Over 230,000 Gather in Romanian City of Iași to Celebrate Saint Paraskevi

On October 14th, the Romanian Orthodox Church celebrated the Feast Day of Saint Paraskevi. Over 230,000 people gathered to pay their respects to the saint's relics displayed in the Iași Cathedral throughout the previous week, as reported by doxologia.ro.

The festive liturgy in the Iași Cathedral was conducted by 23 hierarchs from the Romanian Orthodox Church, led by Archbishop Theophan of Iași. They were joined in the service by Metropolitan Daniel of Aksum (Alexandrian Church), Bishop Kais of Erzurum (Antiochian Church), and Metropolitan Andrew of Arkaalochoria (Greek Orthodox Church).

During the holiday, 65,000 people prayed outside the cathedral square after the liturgy. Following the service, a message from the Romanian Patriarch Daniel was read. The head of the Romanian Church offered his blessings to the pilgrims and emphasized the unifying power of prayer that brings together thousands of people.

"The pilgrimage of thousands of believers on the feast of Saint Paraskevi from Iași demonstrates how significant the missionary work of the saints is, who, by the example of their lives and their prayers, bring people closer to God and unite them in prayer... In this year 2023, dedicated to the memory of hymnographers and church singers, the spiritual joy of the feast of Saint Paraskevi is enhanced by the reception of the relics of one of the great creators of church hymns, Saint Andrew of Crete, brought from the Arkaalochoria Metropolitan Cathedral (Crete, Greece)," wrote Patriarch Daniel.

Saint Andrew of Crete was a great teacher of penance, a missionary bishop on the island of Crete in the years 700-740, and is renowned for building churches, founding monasteries, and assisting Christians affected by the Ottoman invasion. His preaching and the composition of numerous liturgical hymns contributed to his recognition as the first author of liturgical canons, with his Great Canon being particularly famous.

The relics of Saint Andrew of Crete were brought to Iași by a delegation from the Greek Orthodox Church led by Metropolitan Andrew of Arkaalochoria, who participated in the festive liturgy.

Saint Paraskevi, an 11th-century Byzantine ascetic, was known for her asceticism. Born in Epivat near the Sea of Marmara, close to Constantinople, she renounced her inheritance after her parents' death, became a monastic, and journeyed to the Holy Land to venerate the holy sites. She then lived as a hermit in the Jordanian desert. Two years before her death, she returned home and lived as an anonymous wanderer.

Her relics were miraculously discovered and placed in a local church. In 1238, the Bulgarian king Ivan Asen transferred her relics to Tarnovo. However, during the Ottoman Empire's rule, her relics were moved several times. By request of the Serbian princess Milica, the relics were allowed to be transported to Belgrade, and after Suleiman the Magnificent conquered the city in 1521, they were taken to Constantinople.

In 1641, at the request of the Moldavian ruler Vasile Lupu, the relics were moved to Iași, where they remain to this day.

Photo source: doxologia.ro