View source for Euphrosynus of Pskov

The Venerable '''Euphrosynus Abbot and Wonderworker of Pskov''' was an ascetic of the [[Church of Russia]] who was known for his piety and as founder of [[Spaso-Yelizarovsky Monastery]] of  [[Pskov]] that bears his baptismal name. He was the original Pskov wilderness-dweller. 

==Life==
Eleazar was born in 1386 in the village of Videlebo, near the ancient city of Pskov. While his parents looked to his marrying, Eleazar quietly withdrew to the Snetogorsk [[monastery]] on the Snyatni hill, now in Pskov itself, to take-up the life of a [[monasticism|monastic]]. There Eleazar accepted [[tonsure]] as a [[monk]] with the name Euphrosynus. As his prayer life at the monastery matured, Euphrosynus looked to devote himself more intensely to [[prayer]]. About the year 1425, he felt the need to find an isolated place where he might devote himself more deeply to prayer. 

Receiving the [[abbot]]'s blessing, Euphrosynus moved to a solitary [[cell]] at the River Tolva, not far from Pskov. But, being sensitive to the salvation of his neighbors, Euphrosynus soon found it necessary to abandon his isolation and began to receive everyone who was in need of an experienced Elder and guide. [[Saint]] Euphrosynus blessed all those who came to him to live according to a [[skete]] rule that he compiled. His Rule presents advice in a generalized manner for monks proceeding on a path to monasticism, that is, "how it befits monks to dwell." He did not address strictly the regulation of all aspects of monastic life, as did, for example, the Rule of St. [[Joseph of Volokolamsk]], such as, there is nothing in Euphrosynus' Rule concerning the order of divine services. 

In time, the brethren of his community requested of Euphrosynus a [[church]]. So, in 1447, the sainted [[abbot]] built a wooden [[church]] dedicated to the [[Three Holy Hierarchs]] [[Basil the Great]], [[Gregory the Theologian]] and [[John Chrysostom]], who appeared to him, and also to St. Onuphrius the Great, a desert ascetic of Egypt. When the monastery found the need for a formal leader, the brethren turned to Euphrosynus, but out of humility and his love for the solitary life, the saint did not wish to be [[igumen]]. Instead he nominated his [[disciple]] Ignatius in his stead. Then, he went to live in the forest near a lake. 

Euphrosynus died at the advanced age of ninety-five, on [[May 15]], 1481. He was buried in the wooden church that was built at the founding of [[Spaso-Yelizarovsky Monastery]], as the monastery became known in his honor. St. Euphrosynus was [[glorification|glorified]] in 1551 at the [[Stoglavy Sobor]]. At the direction of [[Archbishop]] [[Gennadius of Novgorod]] an [[icon]] was placed at his [[crypt]] that had been painted by his disciple Ignatius while Euphrosynus was still alive. Also preserved was the last testament of the saint to the brethren, on a piece of parchment, stamped with the lead seal of Archbishop Theophilus of [[Novgorod]]. This is one of very few surviving wills written by an [[ascetic]] in his own hand.

==Legacy==
St. Euphrosynus was the originator of Pskov wilderness life. He taught many famed disciples, who also established monasteries, and planted the seeds of monasticism throughout the Pskov area. Among his disciples were the skete Elders [[Sava of Krypetsk]], St. Dositheus of Verkhneostrov, St. Onuphrius of Malsk, St. Joachim of Opochsk, St. Hilarion of Gdovsk, St. Chariton of Kudinsk founder and igumen of a monastery at Lake Kudina near Toroptsa, and the locally venerated brothers from Pskov, Ignatius, Charalampos, and Pamphilius, who were buried at the Spaso-Eleazar Monastery, as the monastery is also known.

==Source==
*[http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsLife.asp?FSID=101390  OCA: Venerable Euphrosynus the Abbot and Wonderworker of Pskov]

[[Category: Saints]]
[[Category: Russian Saints]]
[[Category: Wonderworkers]]