Starting from the fourth century, a patron saint appears in the Christian tradition. Hoping for the favor and protection of the latter, the parents called the child with a similar name. Subsequently, many areas of life acquired such a holy patronage.
Who is the patron
The easiest way to identify personal patrons is by birth date. How to do this, we will understand at the end of the article.
It is also interesting to know that during the formation of Christianity, the lives of saints and professions, similar to their occupations or abilities, were studied, they were received as patrons.
So Levi Matvey, being a tax collector during his lifetime, became a defender of employees of financial departments. Klara Asizskaya had the gift to see and hear the Christmas mass in the temple, even lying sick in bed. Therefore, she was assigned the role of patron of television.
If necessary, look at the icons, pictures. Guardian angel, holy saint, martyrs usually hold in their hands attributes showing their belonging to some kind of activity.
Patrons of professions
You will be amazed when you find out how many saints patronize certain activities. The bulk of these names refers to Catholicism, but there are many Orthodox. Let's take a closer look.
All professions that are associated with the movement of land transport, whether it be a bicycle, car or bus, are patronized by the prophet Elijah. He is depicted in the Holy Scripture in a chariot of fire after he was taken alive to heaven.
Doctors are patronized by the archangels Raphael and Gabriel, as well as the Evangelist Luke. All of them were somehow related to treatment.
Even housewives have their cartridges. They are considered Martha, a disciple of Jesus Christ, and Anna, the mother of Mary, the Virgin.
Evangelist Mark patronizes all activities related to animals. Zoologists, biologists, veterinarians and other specialists can ask him for help.
Archangel Gabriel, being a messenger in the Christian tradition, helps diplomats, couriers, ambassadors, postmen and other figures involved in delivering something or forging relationships. In Orthodoxy, this also includes media workers.
The patron saint of journalists in Catholicism is Francis Salski, and the publishers, booksellers, writers and composers are John the Theologian.
The patron of sailors and singers is called Andrew the First-Called. No wonder his cross is depicted on the flag of the Navy of the Russian Federation.
Archangel Michael is associated with professions that relate to military affairs, law, management. This includes, in fact, soldiers, police officers and other employees of law enforcement agencies.
You will laugh, but the Vatican has even identified the patron of Internet users. The patron saint of this activity is Isidore of Seville. During his lifetime, he was an encyclopedist and, after faith, put knowledge above all else.
Patrons of countries and cities
Holy patrons are not identified by the name of the locality. But, based on different Christian trends, each city and country has a cartridge. Some even have a few. The prefix to the name of the saint means the place of his birth, and not the point that he favors.
Let's take a closer look. Since the missionaries tried to identify the defenders of most settlements, we will focus on the most famous and significant cities and states.
The patron saint of Belarus is Efrosinia Polotskaya.
Russia has several cartridges, if we talk about different faiths. The Orthodox consider the patrons of St. George and St. Andrew, the Catholics - Prince Vladimir, Basil the Great and Joseph the Betrothed.
Apostle Andrew patronizes Ukraine in Orthodoxy, and Joseph Polotsky in Catholicism.
The United States considers Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception as their protector.
France relies on the help of two patrons. This is Anna, mother of Mary of the Virgin, and Joan of Arc.
Great Britain, according to Catholic priests, is under the auspices of the Archangel Michael.
We have listed only a few countries from America, Western Europe and neighboring countries. Next will be presented the cartridges of some Russian cities and regions.
The icons of patron saints sometimes reflect the place they favor. But this can not always be determined by the images. Let's see who defends which city in the Orthodox tradition.
Moscow favors George the Victorious, he is even depicted on the coat of arms.
St. Petersburg is defended by the apostles Peter and Paul, as well as Alexander Nevsky.
The latter is also the patron saint of Transbaikalia, and the apostles Peter and Paul also the entire Kamchatka region.
This topic is very extensive, but the volume of the article allows us to touch on it only briefly. Next, we will talk about the holy helpers in different life's adversities.
Patrons of Patients and Treatment Assistants
In Christianity, there is not only the patron saint of the dead, but also protectors from various ailments, as well as saints who help doctors in healing.
Let's get to know the assistants to the healers.
So, as the Orthodox believe in alcoholism, the martyr Boniface of Tarsus and John of Kronstad help to cope. Catholics on this occasion turn to Urban from Langra.
Pregnant women pray to the great martyress Anastasia or Sylvia of Rome, depending on confession.
Simeon Verkhotursky will help to cope with foot diseases, and for any ailments associated with hands, believers turn to the Three-Handed icon, which depicts the Virgin.
In principle, the patron saint of all patients in Catholicism is the Moor of Glanfeus.
With eyes, they say, the archangel Gabriel helps, and Francis Salezsky is considered the patron of the problems associated with hearing.
Job Long-suffering in Catholicism is “responsible” for the cure of depression.
As it turns out, the patron of the dead is not alone. They are divided by age. The patrons of child mortality are Jadwiga Silesian or Matilda of Saxony, and the untimely death is Archangel Michael.
If it is difficult for a person to understand the nature of the pain or the origin of the disease, there are saints who help, as it is believed, with healing in general. This is the great martyr Panteleimon in Orthodoxy and Julian of Nicomedia in Catholicism.
Helpers in difficult situations
As the proverb says, you should not renounce sumy and prison. Let’s see what saints help people who have met troubles on the path of life.
In such situations, the patron is not determined by the date of birth, but a candle is put to the one who helps in such a misfortune.
So, it is believed that helps Catholics find a new job Kaztan Tiensky, and the Orthodox - Ksenia from St. Petersburg.
Agnell in Catholicism, in Orthodoxy - Boris and Gleb, Alexander Nevsky, Neil Sorsky and the Virgin Mary support and help the victims of the war recover.
The captured are patronized by Peter of Athos and Simeon the God-Receiver.
If nostalgia crept into the soul and a longing for the family and relatives fell on the heart, they pray to John Kushchnik.
The Virgin Mary (icon “Savior of the drowning”) and Iakinf from Krakow protect from death on the water. Salvage in a shipwreck is patronized by Yudok.
The patron saint of children is Sergius of Radonezh. They pray to him if the offspring are distinguished by academic failure.
If you feel despair, they say, the set candle will help John Chrysostom.
Of course, this is a matter of faith, especially in our enlightened age, but there are situations when this remains the only way out. As the saying goes, "there are no atheists in the trenches."
Disaster protection
Natural disasters come suddenly, and the power of the elements scares and delights.
Christianity believes that some saints help people, protect them from the wrath of nature and divert destruction to the side.
Let's find out to whom they pray in different faiths in such situations.
During an earthquake, there is hardly any time to determine who your patron saints are by date of birth. Therefore, the Holy Fathers recommend contacting Gregory the Wonderworker in this case.
When a volcano erupts nearby, you should quickly go away. But subsequently it does not hurt to light the candle of Agathia of Sicily, so that this does not happen again.
In the Middle Ages, during a severe storm, they prayed to Yudok, Walburg, Urban of Langra or Erasmus of Formia.
To avoid a lightning strike, they turned to the Virtus of Rome and Magnus Fussensky.
Ermengild is considered a defender for thunderstorms, droughts and floods.
It is noteworthy that in general Catholicism is the patron savior from various disasters. The Orthodox turned to defenders in only two cases. In severe frosts - to the holy fool Prokopiy from Ustyug, and during a fire - to the recluse Nikita Novgorodsky or to the icon "Burning Kupina". Apparently, the rest of the cataclysms did not bother our people.
School Promoters
Often the name of a major educational institution, especially in the Middle Ages, was crowned with the name of a patron saint. Judged by the name of the patron about the status of a school or university.
Separately, all schools in Catholicism are patronized by Thomas Aquinas, and universities - Contardo Ferrini.
And here the supporters of the Catholic denomination were more marked. The Orthodox acknowledge mainly only that the Apostle Andrew is the patron saint of Patra University in Greece.
In Western Europe, many universities have acquired holy defenders.
At the Bologna Academy of Arts - Catherine Bologna.
The patroness of Cambridge is considered Edeltrud, and in Oxford - Fredeswind.
For greater success, the University of Paris considers four saints as its patrons. This is Catherine from Alexandria, Nikolai from Mirliky, Ursula from Cologne and Charlemagne.
Thus, some of the oldest educational institutions have ammunition. The problem is that, according to the canons, they protect the universities themselves, and not help students with their studies. So on exams you still have to rely only on your intellect or a friendly cheat sheet.
Protectors of the ruling dynasties
As usual, here we will focus mainly on the Catholic denomination.
Apparently the desire to become a universal church and the love of wealth and luxury have influenced the fact that almost every social, natural and other phenomena, as well as various spheres of life, have their own patron saints. Indeed, only in this case it is possible to influence tithe, offerings and gifts to temples.
So, which of the saints became the royal guardian?
Ferdinand of Castile is considered the patron saint of all heads of state, regardless of region or mainland.
Next comes some specific feature. Each ruling house has ammunition, in particular, French, English and German. And also separately for people with different titles, such as the king, princess and others.
So, the monarchs are patronized by Louis, Edward the Confessor and Henry of Bavaria, respectively.
Kings are helped to withstand the burden placed on them by Edgar Mirny and Dagobert.
To the Queens - Jadwiga of Poland, Isabella of Portugal and Matilda of Saxony.
Empress is protected by Equal-to-the-Apostles Helena.
Adelaide of Burgundy favors the princesses, and Carl the Good protects the counts.
The patron saints of the family of the ruling monarchs of Great Britain are Edward the Confessor and Archangel Michael, as the protector of England.
Maximilian favored the German Habsburg dynasty , and Petronilla favored the Dauphin of France.
Thus, many ruling families had not only their clergy and advisers from the clergy, but also patron saints.
Animal patrons
Cattle breeding has long been one of the most important occupations of man. It was this activity that helped to move from random luck on the hunt to the planned food. Therefore, people constantly cared about the health and performance of their pets.
Here we mention the Orthodox and Catholic patrons of animals.
So, let's start with the birds. Domestic ducks, geese and other flying animals have a protector in the person of the great martyr Nikita among the Orthodox and Martin of Tours in Catholicism.
David from Wales protects the pigeons, and Hugo Linkolsky protects the swans.
Next is livestock. In Orthodoxy, George the Victorious and Paraskeva Friday are considered his defenders. Catholics call Pope Cornelius, the hermit Onufriy and Perpetuy from Carthage.
Guido from Anderlecht protects all horned animals.
In Orthodoxy, Mamant from Caesarea is considered the goat and sheep patron, while Catholics do not believe that goats may have a patron. Therefore, George the Victorious, according to their tradition, protects only sheep.
How to know your patron saint
Today, most people are again beginning to search for faith. Some are returning to Christianity. In this religion, it is customary to celebrate Angel Day, that is, the date when one or another saint is honored.
The easiest way to determine the name of the patron saint is by the name of the child. Firstly, a new name is given at baptism (if the given at birth does not belong to the Christian tradition, or the parents wanted to give a second one), but the old one can be preserved.
What to do? Basically, patron saints are identified by name and date of birth. Even if you do not remember the name with which you were baptized (not preserved), find the closest of the Christian ones. If there are several of them, choose the one that is more pleasant for you.
So, now we open the calendar and look for which patron is suitable for you by date of birth. This is not the exact number when you were born, but the closest day on which a saint with that name is worshiped.
For example, you celebrate your birthday on September 2, and the closest date when a patron of the same name is mentioned is December 11th. It turns out that you have two triumphs. In September - Birthday, in December - Angel Day.
On such days, it is customary to give children pictures and pictures. The guardian angel does not have to be depicted there, but it will not be redundant.
So, we have learned to determine our patron saint, and also have learned the holy protectors in different areas of life.