He was a she:
St Paraskevi lived in the second century A.D. She was born to childless parents in answer to their prayers and on Friday which is why she was called "Paraskevi" which is "Friday" in Greek. Raised in great piety, she became a nun.
In what is today Turkey, she was arrested and brought to the Emperor Antonius Pius who fell in love with her, but Paraskevi would not give up her faith or her monastic profession. Even torture would not sway her from her resolve. She was placed in a cauldron of boiling pitch, but was unmoved. The Emperor believed that his soldiers were playing a trick on him and ordered Paraskevi to throw some of the pitch at him, as if to show that the pitch wasn't really hot. When Paraskevi threw some of the pitch at the Emperor's face, he went blind and cried out in utter agony from the pain! He begged Paraskevi to give him his sight back, and Paraskevi anointed his face and eyes with cool water - and so the Emperor's sight was restored.
She is honoured as the Orthodox patron of eye-sight and there is a shrine to her that can be viewed at: www.stparaskevi.org
