Martyr · 2nd century
Paraskevi of Rome
Martyr Paraskevi of Rome
New Calendar July 26 Old Calendar August 8
Why they are a saint
Paraskevi of Rome was virgin martyr of Rome. She is in Greek devotion a patron of eyesight. The years given for this life are 2nd century. Her feast remembers that faithful death; this memory is kept in the Greek Church; the services of the day still name Paraskevi of Rome among the saints.
Life
Saint Paraskevi of Rome was the only daughter of Christian parents, Agathon and Politia, and from her early years dedicated herself to God through prayer and the study of the Holy Scriptures. After her parents' death she gave her inheritance to the poor, consecrated her virginity to Christ, and began to preach to the pagans, converting many.
Arrested under the emperor Antoninus Pius for refusing to worship idols, she was thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil and pitch but remained unharmed; when the emperor was burned by a drop of it, she healed him, and he set her free. In another city she made the sign of the Cross over a great serpent and it died, and the governor Asclepius and the citizens believed.
In a city governed by Tarasius she endured fierce tortures and was beheaded around 140. Many miracles took place at her tomb: the blind received sight, the lame walked, and barren women bore children.
Sources: OCA Lives of the Saints. Retold in our own words.
Traditional patronage
The cited source names no specific patronage.
Patronage / why chosen as patron
Traditionally asked to pray for eyesight, ophthalmologists. The reason for this custom is not recorded here.
Prayer
O holy Paraskevi of Rome, pray to God for us.
A short general prayer to a saint, not a liturgical text. No public-domain troparion for this saint is included.
Do not confuse with Paraskevi of Serbia (Petka); Paraskevi of Iconium.