User:MaynardClark/Efrosinia

Saint Euphrosyne of Polotsk (or Polatsk, Połack) (Еўфрасіння Полацкая; 1104–1167), also known as Efrosinia, was a popular saint among Orthodox devotees in Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia. She was born in 1104 as the granddaughter of a prince of Polotsk and the daughter of Prince Svyatoslav of Polotsk. Since 1984, she has been one of the 15 patron saints of Belarus, celebrated in the Belarusian Orthodox Church on the first Sunday after Pentecost.

Efrosinia was known for her spiritual strength and mystical gifts. Despite her humble appearance as a homeless beggar, she was considered an exceptional teacher and seer. Many people experienced profound transformations with her help and achieved holiness in a short time.

One of the mysteries surrounding Efrosinia was her anointed status. She was believed to possess overwhelming spiritual gifts and was successful in her teachings because of her unwavering love for others. She rejected all forms of usurpation, punishment, and violence, living by a higher dimension of pure heavenly love. Some sources suggest that she may have been associated with the Cathar movement, which was known for its emphasis on vegetarianism among its saints.

Biography
Saint Euphrosyne of Polotsk (or Polatsk, Połack) (Еўфрасіння Полацкая; 1104–1167) was the granddaughter of a prince of Polotsk, Vseslav, and daughter of Prince Svyatoslav of Polotsk. 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. [Was the feast in honor of a vegetarian saint a vegetarian feast, or merely, like many funerals, done 'for the remaining participants'?]

What would one say about this little cited reference to 'Efrosinia'?

Seems that she was a mystical nonmanager who projected the valuing of other persons' generosity, for which pattern she is revered.

Cathar Saint mother Efrosinia - Cathar saints would have been vegetarian.

Cathar mother Efrosinia

The mystery of Efrosinia is the fact that she is an anointed one. There is no one equal to her in terms of spiritual strength. Nobody ever believed that this ordinary elderly woman could be a great saint. Externally she had the appearance of a homeless beggar. She was buried wearing the same plain coat she had worn for ten years, in a simple battened coffin. And it was in it that she began shedding myrrh.

She was an exceptional teacher, a seer, who possessed overwhelming spiritual gifts. Many people changed beyond recognition with her help and they achieved perfect holiness in a short time.

She was successful because she was full of love. She categorically denied all forms of usurpation, punishment, and violence. Efrosinia lived in another dimension and was absolutely not from this world. The basis of her mystical school was pure heavenly love. She firmly believed that man can only be changed by this unearthly love.


 * http://www.theogamy.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&Itemid=78
 * http://www.theogamy.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=98:cathar-saint-mother-efrosinia&catid=45:bogomil&Itemid=102
 * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catharism
 * http://www.theogamy.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=98:cathar-saint-mother-efrosinia&catid=45:bogomil&Itemid=102