Saint Paraskevi – Holy Martyr of Rome – Boiled in Oil and Tar Before Being Beheaded

 

 

Saint Paraskevi, considered a healer of the blind, was born in Rome in around 130 A.D, during the reign of the Emperor Hadrian.

Her Feast Day is celebrated on July 26

Paraskevi’s parents, Agathon and Politia, of Greek origin, were unwavering Christians, even though back then, when Christianity was still in its infancy, belief in Christ was a crime punishable by death.

Agathon and Politia, who were getting on a bit in age but remained childless, prayed passionately to God, begging him to bless them with a child and vowing that if their prayers were answered, the child would be reared as a God-fearing Christian.

Their prayers were answered and Politia gave birth to a healthy baby girl.

 

The Naming of Paraskevi

 

 

As the baby girl was born on a Friday, Agathon and Politia named her Paraskevi, the Greek word for Friday.

Paraskevi, in Greek, literally means “to prepare” and like Saturday (Sabbato, Sabbath) and Sunday (Kyriaki, Day of The Lord), Friday also has a religious significance, a day of preparation for the Sabbath, inherited by the Greek Orthodox culture from Jewish practices.

Paraskevi, thanks to her parent’s guidance and the excellent education they provided for her, became a devout Christian, spreading the word of God to others in the hope of strengthening their faith in this new religion.

 

Paraskevi Continues her Parents Good Work

 

 

When Paraskevi was twenty years old, her parents passed away, leaving their daughter with a substantial fortune, which she used to help the needy people of Rome and to fund a Christian commune for young virgins and widows who devoted their lives to charitable works.

At the age of thirty, Paraskevi left Rome and became a preacher of the Christian faith in the surrounding villages and towns, this was no mean feat and took great courage as at the time the pagan Romans were persecuting Christians.

Heartened and encouraged by the number of people she managed to convert, Paraskevi, returned to Rome to continue her mission and even though her fame preceded her, she managed to evade the powers that be.

Exhilarated by this, Paraskevi, bravely decided to head for Turkey and continue her preaching there.

 

The Downfall of Paraskevi

 

 

It was in Turkey, as she was spreading the word of God in a village nearby to Constantinople (Istanbul), that Paraskevi had her first run in with the law and was detained by the soldiers of Emperor Antonius Pius, the then ruler of Rome.

She was charged with blasphemy and blamed her for all the bad luck that the Empire had recently experienced.

Hearing of Paraskevi and her holy mission, Antonius Pius demanded that she be returned to Rome.

Antonius Pius, at this time, did not execute Christians without a trial and a Christian could only be brought to trial if a formal complaint was made against him by another citizen and this is exactly what happened to Paraskevi upon her return to Rome; a number of complaints were filed against her, causing Antonius to summon her to his palace for questioning.

 

The Trial of Paraskevi

 

 

Rather liking the look and demeanor of Paraskevi, Antonius went easy with her whilst attempting to persuade her to denounce her faith; he even went as far as to promise marriage, which would result in her becoming Empress Paraskevi!

Paraskevi refused, angering Antonius to the point where he ordered her to be beaten and tortured by having a steel helmet lined with nails placed on her head and tightened with a vice.

This act of violence seemed to have no effect at all upon Paraskevi, in fact it back-fired by causing numerous witnesses, who classed this as a miracle, to convert to Christianity without a second thought.

Antonius then, also without a second thought, had them put to death and Paraskevi thrown into prison where her terrible torture continued by being hung by her hair and her hands and arms burned with torches.

Still, Paraskevi, did not succumb to the pain.

In a fit of rage, Antoninus Pius, ordered his men to submerge Paraskevi in a large vat of oil and tar.

Again, it seemed a miracle had occurred, rather than burning she kept her cool!

Thinking that his men had taken pity upon the poor woman and disobeyed him by filling the vat with cold oil and tar, he demanded to test the temperature, whereupon Paraskevi threw a handful of the boiling liquid in his face, blinding him.

She then climbed out of the vat and told Antoninus to ask the Christian God to return his sight as he was the only one capable of doing this.

Antoninus was prepared to try anything at this point and so begged God the give him back his sight; his prayers were answered.

As thanks to God for this miracle, Antonius set Paraskevi free, converted to Christianity and put an end to the persecution of all the Christians throughout the Roman Empire.

This is how Paraskevi came to be known as the healer of the blind.

Now free, Paraskevi resumed her life’s calling with even more enthusiasm than before but peace was not to last for long.

 

Marcus Aurelius Renews Persecutions against the Christian Church

 

 

 

Eventually Antonius died and his successor, Marcus Aurelius, renewed the persecutions against the Christians.

As fate would have it, a plague fell upon Rome, taking the lives’ of thousands, once again, the Christians were blamed and the laws changed yet again.

 

Paraskevi and the Snake

 

 

In a city governed by a man named Asclepius, Paraskevi was again arrested; this time for refusing to sacrifice to pagan gods and as punishment was thrown into pit which was home to a deadly snake.

As Asclipius watched the snake fall dead after Paraskevi had make the sign of the cross over it, he, as had Antoninus Pius before him, realized just how powerful both Paraskevi and the Christian God were, he converted to the new religion and set Paraskevi, free.

Once again, she continued her travels, teaching the people about the Christian beliefs, before finally being arrested for the last time by a Roman official named Tarasius.

 

Déjà vu

 

 

Taracius summoned Paraskevi to his palace for trial and again, as Antonius had done, he also ordered his men to immerse her in a vat of boiling oil and tar.

 Again, Paraskevi remained cool, onlookers converted to Christianity and consequently, Paraskevi was taken away to be tortured.

Taracius then ordered her to be taken to the Temple of Apollo.

 

The Final Act:

The Death of Paraskevi

 

 

The people were in a state of excitement, they praised Taracius, sure that this time Paraskevi’s spirit and faith had been broken when suddenly Paraskevi raised her hand and made the sign of the cross.

With a loud crash, all the idols adorning the temple tumbled to the floor, breaking into hundreds of pieces.

Frantically the priests grabbed Paraskevi, tore her from the altar and dragged her out of the temple, all the while screaming to Taracius to kill her.

Paraskevi was beheaded in Rome on the 26th of July, in the year 180 A.D.

 

The Relics of Saint Paraskevi

 

It has been said that the relics of Saint Paraskevi were somehow taken to Constantinople (it’s not known when or how) and were exhibited there in around1200.

 

The Alternative Story

 

 

The inhabitants of Epirus, in northern Greece, did not believe Paraskevi was martyred in Rome, as her official story goes but in Thesprotia, where the Monastery of Saint Paraskevi of Pounta stands today.

The story goes that Paraskevi’s persecutors took her to the banks of the River Acheron in order to behead her.

As the sword was raised above her head, she took hold of an old stone pillar which she grabbed so tightly that her hands left imprints in the stone. (It’s said that later, visitors to the Church built in her memory, would hack off bits of the stone, to keep as a talisman, causing the stone, by 1960, to be only half its original size.)

 

 

The faithful people of Epirus eventually built a church on this spot to commemorate Saint Paraskevi and in which her relics would be housed.

Today this is the Monastery of Pounta, Epirus which operates as a female convent.

 

 

Part of the skull; “the  miraculous, myrrh-streaming holy Skull” said to belong to Saint Paraskevi, is  housed at the Petraki Monastery (Moni Petraki), the oldest standing Byzantine church in Athens.

 

 

 

Legend has it that Saint Paraskevi is still working her miracles from beyond the grave:

At her tomb, the blind have been said to regain their lost sight, barren women have become pregnant and the lame have walked.

 

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