When it is said
The Church sings these hymns on her feast, 26 July.
Anyone may say them at any time of year when asking her prayers.
Where it comes from
No author known
Who was St Paraskevi?
Paraskevi came from a village near Rome. Her Christian parents named her for the day she was born, a Friday. She studied the Scriptures and lived as a nun. Under the emperor Antoninus Pius she was arrested for being a Christian, and after painful tortures she was beheaded in AD 140.
Saint Paraskeve the Righteous Martyr of Rome, Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch
Her healings
In the Life that the Orthodox Church in America prints, many miracles took place at her tomb. The blind received their sight, the lame walked and childless women gave birth. The Patriarchate of Antioch says that the faithful pray to her for the healing of eye ailments.
Martyr Paraskevi of Rome, Orthodox Church in America; Saint Paraskeve the Righteous Martyr of Rome, Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch
What the words mean
Her name means Friday
Paraskevi is the Greek word for Friday, and it means “preparation”. The Gospels call Friday the day of Preparation, because it is the day before the Sabbath (Mark 15:42). The troparion plays on her name twice. It calls her true to her name and speaks of a faith worthy of that name.
Troparia for 26 July, Orthodox Church in America; Saint Paraskeve the Righteous Martyr of Rome, Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch
In Greek
Τὴν σπουδήν σου τῇ κλήσει κατάλληλον, ἐργασαμένη φερώνυμε, τὴν ὁμώνυμόν σου πίστιν εἰς κατοικίαν κεκλήρωσαι, Παρασκευὴ ἀθλοφόρε· ὅθεν προχέεις ἰάματα, καὶ πρεσβεύεις ὑπὲρ τῶν ψυχῶν ἡμῶν.
Τὸν ναόν σου πάνσεμνε, ὡς ἰατρεῖον ψυχικὸν εὑράμενοι, ἐν τούτῳ πάντες οἱ πιστοί, μεγαλοφώνως τιμῶμέν σε, Ὁσιομάρτυς Παρασκευὴ ἀοίδιμε.
From the Greek Menaion for 26 July, as printed by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.