Holy patrons by name and date of birth. How to learn the name of the patron saint

Many are wondering which patron saint by name and date of birth they have. Our article is entirely devoted to the answer. You will learn the name of your patron saint, as well as information on how best to celebrate the name day. This day is incredibly important for every person. So, read carefully the information below.

In our time, people increasingly after a long break begin to revive interest in their heavenly patrons and the days of the name-day. But many continue to confuse the concepts of "birthday of the name day," "birthday," and "the day of the guardian angel." Also often people just do not think, and why their name day is celebrated, say, today, not tomorrow or some other day. Even more often, having learned that there are several saints with a certain name, people start to get lost in conjectures, and which of these saints is the heavenly patron for this or that person. Let's try to understand these questions and find answers to them. These concepts simply need to be distinguished.

Birthday Day, Guardian Birthday Day and Birthday

I think everyone knows about birthday, I like to celebrate it, call guests and get presents. Everything is simple: a birthday is the day on which a person was born. But let's think about it, but why is it often enough that a person on our birthday is called a "birthday boy"? This is due to the fact that thanks to the long atheistic period throughout the post-Soviet space, people simply began to confuse the birthday and the day of their name-day, uniting them at times on the same date. However, the "birthday" and "birthday of the name day" - the concepts are different. It is worth mentioning that before the revolution in tsarist Russia, the name day for the Orthodox was a much more important holiday than the birthday. In our time, they are celebrated much less often. The reason for this is the ignorance of people about the significance of the birthday of the name-day. But every year the situation is changing and more and more people are showing interest in them and their heavenly patrons. So what is this day? Believers still denote it by the word "namesake". Do you know the meaning of the words "namesake", "tseza"? They denote a person who has the same name. So: a certain calendar day, in which one or another holy or several saints are remembered, is a holiday name for a person bearing the name of that saint whom they remember this day. In the common people, especially in the western parts of Ukraine and Belarus, the day of the name day is often referred to as "the day of the angel", "the day of the angel-guardian guardian angel", which, of course, is also not entirely correct. The error occurs because the believing people of their saints are sometimes called angels, guardian angels. But this is not holy, it is the angel, the kind spirit given at the baptism of God to man, so that he instructs a person during his earthly life on the path of salvation. But a person can not know his name, since he is invisible to a person. Therefore, for each guardian angel, there is no single day for his remembrance. But certain days are fixed, in which all the heavenly angelic forces honor.

How to learn the name of the patron saint

So how do you know, and when is the day of veneration of your saint appointed? And what are the patron saints by name and date of birth of each of us? In the end, who determines this? So, in order: firstly, in order to find out which of the saints is our heavenly protector, we need to look into the Saints, or, as this church-folk calendar is also called, the Mesyatses. It is there that the names of all the saints and dates for their memory are recorded. And these dates are set by the Church, which also assigns this or that person to the saints' face. Secondly, the patron saints are usually identified by name and date of birth. Well, this is understandable, because we know our name. However, how can we be if several holy men are mentioned in the Saints with our name? In that case, we must choose a saint whose memory is celebrated closest to the day of our birth. It should also be noted that the list with the saints is constantly being updated, as more and more saints are glorified. For example, at the Bishops' Council in 2000, the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia were glorified, and now if a person was baptized before 2000, then the saints by name and date of birth are determined according to the publications of the Saints before 2000. And if after that the saint is determined from a wider list by the date of birth, according to the publications of the Saints later than 2000. And what if we do not find a saint with his name in the Saints? For example, if a person does not have a Christian name? In this case, we must choose a patron saint, close by name to ours. So, Dina becomes Evdokia, Angelica becomes Angelina, Jeanne John, and Svetlana - Photinia. But Yuri is baptized George. Does this mean that a person in this worldly life is also called this new name? No. In the worldly life, of course, he remains Yuri. And in church life, when, say, a confession or participle, when calling himself, he must name the church name: George. By submitting a note on health or on rest, the church name of a person is also written. Earlier, when they decided to name and baptize a newborn, they usually looked in the Fathers and watched the memory of what saints the Church honors on this day, and chose the patron saint for the baby by the name of this list. It is on the day of the child's baptism, and not on the day of his birth. Now it's a forgotten tradition, and in our time few people adhere to it. They are nowadays named mostly in honor of their relatives or in honor of some favorite characters of books or films, but not in honor of the saints. This is also because many do not know which patron saints by the date of birth and name exist. On the example of some names, let's see how many saints fall into one name.

The patron saint of the name of Andrew

The name Andrew is of Greek origin. In translation it means "courageous, brave". Since this name is very common, - that's the name of one of the twelve apostles of Christ, - then, accordingly, there must be many saints with this name. Let's see, is this true? We'll glance at the Holyties. Yes, indeed, there are many saints with the name of Andrei. Here they are. The Holy Martyr Andrew, Bishop of Ufa (January 8), the martyr Andrei Lampaksky (May 31), the Apostle Andrew the First-Called (July 3, July 13, December 13), the Monk Andrei Rublev, the icon painter (July 17), the MonkMartyr Andrew of Crete (October 30).

So, as we can see, the choice is rich. This is not a complete list. Remember that Andrew to determine his heavenly patron must choose a saint with the name Andrew from the list, which would be the closest to his birthday.

Vladimir

What patron saint of the name of Vladimir? It is Slavic. The first part of the name goes back to the primordial 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 (-measure) among the Slavs adopted, under the influence of the word "peace", a different meaning, corresponding to the indicated word. It turns out that the name Vladimir means a combination of "owning the world"; At the same time the world in the meaning of "the universe, the globe", and the world in the meaning of "silence, peace." Originally the name was pagan. But after the baptism of Rus, later, the name Vladimir was canonized, since Rus baptized Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich. There are fewer saints with this name than in the case of Andrei. We'll glance at the Holyties. Hieromartyr Vladimir, Metropolitan of Kiev and Galich (1 February), martyr John-Vladimir, Prince of Serbia (June 4), Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir (July 28), Martyr Priest Vladimir (August 29), Prince Vladimir Yaroslavich Novgorod (October 17) .

First name Dmitry

Now we find out what patron saint Dmitry is. This Greek name means "dedicated to the goddess Demeter." The established church form of the name is Dimitry. There are also many saints with this name, since the name Dmitry is very widespread to this day. What kind of saints with the name of Dimitri mention the Saints? Reverend Demetrius Skevofilaks (February 7), righteous Dimitriy Yuryevsky, son of the Righteous Prince Svyatoslav (February 16), the patrist-martyr Demetrius of Uglich and Moscow (May 28, June 5, June 16), martyr Demetrius of Kazan (October 15), martyr Demetrius November 28), the righteous Demetrius (December 14).

Alexandra

Let's talk about what a patron saint of the name of Alexander. This is a female form named Alexander; Has a Greek origin and is translated as "the defender of people", "brave". Saints with this name, frankly speaking, a little bit, here they are: the martyr Alexander Pontus (April 2), the martyr Alexander Rimskaya, the Nicomedia, the Empress (May 6), the martyr Alexander of Corinth (May 31, November 19), the Monk Alexander Diveevskaya (June 26) ), Holy passion-bearer Empress Alexandra (July 17). In Russia, of course, the most popular saint, bearing the given name, is the Russian Empress, the wife of Nicholas II, the last Russian emperor.

Anna

It is worth mentioning about which holy patron of the name is Anna. If all the previous names we considered (with the exception of Vladimir) were of Greek origin, then this name is Jewish, and is translated as "grace, favor, mercy, dear." The name is biblical. Since the name is very widespread all over the world, there are many saints with this name, unlike Alexandra, of course: a prophetess Anna (February 16, December 22, martyr Anna Gottfskaya (April 8), pious Grand Duchess Anna Kashinskaya (25 June 3, on October 15), the Monk Anna Bithinskaya (June 26, November 11), the martyr Anna (July 18).

Elena

What are the patron saints named Elena? It is of Greek origin. It is interesting that his etymology is still unclear. There were suggestions that it is associated with the sun god Helios or indicates the self-name of the Greeks - the Greeks. However, despite the popularity, there are very few saints with this name. The martyr Elena (January 28), the Equal-to-the-Apostles queen Elena (June 3), the martyr Elena, the daughter of the apostle Alpheus (June 8), the Monk Elena Diveevskaya (June 10), the Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga, the Grand Duchess of Russia, Elena in baptism (July 24) Righteous Elena, Queen of Serbia (November 12).

A little about the icons of the holy patrons

There are many icons with images of saints. And it is very good if a person has a home or carries with him the image of his heavenly patron saint. To the saint you can address any request, our holy patrons hear us and help us. In order to correctly choose an icon with the image of your saint, we need to know about his patron, as he is portrayed in icons, to go into the church shop and choose the suitable one. It will be good if the icon of the patron saint by name will always be near you. In addition, let's say that it would be nice to know even one prayer addressed to your saint.

How to celebrate the holy patron saint day?

If you understand the difference between birthday parties from the birthday, you certainly understand the difference between celebrations. On the day of the name-day, we, above all, remember our saints, so that they also remember us. On the day of the name-day, believers usually go to the church, confess and receive communion. But, of course, there are no obstacles for guests, a festive dinner and gifts. But this should not be a noisy fun and a feast with alcoholic beverages. It is better if it is a spiritual conversation, filled with meaning and content. It is worth noting that if your name days are for the time of Fasting, you need to cook only lean dishes. Observe this rule. If your name day was on a weekday in the Post, they must be transferred on Sunday or Saturday.

Some people do not celebrate the day of their name-day. This is extremely wrong, because, apart from religious overtones, it is also just a good bright day filled with joy.

It is very important to teach children from the early age to celebrate birthday, take them to the church for communion, and also give them small gifts and arrange a quiet feast with the family. In the future, the child throughout his life will treat this day as a festive and special.

And further. Never forget to congratulate your name-day relatives and friends. Give them small gifts. Your attention this day they will be very pleased. If possible, visit them. Knowing which patron saints by birth and name of your loved ones will help you with the choice of a gift, if you decide to bring an icon.

We really hope that this article was useful to you. You know what holy patrons are by name and date of birth, and also how to define them. That's not all. You learned which patron saint by name is yours. Also we hope that for you it will be interesting information how to celebrate the name day. For many people this is another reason for the feast, which is not right. Now you will know what actions are best to perform on this wonderful day for each person's birthday. How to learn the name of the patron saint? It's not that hard. It is necessary only to show a keen interest.