the Horde, where Anna, after a ten-year separation, saw her son. In the Horde, the khan forgave Alexander and returned the Tver principality to him.

In 1339, Alexander and his son left for the Horde, where they were executed without any trial. Anna, her brothers, Princess Anastasia with her children, and the whole city wept for them bitterly and for a long time. Thus, Anna survived the death of her husband, daughter, two sons and a grandson. After the tragedy of 1339, the intrigues of relatives again contributed to the summoning of Anna's third son, Konstantin Mikhailovich, who was ruling at that time, to the Horde, but the matter did not come to a lawsuit: Konstantin Mikhailovich died in the Horde.

Instead of princely choirs - a monastic cell

During the reign of her son Vasily, Anna did not take part in the Tver events. Historians write that his native Rostov raised the princess in faith and piety, taught him to obey the will of God, i.e. accept your earthly share as a gift from above. Princess Anna is heading to the Maiden Afanasievsky Monastery, popularly referred to as "Sophia".

The life of Anna follows the pattern of all monastic lives, listing the exploits of Anna the nun: prayer, all-night vigil. Resorting to calculations, we can say that it is impossible to establish for certain the number of years Anna spent in the St. Sophia Monastery. However, in 1358 she was already a nun. At the request of her son Vasily, she decides to leave Tver for Kashin. Blessed Anna passed away on October 2 (15), 1368. In the year of Anna's death, her son Vasily died. The blessed princess was buried under the cathedral church of the Assumption of the Mother of God. The researcher Manukhina notes that everything that is known about the Blessed Princess Anna retains the features of the ancient Russian “Blessed Princess”: the chastity of marriage, maternal love, the inconsolability of widowhood, monastic deeds, the immeasurably patient Christian soul submissive to her lot.

Appearance of the Mysterious Wife

The memory of Princess Anna faded away along with the family of the Kashinsky princes, together with her descendants - the princes of Tver, who fell under the rule of Moscow (in 1485). The names of the princes of Tver are preserved in the annals, but most of them have disappeared from the people's memory without a trace. In historical reality, the reason for the resurrection of the forgotten memory of Princess Anna was an event, or even, better to call it, a supernatural phenomenon that happened in 1611.

A certain wife appeared in a dream to the sick sexton of the Assumption Cathedral, Gerasim, in a “great monastic image of a robe” (i.e., in a schema), called herself “Anna”, promised him healing, but at the same time said reproachfully:

I am neglected and offended by you. Isn't there among you reasonable person that none of you still understand this? And how long will you trample me with your feet?.. Don't you know that I pray to the All-Merciful God and the Mother of God, so that your city will not be betrayed into the hands of your enemies, and that I save you from many evils and misfortunes? ...

The mysterious wife ordered Gerasim to tell the priest of the cathedral and the whole clergy to light a candle over the coffin in front of the image of the Savior Not Made by Hands and not put a hat on the coffin.

The mysterious dream and the miraculous healing of sexton Gerasim shook the whole city. People recalled recent events: in the years 1606-1611, when the Poles and Lithuanians plundered and burned Russian cities, three times the enemies approached Kashin, but left each time without causing much harm to the city itself. At the same time, a strong fire broke out in Kashin, but quickly stopped and the city did not burn.

The rector of the cathedral, Vasily Mikhailov, and the church clergy began to put the tomb in order. The people poured into the cathedral. Pious zeal awakened, they began to inquire: who is this schema-nun Anna buried in the cathedral?

Having unexpectedly learned from the cathedral priest Vasily about the appearance of Grand Duchess Anna of Tver and about the veneration of her tomb, a relative of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, Vasily Ivanovich Streshnev, considered the news so significant that he ordered the priest to immediately submit a petition to the Sovereign and inform about what had happened. But Mikhail Fedorovich died, and in the first years of the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich there was no time for them: the wedding of the young sovereign to the kingdom, his marriage, and then disturbing events - a threat Crimean Tatars, crop failure, famine, severe fire in Moscow, riots. In many cities general discontent grew. To pacify the country, the king hastily called Zemsky Sobor in 1649. The people of Kashin took advantage of the relative calm and filed a new petition.

During the reign of Mikhail Fedorovich, the relics of her husband, Mikhail Yaroslavich, disappeared during the fire of Tver during the invasion of the Lithuanians in 1606, were found. They turned out to be hidden by someone's caring hand in the ground near the cathedral wall and were solemnly placed in 1643 in the newly built cathedral, in the chapel named after him.

The petition was followed by orders from the patriarch - to immediately send a commission to Kashin to examine the relics. Archbishop of Tver and Kashin Iona, archimandrite of the Androniev Monastery Sylvester and abbot of the Danilov Monastery John arrived in Kashin. The inspection turned out to be favorable for the fate of the relics. The Service for their acquisition was hastily compiled. Kashin zealots of the memory of Princess Anna, the priest of the Trinity Church Ioann Naumov and the townsman Semyon Sukhorukov, composed the troparion, kontakion and canon. The act of inspection with a description of miracles, with a troparion, kontakion and canon was presented by the commission to the patriarch, who, on the notification of the Sovereign, assembled a bishops' council; after reviewing the material, it was set: the relics of the blessed Princess Anna, as a new saint of the Russian Church, for general worship - to open.

The church glorification of the Blessed Princess Anna took place on June 12, 1650. On that day, the holy relics of the Blessed Princess Anna were transferred from the wooden Assumption Cathedral to the ancient stone Resurrection Cathedral. The cover for the relics with the image of the princess was embroidered by the wife of the sovereign, Queen Maria. On the same day, before everyone's eyes, a miracle happened: the healing of the daughter-in-law of the Kashin labial warden Skobeev. The tsar brought with him a service for the transfer of relics, which was written by the famous Kyiv scientist Epiphany Slavenetsky on his order. Soon the Bishops' Council formalized the canonization and established the celebration of the Blessed Princess Anna twice a year: 2 October, on the day of her death, and 12 June, on the day of the transfer of her relics.

Eruption from the saints

February 24 (1677) the incredible happened! Unexpectedly, a patriarchal commission of inquiry arrived in Kashin with extraordinary powers - to open the coffin of Princess Anna, sealed with royal seals in 1650, and to conduct a new inspection of the relics and a new questioning of the church clergy and witnesses of miracles. The canonical justifications for honoring the Blessed Princess Anna, which had not raised any objections or doubts for 30 years, were subject to revision.

Obviously, the commission was instructed to find reasons to destroy the canonization of the Blessed Princess Anna at all costs. When examining 1649, numerous discrepancies were found between the recently compiled lives, chronicles and the Book of Degrees. So, in the new texts it was stated that Anna was by origin not a princess, but a noblewoman, and she was born not in Kashin, as it was written in the life, but in Rostov, and the date of her death was changed to 30 years, etc.

The Small Church Council, convened by Patriarch Joachim, decided:

• to recognize life and the Legend of Miracles as unreliable;
• the coffin of the Blessed Princess Anna with the relics in the Resurrection Cathedral to be sealed with bishops' seals;
• take the cover with the image of Princess Anna and the icon to Moscow and henceforth, until the reasoning and genuine consideration of the Great Cathedral, do not write images;
• Do not send festivities to Princess Anna, do not sing prayers, and the church, in her name in the Assumption Cathedral, was built and “consecrated without a certain test”, until the Great Cathedral is locked and sealed.

All those who continued to have icons or the life of the holy princess were declared subject to anathema. However real reasons the eruptions were not at all errors in the life of the saint. Renowned historian and specialist in the field of hagiography Professor Golubinsky directly writes:

It has long been suggested that the reason for the revision and destruction of the canonization of St. Anna of Kashin should be seen in her "blessing" hand.

That is, in a hand folded with two fingers to make the sign of the cross. Continuing his thought, Golubinsky points out:

The legend said that the New Believer priests, who arrived in Kashin on the orders of Patriarch Joachim, began to fold the fingers of the deceased right-believing princess into three fingers. But no matter how many times they did this, the next day the hand of the princess again depicted two-fingered. The princesses who came to the relics saw this miracle and said that the princess testifies to the truth and holiness of the sign of the cross with two fingers. Particular authority was given to this by the testimonies of the author of the first life of the blessed princess-nun Anna - deacon Nikifor, as well as the priest of the Assumption Cathedral of Kashin and the monk Varlaam, who were directly related to the acquisition of the relics of the princess in 1648.

All the resolutions of the Small Cathedral were approved with some additions: the temple in the name of the Blessed Princess Anna, built to be renamed in the name of "All Saints", let her relics stand like an ordinary princely tomb; commemorate Princess Anna along with all Orthodox grand dukes and princesses. Silver and gold jewelry, donated by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich to the relics of St. Anna, were taken away and sent as a gift to the monastery of St. vmchts. Catherine in Egypt, where they are today.

The same council punished the witnesses and participants in the glorification of St. Anna: the deacon Nikifor, the priest Basil, and the monk Varlaam. The latter was sentenced to seclusion in a monastery "indefinitely to death."

Old Believers and Saint Anna

Despite all the prohibitions, anathemas and curses, the veneration of the Blessed Princess Anna was preserved among the Old Believers and the inhabitants of Kashin. Miracles and signs at the tomb of St. Anna continued. The inhabitants of the city of Kashin copied the life of the saint, painted icons and honored them as miraculous. The veneration of the saint increased even more in the 19th century: her intercession before the Lord explained the salvation of the city from the plague in the 18th century, and in 1831 and 1844 from cholera.

In 1853, the citizens of Kashin petitioned the Synod to restore the veneration of the heavenly patroness of the city. Similar petitions followed in 1860 and 1901, but they all went unheeded. The reason for the refusals was one: the fear that official recognition its holiness will contribute to the recognition of the mistakes of the reforms of Patriarch Nikon, the secular deeds of the times of Patr. Joachim, Emperor Peter I and later.

In fact, the dominant synodal church in the second half of the 19th - early 20th century, contrary to the current historical myths, felt extremely insecure, had no real support and support in the Russian people, who consciously or unconsciously sympathized with pre-Nikon church antiquity.

At the beginning of the 20th century, especially after the decree of Emperor Nicholas II “On the fortification of the principles of religious tolerance”, publications appeared in the Old Believer environment, magazines and newspapers about the need for special, deliberate veneration of ancient Russian saints and the glorification of new ones. They began to talk about the fact that the Old Believers should receive the relics of the holy princess Anna, since the holiness of the latter is not recognized by the state Church.

Newspapers wrote that the strengthening Old Believer Church could lay claim not only to its church-social niche, but to everything spiritual heritage ancient Russia.

The hour is not even, - a New Believer priest warned in one of such publications, - the Old Believers will achieve the receipt of the relics of Princess Anna, whose veneration is forbidden here.

In the monograph T. Manukhina it is said that the "second canonization" of Blg. Anna Kashinskaya "psychologically predetermined the law on the Old Believers, which granted them religious freedom and civil rights."

The researcher elaborates:

The end came to the ostracism (persecution - approx.) of St. Anna. Could the ruling Church not return to her the taken away church dignity, if the supporters of the reform are ready to recognize the Old Believers as brothers?

The very reason for initiating the process of “second canonization” was some publications in Old Believer newspapers and magazines, in particular, an article in the magazine “Church” No. 6 for 1908 “On the Blood of the Martyr. On the question of the canonization of saints. They pointed out that the dominant church refuses to honor the holy princess nun Anna and some other saints, since they "serve as indisputable proof of the holiness of the Old Believer Church."

In response to such publications, on April 11, 1909, the New Believer Synod hastened to respond with a message to all the children of its church “On the restoration of the veneration of the holy blessed princess Anna.” Unfortunately, nothing was said in this epistle about the true reasons for the posthumous persecution of Saint Anna, nor about the reasons for her second glorification by the dominant confession. On the contrary, the deeds of Patriarch Joachim were justified. Bishop Mikhail Semyonov in his article "The Great Old Believers' Feast" wrote on this occasion:

So, the old lie is defended and instead of the penitential gift of St. the princess is presented with an obviously dishonest excuse... And the synod during the days of this great celebration hid the truth - did not bring repentance.

Despite this, the Old Believer Church nevertheless found it possible to send a delegation to the city of Kashin during the celebrations dedicated to the second canonization of the princess in the bosom of the dominant confession. The group of Christians of the Old Orthodox Church of Christ was headed by the chairman of the Brotherhood of the Honest and Life-Giving Cross, the teacher Mikhail Diamonds. By blessing Bishop of Ryazan and Yegorievsk Alexander (Bogatenkov) The main purpose of this deputation was to initiate a petition for the separation of part of the relics of the Holy Blessed Princess Anna for the churches of the Moscow Old Believer Rogozhsky cemetery. Unfortunately, this request of the Old Believer delegation was rejected. Later, a particle of the relics was transferred to the Edinoverie (now New Believer) Church of St. Nicholas on Rogozhsky. At the festivities in Kashin, the distribution of Old Believer literature was also prohibited. The only thing that the members of the delegation were able to achieve was the removal of a false stripe from the ancient cover on the coffin of St. blessed princess.

When the stripe depicting the three-finger was removed, all those present at the celebrations saw the two-finger embroidered by Queen Mary. These celebrations did not go unnoticed among the entire Old Believers.

Festive services were held in some Old Believer churches. So, in the city of Borovsk in the All Saints and Pokrovskaya communities, all-night vigils were served on the evening of July 11, 1909, and Divine Liturgies on the morning of July 12. Old Believer writer and publicist F.E. Melnikov on the pages of the magazine "Church" proposed to establish an annual feast on this occasion with procession and a special prayer to the Lord God, "who admonishes those who are opposed and enlightens those who sit in darkness and bitterness." It is interesting that the neighbors of the city of Kashin, the bespopovtsy of the city of Kimry, spread a rumor that from now on all the churches of the empire would worship according to the old rite.

The culmination of the Old Believer festivities dedicated to the holy noble princess-nun Anna Kashinsky was the consecration of a church in her honor in the village of Bogorodsky district, Moscow province.

The rite of consecration of this first church in Russia in the name of St. Anna Kashinskaya on December 16, 1909 was made by the Bishop of Ryazan and Yegoryevsky (Bogatenkov). At the end of the solemn service, addressing the audience, Vladyka Alexander said:

Let us give thanks, brethren, to the Lord that he hastened the creators to build this blessed temple, this repository of sacraments and grace, a house of prayer, a school of theology and piety, a source of sanctification, a haven for the overwhelmed, a refuge for the poor, a consolation to the mourners. Let us pray to Him and to the Blessed Princess Anna, and may this temple be preserved unharmed from fire and storm in the longitude of days ...

During the years of persecution of religion, this temple was taken away from believers. For a long time it housed a knitwear shop. Not so long ago, this temple was returned to the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church. However, much remains to be done to restore the church building. Saint Anna of Kashinskaya is still revered in the Old Believer Church. It is assumed that an ancient Orthodox church in the city of Tver will be consecrated in the name of the blessed princess.