The foot of Saint Paraskevi of Nea

Holy Friday the New

The saint of Christ Paraskevi came from a village in Thrace called Epivatai, which was located near Sylivria.

But because she desired the most perfect life, she abandoned parents and relatives and homeland and temporary wealth, and from a young age she sought the precious pearl, her bridegroom Christ, like that good bride of the Song of Songs.

And she did not fail in her desire. After visiting the holy places of Constantinople and Jerusalem, she embraced monasticism and lived for several years in a women's monastery near the Jordan River. But then she returned to Constantinople again. In a village near it, the blessed one also gave up her soul and ascended to the eternal tents.

Her holy and graceful relic was recovered from the earth by a miraculous revelation, the largest part of which is today in the Romanian city of Iași.