The book "Saints", which lists all the days of remembrance of Orthodox saints and indicates religious holidays, is a church calendar, with which in Russia they gave names to babies at baptism.
Church calendar as a list of Orthodox saints
The list of saints throughout the history of Orthodoxy has been replenished all the time. So, the family of Nicholas II was recently ranked among the great martyrs. Therefore, on the calendar very often for one day there are holidays of commemoration of several saints (a vivid example is the name day in July), and there are practically no free days left. From the most ancient times in Russia, the name of a newborn was given only in a church, at baptism, by a priest, in honor of an Orthodox saint, whose holiday date was on that day or nearby. Usually, church dates mark the arrival of the martyrdom of the saint (though not always).
Name day - the day of the acquisition of the heavenly patron
One way or another, but the child received a name, and with it - his heavenly patron. Therefore, the synonym expression "angel's day" also means birthday. Another word that is close in terms of lexical meaning is “namesake”, which contains the particle “names”, that is, “similar” (hence the namesake). In ancient times, it also denoted the day of the angel, but later it was specified and began to be mentioned only in connection with members of the imperial family. So, name day in July totals 8 days, which are days of commemoration of the saints of Alexander - Nevsky, the holy martyr Minervin, hegumen Svirsky and others. The namesake of all the Alexandrov Romanovs accounted for these days. In the case of so many holidays in one month, and in a year, the main day of an angel is considered to be the holiday of that saint in whose honor the name is given, and the rest are called "small name-days."
The number of church holidays falling in July
Name day in July is celebrated by a large number of people - men and women. In terms of the number of holidays, only March and December, months when several church holidays fall on each day, can be compared with this month. So, July 6 is a record - 11 people celebrate Angel Day, July 17 - 17 birthday people, on the 19th there are 14 holidays. In total, in July, a total of 88 days of an angel fall on birthday — in 65 men and 23 women. It seems that not a single name of the boy has remained unreached. Here we meet the simple and native Ivan and Stepan, and rare for our places Gallaction and Martin.
It is clear that the holidays in July are not only exclusive to Orthodox saints, the great martyrs and ascetics of the entire Christian religion are revered. An example is St. Cornelius the centurion, whose memorial day falls on July 22. This Catholic martyr is known for being converted to Christianity by the apostle Peter himself . In Russian onomastics, the name Cornelius is rare. But the name of the Roots is often. Athletes and soccer players, known not only in the sports environment, had this name. But Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky made it legendary. By the middle of the 19th century, secular moods in society were so strong that they called babies “without looking at the Saints”, as evidenced by fiction. But at baptism, even the most “original” name was chosen close in sound to the church, since with it a person fell under the heavenly protection of his angel.
Choosing a name for a newborn is an occasion to look into the "Saints"
Name day in July has the richest choice. Boys can be called any of 65 names, because now they do not adhere to the strict date of baptism - the 40th day after birth. And the ceremony can be performed precisely on the day of the saint, bearing the coveted name. Terenty, Innocent, Irakliy, Thaddeus, Arkhip are included in this list along with the most popular Russian names - Vladimir, Dmitry, Peter, Sergey, Ivan and so on.
The list of female names is much more modest, but also gives room for choice. For example, the name Tatyana, which has its own big and popular holiday on January 25, is Tatyana's Day. Films of the same name were staged in honor of him, songs were composed. But even in July, the 17th, women bearing this name can celebrate their angel day. Like Olga, Alexandra, Mary, Martha and Anastasia. An amazing day to celebrate in July. From time immemorial, girls have been called by these names, and now they do not lose their popularity, the exception is, except Martha. But, as you know, the fashion for names, like for everything, comes and goes. A popular hit appears (like the song “Marina”), a cartoon about the mysterious Anastasia Romanova appears on the screens, and thousands of girls are called these names. Someday, Martha and Vasilisa will wait for their finest hour.