The speech of His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church delivered at the end of the Vigil service officiated in the historical chapel of the Patriarchal Residence which celebrates its protector, Saint Pious Parascheva:



Saint Parascheva is the most popular of all the saints whose relics are in the Romanian territory, a telling proof in this regard being the crowds of pilgrims who worship her relics at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Iasi city. Besides, hundreds of parish churches of Romania are dedicated to her to protect them, while in the North of Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia the Orthodox faithful worship her with much piety too (See in this regard the beautiful album in Romanian, Greek, and English, Saint Parascheva – Guide of the Pilgrims, Metropolitan Publishing House, Trinitas, Iasi, 2000).
There are 18 churches dedicated to Saint Pious Parascheva in Bucharest, and recently (since 2008), even the old Chapel of the Patriarchal Residence was dedicated to Saint Pious Parascheva too. Saint Pious Parascheva is called in her Akatistos “much useful”.

Saint Pious Parascheva allays suffering, comforts the sad ones, and relieves the despaired ones (Icos 1).

Saint Pious Parascheva listens to the prayers of the faithful priests, prays Mother of God for young girls, advises the widows, helps the strangers, comforts the persecuted ones, and heals the body’s diseases. (Icos 2)

Saint Pious Parascheva supports the old ones, and has mercy for the poor. (Icos 3)

Saint Pious Parascheva intercedes to the Lord for all Christians, calms down the storms, brings fruitful manna and abundance. (Icos 3)

Saint Pious Parascheva guards the souls in the right faith and the worshipping of the Holy Cross. (Icos 5)

Saint Pious Parascheva protects the humans and heals their diseases, does away with fear and damage. (Icos 6)


Saint Pious Parascheva is the intercessor of those who made mistakes, useful to the persecuted ones, improver of the bad judges, supporter of those judged and sentenced, ceases the passions, does not help those who want only their profit, tempers the strong ones, strengthens the weak ones, removes evil, has mercy. (Icos 7)

Saint Pious Parascheva is invoked through prayers and chants, having been the greatness of the monks, adviser of the community, worshipper of the pious women, guardian of the hermits, adviser of the right faith and remover of the wrong faiths. (Icos 8)

Saint Pious Parascheva is worshipped as the fruitful rainmaker, bringer of good crops, and cheerer of the ploughmen. (Icos 9)

Saint Pious Parascheva is praised as protector of those who have mercy for us, strengthener of those who serve us, worker together with those who feed us. (Icos 10)

Saint Pious Parascheva is called in prayer as the comforter of the woeful, adviser of the confused, nice improver, and fast helper. (Icos 11)

Saint Pious Parascheva is called to absolve the humans of all evil, of sentence time and everlasting sorrow, because she is for all the faithful together and for everyone of them a protector in time of evil, bringer of good things, and supporter of mine, the low sinner (Icos 12).

The great devotion of the righteous people for Saint Pious Parascheva is explained just through the conviction and finding that she is much useful, giving help, through her prayers, to young and old, to young girls and to mothers, to sick and poor. Her power comes from her holiness and kindness, namely from her love for God and humans.

The helping power of the saints is, in fact, the love of God bestowed through the saints in order to strengthen the holy relationship between humans and God, mostly when people love the Church of Christ and worship His saints.

Therefore, the communion of the saints with God also strengthens the communion of the humans in prayer, looking for holiness and the help of God. So, the saints of every nation gather together the faithful of their nation and of other nations too in the love of Christ. Through her holiness, kindness and miracle worker prayers, Saint Pious Parascheva gathers Orthodox faithful from peoples like Romanians, Greeks, Bulgarians, Serbs, etc. The saints do not belong only to their nation, because they belong to God and to all humankind; they help all people, because God loves all people. In this sense, a Muslim is said to have come to a Serb Christian Orthodox monastery to pray. Then, an Orthodox asked him: “How could you come to pray one of our saints? The Muslim answered him: he is neither ours nor yours, but God’s (Saint Parascheva – Guide of the Pilgrims, Metropolitan Publishing House, Trinitas, Iasi, 2000, page 53).

In other words, holiness is divine love and kindness with no frontiers, bestowed over the world through the bond of prayer.

Thus, let us pray Saint Pious Parascheva to help us with her prayers, so that we may also pray like her, call the help of God not only for ourselves, but for others too.

We wish all those of the name of Parascheva or Paraschiv many blessed years of life with fruitful good deeds.


+ Daniel
Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church