By Fr. George Dorbarakis
1. Venerable Euphrosyne lived in Alexandria when Theodosius the Younger was emperor (AD 408–450). She was the daughter of Paphnutios, a wealthy nobleman who, following the death of his wife, raised his only daughter with great love and faith in God. From a young age, the Venerable Euphrosyne desired to dedicate herself to God, but she was unable to do so because, when his daughter reached the age of eighteen, her father betrothed her to a wealthy and noble young man. Before the wedding, Euphrosyne, taking advantage of her father’s absence at a monastery known to him, cut her hair, put on men’s clothing, and wished to enter the monastic community known to her father, presenting herself as a eunuch of the king. The abbot indeed received her as a monk, giving her the name Smaragdos. From that time onward, she devoted herself to exceedingly severe ascetic struggles, surpassing almost everyone in them. For this reason, her feminine features became altered and hardened. Later, with the consent of the abbot, she withdrew to practice asceticism alone, farther away from the monastery, attaining there great heights of holiness. Her father, who was continually searching for her with great anguish, was inconsolable, while Euphrosyne, after thirty-eight years of asceticism, fell ill. At that point, the Venerable Euphrosyne wished to reveal herself to her father, knowing beforehand that her death was approaching. The revelation was deeply moving for Paphnutios, who saw his daughter at such a height of sanctification, but immediately afterward she died. From that time onward, Paphnutios wished to live as a monk in Euphrosyne’s cell, and after ten years of asceticism, he too breathed his last there.
2. The “ink had scarcely dried,” as they used to say in the old days, from our reference to Saint Thekla, who left her earthly bridegroom for the sake of the heavenly One, when another Saint appeared before us, Venerable Euphrosyne, who likewise preferred the Lord Jesus Christ to the love of her intended husband. In both cases, we find ourselves before an extraordinary love for Christ, a profound longing for the heavenly Creator, such that everything earthly is regarded as secondary and inferior. This is not because, as we have explained, earthly love, and especially the love between the two sexes, is considered something evil or negative, but because when the particular grace of dedication to God comes upon someone, together with a great love for Him, all other loves necessarily recede. Just as, in the presence of the sun, the light of a lantern or a match cannot be seen, so in the presence of the sun of God’s love, the light of human love appears to be “extinguished.”
For this reason, the Hymnographer, seeing the fire that burned in Euphrosyne’s heart, the fire of complete dedication to God from her earliest years, on the one hand presents the life of the Venerable Euphrosyne to us in poetic form — for ordinary prose is not sufficient for him — and on the other understands that this life inspires, toward the glorification of God, both the simple faithful and the Venerable ones of the Church, as well as the angels themselves: “Your bright and praiseworthy memory divinely illumines the assemblies of the faithful; it delights the choirs of the Venerable ones and gladdens the Angels.” And this is because the Saint lived “as an angel.”
What is particularly significant in the life of the Saint is the fact that she did not hesitate to “transform” herself, that is, to disguise herself as a man, in order to live the rigorous ascetic life of men. Euphrosyne thus transcended her feminine nature, while at the same time transcending other human attachments, such as her love for her father and her emotional response to the love of a young man. We literally bow before her “steel” will, which cooperated in absolute obedience with the will of God. Her steadfastness, her unwavering orientation toward the Lord, recalls the steadfastness of Venerable Mary of Egypt after her conversion from her sinful way of life. The difference is that Venerable Mary had experienced sin and had suffered the consequences of the degradation and sorrow it brings. Venerable Euphrosyne, however, had no experience of such a way of life, and for this reason she may be even more admirable in this respect than Venerable Mary. Her disguise also reveals the truth that if someone truly loves God, he will do everything in order to follow Him. No obstacle will be able to stand before him and halt his blessed course. How deeply her love reproaches us, who so easily find “arguments” with which to justify ourselves by claiming that living the Christian life is difficult. Difficult, yes, but when the driving force, the love of God, is absent.
The Hymnographer, however, points out from the very beginning another element connected with her name: “O Venerable mother, wondrous Euphrosyne, because you longed for true joy and gladness, you walked the path that leads to it.” Saint Euphrosyne, through her ascetic struggles, severe and superhuman for one so young and delicate, found the path to true joy. For true joy, the joyful disposition of the heart, is not a matter of amusements, traveling throughout the world, ordinary social interactions, or the acquisition of material possessions — things we observe in most people. Such a pursuit of joy, unfortunately, most often produces more sorrow and despondency than it actually brings joy. For the One who is the source of joy is absent: God Himself.
Saint Euphrosyne understood from an early age that a relationship with God brings joy to the human heart. And one finds God when one turns inward, into the “ground” of the heart. Yet in this ground the weeds of wickedness and evil also grow. Therefore, if one does not uproot them through prayer, ascetic struggle, and the keeping of God’s holy commandments, they will overrun the heart and become its content. In that case, sorrow will become a permanent condition within the person.
Saint Euphrosyne, then, becomes our guide to true joy, and for this we give thanks to her: “Through the holy intercessions of her and her father, Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us.”
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
