January 20: St. Euthymius, who built himself a Laura!

Euthymius was a priest, a hermit, a miracle worker (usually by making the sign of the cross), debated heresies, and steered clear of women. Also, he had a Laura built! And he would not allow women near his Laura.

OK, to further explain, a Laura (sometimes lavra) was a monastery that consisted of caves and cells for hermits.

The more that Euthymius’s ability to perform miracles spread, the more people came to him. When pagan Empress Eudocia sought out this saint’s help–on account of the Vandals having carried off her daughter and two granddaughters–only to find that no women were allowed near his monastery. So Eudocia built a high tower three to four miles away from the Laura and asked Euthymius to meet here there. The saint agreed, and in that tower, told the Empress that the kidnapping of her daughter and granddaughter were the result of her inimical treatment of Christians, and to go home and become a Christian. The Empress did so, though there is no word as to whether her offspring were ever restored to her. But she was grateful enough to offer to fund Euthymius’s Laura, which he refused and suggested she instead prepare to die. Shortly thereafter, Eudocia died.

Misogynist? Gynophobe? Prophet? Saint? All-in-one?

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