Great is the merit of the saints before the Lord. Many of them from an early age aspired to the perfection of the Kingdom of Heaven. Such was Paraskeva Pyatnitsa, whose parents tried to raise their daughter in faith and chastity. Taking on the cross of martyrdom, by her spiritual feat she once again testified to the incomparable great power of God, which punished idolaters and their gods.
Life
Saint Paraskeva Friday was born in the 3rd century AD. e. in the Roman Empire in the city of Iconium (the territory of modern Turkey). At that time, the ruler of the state was Diocletian, who persecuted those who preached Christianity. The girl's parents sacredly believed in the One Trinity, living according to the Law of God. They always fasted, honored Wednesday and Friday, remembering these days the suffering of Jesus Christ, who suffered torment as atonement for human sins. For fear of God and unshakable faith in Him, the Almighty gave the parents a daughter. They called her Paraskeva, which means “Friday”, since the girl was born on that day. Unfortunately, the righteous very soon departed to another world, leaving the young girl alone.sinful earth. Holy Paraskeva Friday continued the work of her parents, keeping the commandments of God and remaining chaste. Even then, she chose for herself the heavenly Bridegroom - Jesus Christ, thinking only about being next to him.
The girl was beautiful in body and soul. Many rich men wooed her, but she remained adamant. Paraskeva's parents left their daughter a good inheritance. The Great Martyr Paraskeva Pyatnitsa did not spend the money she received on herself, but on clothes and food for the poor. All the charms of life: expensive vestments, jewelry and entertainment - the girl considered temporary and mortal. Instead of earthly pleasures, Paraskeva prayed and preached faith in Jesus Christ.
Confessor of the Lord
Despite the fact that the Christians of those times were subjected to terrible persecution, Paraskeva continued to preach the faith of Christ. Many young men, seeing the immaculate beauty of the saint, offered her to marry and worship an idol in order to save her life and not be subjected to cruel torment. But the Great Martyr Paraskeva Pyatnitsa always answered that the only God is Jesus Christ and He is her only Bridegroom. Some townspeople converted to the faith thanks to the saint, while others reproached her for such sermons.
One day, Diocletian ordered his subjects to go to the cities of the Roman Empire in search of Christians who avert others from idolatry. Eparch Aetius was given a decree to visit the city of Iconium and find the secret believers in the one Lord.
The people met the subject of the sovereign with great honors. The townspeople, openly, told that there is one girl named Paraskeva, who confesses Jesus Christ and does not go to the temple to worship idols. Hearing this, Aetius demanded that they immediately find her and bring her before the court. The soldiers quickly found the girl and sent her to the eparch. Aetius, seeing the beautiful Paraskeva, was fascinated by her beauty. The saint was not sad, but on the contrary, glowed with joy. Aetius wished to know if people were slandering the beautiful girl. Paraskeva answered without fear or doubt that she was a true Christian and a confessor of the Lord. Aetius invited her to bow to the gods in the temple of idols. For this, he promised her to save her life. The subject of the emperor did not hide the fact that he liked Paraskeva very much, and he offered the saint to marry him. But the girl was relentless. “My only Bridegroom is Jesus,” she answered. Aetius threatened Paraskeva with the painful suffering that the executioners had prepared for her. But the girl was not afraid of this, because she knew that after all the tortures the Lord would take her to him. Enraged, Aetius ordered the executioners to take off her clothes and beat the young body with ox sinews. Paraskeva, during the terrible torment, did not utter a word of mercy, but only silently glorified the Lord. Aetius, unable to watch how the beauty of the girl was being destroyed, ordered the executioners to stop and once again ordered the saint to go and worship the idols. Paraskeva, clenching her teeth, was silent. For this, Aetius insulted the entire Christian race, after which the girl spat in his face. For the eparch, this was the last straw. Beside himself with anger, he ordered the executioners to hang Paraskeva upside down andtear it with iron claws.
The unfortunate woman prayed, and her blood stained the earth. When the executioner saw that the girl was already dying, he informed Aetius about this. He ordered Paraskeva to be thrown into prison so that earthly death would be more painful for her.
Angel appears
Wounded and exhausted, Paraskeva Pyatnitsa lay on the floor of the prison cell, as if dead. But the Lord, seeing her all-encompassing love for the Holy Trinity, sent an Angel to the girl. He appeared to Paraskeva with a cross, a crown of thorns, a spear, a cane and a sponge. The angel consoled the tormented girl, rubbing her wounds. Christ healed Paraskeva - her body became he althy again, and her face lit up with radiant beauty. The girl beamed like an angel. Paraskeva, in gratitude for the healing, began to praise the Lord.
Unexpected discovery
In the morning, the guards, appearing in Paraskeva's prison cell, found that the girl was completely he althy. Filled with joy, she sang prayers and praised the Lord. Frightened, the guards rushed to Aetius and reported an unprecedented miracle. The eparch summoned Paraskeva to him and said that her healing was the merit of the idols worshiped by the Romans. Aetius, taking the girl by the hand, led her to one of the temples. Paraskeva, without resisting, entered the temple. Turning to heaven, she said a prayer to the Lord, after which a terrible earthquake happened. All the statues of the gods collapsed and turned to dust. Many who saw this converted to Christianity. And only Aetius regarded this as a ritual of strong magic, ordering to hang the saint from a pillar and burn her sides with lamps. ReappliedParaskeva to the Lord. Through her prayers, the Almighty turned away the hot fire from the virgin, directing it at the torturers. The people, who saw the miracles performed by the Lord through Paraskeva, believed in Jesus Christ, rejecting paganism. Aetius was afraid that he would lose his power, which was based on belief in idols. Therefore, he ordered Paraskeva's head to be cut off. Finally, the Lord takes the soul of the tortured, fragile girl to the Kingdom of Heaven, where eternal bliss awaited her.
The fate of the eparch
Having finished with the long-suffering Paraskeva, Aetius, as if nothing had happened, decided to go hunting. On the way to the forest, his horse, rearing up, threw the ruler to the ground. He died on the spot, sending his soul to eternal death in the underworld.
After that, the Christians, many of whom believed in the Lord thanks to Paraskeva, took the body of the virgin and were able to bury her in the house church.
The relics of the saint healed the mental and physical illnesses of people through her prayers before the Lord.
Image of the Saint
Paraskeva Friday, the icon of which is presented in this article, is depicted as a fair-haired girl with a crown of thorns on her head. She is dressed in a red maforium and a blue veil. In her left hand, the Great Martyr holds a scroll with the text of the Creed, and in her right hand, a cross, symbolizing faith in Christ and the suffering that Paraskeva Pyatnitsa suffered. The icon of the saint until the 20th century was in every peasant house. Farmers especially honored her image, decorating it with elegant ribbons, flowers or a chasuble. On the day of memory of the Great Martyr (10November, according to the new style), the peasants always came to the church service and consecrated the fruits that were stored in the house until next year.
Also in Russian villages, on the feast of Paraskeva Friday, it was customary to consecrate a piece of linen cloth, which hung the image of the saint. That is why in Orthodoxy one can also find another name for the great martyr - Paraskeva Lnyanitsa. Peasants prayed to the saint for the preservation of livestock, especially cows.
Paraskeva Friday… What do they pray for this saint?
First of all, people involved in agriculture and household life, as well as those who have livestock, resort to its help. Paraskeva Pyatnitsa, who has taken a vow of virginity, prays before the Lord for those who are waiting for a worthy groom. Those who have not been able to conceive a child for a long time can also turn to the great martyr in the hope of a miracle of childbearing. Paraskeva Friday also helps to establish peace in the family, for which all Orthodox Christians pray.
The saint heals the spiritual and physical ailments of believers, especially in cases of unbearable pain, as well as during devilish temptations.
Oddly enough, Paraskeva Pyatnitsa also helps in matters of trade, for which those who are associated with this activity pray. This is where the tradition of organizing fairs on Friday came from.
The image of Paraskeva is often placed at springs and wells in order for the water to gain healing power. In Russia, it was also customary to tie flowers to her image, and then make a decoction out of them, which was used to treat not only physical, but also mental illnesses. The Paraskeva Pyatnitsa prayer had such great power that people hid its text in a piece of cloth, which they applied to a sore spot and healed.
Cover me soon
In Russia, people revered Paraskeva Pyatnitsa as the intercessor of girls who want to get married. That is why they prayed to her even on the Intercession, asking for help in matters of love. Paraskeva Pyatnitsa, who never thinks about marriage and has taken a vow of virginity, helps chaste girls make a worthy choice in an effort to start a family.
Friday Keeper
Saint Paraskeva seemed to our ancestors a strict woman who commanded them to strictly observe the fast on Wednesday and Friday, namely not to do household chores and not to bring discord among the people. She also forbade them to eat fast food these days. The saint came to many peasants in visions, so no one doubted that it was the Great Martyr herself. That is why in some parts of our country the custom has still been preserved to put off sewing, washing clothes and other things on the day of Paraskeva Friday.
Our ancestors also said that
The Holy Great Martyr went to the villages of Little Russia, whose body was pierced with needles because of the sins of women who did not observe strict fasting on the days allotted for her. In honor of Paraskeva in Russia, 12 Friday days were established, which were timed to coincide with some great holiday, such as the Annunciation, Easter, the beginning of Lent, etc.
Pagan origins
In ancient Russia, the image of ParaskevaFridays were often confused with the pagan goddess Mokosha, who was revered as the guardian of the family hearth. Therefore, the Orthodox saint is credited with patronage of agriculture and domestic life.
Some believe that the veneration of Paraskeva by merchants is due to the fact that from ancient times Friday was a fair day.
Such disputes about the patronage of the saint were debunked by the Holy Synod, which forbade mixing the image of the great martyr with a pagan goddess. But the tradition of consecrating fruits and springs has survived to this day.
At the crossroads of the roads of Russia, special pillars or chumps were previously placed, at which the pedestrian had to make a sacrifice. With the adoption of Christianity, such buildings were removed, and towers and chapels were built in their place. Many of them were erected in honor of Paraskeva Pyatnitsa.
For example, one of the well-known buildings is the chapel of Paraskeva Pyatnitsa, located in Krasnoyarsk on Karaulnaya Hill. This tower is considered the symbol of the city. Her image can be found on the 1997 ten-rouble note. Similar chapels have also been erected in other Russian cities.
Temples and churches in honor of the saint
In memory of the great martyr, many Orthodox complexes were built, the central figure of which was Paraskeva Pyatnitsa. A church was erected in Butovo, which dates back to the 16th century. The wooden church was burned down during the Lithuanian invasion. The stone version was rebuilt by the end of the 17th century. The church was restored in the 20th century. Temple of Paraskeva Pyatnitsa built in the form of a ship - spiritualguidebook for the Orthodox. Crowned with golden domes, it seems to invite people on a long and difficult, but worthy voyage along the river of life and faith.
The Church of Paraskeva Pyatnitsa was also built in Yaroslavl. Its official name is Pyatnitsko-Tugovsky Temple. It was built at the end of the 17th century. One of its aisles is dedicated to the feast of the Annunciation. The temple of Paraskeva Pyatnitsa experienced special hardships in the 30s of the XX century. Then, by order of the Soviet authorities, the bell tower and one of the domes were demolished. It was possible to restore the Church of Paraskeva Pyatnitsa only by the end of the 20th century, when the temple was transferred to the Yaroslavl diocese.
How to address a saint?
The Paraskeva Pyatnitsa prayer, read with all my heart, is very effective. After all, all the saints are mediators between the Lord and people. The petitions of the martyrs and saints before the face of the Almighty are always fulfilled. Therefore, prayer is an obligatory component of the life of an Orthodox person. In domestic affairs, as well as love affairs, Paraskeva Pyatnitsa became an assistant to the Russian people. What do young girls pray for and what do they ask for? Of course, about a worthy groom. For such cases, there is a special prayer addressed to Paraskeva. In it, the virgins ask the saint to help them find their husband, just as the great martyr found her Heavenly Bridegroom.
Many temples dedicated to Paraskeva Pyatnitsa are located in small villages and towns. One of these is the church in Khvoshchevatka, Voronezh region. In this relatively small village (population no more than 300 people), people try tobuild a temple that was once destroyed during the bombing of the Great Patriotic War. Not far from this church is a holy spring called "Seven streams", known for its healing power not only in the Voronezh region, but throughout Russia.
You can also visit the Pyatnitsky Church in Suzdal, whose official name is Nikolskaya Church. On the site of the current stone building, there was a wooden complex named after Paraskeva Pyatnitsa. And although in 1772 it was consecrated in honor of Nicholas the Wonderworker, the locals still call it Pyatnitsky. Initially, the church was intended for winter worship. That is why it was built in the style of urban architecture. This type of temples is characterized by elongated forms along the east-west axis and semicircular apses. A distinctive feature of the Suzdal Pyatnitsky Church is the octagon located in the middle of the structure, placed on a quadrangle and crowned with a vase-shaped dome. Such a structure is not typical for Suzdal architecture.
Thus, Saint Paraskeva Friday was and will be honored by Orthodox Christians for her spiritual deeds. For many of them, this great martyr is an example of great spiritual strength and courage, unshakable faith and all-encompassing love for the Lord, as well as the main intercessor of the people before the Almighty.
