Euphrosyne of Alexandria

5th century Egyptian saint

Euphrosyne of Alexandria ( Ἁγία Εὐφροσύνη tr. "good cheer", 410–470), also called Euphrosynē, was a saint who disguised herself as a male to enter a monastery and live, for 38 years, as an ascetic. Her feast day is celebrated on September 25 by the Greek Orthodox Church and Byzantine Rite Catholics, on September 27 by the Episcopal Church, and on January 16 by the Roman Catholic Church. Euphrosyne was purportedly born to a wealthy family in Alexandria. When she was 18, her father wanted her to marry, so she escaped, disguised as a man, and entered a monastery. She spent most of her years as a monk in seclusion from the other monks. During the final year of her life, Euphrosyne became her father's spiritual director, comforting his grief over losing his only daughter. Eventually, she revealed her identity to him and they reconciled. After she died, he entered her monastery and became an ascetic himself, living in her cell until he died ten years later. Ecclesiastical historian Johann Peter Kirsch considers her story a legend.

According to Johann Peter Kirsch in the Catholic Encyclopedia, "Her story belongs to that group of legends which relate how Christian virgins, in order the more successfully to lead the life of celibacy and asceticism to which they had dedicated themselves, put on male attire and passed for men". Euphrosyne was born in 410, into a wealthy and illustrious family in Alexandria, the only daughter of Paphnutius, "a deeply believing and pious Christian". Paphnutius and his wife were having difficulty having children, so he went to a local monastery, which he visited often, and requested that the abbot, who was his spiritual advisor, and monks pray for them; Euphrosyne was born shortly afterwards. She was baptized at the age of seven, educated in the scriptures, and was well known for her wisdom and love of learning. As writer David Clark put it, she was "unwilling to allow her gender to be a barrier to adopting this lifestyle for herself". She sent a servant to bring another monk to her, a hermit from Scete, who gave her the same advice. At her request, the monk shaved her head and invested her as a monk. eventually only seeing his spiritual director and the abbot. Clark, in his chapter about Euphrosyne in his book Between Medieval Men: Male Friendship and Desire in Early Medieval English Literature, compares her story with the story of Joseph in the Old Testament, which also includes themes of disguise and secret identities. Clark discusses "the complex and contradictory gender dynamic" in Euphrosyne's story, compares Euphrosyne with Eugenia of Rome, a 3rd century saint who also disguised herself as a man, because they share a "similar dynamic".

Clark, David (2009). Between Medieval Men: Male Friendship and Desire in Early Medieval English Literature. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. OCLC 243546011. Swan, Laura (2001). The Forgotten Desert Mothers: Sayings, Lives, and Stories of Early Christian Women. New York: Paulist Press. OCLC 45460900.