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Venerable (Monastic)13th century

Venerable Anastasia of Serbia

d. 1200

Also known as Anna · mother of Saint Savva

The wife of Stephen Nemanja and mother of St Sava, who with her husband forsook the throne for the monastic life, taking the name Anastasia.

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Commemorated as

Our Venerable Mother Anastasia of Serbia

Life

Venerable Anastasia of Serbia was the wife of Stefan Nemanja, the grand prince who founded the Nemanjic dynasty, and the mother of Saint Sava, the first archbishop of the Serbian Church. Born a noblewoman under the name Ana, she shared in the dynastic and spiritual life of the medieval Serbian state at the height of its consolidation.

When her husband abdicated the throne in 1196 to embrace the monastic life, Ana likewise withdrew from worldly rank and was tonsured a nun under the name Anastasia. She is venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church, particularly within the Serbian Orthodox Church, as a venerable mother, and is commemorated on June 21.

Kontakion & Troparion2 hymnsReadHide
KontakionTone 4

Having been blessed by marriage, and living a life of sobriety,
you humbly taught your children to love God above all else.
As you now stand before Him,
intercede for us who cry aloud to you:
“Rejoice, O venerable mother Anastasia!”

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

TroparionTone 4

Abundant in virtue, and adorned with meekness and piety,
you shone forth through the purity of your life;
therefore, you were granted the grace to be the mother of our people’s Luminary.
Thus, we cry aloud to you: “Rejoice, O venerable mother Anastasia!”

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

Timeline3 momentsReadHide
  1. c. 1165-1174Mother of the Nemanjic childrenAs the wife of Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja, Ana bore several children who shaped the Serbian state and Church, among them the future king Stefan the First-Crowned and Rastko, who would become Saint Sava.
  2. 1196Tonsure as a nunFollowing her husband's abdication and his own tonsure under the name Simeon, Ana took monastic vows and received the name Anastasia, after the early martyr Anastasia of Sirmium.
  3. 1200ReposeShe is recorded as having reposed in the year 1200.

Contributions & Legacy

2 contributionsReadHide

The Nemanjic House

Anastasia stood at the center of the family that gave the Serbian people both its ruling dynasty and its independent Church. Her husband, Stefan Nemanja, governed as grand prince from 1166 to 1196 before laying aside his rule for the monastery, ultimately withdrawing to Mount Athos and becoming venerated as Saint Simeon the Myrrh-streaming.

Among their children, Stefan Nemanjic succeeded to the throne and became the first crowned king of Serbia, while Rastko departed for Mount Athos in his youth to take the monastic name Sava and later organized the autocephalous Serbian Church. The decision of the ruling couple to forsake their station for the monastic life became a defining act in the spiritual foundation of the dynasty.

Veneration and Relics

Anastasia is associated with Studenica Monastery, the great foundation of her husband, where her veneration was maintained within the monastic community. Frescoes painted during a restoration of the monastery's principal church in 1569 include a portrait depicting Nemanja's wife Ana as the nun Anastasia, a witness to her enduring commemoration.

Tradition records that a reliquary containing her relics is kept at Studenica. She is honored as a venerable mother in the Eastern Orthodox Church and especially in the Serbian Orthodox tradition.

Member ofReadHide
The House of Nemanjić
Household
Family4 relativesShowHide
The Nemanjić House

Anastasia stood at the heart of the family that gave the Serbian people both its ruling dynasty and its independent Church.

Husband; Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja, founder of the Nemanjić dynasty, who abdicated in 1196 and was tonsured the monk Symeon.
Venerable Symeonthe Myrrh-gusher of Serbia
Son; born Rastko, who withdrew to Mount Athos as the monk Sava and organized the autocephalous Serbian Church.
Sava IFirst Archbishop of Serbia
Son; Stefan, who succeeded his father and became the first crowned king of Serbia.
Saint Stephenthe First-Crowned of Serbia
Her grandson, Sava II, archbishop of Serbia.
Saint Sava IIArchbishop of Serbia
Related SaintsShowHide

Browse other saints who share her calling and place.

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Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints