From ancient times, in Russia, names were given to newborns on the basis of the church calendar. Today, this somewhat forgotten tradition is being revived and is becoming more widespread every year. Many young couples who have become parents seek to give the child the name of a saint on the calendar. To choose a name in harmony with church tradition, the following points should be remembered.
You will need
Detailed orthodox church calendar
Instruction manual
1
Usually, according to the church calendar, the child is given the name of that saint / saint whose memory is committed on the very birthday of the baby. However, there are sometimes two kinds of difficulties. Firstly, in the church calendar there are days of great holidays when the saints are not remembered at all (for example, Christmas or Transfiguration). Secondly, there are days when the saints are recalled, or only male or only female (the first more often).
2
In this case, you can look and take the name of the saint / saint whose memory is / is celebrated in the next eight or even forty days (on the 40th day after the birth of the children they usually baptize). It is also common practice, approved by many priests, to take for a child the name of the saint who is remembered on the calendar on the days preceding the actual birthday.
3
Such a need to choose a somewhat arbitrary name for a newborn often arises for aesthetic reasons. Some may not like it purely in sound, for example, the name Paphnutius or Eupraxia. And then the above rules provide an opportunity to choose another, more acceptable name for you from the calendar.
4
It is believed that the saint / saint in whose honor / whom your baby is named becomes his patron / patroness. Although, from a strictly Christian point of view, all saints (alone or together), when prayerfully addressed to them, can be intercessors and helpers of every person living on earth. Therefore, in what relations your child will be with his saint or saint, depends largely on the degree of religiosity already at his conscious age.
5
A name day (a holiday celebrated annually on the day when the memory of the saint in whose honor you named your baby is celebrated) is customary to celebrate by attending church services or, if this is not possible, by reading the biography of the house (it is also called the life) of the saint in whose honor your baby.
note
If it is not known which of the saints of the same name he bears, then, according to tradition, one should consider as “his” that saint whose memory in the calendar falls on his birthday itself or follows his birthday. Therefore, despite the large number of dates for women’s name days, each individual person may have only one name day in a year, while other women may have several name days. Name day for women according to the church calendar.
Useful advice
Choosing names according to the holy calendar is a long-standing Orthodox tradition. In the Soviet years, it was practically abandoned, but now more and more parents again began to turn to the Orthodox calendar, referred to as saints. It is believed that it is best to choose the name of the saint on whose memorial day the baby was born. But what if you have a girl, and the names on the calendar on this day are only for men, or doesn’t the soul lie to any name at all? According to church laws, this is not an obstacle: you can see the names of saints who …
