For 50 days, Serbs carried the relics of Saint Petka on foot from Belgrade to Constantinople: Turks allowed kissing, and a ducat was placed on them by order
Saint Petka is especially important to Serbs, among whom her relics resided for over a century. In very difficult times after the Battle of Kosovo, the widow of Prince Lazar, Princess Milica, who, with her son Stefan, had to make another vassal pilgrimage to Sultan Bayezid I in 1398, begged her son-in-law for the relics of Saint Petka.
TL;DR
- The relics of Saint Petka were transported from Belgrade to Constantinople over 50 days in 1521.
- Princess Milica obtained the relics in 1398 from her son-in-law, Sultan Bayezid I, after the Battle of Kosovo.
- The relics were housed in Belgrade for over a century, possibly at the site of the present-day Chapel of Saint Petka.
- Following the Ottoman conquest of Belgrade, civilians were allowed to leave with their sacred items, including Saint Petka's relics.
- During the journey, Turks permitted people to approach the procession, bid farewell, and kiss the relics, upon which a ducat was placed.
- The relics were displayed in Fanar, Constantinople, before being sold in 1641 to Moldavian prince Vasile Lupu and moved to Iași.