Today our Church celebrates the memory of the Great Martyr and Athlete St. Paraskevi.
Saint Paraskevi is considered the protector of the eyes. This arises from the tortures she endured. As mentioned in the life of Saint Paraskevi, during her torture to renounce her faith in Christ, a heated helmet was placed on her head. This was one of the harshest tortures of that time, which resulted in a slow and agonizing death.
However, Saint Paraskevi emerged unscathed from this horrific torture. Subsequently, Emperor Antoninus ordered that she be placed in a cauldron of boiling oil and pitch. But when he saw the Saint unharmed, he approached the cauldron with his face – as he could not explain how the saint remained untouched – to test if it was indeed hot, and he immediately went blind.
The Saint, through prayer, restored Antoninus’ sight, resulting in him believing in Christ or, according to others, stopping the persecutions against them.
The Martyrdom of Saint Paraskevi
Paraskevi was arrested and subjected to torture until she confessed her renunciation of Christianity. Initially, a heated helmet was placed on her head. Subsequently, after she did not break, she was thrown into isolation. If they managed to make Paraskevi back down, it would signify a great victory for the Emperor and a significant blow, especially to the female Christian population, who would see its most fervent representative convert. However, instead of giving in, she considered the time in isolation as an excellent opportunity for prayer.
Moreover, it is said that in the evening, an angel of the Lord appeared before her and freed her from her chains. Paraskevi remained steadfast before the Emperor once again. Antoninus, understanding the futility of his effort, ordered her to be tortured to death.
Thus, she was led before boiling oil. However, here a great miracle is mentioned by her biographer. How, while she was introduced into the cauldron of hot oil, did she remain unscathed? When Antoninus heard this, he did not believe such a thing and wanted to see for himself the truth, but as he approached the cauldron, his eyes were harmed, resulting in him becoming blind.
However, Paraskevi miraculously healed his eyes. Thus, even today, she is considered the protector of the eyes. After this event, Antoninus released the Saint. Furthermore, after this event, Antoninus maintained a positive stance toward Christians for the time, and for this reason, he was given the nickname “Antoninus the Pious.”
Thus, Paraskevi returned to her work, which gave great strength to the Christian community, especially the women who saw in her a significant support.