Anna of Kashin

Anna of Kashin (; – 2 October 1368) was the princess consort of Mikhail of Tver. She is venerated as a saint and Right-Believing princess, patroness of Kashin and Tver.

She is known both for her dramatic lifetime fate (the death of almost all relatives during internecine strife) and for no less complicated posthumous vicissitudes: she was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1650, but the struggle of the times of the schism of the Russian Church in the 17th century led to her decanonization in 1677 — a precedent in the history of the Russian Church.

She died of old age on 2 October 1368, and was buried in the cathedral temple of the Blessed Virgin.

Canonization and Veneration

The name of the Princess Anna was forgotten for many centuries. Writings used by the Old Believers say that one of the reasons they venerated her so highly was that her incorrupt body, on display, showed her hand in the two-fingered way, vindicating their stance. Despite numerous efforts of the church authorities to change the situation, her hand always went back to the same two-fingered position. In response, Patriarch Joachim removed the relics of Anna from public view.

In the Grand Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, held in Moscow from January to February 1678, Patriarch Joachim re-affirmed the decanonization of Anna of Kashin: It was also forbidden to ask for her intercessions, and it was allowed only to pray for her.

On October 30, 1908, the Most Holy Synod sought the Emperor's consent to restore the church-wide veneration of Anna of Kashin, which was given by decree of November 7, 1908. On April 11, 1909, the Most Holy Synod designated June 12 as Anna's memorial day. On this day, crowded celebrations were held in Kashin on the occasion of the restoration of the veneration of the saint, which were attended by Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna. After that, every year on June 12, a procession with the icon of Anna of Kashin was held in Kashin throughout the town.

In 1909 a monastic community was dedicated to her in Grozny. A year later, a church was consecrated in her name in St Petersburg.

On April 18, 2023, at a regular meeting of the Tver City Duma, they considered the proposal of metropolitan Ambrose (Yermakov), to assign the name of the Holy Princess Anna to the square located in front of the new Wedding Palace in Tver and made a positive decision. There is a monument to St. Anna and her husband, the Holy Prince Michael, on the square.