Euphrosynos the Cook was a ninth-century monastic remembered for the hidden sanctity he attained while serving in obscurity as a monastery kitchen worker. Born to simple parents and without formal education, he entered the monastic life and was assigned the lowly obedience of cooking, which he carried out with constant prayer, fasting, and silent endurance of the contempt shown him by some of the brethren on account of his rural background.
His holiness, concealed during his lifetime, was disclosed through a vision granted to a priest of the same monastery, after which Euphrosynos fled to escape the praise of others. He is commemorated on September 11 and is venerated as a model of humility and faithfulness in lowly service.
Timeline 3 moments
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9th centuryMonastic life as a cookEuphrosynos entered a monastery and was given the obedience of working in the kitchen, where he prepared plain meals while keeping to constant prayer and fasting and bearing the scorn of some of the brethren without complaint.
9th centuryThe priest's vision of ParadiseA devout priest of the monastery prayed to be shown the blessings prepared for those who love God. In a dream he beheld Euphrosynos in a garden of Paradise and asked him for a gift; the cook gathered apples, wrapped them in a kerchief, and gave them to him.
9th centuryDeparture from the monasteryWhen the priest woke and revealed the vision to the assembled brethren, Euphrosynos fled the monastery to escape human glory; according to tradition the place where he hid remained unknown, and he reposed in seclusion.
Contributions & Legacy
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Character and Service
The accounts of Euphrosynos emphasize the deliberate lowliness of his life. Having worked as a cook before his tonsure, he is said to have practiced self-deprivation rather than exploiting his access to the kitchen, and to have prepared plain food, reportedly telling those who complained that fine cooking was of no use for attaining the Kingdom of Heaven.
Some of the monks scorned him because of his peasant origins, but he is remembered for enduring every unpleasantness in silence, combining his menial obedience with continual prayer and fasting.
The Apples of Paradise
By tradition, the priest who received the vision found upon waking that the apples Euphrosynos had given him in the dream remained wrapped in the cloth, still giving off a wondrous fragrance. The synaxarion relates that the brethren divided the fruit, keeping the pieces for blessing and distributing them especially to the sick, who were said to be healed by them.
This account is the source of Euphrosynos's enduring association with hidden holiness attained in humble labor, and of his veneration as an intercessor for those engaged in lowly service.
Relics & Shrines
A fragment of his relics is reported to be kept at the Monastery of Loukous in Greece.
