Euphrosyne of Ryazan

Venerable Euphrosyne of Ryazan (in monastic life Evpraxia) was the wife of Prince Oleg of Ryazan and, according to tradition, a daughter of the grand prince Algirdas of Lithuania. She was born around 1352 and died in 1404, though one source gives 5 December 1405. She is a locally venerated saint of Ryazan, in the rank of venerable women; her husband, Prince Oleg, is called right-⁠believing. Our sources give 23 June on the new calendar as her day of remembrance.

Her family

The Russian source calls her the daughter of Algirdas by his second marriage, to Juliana of Tver. She was given as wife to Oleg Ivanovich of Ryazan after an alliance was made between Lithuania and Ryazan. In monastic life she was Evpraxia, not to be confused with her sister Elena Olgerdovna, princess of Serpukhov, who was also called Evpraxia in monastic life.

Her origin is nonetheless unclear. It is known that one of Oleg's daughters was married to Yury Svyatoslavich of Smolensk, and another to Dmitry-⁠Korybut Olgerdovich, a son of Algirdas. A Lithuanian chronicle says that in 1386 Yury was married to the daughter of the elder sister of Skirgaila. Since the daughter of a sister of Skirgaila could not be the wife of a son of Algirdas, there are two possible solutions: either Oleg had an earlier, unknown wife, or Euphrosyne was his only wife and was not Algirdas's daughter. N. Baumgarten leaned to the first, and the authors of the Russian Biographical Dictionary to the second.

The Solotcha monastery

With her husband she founded the Solotcha monastery, first mentioned in 1390. Oleg fell asleep on 5 (18) June 1402 and was buried in this monastery. The widowed princess became a nun with the name Evpraxia in the Conception convent of Solotcha, where she died after two years. The couple were buried together in a stone coffin in the Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God at the monastery, and their tomb was a place of pilgrimage and miracles. The stone church fell in 1768, when the sandy bank collapsed. By decree of the Holy Synod of 6 October 1769 the remains of the grand prince Oleg and the princess Euphrosyne were moved to the church of the Nativity of the Mother of God of the monastery. Over the tomb hung a late icon showing the couple in monastic dress (now in the Ryazan Art Museum), and a coat of mail attributed to the prince was taken there as well.

After the monastery was closed, in 1923, the relics of the two were removed and given to the Ryazan provincial museum. On 13 July 1990 they were given to the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian. In April 1994 the Solotcha monastery was given to the Ryazan diocese, which opened there a convent of the Nativity of the Mother of God, and on 22 June 2001 the remains were taken back to Solotcha and later reburied in the cathedral of the Nativity of the Mother of God.

Family

Her parents were Algirdas (died 1377) and Juliana of Tver (died 1391). Her brothers were Jogaila (died 1434), Svidrigaila (died 1452) and Korybut Olgerdovich. With Oleg she had the children Agrippina, married to Ivan Titovich of Kozelsk, Alyona, married to Yury Svyatoslavich of Smolensk, Fyodor (died 1427, grand prince of Ryazan from 1402 to 1427), Rodoslav (died 1407), a daughter married to Vladimir of Pronsk, and Anastasia, married to Dmitry-⁠Korybut, her uncle.