On July 30, 1520, Albanian Saint, Angjelina Arianiti Komneni passed away. She came from a noble Albanian family and was the sister-in-law of Skanderbeg. For her devout life, she has been declared a saint and is honored as such by the Orthodox Church. 

Angjelina Arianiti Komneni was born in Berat, during a time when most Albanians were Orthodox Christians. She was the sixth daughter of the noble Gjergj Arianit Komneni. Angjelina was the sister of Donika Kastrioti, who was the wife of Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg. She married the Serbian leader Stefan Branković. Her acquaintance with Stefan the Blind, son of the Despot of Serbia, occurred in 1460 when he visited Skanderbeg.

Angjelina and Despot Branković later moved to the territories of the League of Lezhë and subsequently to Friuli, Italy, when the Serbian Despotate and the territories of the League were conquered by the Ottoman Empire. The Despotate had been under Ottoman control since 1459. 

Stefan Branković passed away in 1476. In 1485, following the appointment of their son Gjergj as titular despot of the Serbian Despotate in exile, Angjelina moved to the Kingdom of Hungary. She brought with her the relics of her late husband. Hungarian King Matthias awarded her the city and estate of Kupinovo in Vojvodina.

With the aid sent by Vasili III, Angjelina Arianiti Komneni constructed the Krushedol Monastery and several other monasteries. The construction of this monastery is believed to have begun in 1509. Seeing that she could not manage all the monasteries on her own, Angjelina wrote a heartfelt letter to the Grand Prince of Moscow, Vasili III Ivanovich:

“Our power is coming to an end, while yours continues to grow. Therefore, we entrust you with the responsibility to care for and support the holy churches and monasteries established by your pious ancestors and ours.”

Later, Angjelina became a nun at the Krushedol Monastery, located on Mount Fruška Gora in Syrmia, where she passed away in the early 16th century. Her relics were preserved in this monastery.

In 1716, when the Ottomans set fire to these churches and monasteries, the nuns managed to save only a part of Saint Angjelina’s relics, still kept in the reliquary of the Krushedol Monastery church.

She is honored as a saint by the Serbian Orthodox Church under the name Saint Angjelina of Serbia, with her feast days celebrated on July 30 and December 10. Her veneration, alongside her husband Stefan’s, arose from their life of suffering. Angjelina devoted her life to helping the poor and wrote a well-known hagiography titled “The Hagiography of Mother Angjelina.”

/k.s/