St Euphrosynos the Cook

On September 11 we remember St Euphrosynos the cook. St Euphrosynos was a young boy who loved the lord with all his heart. As he grew up he one day left his parents and went to Mount Athos, where he served in a monastery as a cook. He was often reproached and mocked, but received all with humility and patience. He was obedient in everything, for he knew that the first duty of a monk is obedience. 

One day a monk in the monastery asked the Lord to show him the blessings saved for the righteous in the age to come. The priest dreamed that night that he was in paradise, standing in a beautiful garden. To his surprise, he saw there another monk of his monastery--St. Euphrosynos the cook!! Amazed, he asked the cook how he came to be there? St Euphrosynos replied that he was there by the mercy of God. The priest asked if St. Euphrosynos could give him something of the garden, and he replied that the priest could take anything he wished. The priest requested three apples, and St. Euphrosynos picked them, wrapped them in a napkin, and gave them to his companion. 

The next morning when the priest awoke he thought the entire thing had been a dream, but he found the three apples there with him, still wrapped in the napkin! He hurried to the church in amazement, and asked St Euphrosynos under oath where he had been the night before. Euphrosynos replied--"I was where you were!" The Priest then related the entire story to the other brothers. When they went to go find St Euphrosynos they discovered that he had departed from the monastery in secret, wishing to avoid the glory of men. He was never discovered, but the apples from Paradise remained behind to be distributed for blessing and healing. 

Ideas for Celebrating



1. Make something tasty with apples

We love cooking with apples on St Euphrosynos' day!! Apple pie, apple crisp, baked apples--cinnamon apple oatmeal for breakfast, sliced apples and cheese for snack time--we love making tasty food to remember the Apples of Paradise. 





2. Listen to the story of his life


There is a lovely little book written about St. Ephrosynous' life, and it has also been recorded in two parts Here (part 1) and Here (part 2) We enjoy litstning to this as we do the days activities, and I always have a child narrate the story back to me. 

3. Act out a play

What better way for children to participate than to create a play of St Euphrosynos' life for the adults to enjoy? This sets the story firmly in their minds, and also is quite fun. Afterwards enjoy that apple pie together!! 

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