The city of Iasi, North-Eastern Romania, has been turned into the main pilgrimage site of Moldavia for the Feast of St Parascheva, “the light of Moldavia”, protector of the city and of the whole region. Since last Saturday, that is in less than two days, some 25,000 pilgrims have prayed before her holy relics which are kept in the metropolitan cathedral of Iasi. One million people are expected to attend the closing celebrations on 14 October. Saint Parascheva, who is venerated by the Romanian Orthodox Church and by other Oriental-rite Churches, was born in Epivat (Turkey) during the first half of the 11th century. She spent her life serving the poor and the weakest before dying at the age of 27. Her relics, associated to a number of miracles, were first kept in Epivat, her home town. They were then translated to Trnovo, capital of Bulgaria, before being moved to Belgrade until 1521 and to Constantinople for another 120 years. In 1641, the relics were finally brought to Iasi where they are currently venerated.

© SIR - oct 12th, 2009