Saint Venerable Paraskeva of Epivates, known among our people as Petka of Bulgaria, is one of the most highly revered female saints in Bulgaria and in the Orthodox Christian world. She was born in the 11th century in the town of Epivates (present-day Selimpasa in Turkiye, on the Thracian coast of the Sea of Marmara). Her parents were wealthy and virtuous people.
Paraskeva – whose name means “preparation” and also “Friday” (the day of preparation for the Sabbath rest in Jewish tradition) – showed love and compassion for the poor and suffering from an early age. After the death of her parents, she gave away all her possessions to the poor and went to venerate the many holy sites in the capital city of Constantinople, where she lived as an ascetic near a church. After some time, she boarded a ship for Jerusalem. There she venerated all the places where the Savior had walked and entered a women’s monastery, where she took monastic vows.
Years later, she went to live as a hermit in the Jordanian desert.
Near the end of her life, she returned to her native region but lived near a church in the town of Kallikrateia (today Mimardinan, in Turkey), where she took care of the cleanliness of the house of God. No one recognized in the humble nun the young woman from Epivates. When she passed away, the unknown nun was buried in the cemetery for strangers in Kallikrateia.
Some time later, her body was miraculously discovered to be incorrupt. Many miracles occurred at her holy relics. For this reason, in 1238, Tsar Ivan Asen II and Patriarch Joachim of Tarnovo had them transferred to the Bulgarian capital. Her life was written in the following century by Saint Patriarch Euthymius.
After the fall of Tarnovo to the Ottomans, her relics were moved to Vidin, then to Belgrade, and since 1641, they have been kept in the Trei Ierarhi church in the city of Iasi, Romania. Bulgarian Church Commemorates Saint Paraskeva of Epivates THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2025-10-14 07:03:00 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
