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| St. Eulogia of Samurcășești (Feast Day - December 19) |
Venerable Eulogia was born on November 24, 1908, in the village of Nevesca (today Nimfeo), in northern Greece. At Baptism she received the name Aikaterini. Her parents, Evangelitsa and Panagiotis, belonged to an old Vlach community that had lived in those lands for generations.
Trials and suffering came upon her from an early age. She lost her mother while still a small child. After her father remarried, she endured many hardships caused by her stepmother. One day, while gathering hay, her father’s wife pushed Aikaterini off a haystack. The child fractured her spine and was left with a bodily infirmity that confined her to bed for nine years. As an invalid, at the age of ten, she was sent to Bucharest to live with her maternal uncle, Ioan Ciciu, and his wife, Epifania. In their home she spent many difficult years marked by pain and illness.
In 1927, when the young Aikaterini fell ill with peritonitis and was abandoned by her relatives, who believed she would not survive, the Mother of God appeared to her openly, together with the Holy Great Martyr Katherine, her patron saint. Coming to her bedside in the likeness of physicians, they healed her. With great humility, Saint Katherine said to the Most Holy Theotokos: “Mother of God, cut here, sew here, bind here.” And the Most Pure Virgin addressed the sick girl with gentle words. Until then, Aikaterini had suffered from a swollen abdomen and drawn-up knees. The Mother of God said to her: “Behold, my child, from now on you will become healthy.” Showing her that the cause of the illness had been removed, she added: “This was the whole illness and all the evil.” And she said again: “From now on you will be well.” At once, the young Aikaterini was healed, filled with gratitude toward God, the Mother of God, and the Holy Great Martyr Katherine.
One Saturday night, as she was praying, she dozed off and in a dream received the calling of the Savior, Who appeared to her upon the clouds of heaven and said three times: “Woe, woe, a great war is coming because of the unbelief of people, and I have no one to send to warn the world of this great calamity.” At the third calling, she responded with zeal: “I will go, Lord Jesus, to proclaim it.”
Trials and suffering came upon her from an early age. She lost her mother while still a small child. After her father remarried, she endured many hardships caused by her stepmother. One day, while gathering hay, her father’s wife pushed Aikaterini off a haystack. The child fractured her spine and was left with a bodily infirmity that confined her to bed for nine years. As an invalid, at the age of ten, she was sent to Bucharest to live with her maternal uncle, Ioan Ciciu, and his wife, Epifania. In their home she spent many difficult years marked by pain and illness.
In 1927, when the young Aikaterini fell ill with peritonitis and was abandoned by her relatives, who believed she would not survive, the Mother of God appeared to her openly, together with the Holy Great Martyr Katherine, her patron saint. Coming to her bedside in the likeness of physicians, they healed her. With great humility, Saint Katherine said to the Most Holy Theotokos: “Mother of God, cut here, sew here, bind here.” And the Most Pure Virgin addressed the sick girl with gentle words. Until then, Aikaterini had suffered from a swollen abdomen and drawn-up knees. The Mother of God said to her: “Behold, my child, from now on you will become healthy.” Showing her that the cause of the illness had been removed, she added: “This was the whole illness and all the evil.” And she said again: “From now on you will be well.” At once, the young Aikaterini was healed, filled with gratitude toward God, the Mother of God, and the Holy Great Martyr Katherine.
One Saturday night, as she was praying, she dozed off and in a dream received the calling of the Savior, Who appeared to her upon the clouds of heaven and said three times: “Woe, woe, a great war is coming because of the unbelief of people, and I have no one to send to warn the world of this great calamity.” At the third calling, she responded with zeal: “I will go, Lord Jesus, to proclaim it.”
Soon after, she joined the Orthodox Missionary Association “Patriarch Miron” and, with the blessing of Archimandrite Teofil Ionescu, who at that time served at the Patriarchal Cathedral in Bucharest, she began preaching the gospel from village to village. She called people to repentance, mercy, and the renewal of life. She visited the sick with love, protected orphaned children, brought fallen young women back to a life of purity, persuaded those living in sin to receive the Holy Mystery of Marriage, and urged smokers and those enslaved by drunkenness to renounce their vices. Her voice, like a trumpet, was heard far and wide, fighting against debauchery, division, crime, cruelty, mercilessness, abortions, drunkenness, tobacco, witchcraft, charms, spiritism, and other deadly sins, keeping the people away from sectarian dangers and superstition.
After the repose of her elderly protectors, who had raised her from the age of ten, and feeling the call to monastic life, Sister Aikaterini Țârlea entered the Monastery of Samurcășești in September 1939. After three years of obedience, on November 21, 1942, the feast of the Entrance of the Mother of God into the Temple, she received the monastic tonsure, being given the name Eulogia
Seeing the poor condition of Samurcășești Monastery after the 1940 earthquake, Venerable Eulogia organized collections in the villages where she preached the word of God. Through these efforts, the monastic cells and the church were restored.
Venerable Eulogia lived a life of strict asceticism, full of humility and love for prayer. She did not sleep on a bed, but on her knees, resting on rags. In winter she did not light a fire in her cell, making sure instead that the other nuns did not lack firewood, always caring for those around her. She did not spare her body or seek comfort, but traveled from village to village, enduring deprivation, danger, and persecution.
After the repose of her elderly protectors, who had raised her from the age of ten, and feeling the call to monastic life, Sister Aikaterini Țârlea entered the Monastery of Samurcășești in September 1939. After three years of obedience, on November 21, 1942, the feast of the Entrance of the Mother of God into the Temple, she received the monastic tonsure, being given the name Eulogia
Seeing the poor condition of Samurcășești Monastery after the 1940 earthquake, Venerable Eulogia organized collections in the villages where she preached the word of God. Through these efforts, the monastic cells and the church were restored.
Venerable Eulogia lived a life of strict asceticism, full of humility and love for prayer. She did not sleep on a bed, but on her knees, resting on rags. In winter she did not light a fire in her cell, making sure instead that the other nuns did not lack firewood, always caring for those around her. She did not spare her body or seek comfort, but traveled from village to village, enduring deprivation, danger, and persecution.
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She continued this missionary work during the years of communist persecution, suffering beatings and torment because she would not cease proclaiming the gospel of Christ and distributing spiritual books and icons. She faced great dangers plotted by people angered by her words, which called for a change of life and closeness to Christ. Thus, some tavern keepers from the village of Epurești, Giurgiu County, seeing that because of her preaching people no longer came to indulge in drunkenness and debauchery, planned her murder. The man hired to kill her was struck by lightning. On another occasion, she was forcibly taken to a house of prostitution to be humiliated. A violent storm arose, and the depraved man who attempted this was paralyzed, and his demonic plan failed.
In December 1949, while preaching in the Danube villages and carrying prayer books, icons, and spiritual pamphlets, she was captured in the village of Ulmeni, Călărași County, by communist thugs who trampled her underfoot and beat her brutally. She was admitted to Brâncovenesc Hospital in Bucharest. On December 19, she was informed by the Mother of God and the Holy Archangel Michael that she would soon depart to the Lord. She asked to be taken urgently to her monastery. After bidding farewell to the patients in the hospital and encouraging them to trust in God, she was taken to Samurcășești Monastery. In the evening, as the bells were ringing for Vespers, she arrived at the monastery. She confessed, received Holy Communion, and then passed to the Lord, adorned with a glorious martyr’s crown.
After her repose, Venerable Eulogia proved to be a swift helper and wonderworker to those who called upon her, healing the sick and those in danger of death.
Through her holy prayers, O Lord Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
In December 1949, while preaching in the Danube villages and carrying prayer books, icons, and spiritual pamphlets, she was captured in the village of Ulmeni, Călărași County, by communist thugs who trampled her underfoot and beat her brutally. She was admitted to Brâncovenesc Hospital in Bucharest. On December 19, she was informed by the Mother of God and the Holy Archangel Michael that she would soon depart to the Lord. She asked to be taken urgently to her monastery. After bidding farewell to the patients in the hospital and encouraging them to trust in God, she was taken to Samurcășești Monastery. In the evening, as the bells were ringing for Vespers, she arrived at the monastery. She confessed, received Holy Communion, and then passed to the Lord, adorned with a glorious martyr’s crown.
After her repose, Venerable Eulogia proved to be a swift helper and wonderworker to those who called upon her, healing the sick and those in danger of death.
Through her holy prayers, O Lord Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
