Many people wonder what kind of holy patrons they have by name and date of birth. Our article is entirely devoted to the answer. You will learn the name of your patron saint, and information will also be provided on how to best celebrate name days. This day is incredibly important for every person. So, read carefully the information below.
Nowadays, people more and more after a long break, interest in their heavenly patrons and name day begins to revive. But many continue to confuse the concepts of "name day", "birthday" and "day of the guardian angel." Also, often people just do not think about why their name day is celebrated, say, today, and not tomorrow or any other day. Even more often, upon learning that there are several saints with a certain name, people begin to be lost in conjecture, and which of these saints is the heavenly patron saint for this or that person. Let's try to understand these questions and find answers to them. These concepts simply need to be distinguished.
Name day, guardian angel day and birthday
I think that everyone knows what birthday is and love to celebrate it, convene guests and receive gifts. It's simple: a birthday is the day on which a person was born. But let's think, why is it that quite often a person is called a “birthday man” on his birthday? This is because due to the long atheistic period throughout the entire post-Soviet space, people simply began to confuse their birthday and the day of their name day, sometimes combining them on one date. However, “birthday” and “name day” are different concepts. It is worth mentioning that before the revolution in Tsarist Russia, name days for the Orthodox were a much more important holiday than their birthday. Nowadays, they are celebrated much less frequently. The reason for this is the ignorance of people about the significance of the name day. But every year the situation changes and more and more people show interest in them and their heavenly patrons. So what is this day? Believers still designate it with the word "namesake." After all, do you know the meaning of the words “namesake”, “thesa”? They denote a person who has the same name. So: a certain calendar day, in which one or another saint is remembered, or several saints at once, is the namesake festive for a person who bears the name of that saint whom they remember this day. In the common people, especially in the western parts of Ukraine and Belarus, a name day is often referred to as “angel day”, “day of the angel of ohorontsya (guardian angel),” which, of course, is also not entirely correct. The mistake occurs because believers sometimes call their saints angels, guardian angels. But this is not a saint, it is an angel, a good spirit, given at the baptism of God to man, so that he would guide a man during his earthly life on the path of salvation. But a person cannot know his personal name, since he is invisible to a person. Therefore, for each guardian angel, a separate day is not assigned for his memory. But certain days are established in which all heavenly angelic powers are honored.
How to find out the name of the patron saint
So how do you find out, and when is the day to honor your saint? And what are the holy patrons by name and date of birth for each of us? After all, who defines all this? So, in order: firstly, in order to find out which of the saints is our heavenly patron, we need to look into the Saints, or, as this church-folk calendar is also called, the Months. It is there that the names of all the saints and the dates for their memory are recorded. And these dates are established by the Church, which ranks this or that person as a saint. Secondly, patron saints are usually identified by name and date of birth. Well, that’s understandable, because we know our name. However, what should we do if the Saints mention several saints with our name at once? In this case, we must choose a saint whose memory is honored closest to the day of our birth. It should also be noted that the list of saints is constantly updated as more and more saints are glorified. For example, at the Council of Bishops in 2000 the new martyrs and confessors of Russia were glorified, and if a person was baptized before 2000, then the saints are determined by name and date of birth according to the publications of the Saints earlier than 2000. And if after - then the saint is determined from a wider list by date of birth, according to the publications of the Saints later than 2000. But what if we do not find a saint with his name in Saints? For example, if a person bears a non-Christian name? In this case, we must choose a patron saint close by name to ours. So, Dina becomes Evdokia, Angelica becomes Angelina, Joan of John, and Svetlana - Photinia. But Yuri at baptism is called George. Does this mean that a person in ordinary worldly life is called this new name? No. In worldly life, of course, he remains Yuri. And in church life, with, say, confession or communion, calling himself, he should name the church name: George. Filing notes on health or repose, the church name of the person is also written. Previously, when they decided to call and baptize a newborn, they usually looked at the Saints and looked at the memory of which saints the Church honors on this day, and chose a patron saint for the baby by name from this list. It is on the day of the baptism of the child, and not on the day of his birth. Now this is a forgotten tradition, and in our time, few adhere to it. They now call it mainly in honor of their relatives or in honor of some favorite characters of books or films, but not in honor of the saints. This also happens because many do not know which patron saints by date of birth and name exist. Using some names as an example, let’s see how many saints per name.
Saint patron named after Andrey
The name Andrey is of Greek origin. Translated, it means "courageous, brave." Since this name is very common, - as one of the twelve apostles of Christ was called, - there should accordingly be many saints with that name. Let's see if this is so? Let's look at the Saints. Yes, indeed, there are many saints with the name Andrey. Here they are. Holy Martyr Andrei, Bishop of Ufa (January 8), Martyr Andrei Lampsaki (May 31), Apostle Andrew the First-Called (July 3, July 13, December 13), Rev. Andrei Rublev, icon painter (July 17), Rev. Martyr Andrew of Crete (October 30).
So, as we can see, the choice is rich. This is not a complete list. Remember that to determine his heavenly patron, Andrey needs to choose a saint named Andrey from the list that would be closest to his birthday.
Vladimir
What is the patron saint named Vladimir? It is Slavic. The first part of the name dates back to the pre-Indo-European basis and denotes the word "power, power." The second part of the name is borrowed from Germanic languages with the meaning "great, famous." However, this second part (measures) among the Slavs took, under the influence of the word "peace", a different meaning corresponding to the indicated word. It turns out that the name Vladimir means the combination "owning the world"; at the same time the world in the meaning of "Universe, the globe", and the world in the meaning of "silence, peace." Originally the name was pagan. But after the baptism of Russia, subsequently, the name Vladimir was canonized, since Russia was baptized by Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich. There are much fewer saints with this name than in the case of Andrew. Let's look at the Saints. Holy Martyr Vladimir, Metropolitan of Kiev and Galicia (February 1), Martyr John-Vladimir, Prince of Serbia (June 4), Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Prince Vladimir (July 28), Martyr Priest Vladimir (August 29), Rightful Prince Vladimir Yaroslavich of Novgorod (October 17) .
Name Dmitry
Now we find out what a patron saint named Dmitry. This Greek name means "dedicated to the goddess Demeter." The established church form of the name is Demetrius. There are also many saints with this name, since the name Dmitry is very common to this day. What saints with the name of Demetrius do the Saints mention? The Monk Dimitri Skevofilaks (February 7), the righteous Dimitri Yuryevsky, the son of the Right Prince Svyatoslav (February 16), the martyr the Right Bearer Tsarevich Dimitri Uglichsky and Moscow (May 28, June 5, June 16), the martyr Dimitri of Kazan (October 15), the martyr Dimitri (October 15) November 28), the righteous Demetrius (December 14).
Alexandra
Let's talk about what a patron saint is named after Alexander. This is a female form named after Alexander; It is of Greek origin and is translated as “protector of people”, “brave”. Frankly speaking, there are not many saints with this name, here they are: the martyr Alexander of Pontius (April 2), the martyr Alexander of Rome, Nicomedia, the Empress (May 6), the martyr Alexander of Corinth (May 31, November 19), the Monk Alexander Diveevskaya (June 26 ), Holy Martyr Empress Alexandra (July 17). In Russia, by far the most popular saint bearing this name is the Russian Empress, the wife of Nicholas II, the last Russian emperor.
Anna
It is worth talking about what a patron saint named Anna. If all the previous names considered by us (with the exception of Vladimir) were of Greek origin, then this name is Jewish, and translates as "grace, favor, mercy, dear." This name is biblical. Since the name is very widespread throughout the world, there are many saints with this name, unlike Alexandra: the prophetess Anna (February 16, December 22, the martyr Anna Gotfskaya (April 8), the noble Grand Duchess Anna Kashinskaya (25 June 3, August 3, October 15), Rev. Anna Vifinskaya (June 26, November 11), Martyr Anna (July 18).
Helena
What are the patron saints of the name Elena? It is of Greek origin. It is interesting in that its etymology is still unclear. There were suggestions that it is associated with the sun god Helios or indicates the self-name of the Greeks - Hellenes. However, despite its popularity, there are very few saints with this name. Martyr Elena (January 28), Equal-to-the-Apostles Tsarina Elena (June 3), Martyr Elena, daughter of the Apostle Alfey (June 8), Rev. Elena Diveevskaya (June 10), Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga, Grand Duchess of Russia, in the holy baptism of Elena (July 24), the righteous Helen, Queen of Serbia (November 12).
A bit about the icons of patron saints
There are many icons with images of saints. And it is very good if a person has at home or carries with him an image of his heavenly patron saint. You can contact the saint with any request, our patron saints hear and help us. In order to choose the right icon with the image of our saint, we need to know about our patron, how he is depicted on the icons, go to the church shop and choose the appropriate one. It will be good if the icon of the patron saint by name will always be near you. In addition, we say that it would be nice to know at least one prayer addressed to your saint.
How to celebrate the day of the patron saint?
If you understand the difference between a name day and a birthday, you certainly understand the difference between celebrations. First of all, on the name day, we remember our saints so that they remember us. On a name day, believers usually go to the temple, confess, and receive communion. But, of course, there are no obstacles for guests, a gala dinner and gifts. But it should not be noisy fun and a feast with alcoholic drinks. It is better if it is a soulful conversation filled with meaning and content. It is worth noting that if your name day falls on the time of Lent, you only need to cook lean dishes. Follow this rule. If your name day falls on a weekday in Lent, they must be rescheduled for Sunday or Saturday.
Some people do not celebrate their name day. This is extremely wrong, because, in addition to religious overtones, it is also just a good bright day, filled with joy.
It is very important from an early age to teach children to celebrate a name day, take them to the church for Communion, as well as give them small gifts and arrange a quiet feast with their families. In the future, the child throughout his life will treat this day as a holiday and special.
And further. Never forget to congratulate your relatives and friends on the birthday. Give them small gifts. Your attention on this day will be very pleasant for them. Visit them whenever possible. Knowing which holy patrons by date of birth and name of your loved ones will help you with choosing a gift if you decide to raise the icon.
We really hope that this article was useful to you. You know what patron saints are by name and date of birth, as well as how to determine them. That's not all. You have learned which patron saint you have by name. We also hope that you will find interesting information on how to celebrate name day. For many people, this is another reason for a feast that is not right. Now you will know what actions are best performed on this wonderful day for every person on his name day. How to find out the name of the patron saint? It is not that difficult. It is only necessary to show keen interest.