Icon - Paraskeva - Wood

Saint Paraskeva, one of the most popular saints of Eastern Christianity, especially in Russia, Greece, Serbia and the Balkans.

With a dark red veil, a color associated with martyrdom.
Holding a cross, a symbol of her faith and martyrdom.
With a small vessel or liturgical cup in the other hand, common in some Slavic representations.
With inscriptions in ancient Cyrillic on both sides of the halo, typical of Russian icons from the eighteenth-nineteenth centuries.

In Russian tradition she is usually called Paraskeva Pyatnitsa (“Paraskeva of Friday”), because the Greek name Paraskeví means “preparation” or “Friday”.

She was a Christian martyr from the early centuries, venerated for:
- the protection of home and family, health, agricultural work and markets,
- and especially by peasant women in the Slavic tradition.
Characteristics of her iconography
- Elongated and serene face.
- Martyr’s cross.
- Red or burgundy mantle.
- Dark background typical of provincial Russian icons.