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Saint Anna and her son John 6/26/2013
Taken as an orphan into the home of a nobleman and cared for as an adopted daughter, Anna was raised and educated in that home. As a worthy maiden, this nobleman wed her to his son. When the elder nobleman died, the relatives pressed his son to release his wife because of her lowly birth and to marry another whom, according to origin and wealth, would be more suitable for him. The nobleman's son feared God and did not want to do this. Seeing her husband in conflict with his relatives, Anna secretly left him and fled to a distant island where there was not a living soul. Arriving at this island pregnant and soon to bear a child, Anna lived a life of asceticism for thirty years in fasting and prayer. Then, according to God's Providence, a hieromonk landed on this island, baptized her son and gave him the name of John. This holy soul Anna lived a life of asceticism in the fifth century and died peacefully.
