The sleepy provincial town of Staritsa, as if fallen out of time, is gradually shedding its centuries-old dust. Two hundred years ago, it was a thriving merchant city on the Volga trade route. Ships from Tver, Nizhny Novgorod, Yaroslavl, Moscow, Smolensk, Ostashkov, and Pskov stood at the docks. The marketplace was bustling with trade in bread, fish, salt, meat, leather, hemp, resin, wool, and flax. Hammers rang out in the stone forges. All this prosperity was under the patronage of Saint Paraskeva Friday.

The wooden church dedicated to her was located near the marketplace. In 1750, a stone church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built in its place, which the locals continued to call Friday Church. The square has long been deserted, the remnants of the trading rows have decayed, and only seven of the fifty forges remain, but this church still serves as a hallmark of the ancient city.

Staritsa is first mentioned in chronicles in 1297. It is known to historians of Russia as the principality of the Staritsky princes, a victim of the struggle for power, Ivan the Terrible's base in the Livonian War, and the birthplace of the first Moscow Patriarch, Job. In the 18th century, it became a district center where representatives of the local nobility gathered.

Interestingly, until the 17th century, Staritsa had four monasteries and 16 churches. The Time of Troubles and the Polish-Lithuanian invasion significantly reduced their number. The communist regime inflicted more damage on the city than the Mongol yoke. Currently, the Staritsa Holy Assumption Monastery, the Ilyinsky Church, and the central part of the Friday Church are operational.

The architecture of the church is unique and has no analogs in Russia. It combines several eras and architectural styles. The church is located on a high bank of the Volga, at the foot of a hill where the Staritsa Kremlin once stood. In the early 20th century, it harmonized with the trading rows and the Gostiny Dvor, as well as with the Holy Assumption Men's Monastery on the opposite bank of the Volga. This landscape has been captured in paintings and photographs. In the early 21st century, the monastery was fully restored, but many buildings are still waiting their turn. The trading rows virtually disappeared after World War II and the construction of an arch bridge across the Volga.

The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is sometimes referred to as a women's monastery; it is a whole complex of buildings. A bell tower with a spire is attached to the single-domed church with kokoshniks, from which a beautiful view of the church domes opens up. The central chapel in honor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, built in the Baroque style, was consecrated in 1750. In the early 19th century, two more chapels were added: in the name of Nil of Stolobensk in the form of a rotunda and in the name of Saint Paraskeva Friday. Their author was the Staritsa architect Matvey Chernyatin, who worked in the style of late classicism.

The church is surrounded by a chapel, a clergy house, two towers with a dome and spire, a colonnade, and a gallery. Stairs lead from the church to the river. The complex is crowned with domes of various shapes and sizes, giving it a unique appearance reminiscent of a miniature monastery or a Russian noble estate. The white stone from which it is built is known as 'Staritsa marble.'

The white limestone has been quarried along the river for many centuries. It was used in the decoration of houses and churches even in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The underground world attracts tourists, and local guides take them on excursions there.

In 1866, a chapel was added to the church in honor of the salvation of Emperor Alexander II from an assassination attempt. It was maintained by the Staritsa merchant Vasily Klushantsev, and candles burned there at night, guiding travelers. Its condition now leaves much to be desired.

The first assassination attempt on Alexander II occurred when he was walking to his carriage after a stroll in the Summer Garden. A terrorist shot from close range, but a townsman pushed his hand, and the emperor miraculously escaped death. In honor of this event, an annual procession was held near the church on April 4, but in 1889 it was moved to October 17, the day of Alexander III's salvation during the royal train crash.

The church is referred to both as the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and as Paraskeva Friday, as these images do not contradict each other. In Orthodox tradition, Paraskeva became the successor of the pagan goddess Mokosh, the only female figure in the pantheon of Slavic gods, who patronized harvest and trade. Churches were often built for her near rivers, where fertile land yielded good harvests that were sold in markets. Friday was considered the best day for transactions.

Saint Paraskeva the Great Martyr lived in the 3rd century in Asia Minor. She was named Friday in honor of the day of Christ's crucifixion. A rich and beautiful girl took a vow of celibacy and dedicated herself to serving God, spending all her wealth to help the poor. The Roman emperor offered her to renounce Christianity and marry him, but she refused and was executed. The church made her a saint, revered as a protector of women and a guardian of the family hearth.

Many folk traditions in Russia are associated with Paraskeva. To appease her, people would throw yarn, coins, towels, and pieces of cloth into wells. She was considered the patroness of water, and icons depicting her often appeared by streams and wells, making the water holy.

The Bolsheviks closed the church and used it as a warehouse and stable. By the early 21st century, it was in need of restoration: the frescoes had deteriorated, the paintings had faded and peeled, and only the walls remained. The church is currently being restored, and the central part of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is operational.