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Saint Anna, the nun at Leukates

(an opportunity to speak aboutcape Lefkatas)

By A.G.Perdikaris

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Ancient cape Leucates, today's Lefkatas, Lefkas island, western

GreeceLefkatas or Sappho's Leap, isthe most southerly cape on theisland of Lefkas.

It is a white rock whichstretches out from Leucas tothe sea and towardsCephallenia.

This rock has upon it a templeof Apollo, and the leap from itwas believed to stop love

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Lefkas in the Antiquity: A stationon the way to Italy

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Lefkas in Byzantine period:(a poorarea)

On the sixth of December we came to Leucas , where, as by all the other bishops, wewere most unkindly received and treated by the bishop who is a eunuch. In all Greece -I speak the truth and do not lie - I found no hospitable bishops. They are both poor andrich; rich in gold coins wherewith they gamble recklessly - poor in servants and utensils.They sit by themselves at a bare little table, with a ship's biscuit in front of them, andinstead of drinking their bath water they sip it from a tiny glass. They do their ownbuying and selling; they close and open their doors themselves; they are their ownstewards, their own ass-drivers, their own "capones" - aha, I meant to write

"caupones", but the thing is so true, that it made me write the truth against my will - asI say, they are "capones", that is, eunuchs, which is against canon law; and they arealso "caupones", that is, innkeepers, which is again uncanonical. It is true of them tosay:Of old a lettuce ended the repastTo-day it is the first course and the last.If their poverty imitated that of Christ, I should judge them happy in it. But their reasonis sordid gain and the accursed hunger for gold. May God be merciful to them. I thinkthat they act thus because their churches are tributary to the state. The bishop of Leucas swore to me that his church had to pay Nicephorus a hundred gold pieces everyyear, and the other churches the same, more or less according to their means. Howunjust this is is shown by the enactments of the holy patriarch Joseph. At the time of the famine he made all Egypt pay tribute to Pharaoh, but the land of the priests heallowed to be exempt. (LIUTPRAND OF CREMONA DE LEGATIONE CONSTANTINOPOLITANA , CHAPTER 63 )968 A.D.

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SYNAXARIUMName given in the Eastern Orthodox, OrientalOrthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches to acompilation of hagiographies corresponding roughly tothe martyrology of the Roman Church.

Historical Synaxaria : including biographical notices,The notices given in the historical synaxaria aresummaries of those in the great menologies, orcollections of lives of saints, for the twelve months of the year. As the lessons in the Byzantine Divine Officeare always lives of saints, the Synaxarion became thecollection of short lives of saints and accounts of events whose memory is kept.

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Life of Saint AnnaAccording Synaxarium EcclesiaeConstantinopoltanae a text coming from10 th century A.D., Anna was a wealthy,virtuous daughter of a noble family, whowas forcing to marry a Muslim pirate,during the second half of 9 th century A.D.The pirate was preparing invasions to areaand the city, where Anna was living, inorder to force her to accept the marriage.Byzantine Emperor (Basil the I st the

Macedonian 829-842A.D.) himself hasgiven permission for this ceremony.

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Life of Saint Anna-IIAnna refused to accept this marriage, butshe could not have any help from anybody.Thats why she asked for Gods interventionand after some time the pirate diedsuddenly.Anna felt so grateful to our Lord that shedecided to spend the rest of her life in achurch of Holly Virgin at cape Leucates.She died there, after about fifty years in oldage. Her body was buried by her relativesin a family tomb, but it was remainedunspoilt associated with miracles.

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Cape Leucates: a place of worshipthrough the centuries

Ancient Greece: Temple of Apollo Leucates (the Godresponsible for good whether

in the sea).Byzantine period: Church of Holly Virgin (Stella Maris of Western Church).

Modern times: Church of saintNicolas (the saint of themarines in Eastern Church)

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Cape Leucates: A very importantpoint on the way from Greece to

Italy