Margarita is a very beautiful, but not very popular name in Russia. In addition, he is not on the church list of names, and this causes difficulties during baptism. Among other things, the question arises of what name to baptize Margarita with and on what day she should celebrate her name day. Margaritas currently have several options for solving these problems, which we will discuss in this article. But first, we will find out what is a name day in essence.
About Name Day
Name day is a holiday that is officially called the day of the angel. Although an angel is not meant at all as an angel, as we imagine it, but as a saint, in whose honor a person bears his name. This association is established during the sacrament of baptism, and therefore unbaptized people, in principle, cannot celebrate name days. That saint of God, whose name is given to man in the sacrament, becomes his patron, so to speak, a patron in spiritual life and an intercessor before the Almighty. And the day of his church memory also becomes a personal holiday of man.
How to find out a name day?
When believers are baptized or when they baptize their children, the choice of a name and a patron saint is more than serious and conscious. Therefore, questions about when to celebrate and in honor of whom to celebrate do not arise for such people. But most of them are more careless about this, so a few clarifications need to be made. Firstly, if a person was baptized in childhood, and he does not know in whose honor (the testimony has not been preserved, parents do not remember, etc.), he has the right to choose for himself the patron of any canonized saint of the same name, based on his personal likes and dislikes . If he himself cannot make a choice, then the patron is calculated according to the calendar. For this, it is necessary to find a holy namesake in the calendar, the day of honoring which will be closer than all the rest to the person’s birthday. This saint will be considered the patron saint. It is worth saying that once made a choice in the future is not subject to revision.
Below we will talk about how to choose our patronesses Margaritas, and briefly touch on the biography of their main saint.
Church Margarita's Name Day
It is traditionally believed that Margarita is a Catholic name that is not found in Orthodox Saints. Therefore, Margarita’s name day according to the church calendar is celebrated on the day of the memory of one of the holy marinas - it is with this name that girls named Margarita are baptized. However, the situation changed somewhat in 2010, when after the glorification of a number of holy new martyrs and confessors of Russia, two saints Margarets were introduced to the clergy. And now Margarita's name day, baptized after 2010, can be celebrated in their honor.
The first of them is Margarita Gunaronulo, who was the abbess of one of the monasteries during her lifetime. The problem is that she does not have her own resident day of remembrance, and therefore women given under her protection should celebrate Angel Day on January 25 - the day of remembrance of all the new martyrs and confessors.
The second is nun Margarita Zakachurina. Her memorial day is celebrated, in addition to the general day of remembrance of the confessors and the new martyrs, December 2. Of course, they are little known, and many continue to be baptized in memory of the more famous Marina of Antioch. This is due to the fact that in the Catholic Church this ancient saint bears the name Margarita. Orthodox name days are therefore also most often associated with her memory. Thus, the choice remains with the person.
About the Holy Martyr Margarita (Marina)
Be that as it may, most of Margarita has the honor of being the ward of this particular holy martyr. Martyr Marina (Margarita), the day of an angel whose name day and simply church memory is widely and solemnly celebrated throughout the Orthodox Church (especially in Greek jurisdictions), was born in Antioch of Pisidia. Her father was a pagan priest, and when he found out that his daughter had converted to Christianity, he renounced it and drove him out of the house. Together with her guardian, she began to live in the field, grazing herds of animals. Once she was seen by the prefect of the region named Olimvrius, and, falling in love, offered her a hand and a heart, setting the condition for her to return to the fold of the religion of her ancestors. However, Margarita, wishing to preserve her virginity and faithfulness to Christ, refused. An angry ruler tortured her, as a result of which she died, having previously performed a series of fantastic miracles. Among other things, the dragon allegedly swallowed it, but then spat it out, because there was a cross with her.
This happened, according to life, in 304. However, many historians doubt both the historical authenticity of the story of St. Margaret and its existence. Some experts say that the legends about her are the development of a Christianized legend about the goddess Aphrodite. Moreover, already at the end of the 4th century, Pope Helasius cult of St. Margarita was banned as false. Therefore, Margarita’s birthday was not celebrated in her honor. However, veneration of this saint remained in the eastern church, from where it then again penetrated the western one during the Crusades. One way or another, Margarita’s name day is celebrated today July 17 in the old style or July 30 in the new.