Pilgrims wait for up to 17 hours in Iași to venerate the relics of Saint Paraskeva

More than 22,000 pilgrims from Romania and abroad waited on Tuesday night into Wednesday in a queue approximately five kilometers long to venerate the relics of Saint Venerable Paraskeva and Saint Paisius of Sihăstria in Iași. The reliquary containing the holy relics is due to be taken out of the Cathedral on Wednesday morning and placed in the canopy set up in the courtyard of the Metropolitan Cathedral of Moldavia and Bukovina.

Despite the low temperatures, thousands of believers continued to wait, some for up to 17 hours. So far, approximately 180,000 pilgrims have passed by the canopy. Since the pilgrimage began, 1,079 people have received medical care after feeling unwell, and 52 have been taken to hospital.

The faithful also came to attend the Holy Liturgy celebrated by a council of senior prelates led by Metropolitan Teofan on the occasion of the feast of Saint Paraskeva. The pilgrimage organized in Iași dates back to the 17th century, and the saint’s relics were brought to the city in 1641 by ruler Vasile Lupu.