Anna Abrikosova facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Servant of God Ekaterina Sienskaja Abrikosova TOSD
Born	Anna Ivanova Abrikosova January 23, 1882 Kitaigorod, Moscow, Russian Empire
Died	July 23, 1936 (aged 54) at the Butyrka prison, Moscow, Soviet Union

Anna Ivanovna Abrikosova (born January 23, 1882 – died July 23, 1936), also known as "Mother Catherine of Siena," was a brave Russian Greek-Catholic nun. She was a religious sister and a talented translator. She died in a Gulag (a type of prison camp in the Soviet Union) after spending more than ten years alone in a cell. She was considered a prisoner of conscience, meaning she was imprisoned for her beliefs.

Anna was born into a wealthy and respected family in Moscow. Her family had become successful over a few generations. She grew up knowing famous people like Lev Tolstoy and Peter Kropotkin.

She studied at Girton College, Cambridge in England. Her friends there described her as a "nice Russian girl" who wanted to see positive changes in her country. She was against the government but didn't believe in using violence. After college, she married her cousin, Vladimir Abrikosov, who shared her ideas. They lived in Western Europe for several years.

Anna later decided to return to her Christian faith. She became a Catholic in Paris in 1908. Her husband, Vladimir, also became Catholic a year later. They were told they belonged to the Byzantine Rite, a different tradition within the Catholic Church. When they returned to Moscow in 1910, they began sharing their faith with others. They helped create the Russian Greek Catholic Church in 1917.

After their marriage was ended (because they were too closely related), Vladimir became a Byzantine Catholic priest. Anna became the leader of a community of Byzantine Catholic sisters. They were part of the Third Order of St. Dominic. In 1917, they made a special promise to offer their lives for the Russian people.

After the October Revolution in 1917, the new Soviet government began to persecute religious groups. But Anna and her sisters continued their religious work. They even started a secret Catholic school for children whose parents didn't want them taught Marxist-Leninist atheism (the official belief system of the Soviet Union). The sisters also translated many Catholic books into Russian and shared them secretly, which was against Soviet rules.

In November 1923, Anna and her sisters were arrested. Even so, their bravery and dedication gained attention from historians. One historian, Veronica Shapovalova, called Anna "a woman of remarkable strength." She noted that Anna kept the sisters working even after their arrest.

Anna died in 1936 from spinal cancer while still in prison. But her community of sisters continued their work in secret. The Russian Greek Catholic Church survived underground because of them. Later, a famous Soviet writer, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, even mentioned Mother Catherine and her community in his book, The Gulag Archipelago.

Since 2002, the Catholic Church has been studying Anna Abrikosova's life for possible beatification (a step towards becoming a saint). The Church sees her as a martyr who suffered for her faith and for Catholic education under the Soviet government. She is known as a "Servant of God."

Early Life and Family

Childhood Days

Anna Ivanovna Abrikosova was born on January 23, 1882, in Moscow, Russia. Her brother, Dmitrii, wrote that their parents had wanted a daughter. Sadly, their mother died giving birth to Anna. Their father died ten days later from tuberculosis.

Anna and her four brothers were adopted by their uncle, Nikolai Alekseevich Abrikosov. Their uncle and aunt, Vera, were kind and loving. Dmitrii remembered their home being full of noise and laughter. He said his uncle was a calm philosopher, and his aunt was a wonderfully kind person.

Every summer, the family stayed at their country home called "The Oaks." The rest of the year, they lived in their Moscow house. This house was very old and was even said to be haunted by a famous gangster's ghost!

Anna and her siblings had an English governess who taught them. Because of this, Anna spoke Russian with a slight British accent. Her childhood was described as happy and carefree.

Learning and Education

Becoming a Teacher

Anna dreamed of attending Girton College, Cambridge, a college for women connected to Cambridge University. She was only eight years old when she first read about it. By age 16, she wanted to teach children "all that was interesting and beautiful and good."

Anna was a very bright student. She graduated with top honors from a Moscow school in 1899. This allowed her to easily enter any university.

She then went to a teacher's college. However, the other students, who were from different backgrounds, treated her badly because she was from a wealthy family. Even though Anna agreed with many of their ideas, they disliked her. After a term of this, Anna became very sad. Her family took her out of the college and sent her to a school for women from her own social class.

After that, Anna briefly taught at a Russian Orthodox school. But she had to leave because the priest didn't like her teachings.

Studying at Girton College

Anna then decided to follow her old dream of going to Girton College, Cambridge. Her brother Dmitrii wrote that the family approved. They thought it would keep her away from politics and extreme views.

Anna studied history at Girton College from 1901 to 1903. Her friends there gave her the nickname "In Dead Earnest" because she was so serious about her studies.

She became good friends with Lady Dorothy Georgiana Howard, whose letters provide many details about Anna's college life. Another close friend was the future archaeologist Gisela Richter. Richter said Anna introduced her to Russia and its people.

Anna was always concerned about others. In 1901, she heard about a famine in Russia that affected the peasants on her family's estate. She started a fund to help them and even sold embroidered scarves to raise money.

During a visit home for Christmas in 1901, Anna bravely stopped a peasant riot. She even saved the life of a government official who was being attacked. Later, some of her friends, who wanted the peasants to rebel, were angry with her for stopping the riot. Anna told them they were "monstrous" for wanting more violence.

Anna's friends visited her family in Russia, and Anna visited their families in England. She even met Alexandra Kropotkin, the daughter of a famous Russian anarchist.

Marriage and Faith Journey

Anna returned to Moscow after leaving Girton College. She married her first cousin, Vladimir Abrikosov. Her brother Dmitrii was not happy about this marriage.

Anna and Vladimir spent the next ten years traveling in Europe. They were not very religious at first. But during their travels, they met many intelligent people who were strong Christians. They were also impressed by the Catholic Church's strength and the high level of education of its priests.

Anna was especially touched by the writings of Catherine of Siena, a Catholic saint. She felt a deep desire for God. She described feeling lost and alone without God, like being in a "cold and dark cellar."

One evening, while walking by the sea, Anna and Vladimir had a strange vision. They saw people as skeletons walking around. This vision deeply affected them and made them think more about faith. Anna later wrote about a growing "thirst for the Living God."

Anna decided to become Catholic. She was received into the Catholic Church in Paris in 1908. The priest told her that even though she became Catholic in the Latin tradition, she would still belong to the Greek-Catholic Church.

Anna then became very interested in the Dominican Order, a Catholic religious group. She loved the writings of Saint Dominic and Catherine of Siena.

At first, Vladimir did not agree with his wife's conversion. But Anna slowly convinced him. In 1909, Vladimir also became Catholic in the same chapel as Anna.

Starting a Community in Moscow

In 1910, the Abrikosovs returned to Moscow. The city had changed a lot and was less religious. Vladimir and Anna were sad to see this. They began to share their Catholic faith with their friends and other intellectuals. However, many of their old friends stopped inviting them to social events because of their new faith.

Anna wrote that when a person truly loves Christ, they gain a "thirst for the salvation of souls." She believed this led to great missionary work.

Since there were no Byzantine Catholic priests in Moscow, the Abrikosovs and their new Catholic friends secretly attended Latin Catholic services. They also welcomed visiting Greek-Catholic priests into their home. One priest, Father Leonid Feodorov, wrote that Anna and Vladimir were "devoted to the work of the Church." He said they spread Catholicism through their friends, influence, and help.

However, the Russian government was watching them. Some priests who pretended to be Catholic were actually spies for the Tsar's secret police. In 1911, a Latin Catholic priest, Father Felix Wiercynski, was arrested and deported.

Anna and Vladimir joined a group of Dominican lay people. They were officially received into the Third Order of St. Dominic.

When the Russian Revolution began, Anna and Vladimir believed that the suffering it brought would turn people's minds toward God. After the February Revolution, they learned that the Tsar's secret police had been watching them. Only the Tsar's abdication (giving up his throne) had saved them from arrest.

Founding a Religious Community

On May 19, 1917, Vladimir became a priest. Even though he was married, the Eastern Catholic Church allowed married men to become priests. However, Anna and Vladimir had already made a special promise to live a life of chastity.

In August 1917, Anna became a Dominican sister and took the name Mother Catherine of Siena. She started a Greek-Catholic religious community in her Moscow apartment. Several other women joined her. Father Vladimir Abrikosov became their chaplain.

Mother Catherine's motto was: "Christ did not come down from the Cross, they took Him down dead." The sisters also made a special vow to suffer for the salvation of Russia.

Many of the women who joined Mother Catherine's community were highly educated. They made the community a center for secret education and intellectual life. For example, Sister Dominica taught about Dante and medieval literature. Sister Catherine Ricci taught about the early Christian Church Fathers. Sister Stefania, a lawyer, gave philosophy lectures based on the writings of Thomas Aquinas.

After the October Revolution, the Soviet secret police watched the convent closely. Mother Catherine and the sisters also started a secret and illegal Catholic school for children. Sister Philomena Ejsmont remembered that Mother Catherine loved children and they "adored her." The sisters taught the children about their Catholic faith and prepared them for religious holidays.

In 1922, the Soviet government was trying to get help for a famine. Mother Catherine was worried when she heard that an American Jesuit priest would lead the Papal Aid Mission. She feared it would make the Soviets think it was a "giant Catholic conspiracy."

On August 17, 1922, the Soviet secret police raided the convent. Father Vladimir Abrikosov and another priest were arrested. They were sentenced to death, but their sentence was changed to permanent exile from Russia. They were sent away on a ship known as the "Philosopher's Ship."

Mother Catherine and her mother-in-law were offered a chance to leave Russia and join Father Vladimir in Paris. But Mother Catherine chose to stay. She wrote that she felt alone with the children, the sisters, and a young priest, Father Nikolai Alexandrov. She knew she was waiting to be arrested.

Life in the Gulag

On November 16, 1923, a priest named Father Walsh wrote to the British Foreign Office. He described how the Soviet secret police and army raided Mother Catherine's convent and school. Mother Catherine and the sisters were arrested. Other priests and Catholics in Moscow were also arrested.

The Soviet secret police claimed the convent and school were a "terrorist organization" plotting to overthrow the government. They said the nuns were planning to assassinate Joseph Stalin and bring back the old Russian monarchy. They even linked the nuns to the Vatican and "International Fascism."

Before her sentence, Mother Catherine told her sisters that their desire to suffer for Christ was now being fulfilled.

Mother Catherine was sentenced to ten years of solitary confinement (being kept alone in a cell). She was imprisoned in Yaroslavl from 1924 to 1932. She was later diagnosed with breast cancer and moved to a prison hospital for surgery. The surgery left her left arm paralyzed, but she was declared cancer-free.

Release and Rearrest

Ekaterina Peshkova, the wife of writer Maxim Gorky, helped Mother Catherine. She asked Stalin to release her because of her illness and because her sentence was almost over.

On August 13, 1932, Mother Catherine asked to be sent back to Yaroslavl prison. Instead, she was told she could leave. On August 14, she walked free from Butyrka prison. She went straight to the Church of St. Louis des Français.

Bishop Pie Eugène Neveu, a secret Catholic bishop in Moscow, met her. He wrote to the Vatican that Mother Catherine was a "genuine preacher of the Faith and very courageous." He said she looked like a saint.

Mother Catherine reconnected with the surviving sisters, even though it was dangerous. She later told her interrogators that she wanted to see how they were doing after their arrests and exiles. She found that they still held their strong beliefs.

In August 1933, Mother Catherine was arrested again, along with 24 other Catholics. The Soviet secret police called it "The Case of the Counterrevolutionary Terrorist-Monarchist Organization." They again accused Mother Catherine and the nuns of being a "terrorist organization" planning to kill Stalin and overthrow the government. They also claimed the nuns wanted to bring back capitalism. The NKVD (Soviet secret police) said the nuns were directed by Bishop Neveu and the Vatican. Mother Catherine was found guilty and sent back to prison in Yaroslavl.

Death and Lasting Impact

Anna Abrikosova's burial place; "Common Grave Number 1" at Donskoy Cemetery.

Anna Abrikosova died from spinal cancer in the Butyrka Prison hospital on July 23, 1936. She was only 54 years old. After her death, her body was secretly cremated by the NKVD. Her ashes were buried in a mass grave at Donskoy Cemetery in Moscow.

Her brother, Dmitrii, wrote that she helped and supported other prisoners until her last moments. He was amazed that the Church was considering her for sainthood.

News of her death reached anti-communist Russians in Paris. A French obituary was written by Hélène Iswolsky. Bishop Neveu called Mother Catherine and the sisters "heroines deserving our admiration."

After her release from the Gulag in 1953, Dominican Sister Theresa Kugel helped the surviving sisters reunite. They continued their monastic life in a small apartment in Vilnius. In 1974, a Jewish jazz musician and new Catholic convert named Georgii Davidovich Friedman visited them. He found the sisters praying together and keeping the Blessed Sacrament (a sacred part of Catholic worship) in a tiny chapel.

The sisters had a rare book of prayers in Old Church Slavonic, which they used for their daily prayers. They also prayed the rosary and Stations of the Cross.

In the late 1970s, the sisters helped Georgii Friedman secretly become a priest. In 1979, he was secretly ordained by an underground Ukrainian Greek Catholic Bishop. Father Georgii became the first Russian Greek Catholic priest in the Soviet Union since the 1930s.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Father Georgii Friedman and other Russian Catholics, many linked to the Abrikosov sisters, began to practice their faith openly. The history of the Russian Greek Catholic Church under Soviet rule began to be studied.

In 2001, Exarch Leonid Feodorov was beatified by Pope John Paul II. In 2003, the process for beatification began for Anna Abrikosova and five other Soviet-era martyrs of the Russian Greek Catholic Church.

Writings and Translations

Sister Philomena Ejsmont remembered that Mother Catherine translated spiritual texts into Russian. She also wrote her own meditations for the sisters.

Sister Anatolia Nowicka said that many sisters translated the lives of saints and works by famous Catholic authors. These translations were copied by hand and shared among the community. Even though the Soviet secret police seized these writings, they helped many people learn about Catholicism.

Anna Abrikosova translated a biography of St. Dominic from French to Russian. It was published anonymously in 1916 and republished after the Soviet Union fell. She also translated a dystopian novel called Lord of the World into Russian, but this translation was lost.

Mother Catherine's writings show her deep faith. In a letter from 1923, she wrote, "Holy Communion and the rosary - these are the two means of victory - nothing else is needed."

Anatolia Nowicka said Mother Catherine's own spiritual writings, like her "Meditations," were simple yet inspiring. She understood the needs of people in her time. Father Georgii Friedman said Mother Catherine's work, The Seven Words of Christ on the Cross, showed her deep spirituality and personal suffering.

Quotes

• "Soviet youth cannot talk about its world outlook; it is blinkered. It is developing too one-sidedly, because it knows only the jargon of Marxist-Leninism."
• "A political and spiritual outlook should develop only on the basis of a free critical exploration of all the facets of philosophical and political thought."

Images for kids

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  Anna Ivanovna Abrikosova

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  Anna Abrikosova's burial place; "Common Grave Number 1" at Donskoy Cemetery.