Evfrosinia Kolyupanovskaya (in the world Evdokia Vyazemskaya): biography, holy spring

In whatever circumstances a person is, for any soul the natural state is the striving for light, purity, and goodness. Simply in someone, this desire is buried deep, under the wisdom of this world, and in someone, as it was with Euphrosyne Kolyupanovskaya, it is on the surface itself. More often it is still quite young, not mutilated by cynicism, human souls.

Life at Court

The saint herself did not tell anyone about herself, therefore everything that is known about her worldly life is written from the words of blessed contemporaries. She was born in 1758 or 1759 in the family of Prince Grigory Ivanovich Vyazemsky, representative of the younger branch of this princely family. At birth, the girl was named Evdokia and at the age of six she was identified in the pupils of the newly opened Society of Noble Maidens at the Smolny Monastery.

In 1776, the first issue of the Smolny Institute was decorated with the princess Evdokia Vyazemskaya. The girl was immediately identified to the court in the maid of honor of Empress Catherine II. Here Evdokia had to entertain the bored queen. But the worldly life, filled with balls, fireworks, amorous adventures, did not suit the future saint.

Perhaps, it was at one of the balls that she woke up one day. Suddenly, I saw faces, distorted by hypocritical grins, unnatural poses of dancing figures, clusters of shiny stones on half-naked bodies. At that moment, she discovered what the true price was to all this and what was really valuable. In history, many such cases, when secular people with connections and the upcoming brilliant career in one moment "woke up" and never returned to their former life.

People who "woke up"

You can remember Dimitar Alexandrovich Bryanchaninov, who later became Saint Ignatius. The young man graduated with honors from the military engineering school, was a unique talented writer, perfectly recited what made him a favorite of the secular public. Another vivid example is Pavel Ivanovich Plikhankov, five minutes later the general, who became one of the Optina elders under the name of Father Varsonofy. A revolution in the life of this man took place overnight. All of them, like St. Euphrosyne of Kolyubanovskaya, once saw the world with clear eyes and most of all they were afraid to "fall asleep" again. Each of them struggled with "sleep" in different ways. Someone gave out all the property and went to the monks, and someone, like Euphrosinia, went barefoot in the snow, put under his clothes, veered, deliberately deprived himself of the slightest attributes of a comfortable life. And all this in order to again not "fall asleep" with the whole world.

Escape

No one remembers the exact date of this incident, but one day Princess Evdokia simply disappeared. On the shore of the pond found her dress. Most likely, it was an attempt to convince possible persecutors that she drowned. But the runaway could not escape. The Empress gave her orders to detain the princess. On transportation through one of the rivers, the police chief found out, after which Evdokia Grigorievna was returned to the capital. Catherine II accepted the fugitive affectionately. After the questioning, the reason for the escape was found out, and, convinced of the firmness of the intention of the former maid of honor to devote herself to God, the empress lowered her into a monastery, endowing her with a monastic gown of shiny fabric. Perhaps, Catherine wanted in this way to express the hidden evil irony about the unexpected choice of Evdokia.

Wandering

More than ten years, the future Euphrosyne Kolyupanovskaya wandered to different monasteries. The former secular lady had to work on prosphora, milking cows. In 1806, at the age of about 48, Evdokia went to Moscow, where she received the written blessing of Metropolitan Platon for the feat of foolishness under the name of the fool Euphrosyne. Serpukhovskoy Vvedensky Vladychny monastery became its entrance.

Life in a monastery

Perhaps, the maid of honor of Catherine many times, passing by simple country women and peasants, contemptuously clamped their noses. And here one of them sleeps on the bare floor, next to the dogs, in a stench filled with stench near the monastery. She herself deliberately chose this. "It's for me instead of the spirits that I used so much at court, I'm worse than dogs," answered the saint when asked why she shares shelter with animals and does not want to retire in her dwelling. Perhaps she thus punished himself for former empty consolations, and maybe dared the pesky guests. Even in the monastery there are plenty of lovers to hang around other people's cells.

Instead of the royal suite, three dogs, two cats, chickens and turkeys became daily companions and friends for Euphrosyne. They were expelled from the house only once a year, on Great Thursday, when Mother Euphrosynia communed with the Scary Christ Mysteries.

The saint, who studied the secrets of French eloquence for many years, now explained her thoughts to Russian jokes. Euphrosinia necessarily bathed at the Epiphany in the Jordan directly in the clothes and called the people: "Go, guys, hot bath! Go, wash!"

At the time when Euphrosynia Kolyupanovskaya lived in the Vvedensky Vladychny monastery, Metropolitan Filaret (Drozdov) metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna repeatedly visited the monastery. The saint always met him behind the monastery fence and kissed the lord's hand. Metropolitan, who considered Euphrosyne as an ascetic, in turn, kissed her hand.

The feat of foolishness, which the saint carried willingly, never remains without a reward from God. Like all known Christ for the holy fools, the blessed mother could rid her from illnesses and foresee future events. It attracted to her people who needed healing, comfort or good advice. At night, Euphrosinia walked around the monastery and sang psalms. During the day, she gathered herbs in the forest, which she gave to the sick, who turned to her for help. My mother prayed in the chapel, next to the monastery, and went to the monastery cathedral for church service.

Expulsion from the cloister

So almost forty years passed. The history of Russian Orthodoxy shows that, without exception, all ascetics, who healed, consoled, helped the council, in the end, inevitably were attacked by people who did not succeed in receiving spiritual gifts. Euphrosinia Kolyupanovskaya was not an exception. In 1845 she had to leave Serpukhovskaya Vvedensky Vladychny monastery because of such attacks. One of the women he healed - Natalia Alekseevna Protopopova, invited a 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 Evfrosinia Kolyupanovskaya (Alexinskaya).

Holy spring

Natalia Alekseevna built a separate house for the holy fool, but Euphrosinia settled the cow in it, but chose the smallest room for herself where the mongrel lived. Most likely, Mother spent her whole life asking God for forgiveness for the secular period of her life. The blessed prayed in a ravine on the river bank. There, in a ravine, almost ninety-year old woman with her hands dug a well, the water of which asked to drink to everyone who addressed her for healing.

Perhaps in this way, allegorically, the saint suggested that healing from any disease requires first of all faith in Christ. The one who believes will cure the simplest means, even the usual pure spring water from the spring. The gospel is the holy source. Those who "drink" from it, do not get sick. After all, diseases are a consequence and an indicator of the damage to our souls.

The hut with the coffin

Mother Euphrosynia often went to visit one of her admirers and stayed with them for a long time. Her special sympathy was enjoyed by the manager of the Miesheg iron foundry Aleksei Tsemsh, whom she affectionately called "son". He built a cottage for the blessed in his garden, where she lived from time to time. In the cabin of furniture there was only a coffin in which the mother was resting.

The death and glorification of blessed

Three weeks before her death, Blessed Euphrosinia said that she saw two angels who said that it was time for them to go to them. It happened on Sunday, at this very time the church was just going to the office. Two consecutive Sundays after this vision event, from her words, were repeated. On the third Sunday, July 3, 1855, my mother, who had reached almost a hundred years of age, communed peacefully, folded her arms crossed on her chest, and left. Those who were nearby, remembered that at that moment the room was filled with an unusual fragrance. A similar phenomenon is described by numerous witnesses of the death of saints.

They buried the blessed Euphrosyne in full monastic vestment in the Kazan church of the village of Kolyupanovo. Over the grave of the saint the following inscription was made: "Euphrosyne the Unknown." God chose the world to choose peace, but the wise man is ashamed "(" Euphrosyne the Unknown. "God chose not to educate those who did not educate"). In these words - her whole life.

In 1988, Blessed Euphrosyne of Kolyubanovskaya (Alexinskaya) was glorified in the face of the holy Tula land. On the site of the burned Kazan church there is a new temple of the Kazan women's monastery. And those who with prayer and faith come to the holy source of the mother, certainly receive help and healing.