Over 194,000 pilgrims venerate St Parascheva's relics in Iași on her feast day
Organisers say more than 194,000 people have venerated the relics since the pilgrimage opened on 8 October. About 10,000 were still queuing on the evening of 14 October, facing a wait of roughly four hours.
Pilgrimage numbers
Organisers say more than 194,000 people have venerated the relics of St Parascheva and St Paisius of Sihăstria since the pilgrimage opened on 8 October. That total was reported for the evening of 14 October, the feast day itself. Earlier counts were lower: more than 155,000 by the evening of 13 October, and 170,000 by the night of 13 October.
- 13 October, evening
- 155000 pilgrims
- 13 October, night
- 170000 pilgrims
- 14 October, evening
- 194000 pilgrims
The line was still long on the evening of 14 October, with about 10,000 people queuing along a line of roughly 2 kilometres. The wait at the canopy set up in the Metropolitan Court of the Iași Cathedral was about four hours.
Medical care and order
Since 8 October, 1,013 people needed medical care while waiting in line, and 58 of them were taken to hospital. Gendarmes intervened several times during the queue. Some people tried to jump ahead, and one of them was handcuffed. Two men who climbed over barriers in front of a place of worship and tried to force their way in ignored warnings and resisted officers. One of them was handcuffed, and both were taken to police on suspicion of ultraj. Separately, a man was removed from the front of the Metropolis after being involved in a scandal. Four fines totalling 900 lei were issued to people who left the line to reach the relics sooner.
Feast day service
On 14 October, 28 hierarchs from Romania and abroad celebrated the Divine Liturgy beside the altar of the Metropolitan Cathedral. They included Teofan, Metropolitan of Moldova and Bucovina, and Dimitros, Metropolitan of France and Exarch of Europe. Representatives of sister Orthodox churches from Greece, Serbia and France also took part. Priest Lucian Apopei, communications director of the Metropolitanate of Moldova and Bucovina, spoke to Agerpres about the day.
The 14 October is for Iași more than a great feast.
Apopei said the liturgical responses were sung by the Byzantion Academic Choir. Large screens along the pedestrian street were set up so that people who could not reach the liturgical space could follow the service.
Who comes to Iași
Apopei also described where the pilgrims come from, saying most arrive from Orthodox countries.
They come mainly from the Orthodox countries Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece. They come because they feel the benefits.
A group of tourists from Norway said they had learned about the saint from their guide and found it interesting that such a practice exists in their country's contrast with Norway. A Ugandan volunteer named Tikhon said the week had left a strong impression on him. Organisers had prepared 60,000 sarmale, which were cooked on Tuesday by the Social Assistance Directorate and handed out to pilgrims at noon on Wednesday.
The saint and the relics
The articles place Parascheva's life in the first half of the 11th century, and say her relics were kept in Târnovo and later in Constantinople. In 1641, Voivode Vasile Lupu brought them to Iași, where they were placed in the church of the Sfinții Trei Ierarhi monastery. A documentary published by Doxologia, the platform of the Archdiocese of Iași, says a fire damaged much of that chapel on the night of 26 to 27 December 1888, but the relics and the veil covering them were not touched.
- Voivode Vasile Lupu brings the relics to Iași
- Fire damages the chapel, but the relics and their veil are untouched
- Pilgrimage opens at the relics in Iași
- Feast day, with 28 hierarchs celebrating the Divine Liturgy
- Pilgrimage scheduled to end
The relics were moved to the Metropolitan Cathedral in 1889. The pilgrimage is scheduled to end on 15 October.
