By Fr. George Dorbarakis
Saint Euphrosynos is an additional miraculous sign in the choir of saints of our Church, confirming that there is no easier and more comfortable path for man to enter the Kingdom of God, already in this life, than humility. And this is because the most decisive element of his life, from beginning to end, was this exalting virtue. There are numerous references to this by the ecclesiastical poet. Already his Apolytikion, where the essence of the holiness of the Saint is condensed, points this out from the beginning: “You venerably lived in much humility.” And also in the Doxastikon of Vespers: “You have adorned yourself with humility,” that is, this was the adornment of his life -f humility. And it is self-evident for the Christian faith that where there is humility, there is the presence of God, there are all the gifts that the Lord gives. Because it is precisely these two that our almighty and all-good God revealed to us as the most important elements of His life: love and humility. “God is love” and “Learn from Me that I am meek and humble of heart.”
And this certainly means that faith in Christ and love for Him and our fellow man are built on this foundation, as well as that humility coexists with its most important evidential element, obedience. Humility, faith, love, obedience – the precious jewels of every Saint, especially of Saint Euphrosynos, who is celebrated today. So in his person we seek the energy and grace of the Triune God, or in other words, before Saint Euphrosynos we see another “in another form” presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And certainly for these virtues to exist, all their parameters coexist, patience, temperance, mourning, tears. Reading the life of the Saint we feel that we are walking throughout Paradise – with a final mention of the joy and gladness that the presence of God brings to the man of God.
“Venerable Father Euphrosynos, you practiced virtue diligently in the kitchen of the Monastery and you loved humility more than the gold of the earth. That is why you were raised to an ineffable height of perfection” (Liti). “Rejoice, Venerable Euphrosynos, as a lover of virtues, you are the radiant abode of divine grace, the pedestal of love for one’s neighbor, the meadow of non-possession, the pillar of humility, the ornament of monks, the light of an impeccable life and the precious treasure of God-pleasing asceticism” (Stichos for Vespers).
In fact, the emphasis on humility as the preeminent virtue of Saint Euphrosynos constitutes, according to the good hymnographer Mr. Haralambos Bousias, the most important thing for our time. Why? Because our era is characterized, we could say, by this imbalance: amidst all the disasters and horrors it faces, it promotes as a "model" the arrogant person, the conceited one who believes he knows and can do everything! The modern individual may stand "dumbfounded" and incapacitated before an invisible virus that has upended his life, yet he continues to boast and act arrogantly! Here is how the poet expresses it: "Today, the most-delightful memory of the Spirit-bearing Euphrosynos shone like a radiant sun, dispelling the fog of our pride and arrogance" (Doxastikon). We see Saint Euphrosynos, we take him as an example, and... we are brought back to the reality of our lives.
And yet his life reminds us of two things from the life of the great contemporary Saint Silouan the Athonite. First, what the Saint said while in the Monastery of Saint Panteleimon of Mount Athos: titles and offices, great ministries and positions are not important in our lives. What matters is how one serves, even in the smallest ministry: to have a sense of the presence of Christ so as to live sinlessly. Isn't sinlessness the main goal in every hour and moment of our lives? "Make us worthy, Lord, to pass our day sinlessly" - what Saint Euphrosynos lived daily in his supposedly humble ministry in the monastery's kitchen. And second, what Silouan himself had revealed, when he served the other monks at the monastery's table. "The Lord gave me to feel His great grace, because in my mind I said that I was serving the brothers of the Lord and the Lord Himself." And it is shocking to think that Saint Silouan received great grace both when he saw the Lord in spirit through His icon in the monastery during the time of Vespers, and also when he performed his simplest and humble service at the common table. And why do we remember Saint Silouan in this regard? Because Saint Euphrosynos also experienced Paradise in a “sensible” way, indeed – the Lord revealed this to the God-fearing priest of his Monastery – because he served his brothers with humility, without getting angry at the mockery he received, with constant prayer for those who “tempted” him. Saint Euphrosynos: a humble and small figure externally; a giant of the Spirit and a dwelling place of God with all-holy theoptic experiences internally.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
