Eudoxia of Moscow

Forensic facial reconstruction

Eudoxia of Moscow (Russian: Евдокия Дмитриевна, Yevdokia Dmitriyevna)—monastic name Euphrosyne— (? – 1407) was a Grand Duchess of Muscovy and wife of Dmitry Donskoy.

Family

Eudoxia was a daughter of Dmitry Konstantinovich, Grand Prince of Nizhny Novgorod and Vasilisa of Rostov.

Her maternal grandparents were Konstantin Vasilievich, Prince of Rostov and Maria of Moscow.

Maria was a daughter of Ivan I of Moscow and his first wife Yelena.

Marriage

On 18 January 1367, Eudoxia married Grand Prince Dmitry Donskoy. In 1382, she stayed in Moscow in the absence of her husband, while the army of khan Tokhtamysh was approaching the capital. After the birth of her son Andrey Dmitriyevich, she attempted to leave Moscow, but was detained by the Muscovites, who agreed to let her go only after long negotiations.

Religious works

Shrine (Raka) of Eudoxia of Moscow

After her husband's death, Eudoxia became known for her piety; legend has it that she possessed the gift of healing. In 1393, she founded the Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos (Церковь Рождества Богородицы), the oldest surviving building in Moscow. The church was dedicated to the Virgin's Nativity, because on this feast her husband defeated the Tatars in the Battle of Kulikovo.

Four years later, Eudoxia established the Ascension Monastery next to the Frolovskaya (Spasskaya) Tower of the Moscow Kremlin. Later in her life, Eudoxia Dmitriyevna took the veil at the Ascension Monastery under the name of Yefrosiniya (Euphrosyne) and remained there until her death in 1407. She was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church.

Children

Eudoxia and Dmitri Donskoi had at least 12 children:

Legacy

On 15 August 2007, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church instituted the Order of St. Euphrosyne, named after Eudoxia, who was the first noblewoman of Moscow to enter monasticism. The award was established to commemorate the 600th anniversary of Euphrosyne's death. According to the synod's ukase (decree), the new decoration will be given to women for special contributions towards the strengthening of spiritual and moral traditions in society, development of the church's social activities, maintaining relations between church and state or church and society, and other fields of work for the betterment of the Orthodox faith. The Order of St. Euphrosyne will be the second women's decoration of the Russian Orthodox Church after the Order of Saint Catherine.[1]

References

External links

Eudoxia of Moscow
Rurik Dynasty
Born: 14th century – 1407
Russian royalty
Vacant
Title last held by
Alexandra Vasilyevna Velyaminova
Grand Princess consort of Muscovy
1367–1389
Vacant
Title next held by
Sophia of Lithuania