SAINT PARASCHEVA
Saint Parascheva is considered the Protector of Moldavia and Bucovina, being the most popular of all the Saints whose relics are in Romania.
St. Parascheva was born at the beginning of the 11th century A.D. into a wealthy, noble, and pious Christian family in the town of Epivat (now in Turkey) on the shores of the Marmara Sea. At the age of ten, while attending the liturgy in the “Church of the Holy Theotokos”, she heard the words, “Whosoever will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow me.” The words of the Lord had a profound effect on the young girl, and they became the subject of her meditations. The future St. Parascheva began to dress poor people in her expensive clothes – her good deeds later earning her recognition as a patron saint of such trades as spinning, sewing, weaving, and knitting – but her parents objected, finding the girl’s charity more than they could understand or support, and trying to get her to stop. To follow her calling, Parascheva abandoned her wealth and privileges, left her parents, and ran away to Constantinople. There, near relics of saints, she spent her time in prayer, meditating on the words of Christ.
To elude her parents, who were traveling from city to city trying to find her, she moved to Chalcedon, and then to the “Church of the Most Holy Theotokos”, in Heraclea Pontica, near the Black Sea. She spent the next five years there, living an austere life of continuous prayer and devotion. During her prayers she received visions of the Holy Virgin Mary and in one of the visions, she was instructed to go to Jerusalem. After spending some time in the city, she joined a convent in the Jordanian desert. A few years later, she returned to Constantinople and then, at the age of twenty-five, moved to the village of Katikratia where, at the “Church of the Holy Apostles”, she lived the remaining two years of her life.
Legend has it that many years later an old sinner was buried near her grave. Parascheva appeared in a dream to a local monk, showed him the place of her burial, and asked him to “take that stinky corpse away from me. I am light and sun, and I cannot bear to have near me darkness and stench.“ The monk, with some local help, began to dig out the place he had seen in his dream and when they found the remains of the Saint, her uncorrupted body was emitting spiritual fragrances. Then they interred the Saint in the “Church of the Holy Apostles”, where she had spent the last years of her earthly existence.
Later on her relics were moved to Tirnovo, in Bulgaria, then to Belgrade, in Serbia, and finally to Constantinople. In 1641, they were given as a gift to the Prince of Moldavia, Vasile Lupu, in recognition of his support for the Ecumenical Patriarchy of Constantinople. Her intact relics have remained in Iasi ever since. She is venerated as the Protector of Iasi and all of Moldavia and each year, hundreds of thousands of Orthodox faithful and hierarchs from many countries gather in Iasi to celebrate her feast day and venerate her holy relics, which continue to work miracles.
Saint Parascheva’s Dedication Day falls in the same day with the Feast of the Metropolitan Cathedral from Iasi. Her feast day has become in the past 15 years, an important Christian manifestation for the region of Moldavia. On this occasion about 1 million pilgrims arrive in Iasi, most of them waiting for hours in a line which covers 2-3 kilometers in order to reach the relics of the Saint and pray.
Generally, on the 12th of October the holly relics are brought out of the church and they are exposed on the esplanade of the Metropolitan Cathedral. Then, on the 13th of October, Her feast day, a procession is being organized on the streets nearby.
A miracle that amazed our country was the fact that her body remained completely intact during a big fire which destroyed the church and even melted the silver surrounding her during the night of 27 December 1888.
Also, during the first and Second World War it is said that she protected the whole city of Iassy from bombing, the soldiers even came to pray next to her coffin during the night.
Among her miracles we must mention only two well known-healing a three year old boy who couldn’t speak and saving a serious injured girl who was in coma .That is why most people who are sick or have problems come to her shrine to ask for her help and they say that Saint Parascheva will always answer to their prayers.
