Day of glorification of St. Euphrosyne of Suzdal (01/10)

Rev. Euphrosyne was born in 1212. She was the eldest daughter of the holy martyr Michael, Grand Duke of Chernigov. Blessed Prince Michael and his wife Theophania did not have children for a long time and prayed to God to give them a child. The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to them three times and said that prayer had been heard — they would have a daughter, who should be called Theodulia, and she would be a minister of the church.

As the Virgin Mary predicted, the couple had a daughter, and they called her Theodulia, which means the Servant of God. The newborn was baptized in the Kiev Pechersk monastery, and the abbot himself became her successor. One day the mother had a vision: she flies up to heaven on wings and gives her daughter to God. Theodulia grew up, her father began to teach her the Holy Scriptures. Otherwise, the young princess’s mentor was the boyar Theodore, who was distinguished by his wisdom and learning. Theodulia was brought up in faith and piety.

In 1233, Theodulia was wooed for the holy noble prince Theodore Yaroslavich, the brother of Alexander Nevsky. She submitted to the parental will, but secretly prayed to the Mother of God for the preservation of virginity, as she felt a calling to a monastic life. The Blessed Virgin appeared to her in a dream, commanding her to listen to her parents and saying: «Skverna will not touch your body».

Theodulia went to Suzdal for marriage, but the marriage did not take place. When the guests had already gathered for the feast, the groom unexpectedly died. Theodulia did not return home and begged the abbess of the monastery in honor of the Position of the robe of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Blachernae to receive her. Abbess agreed, and on September 25 (old style), the day of St. Euphrosyne of Alexandria, Theodulia was tonsured with the name Euphrosyne. The parents accepted this as the will of God and submitted.

The young nun zealously followed the rules of monastic life. She spent most of the day in prayer — in a temple or cell, and at night she studied the word of God. Sometimes I didn’t eat food for weeks, I just drank a little water. Soon after her tonsure, Euphrosyne received the appearance of the Savior, who commanded her to stay awake and strengthen herself in the feat.

When epidemics and pestilences began in Rus', the Venerable Mother of God appeared and promised the gift of healing, after which Euphrosyne began to treat not only sisters in the monastery hospital, but also people who came to the monastery with serious illnesses.

In 1238, Batu's troops devastated Suzdal. The Monk Euphrosyne and her sisters prayed day and night for the salvation of the monastery, and the monastery survived, the enemies could not approach it. Tradition says that Batu, having learned about this, tried to see the monastery from the hill, but it disappeared from it.

After the death of the abbess, the Monk Euphrosyne continued the spiritual leadership of the monastery, maintaining strict order in it. Her entire future life was a feat of complete self-denial. Already during her lifetime, the people considered her righteous for her maternal responsiveness and grace-filled gifts.

Shortly before the death of the saint, an earthquake she predicted occurred in Suzdal, during which she saw the Blessed Virgin Mary in heaven, begging the Son of God for the salvation of the city and the people in it. After this event, her father and boyar Theodore appeared to her, notifying her of her imminent death. The monk began to prepare. She was ill for a short time and died in 1250 — on the same day she took monastic vows 17 years ago. And on September 18 (old style) in 1698, with the blessing of Patriarch Adrian, Metropolitan Hilarion of Suzdal glorified St. Euphrosyne.

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