8 Read the text and get ready to speak about Efrosiniya of polotsk:

BIRTH AND LIFE OF ST EVFROSINIYA OF POLOTSK

It has been stated by some historians that princess Sophia, a daughter of Vladimir Monomakh, was the mother of St Evfrosiniya. Thus, St Evfrosiniya of Polotsk was a great-granddaughter of St Vladimir and a granddaughter of Yaroslav the Wise.

January 5, 1104 is probably the date of Evfrosiniya's birth. Since her childhood princess Predslava - future St Efrosiniya - had been noted for her extraordinary wisdom, education and beauty. No wonder that many men were eager to marry her. But her father had a special hope in marrying off Predslava who was only 12 at that time.

Predslava was against that marriage. When she had come to know about her father's intention to marry her off to meet his political and dynastical needs, she decided to act. She went to the Mother Superior of the convent, who was her aunt. After a serious talk with Predslava the Mother Superior decided to admit the girl to monastic vows. Predslava became a nun named Evfrosiniya.

Some years later, with the blessing of the bishop of Polotsk she moved into the Church of St Sophia in Polotsk where Evfrosiniya took to translating spiritual and religious books from Greek and Latin into the Belarusian language. he copied these books by hand and gave the money she earned to poor people.

St Evfrosiniya founded a convert in Polotsk named after the feast of Transfiguration. It took place on August 6, 1126.

The convert had a rich library, and then a school for the nuns as well as for the girls of the town was opened. Grandislava the younger sister of the prioress, was educated here. She took monastic vows with the name Evdokiya. Soon Evfrosiniya's cousin Zvenislava also became a nun with the name of Evprakiya.

Later on St Evfrosiniya organized a monastery for men. This monastery was founded in 1150 in the name of Blessed Virgin Mary's Assumption.

In 1167 St Evfrosiniya undertook a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Besides veneration the place of Jesus Christ's preaching and the Lord's Tomb, Evfrosiniya's travel through Kiev and Constantinople to Jerusalem had certain ecclesiastic and diplomatic targets. In Jerusalem St Evfrosiniya fell seriously ill. She thanked the Lord for granting her desease in the holy city. For 24 days she had been on the brink of death. After confession and receiving the Holy Communion, St Evfrosiniya passed away on May 23, 1167. She was buried in St Theodosius monastery in Jerusalem.

The sacred remains of St Evfrosiniya rested in the Holy City of Jerusalem up to 1187 when the Egyptian sultan who besieged the city allowed monks to take the sacred Christian objects away from Jerusalem. Since that time the miracle-working relics of the Saint had been in St Theodosius caves of Kiev-Pecherskaya Monastery up to 1910. In 1910 the miracle-working relics were transferred to Polotsk into the Cathedral of the Saviour raised by the Saint where they are up to our days. The Spaso-Evfrosiniya Church in Polotsk, built on Evfrosiniya's request by the architect loan, has been reconstructed. Paying tribute to that great woman, the Belarusians restored the Cross of Evfrosiniya and placed it in the Spaso-Evfrosiniya Church in 1998. It has become one of the most sacred things in Belarus.

In 2000 the monument to St Evfrosiniya was opened i Polotsk. There are always a lot of flowers by it.