EUPHROSYNE THE YOUNGER, Saint. - Virgin ascetic, b. in the Peloponnese ca. 854, d. at the age of 69, apparently in 923. Educated in Calabria, she went as a very young girl to Constantinople to Agelastos, 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 John, 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 a member of her family, she returned to Constantinople (ca. 903) no longer in disguise, but continued her solitary life in the women's monastery of the Mother of God of the Fountain (τῆς Πητῆς), always esteemed and visited by the imperial family.

Nicephorus Cullatus wrote her life, 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 in it from legends.

Bibliography3 works

BIBL.: Acta SS. Monembris, III, Brussels 1910, pp. 858-81; ibid., Vita (from the only ms. Laurent. Conv. supp. B 1, Camaldoli 1214) and appendix on the Monastery τῆς Πητῆς, pp. 861-86; H. Delchaye, Les légendes hagiographiques, 3rd ed., Brussels 1927.

Emanuele Canali

@incollection{ec5_eufrosina_giuniore_santa, author = {Candal, Emanuele}, title = {Eufrosina Giuniore, santa}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {V}, pages = {792}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1950}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/eufrosina-giuniore-santa} }

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Euphrosyne the Younger, Saint

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