Saint Euphrosynos the Cook (Fiorenzo) Icon - S637

This beautiful icon of beloved Saint Euphrosynos is by the hand of American iconographer Mark Fiorenzo. It shows the humble saint in his monastic clothing, holding the three golden apples of Paradise mentioned in the account of his life. Saint Euphrosynos is a patron saint of cooks, and many Orthodox Christians like to keep an icon of this Saint in their kitchens.

Saint Euphrosynos (or Euphrosynus) was born in the ninth century to a poor family in Alexandria, Egypt. Desiring an anonymous monastic life, he joined a certain monastery in Palestine. He was assigned the obedience to cook for the brethren, and while doing so, he prayed constantly. He increased in holiness and virtue, but hid this from his fellow monks.

A priest of the monastery once asked the Lord to reveal the future Paradise to him. And so, in a dream, he was given a vision of the beauty and joy promised to the righteous. He also saw the cook Euphrosynos there. Amazed, he asked him how this could be. The cook explained that through the mercy of God, he was always in Paradise. He gave the priest three golden apples from the garden, and the priest awoke. Thinking it was all a dream, he was startled to find the three apples beside him.

The priest found Euphrosynos and asked him where he had been. The Saint answered, "The same place you have been." The priest went to tell the brethren everything that had happened. Wanting to pay tribute to the cook, they went to the kitchen, but humble Euphrosynos had gone. He hid himself in the wilderness and was never seen again. The brethren kept him in remembrance, knowing that he already dwelt in Paradise.

Saint Euphrosynos's feast is celebrated on September 11.