EUFROSINA, SANTA

EUPHROSYNA, Saint. — Daughter of Pafnuzio,
a distinguished figure of Alexandria, born c. 413.
Since her father wished to force her into marriage,
at the age of eighteen she left her father’s house and,
disguised as a man, entered a monastery near Alexan-
dria, which housed about 350 religious. The abbot
advised her to shut herself up alone in a small cell,
where she lived a holy life for thirty years under the
name of Smaragdus. Her father often visited her
without recognizing her, seeking spiritual advice and
guidance. Before her death she revealed herself to her
father and died in his arms in the year 470. The
Roman Martyrology commemorates her on 19 January;
the Greeks celebrated her feast on 25 September. This
account, preserved in the *Vita Patrum*, forms part of a
group of legends with a similar theme.