Venerable Helena Dragaš

Helena Dragaš (Serbian: Јелена Драгаш, romanized: Jelena Dragaš; Greek: Ἑλένη Δραγάση, romanized: Helénē Dragásē; c. 1372 – 23 March 1450) was the Empress consort of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos and the mother of the last two emperors, John VIII Palaiologos and Constantine XI Palaiologos. She served as the regent of the Byzantine Empire after the death of her son John VIII in 1448 until the enthronement of her son Constantine XI in 1449. Born into Serbian nobility, she later became a nun and is venerated as a saint by the Eastern Orthodox Church under her monastic name, Saint Hypomone (Ὑπομονὴ), which is translated into English as Saint Patience. Helena was the daughter of Serbian magnate Konstantin Dejanović, a Serbian magnate during the fall of the Serbian Empire that held Kyustendil. She was born into the Serbian Dejanović noble family. Her mother was Konstantin's unnamed first wife and Konstantin was the grandson of Serbian king Stefan III Dečanski. Her stepmother, Eudokia of Trebizond, was a daughter of Alexios III of Trebizond and Theodora Kantakouzene, and the widow of Tadjeddin Pasha of Sinop, Emir of Limnia. Her father fell at the battle of Rovine (1395), while fighting as a vassal of Ottoman sultan Bayezid I against Mircea I of Wallachia. Helena married Manuel II Palaiologos in 1392. The wedding was followed by her coronation as "holy empress" the next day, on 11 February 1392. There are no preserved information to why the marriage was arranged, although it has been the subject of much speculation, but dynastic marriages between the Byzantine and Serbian dynasties were not unprecedented. She had traditionally been described as well known for her beauty, piety, wisdom, and justice. Not much is known about her during her tenure as empress or her private relationship to Manuel II. When her spouse Manuel II was absent in 1393, he made his mother regent in his absence rather than his wife.