Memorial Day of St. Euphrosyne, Abbess of Polotsk

The Memorial Day of St Euphrosyne, Abbess of Polotsk is celebrated on June 5 The saint is revered in both the Orthodox and Greek Catholic churches Euphrosyne is of particular importance for Belarus as the patroness of female monasticism The saint was born at the beginning of the 12th century into the Polotsk princely family, descended from Vladimir the Baptist Princess Predislava (worldly name) showed godly inclinations even at a very tender age, showing that the desire to draw closer to the Lord was more important to her than all earthly values When the parents expressed their will, deciding that their 12-year-old daughter was ready to get married, the girl left her father’s house and headed to the Polotsk monastery with the intention of taking monastic vows The abbess of the monastery, Predislava’s own aunt, tried to prevent her niece, but the princess found convincing words and became a nun under the name Euphrosyne Knowledge of literacy determined the ministry of the young nun, who began a census of church books Soon Euphrosyne begins to see dreams in which angels of God address her, suggesting a place for a future monastery This was an area called Seltso, where the Transfiguration Cathedral, in which Euphrosyne occupies the rank of abbess, was being built in record time The reverend’s activities were of an educational nature; in addition to the census of religious literature, her merits included the opening of an icon-painting and jewelry workshop The creative personality of the saint had a significant influence on the political events of her time, colored by the contradictions of internecine fragmentation Many of Euphrosyne’s relatives find themselves in monastic life, following the authority of the saint In her old age, the abbess of Polotsk makes a pilgrimage to the Holy Lands Through Constantinople, she makes her way to Jerusalem, where, before her death, she manages to visit the Holy Sepulcher Euphrosyne finds her last refuge in the Holy City, but after the capture of Jerusalem by Muslims, her burial was taken to Kyiv For a long time, Polotsk sought to transfer the relics of the saint into its walls Only at the beginning of the 20th century was the final permission of Emperor Nicholas II received for the transfer For the relics of the saint, a special reliquary was made from valuable cypress trees, purchased with donations from believers The blessed remains of Euphrosyne survived through all the dangerous events of the 20th century: the First World War, anti-religious Soviet propaganda, the Second World War, the collapse of the USSR The relics were hidden and protected; today they are in the Spaso-Efrosyne Monastery in Polotsk