Venerable (Monastic) 9th century

Saint Anna of Leukadio

c. 840 – c. 918 (Constantinople, 9th–early 10th century)

Also known as Anna · Euphemianos

A noblewoman of Constantinople who, to escape an unwanted marriage, fled in the guise of a man under the name Euphemianos and lived out her life in ascetic struggle.

Feast Day

July 23

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Commemorated as

Our Venerable Mother Anna of Leukadio

Life

Saint Anna of Leukadio, also called Susanna, was a noblewoman of Constantinople who renounced her inheritance and devoted herself to a life of ascetic struggle. According to the Synaxarion of the Orthodox Church (OCA), she was born in Constantinople around 840, during the reign of the iconoclast emperor Theophilos (829–842), into a wealthy and distinguished family, and was raised in a careful religious upbringing.

After the death of her parents, Anna inherited her father's estate and distributed it among the poor. When a Muslim (Hagarene) suitor living in Constantinople sought to marry her and obtained the consent of the Emperor Basil I the Macedonian, Anna refused. The synaxarion relates that the man declared he would take her as his wife against her will, but that after she entreated God in tears to deliver her, the suitor died, an event her life records as a divine judgment.

Around 896 Anna withdrew to a church dedicated to the Mother of God in Constantinople, where, by tradition, she gave herself over to fasting, vigil, and prayer for some fifty years. After a brief illness she reposed and was buried; her relics were later found whole, incorrupt, and fragrant, and were associated with healings. She is commemorated on July 23, and her commemoration is supported by the tenth-century Menologion of Basil II and by the Synaxaristes of Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite.

Timeline 5 moments Read Hide

c. 840 Birth in Constantinople Anna (also called Susanna) is born in Constantinople into a wealthy and distinguished family, during the reign of the iconoclast emperor Theophilos (829–842).
After her parents' death Renounces her inheritance On inheriting her father's estate, Anna distributes it among the poor.
Reign of Basil I (867–886) Refuses a forced marriage A Hagarene suitor obtains the emperor's consent to marry her; Anna refuses, and after her prayer for deliverance the suitor dies, an event her life understands as divine judgment.
c. 896 Withdraws to ascetic life Anna enters a church of the Mother of God in Constantinople and devotes herself to fasting, vigil, and prayer, by tradition for some fifty years.
After c. 896 Repose and incorrupt relics Following a brief illness Anna reposes and is buried; her relics are afterward found whole, incorrupt, and fragrant, and are associated with healings.

Contributions & Legacy

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Life and Ascetic Struggle

The Synaxarion (OCA) records that Anna — also given the name Susanna — was born in Constantinople around 840, in the reign of the iconoclast emperor Theophilos, and came from a wealthy and distinguished family. She received a careful religious formation, described in the language of the apostle as being raised 'in the discipline and admonition of the Lord' (Eph 6:4).

On the death of her parents she inherited her father's estate, which she distributed among the poor. A Hagarene (Muslim) man living in Constantinople then sought her in marriage and secured the consent of the Emperor Basil I the Macedonian. Anna rejected the proposal. Her life relates that the suitor vowed to take her by force, but that after she prayed to God to be delivered from the temptation, the man died — an outcome the account understands as divine judgment.

Around 896 Anna entered a church dedicated to the Mother of God in Constantinople. There, the synaxarion relates, she devoted herself to fasting, vigil, and prayer, persevering in this ascetic life for some fifty years until her repose after a brief illness.

Relics & Shrines

After Anna was buried, her remains were discovered whole, incorrupt, and emitting a fragrance, according to her life in the Synaxarion (OCA). Through her relics, the account relates, demons were cast out, the blind received their sight, and the lame walked.

Identity and the Euphemianos Tradition

The CSV record for this saint preserves 'Euphemianos' as an alternate name, reflecting a tradition that Anna, to escape an unwanted marriage, fled in the guise of a man under that name and lived out her ascetic life so disguised. This detail does not appear in the OCA life for July 23, which describes Anna's withdrawal to a church of the Mother of God in Constantinople without any male disguise.

Orthodox sources note that the disguise motif and the name 'Euthymianus' (a form of Euphemianos) are securely attested instead of Righteous Anna of Constantinople, commemorated on October 29 (the daughter of a deacon of the Blachernae church who, after her husband's death, dressed in men's clothing and lived in asceticism with her son John near Mount Olympus in Bithynia, reposing in 826). The two are treated as distinct saints, and the Euphemianos tradition for Anna of Leukadio may reflect a conflation of the two.

Sources and Documentation

Anna of Leukadio is a relatively obscure figure with limited English-language secondary commentary; searches of independent Orthodox resources returned no dedicated entry, and the primary accessible witnesses to her life are the OCA Synaxarion and the tenth-century Menologion of Basil II, with her life also documented in the Synaxaristes of Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite. On the Orthodox calendar her July 23 commemoration falls alongside the Martyr Trophimus and others in Lycia, the Hieromartyrs Apollinaris and Vitalius of Ravenna, and two icons of the Mother of God.

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