www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Patron Saint for Cooks and Cooking

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Glory to Jesus Christ!
Glory to Him Forever!

Ray had asked in his "Barbeque" invitation if there was a saint for cooking. Since I didn't see his post until almost a month later, I figured I'd just start a new thread to answer the question.

I know of one patron saint for cooks. St. Euphrosynus the Cook was a monk whose duty at his monastery was to serve in the kitchen. He was looked down upon by some of his fellow monks, but bore their scorn with great patience and humility.
At the same monastery was a pious priest who had asked God to show him what treasure lay in store for those who love Him. One night this priest had a dream in which he was in a beautiful garden of paradise. Monk Euphrosynus was also in the garden, and the priest asked Euphrosynus whose garden this was and how Euphrosynus had gotten there. Euphrosynus responded that they were in the dwelling place of God's elect, and that Euphrosynus was there by the great goodness of God. Euphrosynus then offered the priest some apples from the garden.
When the priest awoke for the midnight prayers, he found that the apples Euphrosynus had given him in the dream were really there folded in his garment. The priest rushed to the church for the midnight prayers and asked Euphrosynus about what had happened. Euphrosynus humbly admitted to having been in the place of which the priest had dreamt, and said he had given him the holy apples. The priest marveled at this and rushed to tell the other monks. When the monks heard this, and smelled the sweet apples, they in turn rushed to pay homage to Euphrosynus, but Euphrosynus had gone.
The monks divided the apples from Paradise amongst themselves, offering them to pilgrims and finding that many sick people who ate the apples were healed.
St. Euphrosynus' feast day is celebrated on September 11th. In his icon he is depicted holding the branch of an apple tree.

I first heard about this saint from the very cool Fr. Maximos at Holy Resurrection Monastery (where Fr. Moses is the excellent cook, and whose fasting food puts all others to shame, and whom I'm sure is not scorned at all ), and I later read a very good short biography at the beginning of "A Lenten Cookbook for Orthodox Christians" (St. Nectarios Press, Seattle, WA).

I hope this was helpful! (and fun!)

St. Euphrosynus the Cook, please pray to God for us!

God Bless you,

Liz the Byzantine Catholic



[This message has been edited by Liz (edited 07-01-2001).]

It's too bad some seeds weren't saved and trees planted so that future generations could have shared in the apples too.

Thank You Liz,

Truly a wonderful story.

John
Pilgrim and Odd Duck

Sounds like these monks could have used a little devotion to St. Joseph, Patron Saint of Workers...

When I worked in inventory control, my supervisor was a 10-year Air Force veteran. He always stressed, "There are no unimportant jobs," a lesson he had drilled into him during his military service. He made sure I was a believer (he didn't have to try hard - I was pretty much there).

Not to mention the sheer lack of charity in such an attitude, it would seem that the monks never learned the maxim, "An army marches on its stomach."

Sorry to tee off here, but one of my pet hates is for people to look down on others because they hold a "lesser job". I'm a company owner/executive now, but I've had those "lesser jobs", and besides, my momma taught me that even the janitor was worthy of respect.

(dismounts from soapbox)

[This message has been edited by NDHoosier (edited 07-02-2001).]

Hmmm. Did not the monk Silouan a while back ask for information on St. Euphrosynos? In his searchings, he could find no reference to him despite searching quite widely. I went to the Typikon of the Great Church (Big Mamma Constantinople) and could not find a reference there either.

Being a former high school teacher, I have become quite suspicious. Are we perhaps being sold a bill of goods by an icon distributor who realized us Easterns didn't have a kitchen patron and decided to fill the market need? I hope that I'm wrong, but the question keeps nagging.

Blessings! May your milk never sour.

Try the following web page: http://www.transchurch.org/sguide/synaxarion.htm

The home page for this website says its for Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church in Lowell, Massachusetts.

I do not know if the page I mention (synaxarion.htm) is bogosity or reality, since I do not have your knowledge of the Byzantine Rite, but I thought I might point you that way.

Liz,

Thanks! That story is just too cool!

Saint Canice Please Pray For Us! http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03250a.htm

Ray S.

In the Latin Church the patron saint of cooks is St. Paschal Baylon, a Franciscan lay brother who is also the patron saint of Eucharistic Congresses...in the image I have of him hanging in my kitchen it shows him standing in his kitchen while adoring the Blessed Sacrament in a monstrance. According to Joan Cruz's book on relics, his relics have been known to make a knocking sound when in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament.

Don

Dear Friends'

Light & Life Publishing has the icon of St. Euphrosynus on its web site catalog.

John
Pilgrim and Odd Duck

Yuppers! Gotcha.

However, when I find St. Euphrosynos listed in the Greek Orthodox calendar for the GO-Arch parishes as a 'witness' to the faith, and NO mention of his role as "cook" in other canonial sources, I have a question.

I'm going to have to investigate this further.

I'll let you know.

Blessings!

The patron saints of cooks are St. Lawrence and St. Martha.

GLORY TO JESUS CHRIST!
GLORY TO HIM FOREVER!

St.Euphrosinus the Cook is listed in the Stroganov Ikon-writer's guide and his Feastday is listed as February 22.

the ikon-writer
mark

"Stroganov's" guide? As in "Beef Stroganov"? Mark, are you pulling our collective leg (of lamb)?

Blessings, y'all!

SLAVA ISUSU CHRISTU!
SLAVA NA VIKI BOHU!

Hi Dr.John

Leg of lamb sounds good, can I get some roasted potatos to go with that and maybe some tiropita?

The STROGANOV PODLINIK was a series of books with patterns for iconographers that included a Church calendar listing saints along with a brief description of how that saint is to be depicted on an ikon. It was supposedly written in the lae 1500's.

In 1903, Serge Bolshakov published another version of the Stroganov and also did an English translation of the book under direct order of Czar Nicholas II (now St.Nicholas, scary thought)...

I'm looking at the re-translation done for Oakwood publishing in California.

the ikon writer
mark

Holy Tranfiguration Monastery has ikons of
Saint Euphrosynus available for sale.

I have long had his ikon enshrined over my
stove. (My he forgive me for my splatterings, as I am a messing cook!)

For a long time now, folks wanted to know
the secret to my vegetarian chili. (Now the secret is out!)

BTW, did you also know that the Roman Church has a patron Saint for chili? (Well, at least a patron "Blessed".)

Whoever said that "too many cooks spoil the broth"?