Saint Petka, also known as Paraskeva, was an 11th-century Byzantine holy woman whose cult remains especially strong in Serbia, Greece and other Orthodox Balkan countries. Her relics are now kept in Iași, Romania, while two fingers are venerated at Belgrade’s Saint Petka Chapel.¹

According to the historical account, the relics were first placed in Constantinople after being discovered near Saint Petka’s birthplace in Epivatus. In 1231, Bulgarian ruler Ivan Asen II obtained them from the Western crusaders and transferred them to Tarnovo. Ottoman forces seized the city in 1393, after which the relics were moved to Vidin and then to Serres as war booty.¹

In 1398, Serbian ruler Milica, her daughter Olivera and noblewoman Jelena—identified in the account as despotica Jefimija—secured the relics from Sultan Bayezid I. They were taken first to Kruševac and later to Belgrade by Milica’s son, Despot Stefan Lazarević. For Serbia, the relics became a source of religious consolation and, according to one account, a symbol that strengthened Stefan and Milica’s position amid a dynastic conflict.²

The next major rupture came in 1521, when Suleiman the Magnificent captured Belgrade. The relics were taken with other sacred objects as civilians were expelled toward Constantinople. The journey began on September 9 and lasted 50 days. Accounts say Ottoman authorities allowed people along the route to approach, kiss the relics and place a ducat on them by order.²

The relics remained at the Phanar in Constantinople until 1641, when Moldavian ruler Vasile Lupu obtained them after helping cover the debts of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. They were transferred to Iași, where they survived an 1888 church fire and remain venerated today. The annual pilgrimage draws hundreds of thousands of believers.¹