Early Life and Monastic Formation
Euphrosynus was born Ephrem Simeonovich in the Karelian region, on the northwestern shore of Lake Ladoga; his father was named Simeon. In his youth he lived at Valaam Monastery, possibly as a novice.
After Swedish forces attacked Valaam in 1578, he relocated to Novgorod the Great, and afterward to the Beloozero region (Bezheckaya district). In the village of Dolosskaya, roughly 20 versts from Ustyuzhna, he served as a lector in the Church of St. George and St. Nicholas. He subsequently received monastic tonsure under the name Euphrosynus at the Tikhvin Monastery of the Assumption.
The Sinozero Hermitage
From 1600, with his abbot's blessing, Euphrosynus departed to practice the hermitic life in the wild marshes near the Chagodoshcha River, on the shore of Sinichye Lake (also called Synozero), more than 15 versts from Dolosskaya. He lived in a cave for two years, sustaining himself solely on wild plants, mushrooms, and berries.
As disciples gathered around him, the initial hermitage, later known as Staraya Pustyn', attracted followers, and Euphrosynus established a new monastery on the eastern shore of Sinichye Lake. Tradition names Venerable Gury Shalochsky as his co-founder, and also mentions Philaret of Unzha. According to the 1636 charter of Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, the founding occurred in the year 7100 by the old reckoning, corresponding to 1591/1592 in modern dating.
Martyrdom
During the Polish plundering raids of 1612, in the Time of Troubles, many refugees sought shelter at the monastery. Euphrosynus foretold the attack and advised the people to flee; those who heeded him survived, while many who remained were killed. He himself donned the monastic schema and spent the night in prayer.
On March 20 the Polish raiders attacked. Euphrosynus stood at the cross he had erected, and the soldiers demanded the monastery's treasures. He answered that all the property of the monastery was in the Church of the Most Pure Theotokos, meaning its spiritual wealth. One soldier struck him in the neck with a sword and another split his head with a battle axe. The monk Iona and the peasant Ivan Suma also perished or were wounded. His body was honorably buried on March 28.
Relics and Shrines
In 1653 his relics were discovered incorrupt and transferred under the bell tower of the Annunciation Church by the builder Mosey on August 25 (September 4), with the blessing of Metropolitan Makarios of Novgorod.
By 1799, Metropolitan Gabriel (Petrov) authorized a new reliquary with decorative panels depicting the martyrdom, and a bronze reliquary was constructed after the canonization in 1913. Following the closure of the monastery in 1933, the relics passed to the Ustyuzhna Museum in 1936, where they were displayed in anti-religious exhibitions. On June 14, 1991, the relics were returned to the Russian Church and now rest in the Kazanskaya Church in Ustyuzhna. A chapel was erected at Staraya Pustyn' on October 14, 2001.
Canonization and Legacy
Euphrosynus was canonized as a Holy Venerable-Martyr on June 29 (July 12), 1912. Approximately 30,000 pilgrims attended the celebrations, which were presided over by Archbishop Arseny of Novgorod and Staraya Russa; Emperor Nicholas II sent a congratulatory telegram.
His principal commemoration falls on March 20, the day of his martyrdom. The OCA Synaxarion dates him to the 16th century, while his repose in 1612 places him in the early 17th century.
