Полоцк қасиеттісі Ефросиния: Өмір және мұрасы

Belarusian saint and abbess

Euphrosyne of Polotsk (or Polatsk, Połack) (; 1104–1167) was the granddaughter of a prince of Polotsk, Vseslav, and daughter of Prince Svyatoslav Georgy Vseslavich. She has long been a popular saint among Orthodox devotees, particularly those in Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia with a traditional feast day of May 23. In addition, since 1984, she has been one of the 15 patron saints of Belarus, whose lives are celebrated in the Belarusian Orthodox Church, on the first Sunday after Pentecost.

Predslava was born between 1101 and 1104, into the Rurik noble family, members of which were the dukes of the principality of Polotsk, in what is modern day Belarus. Her father was Prince Svyatoslav Georgy Vseslavich, second son of Vseslav the Sorcerer. The money she thus earned she distributed amongst the poor. Around 1128 Bishop Elias of Polotsk entrusted Euphrosyne the task of setting up a convent. At the newly constructed Savior Transfiguration convent at Seltse she taught young women to copy books, sing, sew and do other handicrafts. Through her efforts, in 1161, a cathedral was built which survives to the present day. where she died circa 1173. Her body, after the conquest of Jerusalem by Saladin in 1187, was carried by the monks to Kiev and deposited there in the Monastery of the Caves. It was only in 1910 that the relics of Euphrosyne were brought back to her native town of Polotsk.

Her feast day is celebrated on May 23. Euphrosyne is the only virgin saint of East Slav origin. Euphrosyne (or Efrosinia) of Polotsk is a patron saint of Belarus. In Belarus there is a Convent of Saint Euphrosyne in Polotsk and a Saint Euphrosyne Orthodox Church in Minsk. In addition, there are churches dedicated to Euphrosyne of Polotsk in London, Toronto, Vilnius and South River, New Jersey (see: St. Euphrosynia Belarusian Orthodox Church).

The Cross of Saint Euphrosyne was a gem studded cross created at her behest by a local master, Lazar Bohsha The famous six armed golden cross was decorated with enamels and precious stones and presented by her to the Church of the Holy Saviour in 1161. The relic survived centuries of turbulence until World War II, when it disappeared during the evacuation of the museum in 1941. The cross was last seen in Mogilev. Despite efforts of the Belarusian government to trace its whereabouts in the early 1990s, which included searching in private collections in the United States, it has not been found.