Russia was going through a turbulent time during the reign of Prince Dmitry Donskoi. Dmitry was the son of Ivan I and he would be elevated to the title of Grand Prince upon the repose of his father at age nine. During his reign, Russia was overcome with internal quarrels and this further complicated its struggles against the Tatar and Mongol hordes that sought to dominate and control the country. Dmitry believed that the best way to combat and repel the resistant hordes was to centralize Russia underneath the authority of Moscow, ending the internal quarrels and uniting the Russians against the common Tatar and Mongol enemy. He would marry Eudoxia in the year 1367 and this greatly assisted him as she was known for her piety and virtue. (Thornton, Pious Kings and Right-Believing Queens, 128-129)
Eudoxia would support Dmitry throughout his reign with her prayers which she constantly offered for him and his armies. In his many campaigns against the Tatars, Dmitry would suffer injuries that he would ultimately succumb to. He reposed in the year 1389. Widowed, Eudoxia would reign as regent for her two sons until they were old enough. It was during this time she took upon herself many penances but she kept these penances concealed from the people. Even her two sons did not know the trials she had decided to take upon herself. According to St. Nikolai Velimirovich, she would wear the most fanciful clothes on the outside but she had wrapped herself in chains underneath the garments. On the outside, she looked very much a Grand Princess but underneath, she was withered and beaten. The people began to suspect her of all sorts of whoredoms. Her sons inquired this about her which is when she revealed to them the chains she had wrapped herself in underneath her clothes and her greatly withered body. Her sons began to understand the great penances she had taken upon herself (Prologue of Ohrid, May 17).
She had been a donor to the monasteries throughout her husband's reign and it was in her regency for her young sons that she founded the Convent of the Ascension. Being forewarned of her own death, she eventually took monastic vows and changed her name to Euphrosyne. She reposed in the year 1407 as a nun in the Convent that she had founded, entering into eternal glory on July 7. She is commemorated on May 17 as well.
There is also a story of a blind man who had told St. Euphrosyne that she would give him back his sight. The saint did not understand what the blind man was saying and brushed him with her cloak. The blind man pressed the edge of the garments to his eyes and his sight instantly returned. (Pious Kings and Right-Believing Queens, 182-183) St. Euphrosyne's life was lived in giving, piety, and is a role-model wife for how Christian women ought to support their husbands in their struggles. She reminds me of my own godmother in a sense who is always praying for me, offering me prayers when I go through difficult times. St. Euphrosyne, pray for our rebellious world!
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