Venerable
Venerable Paraskeva (Rodimtseva) of Toplov
1849 — 1928
Also known as: Ольга Ивановна Родимцева (мирское имя)
Venerable Paraskeva of Toplov (born Olga Rodimtseva) — the last abbess of the Toplovsky Convent of the Holy Trinity and St. Paraskeva in Crimea (1890–1928), who kept the convent operating until its Soviet closure; a locally venerated saint of the Crimean diocese, glorified in 2009.
IMPORTANT IDENTITY CORRECTION: the previous card mistakenly assumed an ancient saint ("October 8 O.S." — a date not confirmed by any source). The Toplovsky Convent in Crimea calls itself "the convent of three Paraskevas" (the ancient martyr, the local abbess, and a solitary nun Constantina) — given the card's category was originally "venerable" (not "martyr"), the correct identification is Abbess Paraskeva (Rodimtseva), a real 19th–20th century historical figure.
Venerable Paraskeva (born Olga Ivanovna Rodimtseva) was born in 1849 in Moscow Province. At 22 she entered Moscow's Passion (Strastnoy) Convent, receiving rasophore tonsure as Vyacheslava in 1874. In 1875 she moved to the Toplovsky Convent in Crimea, serving as treasurer. In 1889 Bishop Martinian (Muratovsky) of Taurida tonsured her to the mantle as Paraskeva; she was made head of the convent that year and elevated to abbess on July 26, 1890.
Over 39 years she transformed the poor convent into one of Crimea's largest and best-run communities (about 244 sisters by 1928). She kept the convent functioning despite growing Soviet persecution until the Crimean Central Executive Committee ordered its closure on July 13, 1928. She reposed of cardiac failure on December 3/16, 1928.
In 2009 the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church glorified her as a locally venerated saint of the Crimean diocese; the glorification took place on July 11, 2010.