Our Venerable Mother Petka-Paraskeva, as she became known, was born
in the 11th century in the city of Epivat, which is between Silivria
and Constantinople. Her parents were very religious and raised their
children to be pious. After her parents died, St. Petka strictly devoted
herself to the monastic life, and with fasting and prayer, she committed
her life to God. After five years of fasting and prayer, she went to
the Holy Land (Palestine) to live in the desert of Jordan. In her old
age, she returned to Constantinople to the Church of Holy Theotokos
in Blaherna to revere the miraculous icon of the Mother of God.
Two centuries after her death (1238 A.D.), the Bulgarian emperor John
Asen decided to move St. Petka's relics from Epivat, which then was
under the Crusader's control, to Trnovo, the capital of Bulgaria. After
the Turkish occupation of Bulgaria, the relics were moved again--this
time to Vidim on the Danube (Vlaska). In 1396 when the Turks also conquered
this area, the Serbian princess Milica acted to bring the holy relics
to Belgrade. In 1417 the Church of St. Petka was built in Belgrade and
her holy relics were placed there. In 1521 after the mighty Sulleyman
II conquered Belgrade, St. Petka's remains, along with many Serbian
families, were moved to Constantinople. There her remains were received
with great respect and solemnity and the Sultan brought them to his
castle. Numerous miracles occurred there, which caused the holy Mother
Petka-Paraskeva also to be worshipped by Muslims. In 1641, with permission
from Constantinople's patriarch Partenije I, the pious Moldavian ruler
Vasilije Lupul brought St. Petka's remains to Moldavia's capital, Jash,
where on 14/27 October they were placed in the church of the Three Holy
Hierarchs, where St. Petka's holy relics continued to glorify the Lord
with wonders and miracles.
