Believers from all over the country are increasingly coming to the Metropolis of Moldova and Bucovina in Iasi to worship the relics of Saint Pious Paraskeva, before the reliquary will be placed in a specially arranged canopy in the courtyard of the cathedral, reported on Friday. report from the spot, Agerpres agency.

Tanti Maria from Shishkani turned 70 a long time ago, but she prefers to be one of the first to wait for the moment when the chest with the relics of Saint Pious Paraskeva will be taken out of the Metropolitan Cathedral and placed in a specially arranged canopy.

“I came faster. If not, I stood in line for a long time. So tomorrow, when the Blessed One is taken out of the Metropolis, who will be placed in front? We are, but how else?” she says.

“I come early because it’s hard afterwards. You have to stand for a long time,” adds the old woman.

He arrived in Yass almost a day later. I found her sitting on a chair brought from home, precisely from Shishkan, Vranca County, and she was leaning with her back, bent by the burden of years, on the fence wall of the Metropolis of Moldavia and Bukovina. This has been done for decades. He arrives in Iasi a day before the removal of the relics of St. Paraskeva from the Metropolitan Cathedral.

“I’m not just sitting here. I still go to church. I have clothes, blankets,” says Aunt Maria, showing us the bags that show the things she brought with her from the village near Ajud.

He tells us that he had to leave home in the middle of the night to get to Yass.

“I left the village at 4:00 in the morning. Then, from Ajud, I got on the train and came to Iasi,” the old woman tells us, full of pride and joy.

“How many times have you been the first in line?”, the old woman is asked.

“Well, I haven’t been many times, but I’ve been for about 3 years. Another grandmother used to come to me, a woman from Neamts, Suceava. He was older than me. Taller, so-and-so. I haven’t seen her before,” answers the old woman, and a shadow of concern begins to appear in her eyes.

We try to dispel his bad thoughts with a joke and laugh. He tells us about the miracles of the Saint and how he “conjured” the communists so that they could worship the reliquary.

“I have been coming for a long time. Since the time of Ceausescu. Other times, not like now. Then it was not allowed. Then you sat like that? Oleu, they were knocking you down, tearing down fences with you. Let it be about 40 years. Only when I was sick, I didn’t get to Preacuvioase,” says the old woman.

We ask her why she has been going on pilgrimage to Yass for so many years. He answers us simply – to pray. “God give us health! To everyone, not only to us,” says aunt Maria from Shishkany.

“The Saint gives us strength, strengthens and relieves”

Konstantin also comes to pray to blessed Paraskeva. He did not come empty-handed.

“I came with basil, brought food, the rest… clothes, a chair for us to sit on, because there are so many hours until tomorrow. We came to be among the first to free the soul from sins, from trouble, to go home sooner. We go to Kuvioaz, to St. Paraskeva, touch her and go home. The saint gives us strength, strengthens and relieves us. We are glad that we came here, that we were healthy. We rejoice and pray not only for our children or families. We pray for everyone that it will be good and that it will be good and healthy,” says Konstantina, Ms. Tina, as she asks us to call her, from Ajudul Vechi, Vrancha county.

While grandmothers are digging up memories to pass the time more easily, a few tens of meters away, near the walls of the Metropolis, a considerable line of people has already lined up. Several thousand people are patiently waiting for their turn to enter the Cathedral of the Metropolis and Bukovyna, where a year later the casket with the relics of Saint Pious Paraskeva will be placed.

Some of them are from Iași who wanted to bow to Saint Paraskevi before the celebration of the patron saint to make room for pilgrims.

“I heard that tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m. the reliquary of the saint will be taken out of the Metropolis and placed in the Court. Many will come on pilgrimage, they will stay for hours, days. So we decided to come early to leave them a place to worship. We can come not only on the feast of the Saint, but also every day of the year,” said several faithful from Iasi.

Others came from Galatsi, Braila, Konstanz counties on specially organized trips. “I came by bus. Today we will stay in Iaşi, pray and worship in Preacuvioaz, after which we will go to the monasteries in Niamka. We will also spend the night there,” said a group of believers from Braila.

One of the biggest religious events in Romania

Every year, around October 14, Iasi becomes the largest pilgrimage center in the country. Believers of both Orthodox and Catholic rites from the country and abroad come to worship the relics of the pious Saint Paraskeva.

According to tradition, the chest with the relics of Saint Paraskeva is taken out of the Metropolitan Cathedral a few days before the celebration of her patron saint, on October 14. This year, the reliquary will be taken out on October 7 around 06:00 and placed for worship in a specially equipped canopy on the esplanade of the Metropolitan Cathedral. The reliquary will remain here until October 15, until all pilgrims have worshiped.

Preparation of the canopy where the chest with the relics of Saint Paraskeva will be placed (Photo: Agerpres)

Also known as Holy Friday, the pious Paraskeva was born in the city of Epivatus, now Cape Kaliakra in Thrace, on the shores of the Sea of ​​Marmara, in the first half of the 11th century. Legend has it that she shared her clothes and food with the poor, even though her parents scolded her. After their death, Paraskeva renounced her wealth and left her parents’ home to take up monasticism in a monastery near Constantinople. From there he went to Jerusalem, then he went to the Jordanian desert, to a women’s monastery, where he stayed until he was 25 years old, after which he returned to his native village of Epivat, where he lived for another two years, in fasting and prayer.

The relics of the Pious were kept in the church in Epivat for almost 200 years, then in Tyrnovo, and in the 16th century they were transported to Constantinople. In 1641, on June 13, Voivode Vasile Lupu managed to bring them to Iasi, placing the “Sphinxes of the Three Hierarchies” in the church of the monastery.

The reliquary of St. Paraskeva was moved to the Metropolitan Cathedral at the end of the 19th century, in 1888, after the relics were left untouched by a fire in the Church of the Three Saints. Since then, the relics of the pious Paraskeva have been in the Metropolitan Cathedral of the city of Iasi.

She is considered the protector of Moldova, as well as the protector of the suffering.

The decision to canonize Saint Paraskeva was made by members of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church in 1955. At the same time, the date of the celebration of St. Paraskeva was set – October 14.

In the coming days, 300,000 people are expected to make a pilgrimage to the relics of Saint Pious Paraskeva

The authorities say they are taking extra measures to ensure public order, as an estimated 300,000 people from the country and abroad are expected to arrive in Iasi in the coming days to take part in a pilgrimage organized to celebrate the patron saint of the pious Paraskeva, who is considered patroness of Moldova and the needy.

“According to the estimates of the organizers, as well as our data from previous years, even before the pandemic, we expect about 300,000 people who will worship the Holy Relics, but also people who will participate in other activities typical of the pilgrimage. During the entire period of religious manifestations of the Metropolis of Moldova and Bucovina, dialogue groups of the gendarmerie will be present at the places of pilgrims’ journeys and will be at the disposal of those who need support and guidance,” he said. Colonel Ioan Sandu is quoted by Agerpres.

Until October 16, the local authorities will receive the support of the Mobile Gendarmerie “Alexandru cel Bun” of Bacău to ensure order and public safety during one of the largest Orthodox religious events in Romania, the pilgrimage to the reliquary with the relics of St. of the Pious Paraskeva, which will be held in the Metropolis of Moldova and Bucovina in the city of Iași from October 7 to 16.

Pilgrimage to the relics of Saint Paraskeva (Photo: Agerpres)

“Together with the Iasi County Gendarmerie Inspectorate, the Iasi County Police Inspectorate, the Iasi County Emergency Inspectorate and the Iasi Local Police, we will be on duty 24 hours a day to ensure a safe climate for everyone present these days. pilgrimage holiday, prevention of any incidents that could prevent the smooth conduct of religious events, providing support to people who will need medical assistance, as well as the safe movement of all people in the territories adjacent to the Moldavian-Bukovinian Metropolis, without blocking roads and road traffic,” he said Bohdan Kojokaru, prefect of Iasi district, at a press conference.

In order to avoid traffic jams, as has been the case for several years, a unique access corridor for pilgrims will be created on the streets around the Metropolis of Moldova and Bucovina, on the route Catedrala Metropolitana – st. Architect H. M. Cantacuzino – str. Yordak. Lozonschi – str. Cloşca – st. Petru Movilă – st. Uzinei – str. Morilor – str. Alexandru Ipsilanti Vodă – st. Sfântul Andrei – st. Iancu Bacalu – Boulevard of King Ferdinand I of Romania.

In order to avoid unwanted events, the head of the mobile group of the Bacău Gendarmerie advises those who come for the pilgrimage to show patience and understanding to the measures taken by the organizers regarding the rules of access to the areas designated for pilgrims and to follow the instructions of the law enforcement authorities.

Also, the gendarmes and the police recommend in the next period to pay special attention to children and elderly people who come on pilgrimage to Yass, as well as to personal belongings.

People who have serious health problems and wish to pray to the relics of Saint Pious Paraskeva and are in constant need of medical assistance, the authorities of Iasi recommend not to travel unaccompanied and to inform before the start of the pilgrimage about the degree of need for emergency medical assistance in the city of Iasi.

“We assure you that the safe conduct of religious events during this period is our priority, and if necessary, feel free to contact the nearest law enforcement representative in the region where you are located, or call the emergency number 112,” said the colonel. Jonuts Gredinaru, chief inspector of ISA Iași.