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Icons of Sts. Gertrude, Abbess
of Nivelles
Feast: Mar. 17
St. Gertrude of Nivelles is
not to be confused with the Roman Catholic saint Gertrude of Helfta in
Germany, who died in 1302. St. Gertrude of Nivelles is a Saint of the
Orthodox period. She was the younger daughter of Blessed Pepin, count
of Landen, and St. Ita. On the death of her father in 639, her mother
Ita built a double monastery at Nivelles, where mother and daughter
entered, St. Gertrude becoming Abbess. In 656 St. Gertrude resigned as
Abbess and spent her remaining days studying the Scriptures and
performing acts of repentance. For this she was gifted with visions,
and nowadays she is considered the patroness of travellers and of
gardeners. Holy Mother Gertrude, pray to God for us!
Top Icon: apparently by the
hand of Protodeacon Pol, of the Moscow Patriarchal monastery in
Diksmuide, Belgium.
Next Icon: fresco from the
Coptic parish of St. Athanasius and St. Amandus, in Lillois,
Belgium. This icon shows St. Gertrude together with her cousin
and disciple, St. Gudula. Our thanks to Jean-Michel Dossogne and his
website at www.amdg.be.
Next
Icon: from the cathedral of the Moscow Patriarchate in Brussels,
Belgium. Saints of Belgium. St. Gertrude is in the bottom row of
Saints, the 2nd from the right. She is shown holding a 14th-15th c.
style Latin crozier and wearing the Great Schema of the Byzantine
rite.
Bottom Icon: of unknown
provenance.
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