St. Paraskevi; The Parthenomartyr, The New, of Iconium, and a folk saint

    

     On the 27^th of the October, according to mundane/secular calendar ( in the old Gregorian Calendar that the Church uses for the official service; the corresponding date is October 14^th  ) a feast day of the Saint known as St. Paraskevi the New ( or also “the younger” ) is commemorated where I live. Among the regional Christians, it’s a well-known, and respected “red letter” * in the calendar. It’s among the 6 most celebrated “feasts”** ( in Serbian “slava” literally translating as “feast” ) in Balkan areas where the custom persists.

St. Paraskevi the Parthenomartyr
traditional depiction

     However, despite the enormous popularity, and even the cult respect and devotion this wonderful saint enjoys, she is oftentimes confused with at very least two other canonical saints, and a folk saint, which in fact might be a pagan Slavic deity in guise of a saint. Hence why I thought it might be a fine idea to write a little something about both the hagiographies of these saints, as well as share a few ideas on how could one work with them in terms of spiritual work. So let’s begging by comparing the history and the legends about their lives.

     St. Paraskevi the Parthenomartyr

     Also known colloquially as St. Paraskevi the Greek, and St. Paraskevi of Rome, this glorious virgin and martyr has lived and died in the 2^nd century. She was a child of two pious Christians Agathonikos and Politea, and was born during the reign of Emperor Hadrian nearside the Rome. She was named “Paraskevi”, which in Greek literally translates to “preparation” ***, although it’s most often simply understood and translated as “Friday”.

     After receiving a rich education from both secular and theological sources, she grew up into a beautiful, knowledgeable and reportedly eloquent and inspiring young women. Losing parents when she was 20 years old, she sells all the fortune she inherits from her parents as a sole successor, and devotes herself to religious work and spreading the Word of G’d.

    Her work on converting people to Christianity, and her inspirational preaching have gained certain fame, so much so that they reached the Antoninus Pius ( ruled from 138 – 161 ) who was himself intrigued by her, and attracted to her wisdom and beauty. While he did not persecute Christians on the sole base of their religious choices, citizens could file a complaint against them, and in such case the given Christians would be put to trial. Which is what happened in the case of the St. Paraskevi. Refusing to offer sacrifices to pagan idols, she angered Antoninus Pius, and he puts her through several torturing episodes which she miraculously and stoically endures. These culminate in him ordering for her to be put in a cauldron filled with boiling oil and tar, and upon seeing her standing in the cauldron completely unharmed, he concludes she’s using witchcraft to cool down its contents. Reaching towards the cauldrons the hot fumes sear and blind him, causing him to cry out to the Saint asking for the help. The Saint promptly restores him to full health, returning his vision but only after stating, that it’s the Christian G’d who was healing him from the blindness received as a punishment.

    The Emperor releases St. Paraskevi, allows her to continue her missionary work and ends all prosecution against Christians throughout the Roman Empire.

    However after Anoninus’ death, Marco Aurelius replaces him, and he enforces laws which were much like the older ones, basically allowing merciless persecution of Christians and “non-believers”.

    Due to this St. Paraskevi ends up being arrested by a provincial eparch called Asclepius and thrown into a snake pit. Making a sing of Cross, she remains unharmed, in some version the snake is cut in half, in other it disappears into the thin air, while in another version it simply refuses to harm the Saint in any way. This leads Asclepius and his whole court to convert to Christianity.

    She is subsequently captured and convicted by another provincial eparch called Taracius, which after fruitlessly attempting to cook her in the cauldron of tar and oil (much like the Antoninus tried before), he orders a large stone to be put on her chest which she endures. In the following morning she’s taken willingly to the temple of Apollo to great joy of the pagan population, but upon entering the temple she raises her hand makes the sign of Cross, which results in loud noise and destruction of idols. Beaten, she’s expelled from the temple and Tarasius orders her beheading. Taken outside the town, as a last wish St. Paraskevi request a few moments for her prayers after which the solider execute her. [1]

     She’s commemorated on the 26^th of July among the Orthodox Christians, and is considered a patron saint of the blind and those with eye afflictions and diseases. On some of the Icons, she’s depicted holding a vessel with water into which a reflection of two eyes is evident.

     According to the Orthodox Wiki;

     “Many healing miracles occurred as a result of St Paraskevi’s divine intervention. It is said that that merely coming in contact with (t)he dirt of her grave faithful, crippled could walk, demonized would return to health and that the infertile would bear children. Most importantly St Paraskevi healed the blindness of the roman emperor Antoninus Pius while she was in a heated cauldron. Her merciful disposition to her tormentor has made her an intercessor Saint for the healing of eye ailments” [2]

     One of the Holy places of pilgrimage is her tomb in Pounta in Greece, where, according to the local tradition ( near the river Acheron ) is the place she was actually beheaded. The legend speaks of her holding a large stone pillar when she was being beheaded, miraculously leaving a handprint in it.

     The pilgrims would reportedly cut off a piece of this stone pillar upon visiting the monastery, for talismanic purposes, which over the time caused the pillar to become half of its original size. [3]

     The miraculous skull of the Saint is kept in a monastery in Montastery Petraki in Athens, and is said to exude a myrrh-like substance even in modern days.

    

     St. Paraskevi the New

     St. Paraskevi the New, also known as; St. Paraskeve,  St. Paraskevi the Younger, and St. Paraskevi of the Balkans/Serbia/Romania/Bulgaria etc., is a Saint enjoying a cult devotion in Serbia, Romania, Macedonia, Croatia, Montenegro and some other places on the Balkan. The respect and veneration that this Saint, her holy relics, pilgrimage sites, and churches and monasteries receive comes not only from the Christians, but also from the Muslim population and the Hebrews, which makes the cult of St. Paraskevi ( “Sv. Petka” in Serbian, Bulgarian and Macedonian; from “Petak” which means “Friday” in the Serbian ) quite a cultural phenomenon too.

St. Paraskevi of Serbia
a common Serbian Icon depiction

     Parts of her life, personality and lore, are despite her enormous popularity still often confused with that of the St. Paraskevi the Parthenomartyr. Which is only understandable considering they do share many traits in common.

     She was a Christian martyr and ascetic nun, who was born and lived in the XI century Epivato, a village situated between Sillistra and Constantinople. She was born from pious, wealthy parents and would habitually go to church with her mother as a child. On one such occasions, it is said that the words of the Gospel;

     “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”  ( Mark 8:34 ESV ) [4]

had such a strong impact on her, that she gave away all of her clothes to the poor and decided to seek out the ascetic, pious life. Upon the death of her parents she goes to the Constantinople and remains for 5 years in the church of the Most Holy Theotokos, in strict fast and praying. After that she goes to the Holy Land, wishing to experience and venerate the places where our Lord had walked and lived. After this she decides to spend some time in the desert across the river Jordan, where she has reportedly experienced apparitions of the Most Holy Virgin Mary and eventually an Angel who told her to go back to her birthplace, which she did. According to some hagiographies I’ve read, this happens when the St. Paraskevi was at the age of 25, and then she died two years after her return to the Epivato, which she had spent in strict and constant fast and prayer. According to other sources, she was “very old” when she left the desert, though she also lived for two years upon her return to the village where she was born, just like in the version which says she was 25 at that point. This is a rather peculiar discrepancy, and I personally have no idea as to why are there two versions about her life which seem to differ only in her age after her time in the desert.

     She was given a proper Christian burial, although not on the local graveyard, as it was a custom to separate the ascetics and theocracy from the common people in such cases. Many years afterward, according to lore, a sea washes out a pirate’s corpse ( in some version a local sailor dies, instead of a pirate being washed out by the sea ), and the people unknowingly bury him above the St. Paraskevi’s resting place, to which she protests by appearing in dreams of either a monk, or two different local people simultaneously, according to two different versions of hagiography. In the dream in which she appeared to a local men ( called George, and the women from the same place shares the same vision ) she’s seen as a beautifully embellished, enthroned Empress, followed by an army; she explains that she can’t stand the noxious scent of the body or a sinner rotting above her earthly remains, and explains who she is, and where exactly to look for her body. In the morning, the villagers, taught by this dream guidance, unearth her relics, find that they are incorruptible.

     Her miraculous relics have been moved a lot since then;

“In 1238, the relics were transferred from Kallikrateia to Veliko Tarnovo, capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire.^[9]

In 1393, they were transferred to Belgrade,^[9] specifically the Ružica Church. When Belgrade fell to Ottoman forces in 1521, the relics were transferred to Constantinople. In 1641, the relics were transferred to Trei Ierarhi Monastery, in Iaşi, Moldavia (nowadays, eastern part of Romania). In 1888, they were transferred to the Metropolitan Cathedral of Iaşi. “ [5]

     The relics remain in the Romanian town of Iasi to this day and are probably the most visited Holy Site of her devotees. Countless miraculous healings occur to the pious that come to pay respect to the Saint’s relics and pray for help.

     Probably the second most visited place is the small church/chapel dedicated to her in the Belgrade, Serbia ( being a part of “Kalemegdan” fortress ), which also holds two fingers of the Saint as a relic and a wellspring containing water believed to provide miraculous healing even of the fatal diseases if collected with faith and respect.  The wellspring is Sacred to the Saint Paraskevi, and the water from it is often referred to locals and devotees as “agiasma”, and is believed to be particularly healing to any sort of eye condition or disease, including blindness.

The Church of St. Paraskevi in Belgrade, situated on the
"Kalemegdan" fortress

    

     St. Paraskevi of Iconium

     There is another St. Paraskevi, St. Paraskevi of Iconium who was martyred during the reign of Diocletian ( III century ) . Much like the previously described saints she was born to wealthy pious parents, and she was a martyr, and also a virgin. She was baptized on Friday, hence her name, but also because her parents were pious and named her that in the reverence of the day of Christ’s suffer. 

     In Russia, she’s a Patron saint of traders, fairs and of marriage, she’s depicted in red ( symbol of martyrdom ) on the icons, holding a Cross, scroll ( professing her faith ), and a perfume, sometimes she accompanies other saints ( like Saint Barbara, or Saint Anastasia for example ) , and is often referred to as “Pyatnica”. [6]

     “Petka” the folk saint

     In the rural areas of the Balkans there’s also a folk saint called Holy Friday ( in Serbian, Macedonian and Bulgarian called “Petka” ), although reportedly she’s also “venerated” in Russia. The Orthodox Church does not condone the reverence and rituals associated with this “saint”, and some councils have outright banned it ( the Sixteenth Stoglav council of Russia for example ), although it’s hard to reach the people in rural areas who take part in these rituals.

     The traits of this folk saint are rather similar to those of several Slavic deities, as are the ritual offerings and lore associated with it. Judika Illes hypothesized, it might actually be Slavic deity mokosh in a guise of Christian “saint”, which does make sense considering this spirit tabooed touching ground on her holidays, which are 12 Fridays throughout the year.  Also celebrations include a sort of frenetic behaviour, which include reckless singing, dancing and even intercourse. Not very “saintly” we can agree. Judika Illes describes this peculiar Friday observance in the following way:

“Saint Paraskeva literally means Saint Friday and Friday is her holy day. Twelve Fridays spread    throughout the year are designated feast days when her devotees are forbidden to work. Each Friday spent not working provides protection from specific danger --- fire, floods and other hazards. Those honoring her twelve-day fast from work are allegedly guaranteed happiness, prosperity, and abundance” [7]

     She does share some traits in common with other St. Paraskevi, particularly the St. Paraskevi the New, and that’s her respect and love for cannon and rules, as one example. Also her signature all black clothes. However it’s possible that these are later additions by the Christian folk. Also her sacred sites are said to be wells and crossroads, and her feast days are on different dates in different areas ( sometimes coinciding with the 26^th July, that is the feast day of the St. Paraskevi the Parthenomartyr ), although the “real” feast days are clearly these twelve Fridays. This could be further indicative that it’s a folk saint whose lore is a mixture of paganism and Christianity.

     Similarities, lore, folklore and spiritual work

     As you could probably notice, the tree Saints named Paraskevi ( minus the fourth, folk saint ) share certain common traits:

·         All three are virgins

·         Two of them are martyrs

·         All three had Christian parents

·         All three are named after a day of the week

·         At least two of them are invoked/prayed to for diseases of the eyes, frequently

·         All there have denied and/or sold worldly goods and pursued spiritual life

·         At least two of them are frequently petitioned for marriage

     Taking this in consideration it’s not hard to see why some facts about their lives frequently get confused. Or why people not particularly familiar with these Saint may think they are all one and the same.

     Further confusion may arise from the folk saint lore; as in Balkans the line between St. Paraskevi the New’s folklore and legend and that of this folk saint are oftentimes blurred. So one may hear how Paraskevi appeared in dreams of women to “initiate” them into magick, or has even repeatedly appeared in dreams to give “lessons” to women in magick, usually every now and then over a year period. These testimonies are oddly common in Southern Serbia ( particularly in the areas around the Timok river ), where St. Paraskevi is also seen ( unofficially ) as a patron Saint of female witchcraft. [8]

     In fact, if a women or girl, wanted to “study” witchcraft in Southern Serbia, it’s often advised she starts on the St. Paraskevi’s feast day ( 27^th of October ) and pursues her skills and knowledge for a full year, that is until the next year’s St. Paraskevi’s feast day, when she “graduates” as it were. Needless to say, of course, such practices aren’t supported by the Orthodox Christian Church, and are seen as heretic or misguiding.

     Sometimes, in Serbia and Macedonia St. Paraskevi is considered a patron Saint against wolves and snakebites, while also said to sometimes punishes people by inflicting them with snakebites. Ironically she’s also invoked to heal snakebites. While some have speculated that this is the pre-Christian lore rubbing off on the Christian saint, it’s more likely that it’s actually result of confusion of St. Paraskevi the New with St. Paraskevi the Parthenomartyr, who was tossed in the snake pit but miraculously remained unharmed.

     St. Paraskevi the New is widely believed to rather frequently appear both in wake-time and in dreams to people, especially if they are about to, or have just committed a sin. She warns them, and teaches them how to mend their errs and helps them return to the right path. Testimonies of such are numerous among her devotes. She’s almost unanimously described as a women in black appearing and disappearing suddenly, infrequently to save a life. She appears to be very dogmatic, and in many of these testimonies warns people not to work on Holy days, be it a specific Christian Holiday or Sunday. The water associated with her, from a wellspring by the small Church dedicated to her in Belgrade, is widely hailed among Christians ( from various parts of the globe ) as a miraculous healing water, as long as it’s collected with respect and faith, particularly beneficial for eye-related conditions.

     To enlist the help of St. Paraskevi the New, people have:

·         prayed to the Saint in front of her relics asking for help

·         read the Akhatist of the saint in front of her relics

·         reading the Akhatist and the Paraclete in front of the Holy relics

·         left a diptych to be commemorated at Holy Liturgy

·         gave a diptych to the Church that has the Holy relics through another person visiting the Church

·         prayed to the saint at home [9]

     If you’d like to petition St. Paraskevi the New, and you can’t get to her relics, it’s fine. You can do so at home, or in a church dedicated to her. You can light a black ( like her clothes ) candle for her, if you’re praying at home, or a common, beeswax, church blessed candle. Particularly suited is a nice hymn composed by Nikolai Velimirovich, which can be used also as a means of thanking the Saint for help, which sometimes takes a form of straight out miracle!

 “The Lord desires a pure heart
Thus says the Gospel.
A pure virgin you remained,
And you gave your pure heart to God-
O most wonderful saint,
Saint Parasceva, our ideal!

The Lord seeks a most pure mind,
Without fancy and without falsehood;
And you presented Him your most pure mind,
Like that of an angel, of the same kind.
O most wonderful saint,
O Saint Parasceva, hearken to our petitions!

The Lord seeks a pure soul,
As a heavenly shrine;
You perfected such a soul,
And now shine in heaven.
O most wonderful saint,
Parasceva, help us!

By your prayers, help us
In the misfortunes of life.
Through the clouds of earthly sorrow
Bring us light, like a rainbow-
O chaste virgin, most wonderful,
Holy Mother Parasceva!” [10]

     She’s petitioned for more than just eyes healing, she petitioned for finding lost items, finding a spouse, healing any persistent or seemingly hopeless condition, getting good grades and passing exams; to name a few common reasons to petition her.  I think it’d be very suited to petition her for guidance in your dreams.

     To petition St. Paraskevi the Parthenomartyr, you can add these Orthodox songs to her prior and/or after the heartfelt prayer:

“Appropriate to your calling, O Champion Paraskevi, you worshipped with the readiness your name bears. For an abode you obtained faith, which is your namesake. Wherefore, you pour forth healing and intercede for our souls.  &

O most majestic One, we have discovered your temple to be a spiritual clinic wherein all the faithful resoundingly honor you, O famed and venerable martyr Paraskevi” [11] 

     To ask her to heal your or someone else’s eyes, you can try having some spring water in a vessel in front of her Icon, on an altar, so that it reflects her image, particularly her eyes. Light a blue, purple or olive green candle next to the vessel with water, and say your prayers and songs over it, then dip your fingers and dress your eyelids. As a sign of gratitude, you can donate to Christian Church, and you can help spread the faith to those interested in hearing about it. 

*"red letter" is a colloquial term for important Christian holidays, feast days and Sundays in the Christian church calendar around here. This comes from the fact that the most important Christian Holidays ( on which people usually fast, abstaining not just from food but oftentimes work ) are marked with red colour in calendars

** Slava is a custom of celebrating the feast day of the saint designated as a family Saint Protector/Patron in Serbia and Montenegro ( also some parts of Macedonia and Croatia though less frequently )

*** As the Friday is "preparation" for the Sabbath ( Saturday ) 

NOTE: This article was written and composed by myself, so if you wish to use any part of it elswhere online, feel free but add credits; Shadow of the Shadows magick place, Shadow-333@hotmail.com or a direct link to this post

CREDITS AND REFERENCES: REFFRENCES:

[1] According to: http://www.orthodoxchristian.info/pages/Paraskevi.htm

[2] Taken from: https://orthodoxwiki.org/Paraskevi

[3] Acc. to Spyros Mouselimis, article "The Monastery of Pountas and the Feast of Saint Paraskevi" 

[4] Retrieved from: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+8%3A+34&version=ESV

[5] Acc. to/taken from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parascheva_of_the_Balkans

[6] Acc. to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraskevi_of_Iconium

[7] From: “The encyclopedia of mystics, saints and sages. A guide book to Asking for Protection, Wealth, Happiness, and Everything Else !” ( pg. 557^th ) HarperCollins 2011^th, first edition

[8] Several cases are described in the book “Cuda Vlaske magije” by Jasna Jojic Pavlovski

[9] As stated on ( and quoted here from ) : https://orthodoxwiki.org/Paraskeve_the_New

[10] Quoted from: http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/print87153.htm ( access date October 2017^th ), for educational purposes here, without any ill will.

[11] Quoted from the source listed under [2]

IMAGE CREDITS:

http://nioras.com/images/byzicons/classic_icons/st_43_300.jpg First image https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e4/Sveta_Petka.jpg/220px-Sveta_Petka.jpg Second image 

https://www.logicno.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/sveta-petka-crvka-kalemegdan-slika2.jpg Third image 

All used for illustrative and explanatory purposes without any ill will