Epigonation embroidered with Saint Paraskevi the Holy Martyr, Epigonations

Embroidered epigonation with St. Paraskevi the Venerable Martyr – gold

Every year, on October 14th, the Orthodox Church celebrates Saint Paraskevi the Venerable Mother. She is especially venerated in Moldova, as for over 350 years her relics have been kept in Iași. They are a source of blessing and of physical and spiritual healing for all who call upon her in prayer.

Saint Paraskevi was born in Epivat, Thrace, in the first half of the 11th century. She entered monastic life at a young age in a monastery near Constantinople. Later, she traveled to the Holy Land, retreating to the desert near the Jordan River in a convent of nuns. At the age of 25, she returned to her native village, where she lived for another two years in fasting and prayer.

Her relics remained for nearly 200 years in Epivat, then in Tarnovo, and later in Constantinople. In 1641, Voivode Vasile Lupu brought them to Iași and placed them at the Monastery of the Holy Three Hierarchs. Today, they are kept in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Iași.

In 1950, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church decided to extend the veneration of Saint Parascheva nationwide. The first service in her honor took place in Iași on October 14, 1955.

source: reintregirea.ro