EUFROSINA GIUNIORE, saint. - Ascetic virgin, born in the Peloponnese about 854, died at the age of 69, apparently in 923. Educated in Calabria, while still very young she went to Constantinople to Agelasto, her relative, who wished to marry her to a nobleman. She therefore fled (870) in male attire and, having changed her name to that of Giovanni, lived for years in a monastery, until she was appointed its hegumen. Forced to flee again, she led a solitary life in the desert in the service of a holy old man. Discovered, however, by one of her relatives, she returned to Constantinople (about 903), no longer disguised, but continued her solitary life in the convent of Our Lady of the Fountain (τῆς Πητῆς), always esteemed and visited by the imperial family.
Her life was written by Niceforo Cullato, probably from an older one whose sources are unknown. Since it depends in part on the commonplaces of Eastern hagiography, it is difficult to distinguish authentic facts from legends.