Once again, I want to remind you that the name day is the day when an Orthodox Christian saint is worshiped, whose name can be called any baptized person. There is another identical name - angel's day. On this day, the birthday person needs to come to the temple and pray at the liturgy or at a prayer service to his heavenly patron. Congratulations on the day of the angel Love accepts in the fall. What to give a girl, a woman on this day? It can be theological books or the lives of saints, icons or souvenirs from holy places. The meal on this day should not violate the fast, if it fell out at this time, however, there may be some concessions. It is such congratulations on angel's day that Love will appreciate first of all. At the table it is more correct to conduct decent pious conversations and not to abuse alcohol.
Angel Day: Love
The name "Love" is rooted in the times of ancient Russia. It was copied from the ancient Greek name Agape (early Christian saint). In Orthodoxy, the memory day of this saint is especially revered along with her sisters and mother. To name it differently - name day, or angel's day. Love, Faith, Hope and Sophia - these names appeared in the nameser at the same time. And on the same day congratulate the bearers of these seemingly Russian names.
When does Love celebrate its day as an angel? The date is the end of September. And here is a brief background. The Christian holy martyrs Faith, Hope, Love (in Greek Pistis, Elpis and Agape) lived in Rome in the II century during the time of the emperor Andrian, the cruel persecutor of Christians. Sophia, a widow from Milan, came with her girls to Rome and stayed with her friend, a rich lady, whose name was Thessamnia.
Pious family
Sophia was a deeply religious Christian. She raised her daughters, who were named after the main Christian virtues, piously and in love for the Lord. As a mother, she always encouraged them to value the blessings of heaven more than earthly ones. The rumor about Sofia's commitment to faith reached the emperor himself, and he wanted to see the believing family with his own eyes. All four appeared to him and fearlessly began to confess faith in Christ, who had risen from the dead. Hearing such bold speeches from very young persons, the evil emperor became indignant and sent them to a single pagan, so that she could convince them to renounce Christ. But her eloquent speech did not for a moment shake the burning faith of the sisters. Then they were again brought to Andrian, and he demanded a sacrifice to the pagan gods. But the pious girls refused to do this and replied that they spit on his gods and were not at all afraid of threats, and that they were ready to die for the name of their dear Lord.
Emperor's Wrath
Then, Andrian, furious with anger, gave the poor children to the executioners. First, Vera was beaten and torn off in front of her mother and sisters. Her torment did not end there, and they began to burn her on a red-hot grate, but thanks to the power of God, the fire did not harm her. Then the emperor ordered the executioners to throw her into a cauldron with boiling resin, but at that very moment the resin cooled and again did not damage it. Faith said she would gladly accept death and go to her beloved Lord Jesus Christ. Then they simply cut off her head with a sword, and she betrayed the spirit to her God.
Saving Faith in the Lord
Her younger sisters just as bravely endured all the torture, and they were tormented by fire, but, like with Vera, they did not receive injuries from him. But then their heads were cut off.
Sufferer Sofia during this time survived the most terrible torment. The poor mother was not tortured, but she had to bury the bodies of her girls, then she could not leave their graves for two days, on the third day, seeing her such torment, the Lord took care and sent her a quiet death. Finally, her long-suffering soul was reunited with her daughters in the heavenly abode of the Lord. At the time of her death, Vera was 12 years old, Nadezhda - 10, Lyubov - 9. Sofia and her daughters were counted as saints.
The history of the name Love
Many are interested in the question, when do the Orthodox celebrate angel’s day with this name? Love, as we know, in Greek sounds like "Agape". But if the Greek names of the daughters were translated into Russian, then the name of their mother Sofia still retained its original sound. Translated, it means "wisdom."
Returning to the theme “Angel Day: Love”, one can also pay attention to very surprising data regarding the fact that Love as a proper name arose in the 9th century, when liturgical books were translated from the ancient Greek language to Church Slavonic. And unlike most Christian names of saints, the names of the holy martyrs of Hope, Faith and Love were translated into Russian.
For a long time, almost until the 18th century, these names were not used, even though they were mentioned in the holy calendar. At the baptism of Faith, Hope and Love, it was not customary to call, since they were very different from the names of the saints because of the connection with the common sense.
Name popularization
In Russian society during the reign of Empress Elizabeth, a great interest in these names appeared. Under her, who loved Russia with all her heart, national self-awareness began to grow. And therefore, three names became popular, and above all - in the noble environment. According to some reports, in the second half of the 18th century, nobles named approximately 15% of newborn girls, Moscow merchants - about 2%. Among peasants, this name was almost never found.
At the beginning of the 19th century, interest in the name among aristocrats increased to 26%, among merchants - already 14%, among peasants near Moscow - up to 1%. In the XX century, the peak of popularity occurred in the 50-60s. The name Love took 9th place among fashionable and popular names. Later, interest in this name began to decline.
The day of the angel named after Lyubov, her sisters Vera, Nadezhda and their mother Sophia in the Orthodox Church is celebrated on September 17 according to the old calendar and September 30 on the new one.