Euphrosyne Kolyupanovskaya is one of the outstanding ascetics of the Russian Orthodox Church, who renounced the world for the sake of serving the Lord and accepted the difficult cross of foolishness. The saint came from a noble family and was close to many noble people, but she chose to leave secular society forever. Christians venerate the blessed one every year on July 16 and October 8.
Early life and renunciation of the world
Little information has been preserved about the life that Euphrosyne led before devoting herself entirely to God. The real name and surname of the Saint is Evdokia Grigorievna Vyazemskaya. The future holy fool was born into a princely family around 1758.
The young princess was educated at the Educational Society for Noble Maidens of the city of St. Petersburg. A young lady with good manners was able to achieve the high favor of Empress Catherine II and become one of her ladies-in-waiting.
It is not known exactly how long Evdokia Vyazemskaya was at court. Here she managed to meet many historical figures - commander Alexander Suvorov, Prince Yuri Dolgorukov and others.
Over time, the luxurious surroundings, palace gossip and intrigue began to oppress the young woman, and she began to think more and more often about serving the Lord. One day Evdokia decided to escape. Together with her, two more court girls, whose souls gravitated towards God, left the palace - Martha and Solomiya.
There are two known versions of how exactly the ladies-in-waiting left the imperial environment. According to the first, they waited until summer and during the court's stay in Tsarskoye Selo they staged a drowning in a pond. In order to be considered dead, the girls left their clothes on the shore of the reservoir, then changed into peasant dresses and fled.
The second story tells that three ladies-in-waiting simply left the palace. The young ladies were wanted for a long time in all corners of the country. One day, Evdokia, despite her attire, was recognized and returned to court. The Empress was not angry with the former maid of honor and greeted her kindly. Having learned about the girl’s firm determination to carry the prayer cross, she released her, finally giving her a new monastic dress.
Escape
No one remembers the exact date of this incident, but one day Princess Evdokia simply disappeared. Her dress was found on the shore of the pond. Most likely, this was an attempt to convince possible pursuers that she had drowned. But the fugitive failed to escape. The Empress gave the order to detain the princess. While being transported across one of the rivers, the police officer recognized her, after which Evdokia Grigorievna was returned to the capital. Catherine II received the fugitive kindly. After questioning, the reason for the escape became clear, and, convinced of the firmness of the former maid of honor’s intention to devote herself to God, the Empress sent her into the monastery, presenting her with a monastic dress made of shiny fabric. Perhaps Catherine wanted in this way to express hidden evil irony about Evdokia’s unexpected choice.
Life in the Vvedensky Monastery
After renouncing worldly life, Evdokia Vyazemskaya’s wanderings lasted about 10 years. Being a princess by birth, she did not disdain unusual work.
For some time, the former maid of honor worked in the barnyard of the Spaso-Sumorino Monastery. In 1806, she met with Metropolitan Plato, who gave the woman a blessing to accomplish the feat of foolishness. Under the name of “the fool Euphrosyne” she ended up in the Serpukhov Vvedensky Monastery.
After living for some time in the quarters for the sisters, the new novice moved to a small house not far from the monastery. After this, Euphrosyne began to surprise everyone around her with her unusual actions:
- lived with several cats and dogs, with whom she slept next to her on the floor;
- in cold weather she wore a man’s sheepskin coat, and on holidays she wore a gray cloth caftan;
- she always cut her hair short and tied a rag around her head;
- she flatly refused to wear shoes and remained barefoot even in severe frosts;
- I didn’t light the stove in winter, but did it during the scorching heat.
Secretly from everyone, the holy fool wore around her neck a heavy iron chain with a large cross, chains that pacified the flesh. When one landowner became aware of this, the old woman categorically forbade the disclosure of her secret.
During the day, the holy fool collected medicinal herbs in the forest next to the convent, and at night she walked around it and sang sacred psalms. Euphrosyne prayed in the chapel and went to the cathedral for the liturgy. She confessed to the confessor of the monastery, and received communion only with the onset of Maundy Thursday. During her life at the Vvedensky Monastery, Euphrosyne saw Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow several times, who was able to discern in her a great ascetic.
Moving to Kolyupanovo
In 1845, the blessed one moved to the village of Kolyupanovo, located in the Tula province. The saint arrived here at the invitation of the landowner Natalya Protopopova, who was her admirer. The old woman took nothing with her except the prayed icon.
Some sources report that the main reason for the holy fool’s move was harassment from the new abbess of the Vvedensky Monastery. There is information that this woman harmed Euphrosyne in every possible way and even ordered all her dogs to be killed.
Mother stayed in Kolyupanovo for the last 10 years of her life. Here she was provided with a small separate house, but the prayer book preferred to live in a cramped room for the maid. As before, there were several animals in the room with her, which the old woman never cleaned up after. They also built a cell for the Blessed One, where she could stay for several months at a time. At Euphrosyne’s request, there was no furniture in this hut; it was replaced by a coffin, in which the old woman loved to rest.
Sometimes the Saint went to her admirers and stayed with them for a long time. Despite her advanced age, Euphrosyne most often traveled on foot. Less often, she rode in a wagon with some of her pets.
People who are "woke"
One can recall Dimitri Aleksandrovich Brianchaninov, who later became Saint Ignatius. The young man graduated with honors from the military engineering school, was a uniquely talented writer, and recited beautifully, which made him a favorite of the secular public. Another striking example is Pavel Ivanovich Plikhankov, a general who became one of the Optina elders under the name of Father Barsanuphius. The revolution in this man’s life happened overnight. All of them, like Saint Euphrosyne Kolyupanovskaya, once saw the world with clear eyes and, more than anything else, were afraid to “fall asleep” again. Each of them struggled with the “sleep” in different ways. Some gave away all their property and became a monk, while others, like Euphrosyne, walked barefoot in the snow, put on chains under their clothes, and deliberately deprived themselves of the slightest attributes of a comfortable life. And all this in order not to “fall asleep” again with the whole world.
Healings and prophecies
During the years of the holy fool's stay in Kolyupanov, her ability to heal the sick was revealed. Mother relieved ailments with prayers, herbs, and also water from a well, which she dug with her own hands. The healing spring is still located in a ravine on the banks of the Oka, where the blessed one often prayed in solitude. This spring became famous throughout Russia. The water from it helped many local residents and visitors to recover from illnesses.
During her life in Kolyupanov, the holy fool cured many local residents.
- The landowner Protopopova, who sheltered the blessed one, suffered from hemoptysis and leg disease. After Euphrosyne advised her to wash herself in a bathhouse, in the stove of which there was a cauldron with horse manure, the woman was able to fully recover.
- One day a small child in the village fell ill. The holy fool came to his house herself, without an invitation, and brought medicinal herbs with her. The parents preferred to treat the baby with pills, but after that he became much worse and stopped walking. The father of the sick baby asked Euphrosyne for forgiveness and promised to follow all her instructions. The old woman read her prayers, gave the baby medicinal plants that saved him from death and put him back on his feet.
- The holy prayer book provided assistance to many women in labor. When one local woman could not give birth to a child within three days, the mother advised rubbing her with a special remedy and promised a safe birth after the first strike of the bell. Soon everything happened exactly like this.
The blessed prophetic gift was manifested in her ability to clearly see future events and describe them in detail. A story has been preserved about how Euphrosyne predicted one of the novices her appointment as abbess, and also prophesied a quick career growth for Bishop Dimitry Muretov.
The old woman was able to foresee her own death. A few weeks before her death, Euphrosyne had a prophetic dream in which angels called her to heaven. Mother informed those around her of her approaching death. After this, a large stream of people rushed to her to say goodbye and receive a blessing. In memory of herself, Euphrosyne gave people crosses, icons, clothes, and medicinal herbs.
During her lifetime, the Saint was also able to see events that were to happen many years later. So, she repeatedly said that a convent would be built at the site of her burial.
“God is looking for merciful and sincere hearts”
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Nun Euphrosyne (Mukhamedzyanova) in her difficult fate made an exodus from the Tatar family to the Orthodox family
. We must testify to the Truth with our lives. Those who seek Truth simply cannot help but find it. And I must tell how the Lord found me, and then I found Him.
Nothing foreshadowed Orthodoxy for me, much less monasticism. She was born into a family of ordinary employees in a purely Tatar family in a small town in the era of militant atheism. When I studied at the Faculty of Biology, after studying the flora and fauna on the planet, I realized: there is a secret to the universe . I went to the psychology department to understand: there is a secret of the soul! Human inferences are powerless to exhaust silent questions and premonitions. And so first I get acquainted with the world of Heaven theoretically: I read in “Literary Study” the Gospel of Mark and the life of St. Seraphim of Sarov (the magazine “Literary Study” was very popular at the dawn of perestroika, since it was one of the first to publish Christian texts after so many years of atheism ). And then practice began. After a severe bruise, in a subtle dream I see Father Seraphim in a white robe and for the first time I feel unearthly love, that is, grace emanating from his presence and consolation.
Then, still unbaptized, in the church of the Raifa Monastery I touch the miraculous image of the Georgian Icon of the Mother of God. Then during the day I see in my mind the Savior Not Made by Hands on the board, which I had never seen before. Soon I meet this image in church and after that I accept Baptism without hesitation, because I’m simply afraid to ignore this sign. And here is the result, which exceeds my expectations and efforts: I find myself in a state of new birth of the soul, physically feeling the slippage of my ancestral sin. I rejoice, I hear a voice in my soul: you are My daughter! And I walk, without stopping to smile, for three days, during which I take Communion. I forget everything: the past, fears, constraint - and greedily search for a new home for a new soul. I travel to monasteries, churches, I just stand in the temple, where my soul opens its eyes, ears and breathes grace. And I don’t want to destroy this newborn soul in the world of evil: everyone around me, including my relatives, did not understand me and began to “save” me.
I go to the monastery, take monastic vows - that’s all. The end of the torments of life before baptism, and the ever-present joy of being with the Lord Jesus Christ, His Most Pure Mother and the saints, with mentors in the faith, brothers and sisters in Christ.
Of course, the “human factor” played a major role in the adoption of monasticism. A wonderful old man with heavenly wise, blind eyes teaches me life in Christ, bestows me with love that exceeds all the difficulties of a complete change of psychophysical existence. And after 20 years I must fulfill his kind words: you are the star of the Tatar people, forget about your earthly happiness and serve the people as God commands.
And I must tell about my Christ so carefully so as not to cause hostility from the intrusion of someone else’s mind into the established world of ideas of a stranger, no matter who he is, not to hurt the intimate feeling of God that has developed in his soul.
This means that I have the right to speak only with my heart, only with what I have experienced. To give my experience to the court, because I think that I live by faith and I want to return my faith to those who, by the Providence of God, are waiting for my testimony.
And therefore, further we will talk about the people to which I belong by birth, but no longer by blood, since my blood has become renewed by the Sacrament.
My first mentor was my father Mudaris Fatykovich, tactful, delicate, noble, generous, hardworking and humble. The meekness of this tall and handsome man is undoubtedly a continuation of the best qualities of the family of devout Muslims.
And if you come to Tataria, you will be pleasantly surprised by the sown fields and well-groomed forests, elegant villages and livestock. Hard work and love of peace bind two peoples and two faiths: for more than four and a half centuries, two powerful ideologies have existed here, undoubtedly having experienced the beneficial influence of each other in conditions of love and respect - Orthodoxy and Islam. The attitude of the Tatars towards parents, children, as well as close mutual assistance within the family, community and neighborhood is pleasantly surprising in our time of impoverishment of love. Rejection of idleness and good nature of humility and patience can also be attributed to the virtues of the Tatars.
Wisdom, tested over the centuries, was the decision of the holy noble prince Alexander Nevsky, who chose a temporary alliance with the Horde, but not with the Latins. It is better to have clear boundaries of opposites in faith than distortions of one faith blurred by superstition. At first glance, only a specialist can now distinguish Chinese counterfeit goods from patented branded products. And we are witnesses to how inexperienced people in Ukraine often deviate from the true faith towards Uniatism or schismatics.
And the existence of faith in conditions of competition mobilizes and strengthens it. When Greece of the 4th century fought against the Turkish yoke, how she believed, how many martyrs made her faith invincible! And when the Bavarian protege King Otto came to power in the 19th century, from that time on Greece’s deviation towards the West led it to today’s crisis, including in ideology.
We have many testimonies about the preservation and growth of Orthodoxy in close contact with Islam. The clearest example is the Kazan Metropolis, which before the revolution became the fifth spiritual center of Russia, chosen by the Queen of Heaven for the appearance of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, the most revered throughout the world. Before the revolution, pilgrimage to this miraculous icon acquired a global scale. Holy Kazan was! The income of the local treasury from the pilgrimage was 75%! 19 monasteries, hundreds of churches, thousands of monastics flourished in Kazan, there was even a Theological Academy. At the same time, Islam also flourished, competing with Orthodoxy in enlightenment. Madrasahs covered the entire Muslim population; many knew Arabic and read suras. Religious philosophical thought was in a state of deep search for moral dogmas for Muslims. Adopting from the Orthodox the teaching of asceticism, bodily feats for the purification of soul and body, new movements of Sufism, the institution of dervishes, arose. Deep and sincere respect for the life-giving Orthodox traditions and rituals had a beneficial effect on the moral character of Kazan Muslims.
Undoubtedly, only the true faith of Orthodoxy is capable of reconciling the differences of different traditions with its beauty and purity. Preaching by godliness is the most faithful and effective preaching, not requiring verbal debate. And this note must be struck in difficult regions of Russia with a mixed population in order to create centers of peace and good neighborliness in them.
Once upon a time, the Kazan of the Chingisids disturbed Russia with daring raids, ravaging settlements and holy monasteries. After its capture, the entire Russian Church gathered into the new Kazan Metropolis, which, due to the expansion of the borders of the state, found itself in its center, all the best: Saints Guria, Herman, Barsanuphius, the best church utensils and books, the best church vestments and the best masters - temple builders. This ensured peace for many centuries.
And according to some prophecies, Tatar Islam will become borderline to Orthodoxy, will become a barrier and counteraction to the world's disappointing trends of Wahhabism and jihad. Observing the religious inspiration of the Orthodox, Muslims think about the grace of the Holy Spirit, which can guide them to the truth.
In the Ulyanovsk region this year, Muslims next to the Orthodox baptismal font made their own ice hole and set up a tent with a samovar. They also seek the joy of immersion in the water of holy springs. The formidable ruler of the Emir, Ibrahim Pasha, in the 19th century married the Orthodox Greek woman Vasilika and built for her the monastery of St. Panteleimon. Saint John the Russian, like Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, is revered by the Muslim world, not to mention the veneration of the Mother of God. After three years of the appearance of the Mother of God in Zeitoun near Cairo, when tens of thousands of people of all faiths were healed, Egyptian President Abdel Nasser built the Temple of the Mother of God. And the first president of Tatarstan, Mintimer Shaimiev, restored the ancient Annunciation Cathedral of the Kazan Kremlin, and is now restoring the pearl of the Sviyazhsk monasteries. Wonderful are Your works, O Lord. All nations worship You and sing to Your name, O Most High!
Returning to my fate as a Tatar nun, I can sincerely say that I lived twenty years in joy and happiness. How many of our women can say this with confidence about themselves? But I do not sin against the truth: earthly spiritual happiness is nothing compared to spiritual happiness, which is peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
For the first ten years I lived constantly in a monastery, serving as a seamstress, florist, gardener, and then a farmstead builder. The main core and consolation for me has always been the daily liturgical circle and church prayer, confession and Communion. And the milestones along the way were the living guardians of church tradition: the elders and elders, without whose advice and prayerful support, to my great happiness, I was never left. These are the blessed schema-abbess Niphon of Raif and Jerome of Sanaksar, front-line nun Sophia (Osharina), abbess-elder Georgia Gornenskaya, schema-nuns Joanna and Maria from Jerusalem, schema-abbess Anthony, schema-abbot Agathon (Chesnokov), schema-monk Gabriel of Athonite and schema-archimandrite Jonah of Odessa.
Strengthening my faith and joining the catholicity of Russian and universal Orthodoxy, by the grace of God I visited many holy places in Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Egypt and Greece. I saw the inexhaustible Glory of Orthodoxy and the daily sorrowful path of abstinence and patience of labor and sorrow, without which a purposeful ascent to Christ the Hero is unthinkable. And it’s true that first you carry the cross, then the cross carries you .
Like a child who is cheered by invisible Angels, having renounced everything earthly, I walk lightly like a wanderer following the Lord, resting where the Mother of God will take care of this. And when, out of human fear, I ask the prayer fathers where to direct my feet, I invariably hear the answer: the Mother of God will arrange everything. I have never known the need for either spiritual or physical needs; I have experienced the words of the Gospel: seek first the Kingdom of Heaven, everything else will be added to you. Separating and finding brothers and sisters again, I am constantly surrounded by the warmth of the church family, knowing at the same time that on the cross everyone remains alone with Christ.
I consider the main concern of the Lord for me to be that, as needed, I, as if by chance, meet on my way practitioners of the Jesus Prayer, meeting with whom gives me new strength to seek and cultivate it. Without ever interrupting the frequent tearful confession and shock of Communion, having recognized my complete weakness, I only with the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ return to the soul grains of purity and freedom from the violence of passions.
And my path is the most ordinary path of a Christian who has God as his Father and the Church as his Mother. And yet, comparing the gifts of my destiny with those who were born in the Orthodox environment, I confidently declare that sometimes extreme grace in Baptism and bearing the cross is given to those who sought and found God outside the boundaries of their clan, nation, family. God strengthens the courage of those who, having decided to become orphans on earth, acquire eternal citizenship in the bosom of God the Father, through God the Son through the Comforter of the Holy Spirit.
And to all my beloved Tatar fellow tribesmen I want to say: God is looking for those who worship Him in Spirit and Truth. Only a believing, merciful and sincere heart can find the meaning of one’s life and a calm look into the future.
Nun Euphrosyne (Mukhamedzyanova).
Completion of life's journey
Blessed Euphrosyne gave her soul to God on July 3 (16), 1855. The old woman met death calmly. At about three o'clock in the afternoon she took communion, then folded her arms and died. The holy fool was buried as she had ordered - in full monastic vestments, with a cypress cross and rosary in her hands.
Many people were present at the farewell to my mother. Her body was buried inside the wooden Kazan church, under the floor of the refectory, for which permission was given by Bishop Demetrius of Tula and Belevsky. In 1988, Euphrosyne was canonized and canonized as a saint of the Tula land.
After her death, the old woman continued to show her bright miracles to believers. Water from the well she once dug still saves from various ailments. In the 20th century, an extraordinary case was recorded - the healing of a child blind from birth, whom his parents dipped into a sacred spring three times.
The memory of Euphrosyne Kolyupanovskaya remains in the hearts of many creative people. The blessed one was deeply revered by Anastasia Tsvetaeva, who was the poetess Marina Tsvetaeva’s sister. This woman personally created a portrait of the Saint and rewrote her life. According to Anastasia’s stories, prayers to the old woman more than once helped her get rid of illnesses.
The temple where Blessed Euphrosyne was buried existed until 1929. During the period of persecution for the faith, it was destroyed, and in 1931 it was completely burned. Despite these tragic events, people believed that mother’s prediction about the construction of a women’s monastery would come true. The words of the prayer book were destined to come true: today, at the site of her burial stands the Holy Kazan Monastery, the construction of which began in 1993.
Expulsion from the monastery
Almost forty years passed like this. The history of Russian Orthodoxy shows that all ascetics, without exception, who healed, consoled, and helped with advice, in the end inevitably came under attack from people who did not succeed in receiving spiritual gifts. Euphrosyne Kolyupanovskaya was no exception. In 1845, she had to leave the Serpukhov Vvedensky Vladychny Monastery due to such attacks. One of the women she healed, Natalya Alekseevna Protopopova, invited the holy fool to her estate, the village of Kolyupanovo, located in the Aleksinsky district of the Tula region, on the banks of the Oka. Here the saint spent the remaining 10 years of her life. Therefore, mother began to be called Euphrosyne Kolyupanovskaya (Aleksinskaya).
What can you ask the Saint for?
First of all, Orthodox Christians turn to Blessed Euphrosyne with prayers for the health and recovery of children and loved ones. The blessed one helps to heal from many ailments:
- damage to the respiratory system;
- leg diseases;
- oncology;
- eye and skin diseases;
- blindness.
Prayer to the old woman relieves one from possession by evil demons, protects from persecution, envy, slander, and prevents danger to life. Euphrosyne is considered the patroness of domestic animals, which she protects from disease and death.
Not far from the Holy Kazan Women's Monastery there is a healing spring of Mother. Above it there is a large cross, under which you can see the inscription on a wooden tablet: “Take water from my well and you will be healthy.” Inexplicable healings constantly occur here, for which numerous pilgrims come to Kolyupanovo. For many years, church ministers have been keeping a special book in which they record the miracles that have occurred.
Local residents claim that if you bathe in the spring of Elder Euphrosyne wearing a shirt and dry it, it will become the best remedy for a cold. To recover, it is enough to sleep in such clothes for one night.
A road leads from the monastery to the spring, in the middle of which there is a cross. People who want to create a strong family and become parents of healthy children come to this place with prayers. Women who have committed the grave sin of infanticide can also repent here.
Prayer
O blessed mother Euphrosyne! Fool on earth, wise in heaven! Having valiantly walked our hundred-year earthly path, now from the heights of heaven look down on us sinners in the sea of life, overwhelmed: from the flesh - by passions and illnesses, from the world - by annoyances and temptations, from the devil - by numerous intrigues, and already near the sinking there are boats of our souls, not having a strong anchor of faith, relying on one’s own strength and human help, with the extinguished lamp of love and piety. Do not become obstinate, Mother Euphrosyne, in helping us, not according to our dignity, but according to mercy, resembling our all-merciful Savior Jesus Christ. Strengthen us with faith, hope and love, warm the cold and hard-hearted with your participation, heal our illnesses, take sorrows and sorrows away from us, on the slippery path of this earthly give us a helping hand, so that, strengthened in body and soul, we will bear our cross with patience, with hope in God and your speedy intercession, and may we be honored after death with eternal, blessed life, glorifying the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.
How to get to Mother's source
Twice a year, on the days of memory of Blessed Euphrosyne, cathedral services and prayer services with an akathist are held at the Holy Kazan Monastery. Processions of the cross are held to the healing water source, which attract many Orthodox Christians.
To get to the sacred spring on your own, you will need to travel from Moscow to Tula. To do this, pilgrims board the train at the Kursk station. Having arrived in Tula, they depart from Rizhsky railway station to Kolyupanovo station. Next you need to walk about 2 km through the forest belt, following a special sign.
Having a personal car, you need to drive from Moscow along the Simferopol highway, at the 114th km turn in the direction of Aleksin (after the second sign). Having reached this settlement, turn right to the village of Kolyupanovo. Here you can ask any local resident about the location of the healing spring.
Prayers
Troparion, tone 4
All the red of this world despised you, / leaving the royal palace, you accepted the foolishness of Christ for your sake, / blessed old woman Euphrosyne / for this sake with the wise virgins in the sky You entered the holy chamber of the Bridegroom of Christ, // praying for all of us.
Kontakion, tone 2
Instructed by the wisdom of God, / you lived as a fool on earth, / imputing the wisdom of this age into violence, / you were crowned with an incorruptible crown from Christ God for this / among the saints on the heavens appearing,// blessed mother Euphrosyne.
