They therefore named the baby girl Paraskevi (Παρασκευή), meaning "Friday" in Greek (literally "preparation (day)" for the sabbath: cf.

[3] After the death of her parents, she gave away all of her possessions and began to preach the Christian faith,[4] At the age of 30, Paraskevi left Rome and ministered to many towns and villages.

In the village of Therapia, Constantinople, she was arrested by soldiers of Emperor Antoninus Pius, and brought to trial.

[citation needed] Paraskevi refused, and was beaten and tortured by having a steel helmet lined with nails placed on her head and tightened with a vice.

Eventually, at his wit's end, Antoninus Pius demanded that Paraskevi be immersed into a large kettle of oil and tar.

[5] Paraskevi was arrested again in a city governed by a man named Asclepius, who threw her into a pit with a large snake.

Finally, Paraskevi was arrested for the last time by a Roman official named Tarasius, and taken to the Temple of Apollo.

While Asclepius was moved by her miracle in the snake pit and wanted to set her free, Tarasius was not convinced.

[2] The Kontakion (Greek: κοντάκιον) is a hymn sung in Eastern Orthodox Church services, functioning as a poetic sermon.

[citation needed] This explains the origin of the name kontakion, derived from the Greek κόνταξ (kontax), which means 'rod' or 'stick' and refers specifically to the pole around which a scroll is wound.

[citation needed]Plagal of the Fourth Tone[11] O most majestic One, we have discovered your temple to be a spiritual clinic wherein all the faithful resoundingly honor you, O famed and venerable martyr Paraskevi.

According to this tradition, strongly held by the locals, the headless body of the saint was entombed here and her tomb is still venerated today.

As the sword was raised over her head, she grabbed a stone pillar that she held so tightly that the print of her hands melted into it leaving an indelible mark.