What name is Diana baptized in the Orthodox Church? Signs to baptize under a different name, again

Christening is a rite of passage of a citizen into the fold of the church, accompanied by the granting of a personal name, as well as the right to appropriate Christian attributes and participate in the life of the Christian community.

From time immemorial, a newborn child was given the name of a saint at baptism.. As then, today you can choose a child as heavenly patron a person who became famous in his life for deeds or exploits in the name of Faith and the Church. A person is born with this name and dies with it.

Names carry a hidden meaning, they contain a code. For example, the name Maria from Hebrew is translated as “bitter”, “beloved”, “stubborn” or “serene”, Aurora - personifies the dawn or morning star (it is not in the Saints), Miroslav - glorifying the world (there is also no mention in the Saints), glorified by the world, Zakhar - remembered by God, etc.

It is believed that the name “predicts” the fate of its owner according to the principle “whatever you name the ship, that’s how it will sail.”

Usually, at baptism, a female or male name of Greek or Hebrew origin from those mentioned in Holy Scripture and church canons. Slavic or Latin names in most cases have no analogue in Orthodox onomastics. In this case, the child is given another appropriate name.

Correspondence between the date of birth and the day of remembrance of saints

The name is chosen by the parents according to the Saints; it will be canonical. Saints are lists of the names of saints, structured by the months and days of their veneration by the Russian Orthodox Church. Feats in her glory have been performed in all centuries by both men and women. Therefore, there are male and female versions of names, although according to statistics there are more of the former.

According to church order, a child is named in honor of the saint not on the same day, but on the 8th day of birth, or on the 40th.

For example, if a boy was born on April 1, then he will be named in honor of John the Hieromartyr, Martyr Peter, Bishop Stephen or Bishop Simeon, etc. It is unlikely that parents will want to have Vafusia, Malkha or Sila in the family, whose celebration day is April 8. There is always a choice.

Why on the eighth day? According to biblical stories, the divine miracle of creation lasted 7 days, and on the eighth day the Lord descended to Earth. In this way, our ancestors managed to fit the child into the religious worldview of the narrow world in which he was born.

But more often than not, Orthodox tradition, the baby was baptized exactly 40 days after his birth. During these times, the child’s vital work is getting better. important systems organs: respiratory, visual and auditory apparatus. It is believed that after a month and a half, the baby is quite capable of perceiving the world and recognize objects and people in it.

In original Christian history, there are many worthy names suitable for baptized boys and girls, and each one means something. When a person wishes to be baptized at an already conscious age, the clergyman may ask to study the lives of the saints. This is done in order not just to “name oneself,” but to follow the example of what people canonized as saints should be for the modern average person.

Is it possible to name a baby one way and baptize it differently?

If parents want to give their child a name that is not in the Saints, then the problem of choosing an alternative name arises. Many parents are faced with the question: is it possible to name the baby one name and baptize it with another? It is worth considering that the church does not approve of the division between civil and Orthodox name for a person.

Examples of precedents among monasticism, princes in the past and Catholic churches are inappropriate here. A monk, renouncing his own life, world and civilization, turns into another person. During the reign of Russian princes, there were no saints in the calendar with similar names, which is why Vladimir Svyatoslavovich had to become Vasily, and his grandmother Olga Elena. And in order to be “called” Anna-Mary you need to be a Catholic...

So, is it possible to give the baby a different name at baptism so that the child has two? In fact, most priests advise against giving children double names.

Is the second necessary if the first is Orthodox?

If a child is given an Orthodox name at birth, then there is no point in inventing a second one.. There are beliefs about people who are haunted in life by illnesses, failures, self-doubt, mental and mental imbalance, when in the same life they respond to two different names.

If at birth they were named in a non-Orthodox manner

The name at baptism is changed only if the very first name is from the category of “non-Russian”, i.e. not contained in the calendar. A reasonable solution in this case is to choose a consonant name. For example, Angela - Angelina, Jan - John, etc.

Or completely different, incongruous. For example, Svetlana - Fotina, Bogdan - Theodotus, etc.

Such names are subject to “translation” into Orthodox ones. But there are exceptions. For example, if the child’s name is Leopold, Esmeralda, Aurora, Dobrynya, Svyatogor, etc. Then it will be necessary to choose a “new” name for the Temple.

How to choose?

When a child is baptized, parents choose their middle name based on their birthday., either on the day of baptism, according to the Saints on the 8th day from birth or 40, or by vow (for example, a pregnant woman in her prayers often asked for the help of a specific saint and promised, under good circumstances, to name the child after him) . Less often, it’s the name that parents “just like.”

List of beautiful options and their meanings

Next, we present a list of beautiful Orthodox female and male names, as well as their meanings and name day dates, to help you decide which one to give to your child as the first and only one, or so that he has two of them.

For boys

IN Lately a “fashion” has appeared for calling children “outdated” names, those that seem to smell like mothballs from an old chest of drawers. But, as they say: everything new is well forgotten old. It is important not to overdo it in pursuit of outlandish harmonies.. Parents have ambitions, a desire to highlight their child, but the child with this name still has to live. Naturally, the constitutional right according to which, after reaching adulthood, you can change your passport name to any one you like, has not been canceled. But it’s also not worth taking things to extremes.

For girls

There is a huge variety of names. It is impossible to list them all. When naming a newborn, the person responsible for his formation in this world must remember that it determines his fate.

Consider whether to give a double name(applies to those whose analogues cannot be found in the Saints). If there is complete confidence that the end justifies the means, then you can confidently stand by your choice.

The church gives its parishioners the right to choose. But specifically for each name that is not in the Saints, you need to negotiate with the priest himself who is performing the ritual. He will either take into account the wishes of the parents, or refuse, but will help with advice right choice. For example, take a different, consonant name or choose from a list of saints for a specific day. In any case, every person who wants to join the Church will be able to undergo the sacrament of Baptism, regardless of what he was named. The Holy Church will accept everyone.

Choosing a name at baptism - step-by-step instructions

Since time immemorial, the name has been of great importance. This is not just personalization of a person, it tells about its owner, gives a small but capacious description. Take, for example, Adam - the first man, whose name means "ancestor of mankind". His wife, Eve, is the “giver of life.”

The tradition of taking a name at baptism

With the spread of Christianity, names peculiar to the Israelites became widespread. This can be clearly seen in the New Testament: God called people new names, giving precise designations to each and defining their places in this life. For example, the Israelite name Simon means: “He (God) heard.”

As it is written in the Bible, God named Simon Cephas, which means stone (Peter). This is how the Apostle Peter got his name.

Since then, it has been customary to take an Orthodox name - after performing the sacrament, a person begins new life with God blessing.

Choosing a name in accordance with Orthodox traditions

Orthodox names are given in honor of saints. This is not just a beautiful, euphonious name, it is a heavenly patron who is an intercessor before God. Behind some image there is a spiritual personality and destiny that will have an impact on the child’s life.

In order to choose a name, it is enough to check with the church - perhaps the birthday or the nearest date is the day of remembrance of the saint. For example, the day of remembrance of the martyr Irene of Egypt falls on September 18. Thus, a girl born on this day or the next one is given a name in her honor, in accordance with the month. By the way, they began to call a person celebrating his birthday a birthday person precisely for this reason - while he is celebrating his birthday, Christians are celebrating name days in honor of the saint. This is firmly rooted in the consciousness and now people who celebrate their birthday are called birthday people. Although in fact, name day (also called Angel Day) is the day of remembrance of the saint.

In Russia there were no strict rules for choosing a name for a baby. It was usually chosen on the birthday, rather than on the eighth day, when baptism takes place. There was also a tradition of naming a child in honor of the saint to whom the vow was made - the future patron was chosen in advance. As a rule, the birthday and memorial day did not coincide in such cases, so the day (if there are several of them in the year) closest to the birth of the child was chosen as the name day.

However, the desired names are not always on the calendar. In this case, you can choose one that is consonant or has a similar designation. For example, Egor, Yuri and George have the same patron - St. George the Victorious. The saint is especially revered in the Orthodox and Catholic churches and is the patron saint of warriors, farmers and cattle breeders.

Exceptions are the names of Jesus Christ and the Mother of God - out of deep respect. However, the name Maria can be named after one of the saints.

Choosing or changing a name as an adult

IN modern society fashion for names changes as often as other trends. Often, parents, trying to stand out, give their child a rare name, without thinking about how it will combine with the surname and patronymic, and also what impact it will have on the baby’s life. Therefore, even if the birth falls on the day of remembrance of a saint with a rare name for our time, you should not give it to the newborn. It is better to choose something that is consonant or not so unusual. Thus, the names Anempodistus or Akakios, although they are a reminder of the saints, have nevertheless fallen out of widespread use. For example, on May 20, there are several saints in the calendar: Aviv, Zeno, Thaddeus, Isidore, Stephen, Michael, Joseph. Of all these, the names Joseph and Michael are common. Therefore, they are the preferred choice. It is also recommended to pay attention to the names of the apostles - Peter, Paul, John. They were in demand at the dawn of Christianity, and remain popular now.

There are times when a person, as an adult, wants to be baptized and change his name. There are two options here: independent choice according to the month's word or the help of a priest. In the second case, the minister translates the name into the Church Slavonic form: Oksana - Ksenia, Martha - Martha, Leon - Leo.

Double names

The person's name has magical power, it has always been shrouded in a veil of mystery and mysticism. A child's name sometimes defines his entire future life and influences her greatly. Our wise ancestors knew about the karmic force and power that the name carries. The Slavs tried to protect their children from misfortunes with the help of a church name.

There was a special orthodox calendar, where newborns were chosen. Name at ( church name) was kept secret, it was not said again in order to avoid the evil eye of the child. This, according to our ancestors, gave additional protection to a person from evil spirits.

The names of girls according to the church calendar are a wealth of unusually melodic names that never lose their relevance, distinguished by the amazing beauty of their sound. People who bear the names of saints or great martyrs who are the patrons of their birthday receive the powerful protection of a Guardian Angel for the rest of their lives. This was believed in ancient times, but this tradition is still observed in our modern days.

How to choose the right church name for a girl according to the calendar

In the Christian church year, several saints are commemorated and celebrated every day. Exist certain rules to choose .

• First birthday. Based on the date of birth, one of several female names of the calendar is selected, which the child will bear. These church names for children have powerful powers and protect their owners from life’s adversities.
• Eighth day from birth. The number eight is a symbol of eternity, a holy number in Christianity. In ancient times, according to church regulations, children were baptized on their eighth birthday. Orthodox female names given to the saint on his eighth birthday bring their owners a bright path in life.
• Fortieth birthday. It is on this day that the baby is brought, according to Christian custom, to the temple for the ceremony.

If there are no saints born on these days or their names seem dissonant to parents, a shift of several days from the intended date is allowed for girls. Nowadays, the tradition of giving male and female church names is carefully observed. In honor of the saint in whose name a person is named, a name day (Angel's Day) is celebrated. When the baby grows up, he must definitely learn the life of the saint in whose honor he bears his name.

Naming Ritual or Baptism- This is a holy rite, a church sacrament. A person, receiving the name of his saint, acquires the help of the Light forces, which from the moment of Baptism take him under their guardianship and care. Name days in the old days were celebrated even with more style than birthdays. On the date of one’s name day, it is customary to go to church and light a candle for one’s patron.

You can choose yourself female name according to the calendar for your baby. It will help you with this. Just keep in mind that in church calendar All dates follow the old style. To bring them into line with our usual calendar, we should add the number 13 to the date of birth.

Find out the meaning of other names

Female name Oksana Slavic origin. It is popular in Russia and Ukraine, Belarus and Poland, Serbia and Bulgaria. Sweet pronunciation speak...

“Rejoice, for your names are written in Heaven!” These are words from Holy Scripture related to. The names given during the sacrament were once chosen by Jesus himself.

Thus he called all Christians. This is how one of the prophecies of the Bible came true. All the names commanded by Christ are in the calendar - the list of saints. Let's take a closer look at the essence of church naming.

What does the name given at baptism mean?

Baptismal name It is not by chance that it is taken from the calendar. The saints in heaven must recognize the ward among the millions. To help a person, you need to see him, distinguish him. In the old days, they named it once during the sacrament.

IN modern tradition It is allowed to have two names - secular and church. The first can be anything - Aigul, Semiramis, Palmyra. The second title always coincides with the name given to some ascetic, healer, or great martyr. By the way, the names of the great martyrs are not given to repeat their fate.

The goal is to glorify the deeds of the saint. In addition, it is believed that those who are canonized gain access to the throne of God. That is, the souls of the great martyrs can personally ask God for good for their charges.

What is your baptismal name? Father decides to choose. He checks the calendar. For each day they have their own saint. Therefore, what a person is named depends on the date. This makes it possible to study the list of Slavic names in advance and schedule a ceremony for a specific day.

By the way, the connection between names given and dates dates back to the 16th century. Then the Pope approved Gregorian calendar. The head of the church was called Gregory, hence the name of the system.

It is worth noting that the list of names commanded by Jesus was expanded by the 16th century. Now there are even more mentions in the calendar. Sometimes there are several people on one day. Among them are martyrs glorified in the 20th century.

Doesn't matter, what names are given at baptism- from the original code, or from the updated one. The main thing is that they are all “written in heaven,” because the souls of the owners of these names are there.

The moment of giving a Christian name

Second name at baptism give after three times immersion in water. It is a symbol of death and rebirth with Jesus. At the moment of immersion, a person dies to the carnal, sinful world and opens up to the spiritual sphere. The ritual is considered a second birth. After him, the priest names him as a new arrival in the world, who has come to church.

“He who has entered the church” is a figurative expression meaning joining the camp of Christians. The ceremony itself does not necessarily take place in the temple. You can do it in an open body of water, or at home. For example, illness allows you to call a priest to your home. The priest himself will come to the one on his deathbed.

Nuances when giving a name to someone being baptized

Not everyone looks through the calendar in advance. Cases of urgent baptism during serious illnesses also do not imply a relationship between the rite and a specific date. Therefore, clergy are ready to name the believer the name of a saint, revered on another day.

This may be necessary, for example, if baby's baptism name male, and the ceremony is performed by a girl. There are few women saints. Therefore, the saints scroll through until they open a page with a suitable name.

Baptism by another name, sometimes, does not suit the baby’s relatives because of the cacophony, or not being modern. In this case, the priests also listen to the opinion of the parishioners. A variant is taken from another part of the calendar.

Often, the name remains civilian. After all, the list includes Saints Mary, Irene, and Elizabeth. Is on the list Anna. This baptismal name is awe-inspiring because righteous Anna gave life to the Most Holy Theotokos herself.

Suitable baby girl names: Svetlana, Tamara, Militsa, Marina, Nina, Efrosinya. The last old Russian version gained popularity due to the series that aired on Channel 2. By the way, saint s rare name possessed the gift of insight and foresight.

In the calendar there are Genevieve, Matrona and Julianna, but no Alice. This baptismal name It is customary to change it to Alexandra. This is what the daughter of Queen Victoria of England once did. Princess Alice, having married the Russian Tsar, became Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.

What name is given at baptism?? The list includes dozens of attractive options and deeds created by their bearers. Saint Leo fought against heresy. Alexander Nevsky is a famous diplomat and commander.

Vladimir Krasno Solnyshko baptized the Russian people. Since then name of the prince, baptism of Rus' displayed not only in textbooks, but also in the calendar. Let's pay special attention to this.

The history of the baptism of Rus'

Having visited different lands When choosing faith, Red Sun settled on Christianity. The ruler dissolved his harem, announcing to his wives that his new religion allowed only one wife. Lost their husbands overnight: Adele, Julia, Olofi, Manfred. These are the ones that have come down to us names Vladimir's husband before the baptism of Rus'.

Vladimir set an example of faith by personal example. Refusing polygamy, the prince baptized his sons. Then, the ruler began to personally read sermons, preparing baptism all Rus'. Associated with the name Red Sun conversion of vigilantes to Orthodoxy. The prince had a considerable army. The warriors carried out propaganda in their families, increasing the number of Christians.

By 988, when the official baptism was announced Kievan Rus, the new faith has almost no opponents left. Scientists suggest that only about 10% of the population opposed it. For them, coercion was a disaster. But, on the scale of history, the event turned out to be successful.

The sacrament of baptism is still one of the most sacred rites performed by the church. This is an equal blessing for all Christians, giving a person a name that he will carry throughout his life, which will influence his destiny. After all, it is known that the name book consists of church-legalized names belonging to saints. By calling a child one name or another, parents seem to call on the saint to protect their baby. No wonder the Scripture says: “Rejoice, for your names are written in Heaven!” That is, the church believes that a Christian name is a blessing from God.

Thanks to the rite of baptism, all Christians today bear the names that were once chosen by Jesus. In the Bible you can read about Jesus' warnings about keeping the name as it was given to them. That is, we are talking specifically about preserving the verbal formula.

When they began to call children at baptism after the names of holy martyrs, the apostles taught that this was done not for the sake of repeating the martyr’s path, but for the glory of those who went through it and for the sake of the name itself. The bottom line is this: it is impossible not to admit that at least one of the prophecies of the Bible came true - Jesus Christ gave names to all Christians.

Different peoples have same names, with minor fluctuations in spelling and pronunciation, which resulted from adapting them to national characteristics. The rest are a translation into the local language of a name that came from the same times and was used earlier. For example, the name Agathon (kind) corresponded to the Slavic Dobrynya, Peter - to the Old Russian Stone. The Hebrew name Thomas corresponds to the Latin name Thomas and Greek name Didim, which then transformed into the name Dmitry and means “twin”.

Baptism is a naming ritual. The first Christians changed their name. A person undergoing baptism enters the water without a name, and the priest at this time drives away the dark forces with prayer and calls on the forces of Light to take the person under their care and calls the name by which they recognize him. The forces of light must help a baptized person.

By naming children during baptism after the names of martyrs who suffered for the faith, it was believed that after death the saints found themselves at the throne of the Lord and had the opportunity to ask for mercy for their “wards.”

The ancient custom of naming children in honor of heroes and gods has been continued. At first there were no special rules according to which a person accepting Christian faith, chose a saint in whose name he was baptized. This was the person whose actions were closest to him or touched some strings of his soul, or that person lived nearby.

In the 16th century, Pope Gregory XIII, who was one of the most enlightened people of his time, introduced the calendar, which became known as the Gregorian calendar, and officially approved the custom of giving the names of saints and martyrs at baptism. The name was now given to a person at the moment when he accepted Christianity, as well as to newborns whose parents were Christians.

This is the rite of baptism. First, the priest read the prayer three times. Then he also called on the Holy Spirit three times and sanctified the water that was in the baptismal font. He immersed the baby (with his head) three times in this water. It was difficult to find a large font for adults, so the clergyman who performed the sacrament sprinkled the new convert three times blessed water. Water is not just a symbol of purification. By plunging into water, a person seemed to die and then resurrect, but as a Christian.

The newly born person is given a new name - Christian, and from now on the patron saint can ask the Lord for forgiveness and mercy for the person. The Holy Spirit enters the newly-made Christian through holy water and a drop of special incense - myrrh oil, which the priest applies to the forehead of the person being baptized. It means the blessing of the Lord and the equality of all before the Lord.

After the sacrament of baptism is performed, the saint whose name is chosen for the child or adult becomes his heavenly patron.

If your saint has several days of remembrance throughout the year (for example, there are about thirty saints with the name Alexander, John - more than eighty), then the closest day of remembrance of the saint after your birthday will be your name day, the remaining days of his memory are called small name days .

The list of names and their calendar (Saints), as well as the process of choosing a name itself, were subject to fairly strict rules. In addition to the fact that the name had to be in the Saints, it had to be one of those whose day is certainly celebrated between the first and eighth birthday of the child.

The child could only be called by the name that was indicated in the Saints on the day of his birth. Using this church calendar, the days of remembrance of the saints with which the child’s name coincided were determined. Most often, the child was named after a saint, whose memorial day fell on his birthday or the day of naming, as well as the day of baptism. For girls, a shift of several days was allowed if there were no days of remembrance of holy women. Moreover, the name chosen for baptism did not always coincide with the name given to the child at birth. However, with such a choice, the birthday and name day most often coincided and merged into one in the mind. Until now, we call those who celebrate their birthday birthdays.

In another case, the child was named by vow in honor of a certain saint, who was chosen in advance and prayed to him even before the child appeared. Then the name day was celebrated on the day of memory of this saint of God, and if the day of memory was celebrated several times a year, then on the day closest to his birthday. Nowadays this method of naming is rarely used, but the tradition of celebrating name days remains.

However, those who decided to be baptized still have the opportunity today to accept the name of a saint or righteous person whom a person considers close to him in spirit and a role model.

It must be remembered that in the church calendar the dates are indicated according to the old style (according to the secular calendar New Year begins on January 1, and according to the church – on January 14). Therefore, to each date in the church calendar it is necessary to add 13 in order to obtain correspondence with the secular calendar.

The first Saints translated from Greek were short, and their translation was imperfect, because during the correspondence the names were not translated or analyzed, but were simply transmitted phonetically, without explanation. Our talented people did this instead of careless copyists and looked for analogies in them with their native Russians.

At first, the attitude towards preserving the names that were given earlier was loyal, and Old Slavonic names, and the new ones coexisted together for quite a long time. But after the 14th century, names that were not included in the Saints were prohibited.

Only in the 17th century, Patriarch Nikon made a number of church reforms, one of which concerned the unification of names, since there were many discrepancies in their pronunciation. Some names Greek origin were similar to the original Russian ones, some were distorted and had many variations. To restore order and simplify the use and choice of names, new translations of name books were made, which approved the church spelling of names and showed the difference between the worldly name and the one that a person received at baptism. This tradition has been preserved to this day and has a special, sacred meaning when accepting the schema, tonsure, and devoting oneself to serving the church. A person leaves the world and turns to the spirit, changing his life and place in it along with his name. The name of the righteous remains unchanged so as not to lose its sacred meaning.

So the national ones are intertwined Slavic traditions, pagan beliefs, Christian tradition and social development names, which led to the naming traditions that exist today. Wisdom of the people, meaning Christian philosophy and ancient, pre-Christian knowledge is the basis of Russian names. Many people believe that there is some higher meaning in all this, which is not yet fully understood, but has enormous significance for a person.

After the revolution, the creation of new names was intensively promoted, which occurred along with the persecution of the church. According to the decree of January 23, 1918, baptism was abolished and replaced by civil registration. The church was separated from the state. Parents were encouraged to use new names that reflected the “new times.” Most of them, of course, were ugly and absurd like Revput and Tractorina. But there were also melodic in sound, for example, Vilen, Oktyabrina, Iskra. For some reason they didn’t take root either.

Since 1924, “new calendars” began to be published in various forms: tear-off calendars and separate manuals, articles in newspapers and magazines with lists of new names that were proposed to replace the old, canonical ones. But the majority of people, despite fashion and revolutionary consciousness, were in no hurry to part with what had become familiar. Many canonical names, of course, fell into disuse; those that stood the test of time and fire remained.

After all the upheavals, the church no longer requires dogmatic observance of traditions.

The great figure Pope John Paul II proclaimed the equality of all religions and announced the official position catholic church, which repents of its former sins and pride and considers religions to be different only due to different ways of recognizing the One Lord.

Today, Orthodoxy no longer insists on choosing a baptismal name that is within seven days of the child’s birth. The choice of name can be anything, even if the saint is not canonized by the Orthodox Church. But most often, to choose a heavenly intercessor in this case, they give a name that is consonant with the name of the one who is baptized. On the other hand, since, according to current legislation, baptism must be preceded by civil registration of a newborn, parents themselves choose the name of the child, which is included in the birth certificate.

The registry office departments quite clearly control the correct spelling (and pronunciation) of the full name given to the child, but if the name under which the child is registered is not in the Orthodox calendar, this does not mean that the name should be changed at baptism. It is quite possible that the parents, out of ignorance, gave the child an Orthodox name, but in a non-Russian (Western European or local) form. In this case, you should simply translate it into the Church Slavonic form and baptize under this name. For example, the girl Jeanne will most likely be baptized as Joanna, Polina as Apollinaria, Martha as Martha, Denis as Dionysius, etc. In the case where such a correspondence cannot be established (for example: Edward, Elvira, Karl, Oktyabrina) , the priest recommends that the parents or the person being baptized choose an Orthodox name (preferably close in sound), which will henceforth be his church name.

It is also important to know that the pronunciation of a civil and church name is often somewhat different: Ivan - John, Fedor - Feodor, Sergei - Sergiy (emphasis on the first syllable), Alexey - Alexy (emphasis on the second syllable, as in the civil name) .

Thus, the child receives two names. It has long been believed that a person should have two names, one of which no one should know, only God-parents and father. This is done so that no one can jinx you or cause damage, because the name has great energy power, and any use of it in magic can cause harm to the person to whom it belongs. The naming of a name is performed by a priest who blesses the person being baptized and reads a special prayer over him.

Choosing a name according to the canons of the church is the choice of a heavenly intercessor, so you should definitely know the day of your name day and the history of your saint in order to turn to him with prayers and use his protection.

At all times, the name of a Christian was considered holy, and from childhood children were taught to respect their name. Thus was born the tradition of giving the person being baptized the name of a saint, who thus becomes his heavenly patron and intercessor. This expressed the experience of the Church as a “Community of Saints”: the confidence that the only true purpose and calling of man is holiness.

One should distinguish between a heavenly patron and a guardian angel.

Guardian Angel - has no name and flesh and is given at the moment of baptism, accompanies a person and teaches him the understanding of Good and Evil. Such a lesson was determined for him by the Almighty. You should offer prayers to him every day, understanding his work. You should ask for direction on the righteous path, for protection from temptations, for guidance on the right decisions in life and for support in good endeavors.

The heavenly intercessor is the saint whose name a person is named at baptism. Many have not one patron, but several. Knowing their stories, you yourself will determine which of them are closer to you and who you can consider as your intercessors. Generally accepted practice: the name day is considered to be the day of remembrance of the saint that is closest to the date of birth. But the church does not insist on this. And, nevertheless, all the saints who have the same name as you should be known and remembered. To do this, refer to the name day calendar, which is presented in our book.