In the world, he was Eleftherios, hailing from the city of Dimitsana (Peloponnese), the son of wealthy and pious parents Panayotis and Maria. After receiving an education in a Greek school, he lived in Jassy, where he decided to take monastic vows on the Holy Mountain, but this was hindered by the Russo-Turkish war. In Bucharest, under the protection of the French consul, he surrendered to a sinful life and accepted Islam.
After his circumcision, he was tormented by pangs of conscience. In Adrianople, he attended a divine service and acquired Greek clothing. Under the strict supervision of Reis-Efendi, he, repenting, turned to the Russian embassy and went to the Holy Mountain, where he confessed his sins to Patriarch Gregory V of Constantinople and was restored to the bosom of the Church.
After this, he lived in various sketes, where he took monastic vows with the name Euphemios. Filled with a desire to suffer for Christ, he went to Constantinople, where, on Palm Sunday, he stood before the Grand Vizier Rüşd Pasha, blaspheming Islam. For this, he was arrested and tortured, but he remained unyielding, for which he was beheaded on March 22, 1814.
The body of the saint was ransomed and delivered to the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord on the island of Proti. Many were healed from the blood-stained garments of the saint. Gregory, taking the relics with him, survived a storm when the saint's garments were hung on the sails.
After the martyr's death of Saint Ignatius, the relics of both saints were transported to Athos and placed in the newly established church. Patriarch Gregory V built a church in honor of Euphemios the New in Dimitsana.
The feast of the saint is celebrated twice: on March 22 and May 1, together with the holy martyrs Ignatius and Akakios the New. The honorable head of the saint is located in the Russian monastery of St. Panteleimon on Athos.
