Venerable (Monastic)13th century

Saint Eupraxia of Pskov

c. 1170s–1243

Also known as Princess Eupraxia · the nun Euphrosyne

A princess of Pskov who entered monastic life after her husband abandoned her and was later murdered in Livonia, venerated for holiness and suffering.

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Commemorated as

The Right-Believing Martyr-Princess Eupraxia of Pskov, Abbess

Life

Saint Eupraxia of Pskov (born with the secular name Euphrosyne, Russian Evfrosiniya) was a princess of Polotsk who became the founding abbess of a women's monastery in Pskov in the thirteenth century. Abandoned by her husband and later murdered, she is venerated in the Russian Orthodox Church as a right-believing martyr-princess.

Born presumably in the 1170s in Polotsk, she was the daughter of Prince Rogvolod (Rogvol'd) Borisovich of Polotsk and was raised in the Transfiguration (Spaso-Preobrazhensky) Monastery there. She married Yaroslav Vladimirovich, Prince of Pskov, around the age of thirty, likely as his second wife.

After her husband fled to Livonia, remarried a German Catholic woman, and allied with the Livonian Order against the Russian lands, Eupraxia founded the John the Baptist (Ioanno-Predtechensky) women's monastery on the Velikaya River in Pskov in 1243 and became its first abbess. Summoned to Livonia over her dowry, she was murdered the same year. Local veneration developed after reported miracles at her tomb, and she was formally recognized as a saint in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Kontakion & Troparion2 hymnsReadHide

KontakionTone 2

(Podoben: “Having received the grace...“) Because of your love of God you forsook a bed for rest, O Mother Eupraxia,
you illumined your soul with fasting, thoroughly vanquishing your enemies;
but by your intercessions destroy the evil designs of our adversaries.

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

TroparionTone 8

In you the image was preserved with exactness, O Mother,
for taking up your cross, you followed after Christ.
By so doing, you taught us to disregard the flesh, for it passes away,
but to care instead for the soul, since it is immortal.
Therefore, most venerable Mother Eupraxia your spirit rejoices with the Angels.

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

Timeline7 momentsReadHide

c. 1170sBirth in PolotskBorn with the secular name Euphrosyne, presumably in the 1170s, the daughter of Prince Rogvolod Borisovich of Polotsk. She was raised in the Transfiguration Monastery in Polotsk.
c. 1200sMarriage to Yaroslav of PskovAt approximately age thirty she married Yaroslav Vladimirovich, Prince of Pskov, likely as his second wife.
1231Husband's defection to LivoniaPrince Yaroslav had fled Pskov to Livonia, where he married a German Catholic woman and, allied with the knights of the Livonian Order, raided the Russian lands; he captured Izborsk in 1231.
1243Foundation of the John the Baptist MonasteryFollowing her husband's abandonment, Eupraxia founded the John the Baptist women's monastery on the Velikaya River in Pskov and became its first abbess.
1243Murder in LivoniaSummoned to Livonia for negotiations over her dowry, she was murdered, by one account on May 8, 1243, at Odenpe (modern Otepää, Estonia) by her stepson, the son of Yaroslav and his German wife. She was buried in the cathedral of the monastery she had founded.
1734Church-wide recognitionEupraxia received church-wide recognition as a saint; she appears in Orthodox saint lists from 1734 onward.
c. 1859Local canonization in PskovA local canonization took place in Pskov around 1859.

Contributions & Legacy

4 contributionsReadHide

Life and Marriage

By her secular name Euphrosyne, she was the daughter of Prince Rogvolod Borisovich of Polotsk and was raised in the Transfiguration Monastery of that city. Around the age of thirty she married Yaroslav Vladimirovich, Prince of Pskov, probably as his second wife.

Yaroslav abandoned Pskov for Livonia, where he married a German Catholic woman and joined the Livonian Order in raids against the Russian lands, capturing Izborsk in 1231. According to the Orthodox Church in America's listing, Eupraxia was the aunt of Prince Dovmont-Timothy, the later celebrated holy prince of Pskov.

Monastic Foundation and Martyrdom

After her husband's defection, Eupraxia founded the John the Baptist (Ioanno-Predtechensky) women's monastery on the Velikaya River in Pskov in 1243, taking the monastic name Eupraxia and serving as its first abbess.

Summoned to Livonia for negotiations regarding her dowry, she was murdered in 1243. Russian sources record that she was killed on May 8, 1243, at Odenpe (modern Otepää, Estonia) by her stepson, the son of Yaroslav and his German wife. She was buried in the cathedral of the monastery she had founded.

Veneration and Canonization

Eupraxia is venerated as a right-believing martyr-princess of Pskov. She is commemorated on October 16 (Old Style) / October 29 (New Style), and within the Russian Orthodox Church she is remembered during the twenty-first week after Pentecost. She is also numbered among the Assembly of Pskov Saints.

She received church-wide recognition in 1734 and a local canonization in Pskov around 1859. No dedicated English-language Wikipedia article exists for her; the information is drawn largely from Russian-language Orthodox sources, including the Pravoslavnaia Entsiklopediia (2008).

Miracles & Traditions

Historically Documented: Local veneration developed following reported miraculous occurrences at her tomb.

Traditional Accounts: A miraculous event is recorded after her death, in which myron (holy oil) flowed from an icon hung above her grave.

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Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints