How Orthodox people celebrate name days. What is name day and angel day: what is the difference and how to celebrate them

According to St. John of Kronstadt, people remember their saints so that they also remember people and pray to God for them. On Angel Day, the birthday man is congratulated in order to honor the memory of the saint, whose name the person was baptized, through congratulations. The patron saint is asked for help, so that he prays to God for a person. Thus, the family and friends of the birthday boy express their concern for his soul.

What to do on name day, how to celebrate and what to give

The most important part of the holiday When is the right time to celebrate birthdays?, is not a feast at all. Name days in Russia have been celebrated somewhere since the seventeenth century. Then the birthday man with his family, first of all, right in the morning, went to church, where he prayed to his saint, put candles. And only in the evening guests were called for a festive treat. So should the modern Christian. On Angel Day, a believing Christian first goes to church to confess, take communion and pray to his saint. To visit the church on this day, you need to prepare in advance. Sew or buy holiday clothes. Learn a special prayer addressed specifically to your saint. To study his life, deeds, deeds and words. It is generally important to know such things, since the name imposes on a person the obligation to take an example from his saint. A visit to church, prayer will set the soul in a peaceful, calm and sublime way. Before the festive meal, it will be good to pray and then keep in your soul the feelings that the prayer caused. It is important not to forget that on fasting days, treats should also be fasting. V great post name day with weekdays rescheduled for Saturday or Sunday. Rampant fun on the name day, the day when you need to take care of your soul, turn to your saint, is completely inappropriate. Traditionally, a cake is baked on a name day and guests are invited. However, it can be noted in another way. You can go to visit the same birthday and celebrate together. Some families go to holy places. Other, when is birthday celebrated, they invite the priest to the festive meal so that he feeds the whole family. The birthday boy is also traditionally given gifts on Angel Day. The best gifts will be those things that can serve the soul of the birthday man: a nominal icon, icon lamps, books, films of spiritual content, and the like. The main thing on the name day is the mood for bright, pure joy and peace of mind, not overshadowed by immoderate behavior.

Angel Day, or name day- this is a day dedicated to some saint, and a person named after this saint is obliged to celebrate it. Name days among Christians are considered a much more significant holiday than the day of a person’s physical birth. This is explained by the fact that naming the name of a saint gives the right to intercession, help and support on his part. A person, thereby, acquires a guardian angel in the person of a saint, whose name he bears. This means that he is obliged to honor him once a year and celebrate the name day - Angel Day, the day of memory of his heavenly patron.

Previously, the rite of baptism of an infant with a name was performed exactly on the eighth day after birth, not earlier and not later. Seven is a sacred number in all world religions. The Bible tells about the creation of the world, which lasted seven days, and the eighth day is interpreted as a symbol of the Kingdom of Heaven. In Orthodoxy, the name of the child is not chosen arbitrarily, but in accordance with church calendar — saints. Depending on the memory of which saint the church celebrated on the day of baptism, the child was usually called that name.

Today this tradition is not maintained so strictly. People do not always give names to their children under the guidance of the saints. They choose according to personal taste, with a fashion for names or in memory of one of the relatives. However, the choice of a name according to the holy calendar in last years come running more and more often.

Name days in Russia in the old days

In Russia, it was customary to celebrate name days especially - this tradition has been known since the 17th century. The family began to brew beer in advance, baked birthday cakes, loaves and kalachi according to a special recipe. On this day, the ritual of visiting the church by the birthday man was obligatory, who, together with relatives, came there for mass, ordered a prayer service for his health, put candles and applied his lips to the icon of his heavenly patron saint.

By the evening, they always arranged a festive feast in honor of the birthday man, at which the most honored guests were God-parents . And the table decoration was a huge birthday cake, which later turned into a cake. True, candles were not placed on him. Festive pastries - pies and kalachi - were distributed as a treat to relatives, friends and relatives. This had a special meaning! Even the filling of the pies was chosen not randomly, but denoting the character traits of the birthday man himself and the relatives he presented as gifts.

As for royal persons and representatives of the church hierarchy, the days of their name days were called namesakes. This is a separate issue. It is only worth mentioning that, according to historians, in pre-revolutionary Russia, namesake days were celebrated very widely. For example, the name day of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna turned into public holidays.

How to determine your name day date - Angel Day

To date, more than 2,000 names of Christian saints are known, canonized by the church. However, there is a certain difficulty in choosing your saint. Many saints have the same names but different dates of commemoration. There are more than a hundred of Saint Johns alone mentioned in the holy calendar. But at the same time, a person can have only one patron saint, and the day of remembrance of this saint (Angel Day, name day) is celebrated only once a year.

In order not to get confused and not make a mistake in determining the date of the name day and your patron saint, there is the following rule: you need to find out the nearest date of memory of the saint whose name you are named after your birthday. This will be your Angel Day.

For example, there are two saints Valery that are mentioned in the calendar. Martyr Valery Melitinsky, whose day of memory is November 7 (November 20, according to a new style), and Valery of Sebaste, commemorated on March 9 (March 22, according to a new style). A person named Valery at baptism, born from November 21 to March 22, will celebrate the memory of Valery of Sebaste on March 22 in a new style. And Valery, whose date of birth fell on the period from March 23 to November 20 of the new style, will become a birthday boy on November 20 - the day of memory of Valery Melitinsky.

However, during the sacrament of baptism, the clergyman can call the name according to church rules, known only to the ministers of the church. Therefore, in some cases, the dates of the name day may not coincide with the calendar.

Do you want to give a SPECIAL gift on Angel Day?

Howdefinedaytheirname day (dayangel)

Name day is the day of memory of the saint, in whose honor the Christian is named. Other names for this day day Angela, day namesake.

Each Orthodox Christian bears the name of the saint after whom it is named. The name is chosen according to the church calendar, each day of which is dedicated to the memory of a particular saint.

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

“The Lord gives each of us two Angels,” teaches Saint Theodore of Edessa, “one of which, the Guardian Angel, keeps us from all evil, from various misfortunes and helps us do good, and the other Angel is the holy saint of God, whose name we bear, intercedes for us before God, prays to God for us. His prayers, as more worthy, pleasing to God, are more likely to be accepted than ours, sinners.

Angels, being ministers of love and peace, rejoice in our repentance and success in doing good, try to fill us with spiritual contemplation (to the extent of our receptivity) and assist us in every good.

“Saints,” wrote St. Silouan of Athos, “in the Holy Spirit they see our life and our deeds. They know our sorrows and hear our ardent prayers... The Saints do not forget us and pray for us... They also see the suffering of people on earth. The Lord gave them such great grace that they embrace the whole world with love. They see and know how we are exhausted from sorrows, how our souls have dried up, how despondency has bound them, and, without ceasing, they intercede for us before God.

The name given to a person at baptism does not change, except for a few, very rare cases, such as, for example, when taking vows as a monk. With the name given to a person at baptism, a person remains throughout his future life, with him he passes to the next world; his name, after his death, is repeated by the Church when prayers are offered for the repose of his soul.

If a person was baptized in childhood and grew up in an Orthodox environment, then from childhood he also knows his name day. But it often happens that people who were baptized in childhood lived their adult lives outside the Church and do not even know which saint they were named after. In addition, saints with the same name are found in the church calendar more than once. So, there are about thirty saints with the name Alexander, John - more than eighty; in addition, one saint may have several days of remembrance.

To determine the name day, the following practice has developed in the Church: if in the church calendar there are several days of remembrance for saints named after you ( namesake - eponymous, with the same name), then your Angel Day will be the closest of these days after your birthday ahead of the calendar.

The saint, whose memory is celebrated on this day, will be your heavenly patron.

If your saint has several days of remembrance during the year, then the day after your birthday is the day of your name day, while the rest of the days of his memory are called small name days.

If a child is named with a non-Orthodox name, then a consonant Orthodox name is usually chosen at baptism.

Saints have different names: prophets, apostles, martyrs, confessors, saints, reverends, unmercenaries, blessed, righteous.

prophets - saints who, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, predicted the future, mainly prophesying about the coming, death and resurrection of the Savior. They lived until the Savior came to earth.

apostles — these are the closest disciples of Jesus Christ, whom He sent to preach during His earthly life, and after the descent of the Holy Spirit on them, they preached the Christian faith in all countries. At first there were twelve of them, then seventy more were added to them. Two of the apostles, Peter and Paul, are called the chief, since they labored more than others in preaching the faith of Christ.

Saints who, like the apostles, spread the faith of Christ in different countries, are called equal to the apostles. These are, for example, the faithful kings Constantine and Helena, Saint grand duchess Olga, Blessed Grand Duke Vladimir, the Holy Enlightener of Georgia Nina, St. Mary Magdalene, First Martyr Thekla and others.

Martyrs — these are Christians who accepted cruel torment and even death for their faith in Jesus Christ. If, after the suffering they endured, they later died peacefully, then they are called confessors. Archdeacon Stephen and Saint Thekla suffered for the faith of Christ earlier than others, therefore they are called first martyrs.

Those who died for the holy faith after especially severe (great) suffering, which not all martyrs underwent, are called great martyrs: for example, the Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious, the Holy Great Martyrs Barbara, Catherine and others.

Saints — bishops who pleased God with their righteous lives and served the Church of Christ, such as, for example, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, St. Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow, and others.

Saints and priests who endured martyrdom for Christ are called holy martyrs.

Saints Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom are called ecumenical teachers, that is, teachers of the entire Christian Church.

Reverends — righteous people who moved away from worldly life in society and pleased God, being in chastity, fasting and prayer, living in deserts and monasteries. Such, for example, are Sergius of Radonezh, Seraphim of Sarov, Mary of Egypt and many others.

The saints who endured martyrdom for Christ are called venerable martyrs.

righteous led a godly life in the world, being family people like, for example, the holy righteous Joachim and Anna and others.

The first righteous on earth, the ancestors (patriarchs) of the human race, are called forefathers. For example, Adam, Noah, Abraham and others.

Unmercenaries free of charge, that is, without any recompense, without demanding remuneration for their labors, they healed diseases, both bodily and mental. Such, for example, are Cosmas and Damian, Cyrus and John, and others.

Holy fools Christ for the sake of - people who, for the sake of Christ, appear to the world to be foolish by outward actions, but in fact are full of spiritual wisdom. Such people are also called blessed.

Howimitatehissaint

Every Christian should know the life of his saint, imitate him, show himself worthy of the holy name with his pious life, show himself an imitator of those exploits that distinguished the saint whose name he bears. “Let your life be by your name,” wrote Saint Ambrose Optinsky.

Each of us bears the name of a saint given at baptism: some are called the names of Angels, others are called the names of the saints of God, Old Testament and New Testament. These names are given to Christians as a sign of the spiritual union that exists between the names of the heavenly Church and the names of the earthly Church, for they constitute, as it were, one body under one head - the Lord Jesus Christ - and are in close communion with each other. Saints living in heaven, out of love for their earthly brothers, take an active part in their fate: they rejoice, looking at their God-pleasing life, mourn at the sight of their sins, delusions and misfortunes, prayerfully intercede for them before God, invisibly help those who resort to them with heartfelt faith and protect them from temptations and misfortunes by their intercession, and by their lives they present an instructive example for imitation and guidance. Such a close participation of the saints in our destiny imposes on us the obligation to love them and imitate, to the best of our ability, their deeds and perfections. We are especially obliged to do this in relation to those saints whose names we bear, for it is for this purpose that the Church names their names for us.

Just as in everyday life it would be a sign of ingratitude and disrespect for the ancestors, if their memory, their glorious deeds and merits were forgotten by the descendants who inherited their glorious names and nicknames, so in the spiritual life those who deserve even more censure deserve and heartfelt participation relates to the exploits of their saints.

How can we imitate the saints?

First, we must know well the life and deeds of those saints whose names we bear. Whoever does not know this cannot honor and love his saint as he should.

Secondly, we must turn to our saints with reverence and living faith as constant intercessors and intercessors for us before God. The naming of our saints by our Angels is full of deep meaning, and the day of the name day is the day of the Angel. Like guardian angels, they are our patrons and protectors from enemies, visible and invisible.

Thirdly, we must always have in our minds and hearts the life of our saints as a lofty role model; the name of a saint obliges one to become like this saint in virtues and deeds. But is it possible for a layman to imitate the deeds of, for example, a reverend, that is, a monk? Or the exploits of a confessor, martyr or saint?

Imitation of the saint consists for the layman not in withdrawal from the world, but in self-denial. The Savior commanded everyone: who wants go per me, reject myself (Mark 8:34). For the sake of pleasing God, the monk imposes on himself vows of celibacy, non-acquisitiveness and obedience by feats of self-denial; a layman does not give these vows, but what lies at the basis of them is also obligatory for him: to keep the purity of thoughts, feelings and actions, not to be attached to earthly goods, but to seek spiritual goods, to obey the law and authorities.

One who bears the name of a confessor or martyr can manifest similar feats: fearlessly confess his Christian convictions, act like a Christian always and at any time, pleasing God, and not people, even if for that they would expect him to ridicule, reproaches, threats and persecution.

Those who bear the names of saints can imitate their zeal in exposing errors and vices and in spreading the true teaching of the Church, in helping to save their neighbor by word and example of life, according to the apostolic commandment: exhort friend friend and edify one another, how you and do. Please same you, brethren, respect working people at you, and primates your v Lord, and admonishing you, and read their predominantly With love per case their; be v world between yourself. We beg also you, brethren, admonish disorderly, comfort faint-hearted, support weak, be long-suffering to everyone (1 Thessalonians 5:11-14).

How can one imitate Christ for the sake of a holy fool? Penetrating deeper into the lives of these saints, we see in them high spiritual perfections - self-sacrifice, humility, complete non-acquisitiveness, firmness of spirit. They fearlessly told the truth to all who needed reproof and admonition. With what patience they endured hunger and thirst, cold and heat, and all the hardships associated with their difficult life! One can and should imitate these perfections without taking upon oneself the way they manifested themselves among the holy fools: eradicate pride, pride, self-interest in oneself, accustom oneself to patience, meekly endure insults. Whoever follows this path, even without being a holy fool, will be a worthy imitator of the saints, blessed by the Church for the feat of foolishness in Christ.

By doing so, we will come closer to the deeds of our saints and show ourselves worthy of those glorious names that the Holy Church called us at baptism.

Howcelebratedayhisangel

Angel Day is a special day. We celebrate here, on earth, the memory of our saint, so that, as the holy righteous John of Kronstadt writes, our saints “remember and intercede for us before God ... Our birthdays and name days should, predominantly before all other weekdays, turn our hearts and our eyes to heaven, with grateful feelings to the Creator, Provider and Savior, with the thought that our fatherland and Father are there, that the earth is not a fatherland, but a place of arrival and wandering, which clings to corruptible things it is reckless, sinful... ungodly that one must cling to God with all one's heart.

Angel Day, name day, should not be celebrated only with a friendly feast. Orthodox people on the days of their name days they visit the temple and, having prepared in advance, confess and partake of the holy Mysteries of Christ.

On the day of the name day at home, a festive meal is made among close people. It should be remembered that if the name day falls on a fast day, then the festive treat should be fast. In Great Lent, name days that happened on a weekday are transferred to the next Saturday or Sunday, or even to Bright Week.

The days of "small name days" are not so solemn for the birthday man, but it is still desirable to visit the temple on this day.

"Praying to the Lord, Mother of God Angels and saints should first of all take care of correcting their hearts and their lives, and then imitate them, as it is written: be merciful, how and Father your merciful (Luke 6:36); be holy, because what I AM holy (1 Pet. 1:16).

Those who pray to the Mother of God should imitate Her humility, unimaginable purity, devotion to the will of God (for example, when you see injustice) and patience; those praying to the Angels should think about the life on high and strive for spirituality, gradually putting aside carnal and carnal passions, also about fiery love for God and neighbor; praying to the saints, let them imitate their love for God and contempt for the world or its vain blessings, their prayer, abstinence, non-acquisition, patience of illnesses, sorrows and misfortunes, their love for their neighbor. Otherwise, prayer will be a beating of air,” writes the holy righteous John of Kronstadt.

“We call on the saints to mediate between us and God, so that they pray to Him for us; we call them not as any gods, but as His friends who serve Him, praise Him and worship Him. We demand their help, not because they can help us with their own strength, but because by their intercession they ask God for grace from God ... They pray for others during their earthly life and intercede not only privately and secretly, but also publicly and openly , as the Scriptures confirm ... all the more so after their death they pray to God for us, for then nothing prevents them from doing this. But someone will say that the saints do not know and do not understand our prayers. To this we answer that although they themselves do not know and do not hear our prayers, but they know and hear by the revelation of God ... So, we justly honor them and ask God for help through them ... We do not give them Divine honor , but we pray them, as our brothers and friends, that they ask God for help for us and intercede for us before the Lord ” (Orthodox confession).

“The prayers of the saints have great power, but only when we ourselves repent (of sins) and correct ourselves ... However, I say this not so as not to call on the saints in prayers, but so that we are not lazy and, indulging in carelessness and sleep, did not impose on others what they themselves should do ” (saint John Chrysostom).

The simplest prayer to your saint:

“Pray to God for me, holy servant of God (name), as if I diligently resort to you, a quick helper and prayer book for my soul.

“We turn to the saints with a request to pray for us before God, but most of all we must turn to the saint whose name we bear. He loves us and always rushes to help in our needs, therefore we call him our prayer book. Therefore, it is imperative to know the troparion [a chant in which the essence of the holiday is revealed or a sacred person is glorified] to your saint ... Remember: such a one is looking for something like that ” (Saint righteous John Kronstadt).

In addition to the troparion, it is good to learn a prayer to your saint, kontakion. A kontakion is a short Orthodox hymn that outlines the dogmatic or historical meaning of a celebrated event or person.

In prayers to the saints, we ask them, first of all, for spiritual help, according to the word of God: look for... before kingdoms God's and truth His, and it all will follow to you (Matthew 6:33). This is "everything" - both bodily health and family well-being and material wealth. We ask God to fulfill our prayer, if it is not clearly sinful, but we cannot make our human desires and conjectures the will of God. To every human petition we must add in our hearts: both same not like az want, but like You Khoshishi.

We must strive to ensure that this prayer of ours sincerely sounds in our hearts, otherwise we pray as pagans in polyverb his.

BriefmonthsWithindicatingdaysangel

Day his Angela can define on brief month-word.

MEN'SNAMES(dates are in the new style)

ALEXANDER — defender people (Greek). Saint - May 29 and December 25; Hieromartyr - March 28, 29, August 25; martyr - February 6, March 22, 26, April 23, May 26, June 2, 23, July 22, 23, August 14, 24, October 11, November 4, 22; reverend - March 8, April 30, May 3, June 22, September 12; the rightful prince - September 12, December 6

ALEXY — defender (Greek). Saint - February 25, June 2, October 18; martyr - August 22; Reverend - March 30, May 7, Oct 11

ANATOLY — Oriental (Greek). Saint - July 16; martyr - May 6, December 3; Rev. - July 16, Sept. 10, Oct. 11

ANDREY — courageous (Greek). Apostle - July 13, December 13; saint - July 17; Hieromartyr - 4 Oct.; martyr - April 28, May 31, September 1, October 6; venerable martyr - October 30; reverend - June 25, July 17, September 23, December 15; noble prince - June 5, July 6, 17, November 9; blessed - 15, 23 Oct.

VALENTIN — strong (lat.). Hieromartyr - August 12; martyr - May 7, July 19.

VALERY — peppy, strong (lat.). Martyr - March 22, November 20.

BASIL — royal (Greek). Saint - January 14, February 12, April 25, May 12, June 23, July 16; Hieromartyr - March 20, April 4, May 9, 13; martyr - January 14, July 19, December 11; venerable martyr - August 24, October 11; reverend - March 13, April 8; the rightful prince - March 17, June 5, 21, July 16, 28; blessed - August 15; righteous - 5 Apr.

VICTOR— winner (lat.). Martyr - February 13, March 23, April 2, 28, May 1, September 29, November 24.

VITALY— vital (lat.). Martyr - February 7, May 11; reverend - May 5th.

VLADIMIR(glory.). Equal-to-the-Apostles - July 28; noble prince - June 4, October 17; Hieromartyr - 7 Feb. and in the Cathedral of New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia.

VSEVOLOD — everyone owning (glory.). Blessed Prince - February 24, May 5, December 10

GENNADY— noble (Greek). Saint - September 13; reverend - 5, 28 Feb., 5 June.

GEORGE— farmer (Greek), (glory. Yuri). Saint - March 6, April 30, May 2, 29, August 31; martyr - February 4, June 8; great martyr - May 6, November 16, 23, December 9; reverend - January 21, April 17, July 10, September 6; confessor - May 26; noble prince - February 17, June 27.

GRIGORY — awake (Greek). Saint - January 1, 23, February 7, 12, March 17, 25, May 3, September 12, November 18, 27, 30, December 6, 2nd Week of Great Lent; Hieromartyr - October 13; martyr - October 11, December 11; venerable martyr - January 21; Rev. -18, 21 Jan., 28 June, 21 Aug., 10, 12 Sept., 11, 13, 18 Oct., 3 Dec.

DIMITRY- Saint - June 5, October 4, November 10; martyr - August 22, September 24, November 8, 28; reverend - February 24, November 8; the faithful prince - May 28, June 5, 16; noble prince - June 1.

EVGENIY — noble (Greek). Hieromartyr - March 20; martyr - February 3, November 20, December 26; Reverend - February 25, March 4.

JOHN — grace God's (Heb.). Forerunner and Baptist - January 20, March 9, April 7, July 7, September 11, October 6, 25; apostle - May 21, July 13, October 9; saint - February 9, 12, June 1, 23, July 9, August 31, September 12, 15, 20, 27, October 16, 28, November 10, 25, December 17; Hieromartyr - November 14; Martyr - February 4, 6, March 22, April 27, May 1, 12, June 4, 6, 15, July 25, August 12, 17, 22, October 6, 11, November 4, December 11. ; venerable martyr - April 25; reverend - January 28, February 8, March 8, April 2, 9, 11, 12, April 24, May 1, 2, 20, June 8, 25, 26, July 2, 9, 16, 25, 31, August 3, October 11, November 1, 22, December 15, 16, 17, 20, January 11, on the 4th Week of Great Lent; unmercenary - February 13, July 11; righteous - June 9, July 7, November 1; blessed - June 5, 11, July 16, September 16, November 25, December 23; noble prince - June 1.

KIRILL — Sun (Persian.). Equal to the Apostles - February 27, May 24; saint - January 31, March 31, April 3, May 11, June 22; Hieromartyr - July 22, September 19; martyr - March 22, April 11; Reverend - February 17, May 17, June 22, November 20, December 21

KONSTANTIN — solid, constant (lat.). Equal-to-the-Apostles - June 3; saint - June 18; martyr - March 19, August 17, October 15, November 4, 22; reverend - January 8, August 11; the rightful prince - March 18, June 3, 5, 21, July 16, October 2.

LEONID— similar lion (Greek). Martyr - March 23, April 29, June 18, August 21; reverend - 30 July.

MAKSIM— greatest (lat.). Martyr - February 19, March 4, April 23, May 11, 13, 27, August 12, 24, September 18, 28, October 22, November 10, December 5; Reverend - Feb. 3, Aug. 26; righteous - Jan 29; blessed - August 26, November 24.

MICHAEL— who, how God (Heb.). Archangel - September 19, November 21; saint - June 5, October 13; venerable martyr - June 5, August 11, October 14; reverend - January 24, May 20, July 6, 25, December 31; martyr - October 3, November 30; righteous - Dec 5; noble prince - February 27, March 27, July 3, 6, December 5.

NIKITA— winner (Greek). Saint - February 13, April 2, May 13, June 10; Great Martyr - September 28; reverend - April 16, May 17, May 27, June 5, 6, July 6, October 26; righteous - 22 Sept.

NIKOLAI— winning people (Greek). Equal-to-the-Apostles - February 16; Saint May 22, December 19; martyr - March 22; Reverend - Jan 6; February 17, blessed - March 13, August 9

PAUL — small (lat.). Apostle - July 12; saint - March 20, September 12, 23, November 19, January 5; martyr - February 29, March 17, 23, March 31, June 16, July 29, August 30; reverend - 23, 27, 28 Jan., 20 March, 11 July, 10, 23 Sept., 17 Oct., 20, 28 Dec.

PETER— a rock (Greek). Apostle - January 29, July 12, 13; saint - January 3, 22, May 16, September 6, 23, October 18; Hieromartyr - October 17, December 8; martyr - 10: 25, 26 Jan., 4, 8 Feb., 6 Apr., 31 May, 22 Aug., 16 Sept., 6 Oct.; reverend - February 14, June 5, June 25, July 13, 14, September 26, October 22, December 8; righteous - Feb. 12, Oct. 5; noble prince - July 8, December 5

NOVEL — Roman (lat.); strong (Greek). Martyr - February 11, August 23, December 1; reverend - July 6, October 14, December 10; noble prince - February 16, May 15, June 5, August 1, 6

SERGIUS(lat.). Martyr - Oct 20; reverend - January 27, April 2, June 1, July 6, 11, 18, September 24, October 8, 11.20

THEODOR— God's gift (Greek). Saint - January 9, May 5, June 5, 21, 28, July 6, 22, December 11; Hieromartyr - July 17, December 16; Martyr - 21, 27 Feb., 2, 7, 19 March, 23 Apr., 4 May, 6, 21 June, 25 July, 17, 18, 25 Sept., 3 Oct., 20 November, 6 Dec. and on Saturday of the 1st week of Great Lent; venerable martyr - August 24, October 11; reverend - January 9, February 8, March 2, May 3, 29, June 18, August 24, September 10, October 5, November 24; blessed - Feb 1; the rightful prince - March 18, June 3, 5, 18, October 2.

WOMEN'SNAMES

ALEXANDRA— courageous (Greek). Martyr - April 2, May 6, May 31, November 19. Martyr - April 28, November 12, January 4; venerable martyr - November 11; reverend - March 23.

ANASTASIA — resurrection(Greek). Martyr - April 28, November 12, January 4; venerable martyr - November 11; reverend - March 23.

ANNA — grace (Heb.). Prophetess - Feb. 16, Sept. 10, Dec. 22; righteous - August 7, September 22, December 22; martyr - April 8, July 18, November 4, December 3; reverend - June 26, November 11; Blessed Princess - February 23, June 25, October 15

ANTONINA — acquiring instead (Greek). Martyr - March 14, June 23, 26.

VALENTINA — strong (lat.). Martyr - February 23, July 29.

GALINA — silence, calmness (Greek). Martyr - March 23, April 29

EVGENIA — noble (Greek). Venerable Martyr - 6 Jan.

EVDOKIYA — favor (Greek). Blessed Princess - July 6; blessed - July 6; venerable martyr - March 15, August 17; reverend - May 30, July 30.

EKATERINA— always clean (Greek). Great Martyr - 6 Dec.

ELENA— torch (Greek). Equal-to-the-Apostles - June 3; martyr - June 8; the blessed princess - July 24; righteous - November 12.

ELIZABETH— venerating God (Heb.). Righteous - Sept 18; martyr - November 4; reverend - May 7th.

ZINAIDA— divine (Greek). Martyr – 24 Oct.

ZOYA— a life (Greek). Martyr - May 15, December 31; Reverend - 26 Feb.

JOHN (ZHANNA) — grace God's (Heb.). Righteous - on the Sunday of the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women (3rd Week after Pascha); 10 July.

IRINA— peace (Greek). Martyr - April 29, May 18, October 1; righteous - May 26.

KSENIYA— wanderer (Greek). Reverend - Feb. 6; blessed - 6 Feb.

LYDIA— by birth from Lydia (in Asia Minor). Martyr – 5 Apr.

LYUDMILA — people Darling (glory.). Martyr – 29 Sept.

MARINA — maritime (lat.). Martyr - July 30; reverend - March 13.

MARIA — mistress (Heb.). Equal-to-the-Apostles - August 4, on the Sunday of Sts. myrrh-bearing women; righteous - June 17; martyr - February 19, June 20, June 22, July 25, August 22; blessed - November 11; the blessed princess - July 6; reverend - February 8, 25, April 15, Week 5 of Great Lent.

PARASKEVA — Friday, cooking (Greek). Martyr - April 2, November 10; venerable martyr - August 8; Reverend - 27 Oct.

PELAGIA — maritime (Greek). Martyr - May 17, Oct 20; reverend - Oct 21; Righteous - 21 Oct.

SVETLANA (PHOTINYA) — light (Greek). Martyr - April 2; Reverend - 26 Feb.

SOFIA— wisdom (Greek). Reverend - July 6; martyr - September 30; Oct 1

TAMARA(Georgian, from Hebrew: Tamar - palm). Righteous - May 14 and the Sunday of Sts. myrrh-bearing women.

From the history of the name day

The first mention of the celebration of name days in Russia dates back to the 17th century. Previously, on the eve of the name day, pies and loaves were baked in the family of the birthday man. On the day of the holiday itself, the birthday man with his family went to church for a prayer service, put candles to the icon of his saint. In the evening there was a dinner for relatives and friends. The royal name days were celebrated richest of all, which were considered a public holiday - Name Day. On this day, a feast was held for the boyars and courtiers. On behalf of the king, pies and rolls were distributed to the people. Later there were traditions to arrange fireworks and parades on this day.

name day- a calendar day that corresponds to one or more names from the church calendar. This day has a religious origin: the day of memory of some saint, a holiday for a person who, at baptism, is named after this saint. The very meaning of the word "name day" comes from the old Russian word "name day", which means "having the same name"

In Russia, before the revolution, name days were considered more important than birthdays. Name day is not a secular holiday, but a spiritual one, since, first of all, it is associated with baptism and with the saints, in whose honor a person received his name. Orthodox tradition believes that at baptism, when a person acquires church name, together with him he receives a heavenly patron - the saint, by whose name he was named, his guardian angel. The day of memory of this saint is the date of the name day. Previously, birthdays and name days often coincided, because our ancestors tried to give names to their children according to the Saints. Saints - a list of saints honored by the Orthodox Church.

In recent years, the tradition of naming newborns according to the Saints has been lost. Parents give names to their children according to their taste. How to determine the day of your name day? There are many saints of the same name in the Saints, therefore, when determining the day of the name day, the saint is chosen, whose memory most closely follows the date of birth of a person.

How to celebrate a birthday and what to give a birthday person on this day? It has long been known that for any person there is no combination of sounds more pleasant than his name. Therefore, the best birthday gift is the one that contains this very name.

The most pleasant and successful gift on such a day will, of course, be the history of the origin of the name and its meaning. If you want to make such a gift to a friend or someone close to you, ask an adult to help you with this. Information about names can be found in books or on the Internet. Copy everything you can find about the desired name into beautiful leaf paper. It can be originally designed in the form of an old scroll, inserted into a frame or made in the form of a “message in a bottle”.

You can present a self-made amulet to the birthday man. To do this, you need river or sea pebbles or a shell brought from vacation. On a pebble or shell, you need to carefully write the name of the birthday man with paint, and then cover it with colorless varnish. You can give such an amulet in a cloth bag, independently sewn from a beautiful piece of fabric or ribbon.

Of course, you can’t do without angels on a name day! If your parents give you pocket money, you can pick up such a souvenir in a store or in a church shop. But remember that this is not a talisman, not a charm, but just a souvenir and a memory of the name day.

You can emphasize the significance of the name by depicting it on the cake. For this, a ready-made purchased cake is suitable. It is desirable that it has a minimum of jewelry. The inscription can be made with thick jam or boiled condensed milk by putting a small amount in the corner of a simple plastic bag. Then you need to make a small hole in the corner and write the name of the birthday boy on the cake, squeezing the contents through the hole. In order not to spoil the cake, you can first practice on a piece of paper. Our names accompany us from birth to the end of life. They are considered part of a person, so the choice of a name must be approached very responsibly. When a person is baptized (in Orthodoxy), he is given the name of a patron saint, and in any difficult moment a person can turn to him for help with a prayer: “Angel, my saint’s guardian, save me from all evil ... enlighten me to distinguish good from evil ... direct me to the path that leads to salvation.”

name day- family, home holiday. Name days don't always fall on a weekend. Therefore, you can celebrate the name day with an ordinary family dinner. But what about the holiday?! Before starting tea drinking, all households give their gifts to the birthday man. Then a cake, a birthday cake, and, best of all, a loaf are solemnly brought out. Remember the song: "Loaf, loaf, choose whom you want ..."? And here is how the brilliant Russian poet Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin said about the name day:

NAME DAYS

Multiply noise and joy;

Sing songs in a good hour:

Friendship, Grace and Youth

We have birthdays.

Meanwhile the child is winged,

Welcoming you, friends,

Secretly thinks: once

I will be the birthday boy!

.
Most often, the day of memory of a saint is the day of his earthly death, i.e. the transition to eternity, meeting with God, to commune with Whom the ascetic aspired.

How to determine the name day

In the church calendar, there are several days of commemoration of the same saint, and many saints also bear the same name. Therefore, it is necessary to find in the church calendar the day of memory of the saint named with you, the closest after the day of your birth. These will be your name days, and the saint whose memory is remembered on this day will be your heavenly patron. If he has other days of memory, then for you these dates will become “small name days”.

If we want to name a child strictly according to church tradition, then it will be the name of a saint whose memory is celebrated on the 8th day after the birth of a child. Cm.

When determining the name day, the date of the canonization of the saint does not matter, because it only fixes a fait accompli. In addition, as a rule, it takes place dozens of years after the transition of the saint to heavenly abodes.

The name received by a person at baptism not only remains unchanged throughout his life (the only exception is the case of becoming a monk), but is also preserved after death, passes with him into eternity. In prayers for the dead, he also remembers their names given in baptism.

Name day and Angel Day

Sometimes name days are called Angel Day. This name name recalls that in the old days, heavenly patrons were sometimes called the Angels of their earthly namesakes; it is incorrect, however, to confuse saints with angels. Name day is the day of remembrance of the saint whose name the person is named, and Angel Day is the day of baptism, when a person is assigned by God. Each baptized has his own Guardian Angel, but we do not know his name.

Honoring and emulating one's patron saint

About the prayerful help of the saints, the monk wrote: “Saints, in the Holy Spirit they see our life and our deeds. They know our sorrows and hear our ardent prayers... The Saints do not forget us and pray for us... They also see the suffering of people on earth. The Lord gave them such great grace that they embrace the whole world with love. They see and know how we are exhausted from sorrows, how our souls have dried up, how despondency has bound them, and, without ceasing, they intercede for us before God.

The veneration of the saint consists not only in praying to him, but also in imitation of his feat, his faith. “Let your life be by your name,” said the monk. After all, the saint whose name a person bears is not just his patron and prayer book, he is also a role model.

But how can we imitate our saint, how can we at least follow his example in some way? For this you need:

• First, to know about his life and exploits. Without this, we cannot sincerely love our saint.
• Secondly, you need to turn to them with prayer more often, know the troparion to him and always remember that we have a protector and helper in heaven.
• Thirdly, of course, we should always think about how we could follow the example of our saint in this or that case.

By the nature of Christian exploits, saints are traditionally divided into faces (ranks): prophets, apostles, saints, martyrs, confessors, reverend, righteous, holy fools, faithful, etc. (see).
The person who bears the name confessor or martyr, it is quite possible to fearlessly confess their faith, act like a Christian always and in everything, without looking back at dangers or inconveniences, in everything to please, first of all, God, and not people, regardless of ridicule, threats and even oppression.
Those who are named after saints, may try to imitate them, denouncing errors and vices, spreading the light of Orthodoxy, helping their neighbors find the way to salvation both by word and by their own example.
Reverend(i.e. monks) can be imitated in detachment, independence from worldly pleasures, keeping the purity of thoughts, feelings and actions.
Imitate holy fool- means, first of all, to humble yourself, to cultivate selflessness in yourself, not to be carried away by the acquisition of earthly riches. The continuation should be the education of will and patience, the ability to endure the difficulties of life, the struggle with pride and vanity. You also need the habit of meekly enduring all insults, but at the same time not being shy about exposing obvious vices, telling the truth to everyone who needs admonition.

Names after angels

Also, a person can be named after (Michael, Gabriel, etc.). People named after the archangels celebrate their name day on November 21 (November 8 according to the old style), on the day of the Celebration of the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael of God and others Heavenly Forces incorporeal.

If the name is not in the calendar

If the name that you were called is not in the calendar, then at baptism the name that is closest in sound is chosen. For example, Dina - Evdokia, Lilia - Leah, Angelica - Angelina, Jeanne - John, Milan - Militsa. According to tradition, Alice receives the name Alexandra in baptism, in honor of St. Passion-bearer Alexandra Feodorovna Romanova, before the adoption of Orthodoxy, bore the name Alice. Some names in the church tradition have a different sound, for example, Svetlana is Photinia (from the Greek photos - light), and Victoria is Nika, both names in Latin and Greek mean "victory".
Only the names given in baptism are written in.

How to celebrate name day

Orthodox Christians visit the temple on their name days and, having prepared in advance, the Holy Mysteries of Christ.
The days of "small name days" are not so solemn for the birthday man, but it is advisable to visit the temple on this day.
After communion, you need to keep yourself from all fuss, so as not to lose the festive joy. In the evening, you can invite loved ones to a meal. It should be remembered that if the name day falls on a fast day, then the festive treat should be fast. In Great Lent, name days that occur on a weekday are transferred to the next Saturday or Sunday.
Cm. Natalya Sukhinina

What to give for a birthday

In celebration of the memory of the patron saint, the best gift would be something that contributes to his spiritual growth: an icon, a vessel for, beautiful candles for prayer, books, audio and video discs of spiritual content.

Prayer to your saint

About the saint, in whose honor we receive a name, we must remember not only on the name day. In the daily morning and evening there is a prayer to the saint, we can also turn to him at any time and in any need. The simplest prayer to the saint:
Pray to God for me, holy servant of God (name), as I diligently resort to you, a quick helper and prayer book for my soul.
You also need to know your saint.

In addition to the icons of the Savior - the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Virgin, it is desirable to have your own saint. It may happen that you are wearing some rare name, and the icon of his heavenly patron will be difficult to find. In this case, you can buy an icon of All Saints, which symbolically depicts all the saints glorified by the Orthodox Church.
Some .

Patristic sayings about birthdays

“We began to choose names not according to God. By God, this is how it should be. Choose a name according to the holy calendar: either on what day the child will be born, or on which it is baptized, or in the interval and three days after baptism. Here the matter will be without any human considerations, but as God wills, for birthdays are in the hands of God.
saint

The history and symbolism of the celebration of name days

Like many other religious traditions, the celebration of name days in Soviet time was in oblivion, moreover, in the 20-30s of the twentieth century it was subjected to official persecution. True, it turned out to be difficult to eradicate age-old folk habits: they still congratulate the birthday man on his birthday, and if the hero of the occasion is very young, they sing a song: “as on ... name day we baked a loaf”. Meanwhile, name day is a special holiday that could be called a day of spiritual birth, since it is associated primarily with the sacrament of Baptism and with the names that our heavenly patrons of the same name bear.

The tradition of celebrating name days has been known in Russia since the 17th century. Usually, on the eve of the holiday, the family of the birthday boy brewed beer, baked birthday cakes, pies and loaves. On the day of the holiday itself, the birthday man with his family went to church for mass, ordered a prayer service for health, put candles and kissed the icon with the face of his heavenly patron. In the afternoon, birthday cakes were distributed to friends and relatives, and often the filling and size of the cake had a special meaning, determined by the nature of the relationship between the birthday man and his relatives. In the evening there was a festive dinner.

The tsar's name-days (Tezoname Day), which were considered a public holiday, were celebrated especially splendidly. On this day, the boyars and courtiers came to the royal court in order to bring gifts and take part in a festive feast, at which they sang for many years. Sometimes the king personally handed out pies. Huge birthday cakes were distributed to the people. Later, other traditions appeared: military parades, fireworks, illuminations, shields with imperial monograms.

After the revolution, a serious and systematic ideological struggle began with name days: the rite of baptism was recognized as counter-revolutionary, and they tried to replace it with “Oktyabrins” and “Stars”. A ritual was elaborated in detail, in which the newborn was congratulated in strict sequence by October, a pioneer, a Komsomol member, a communist, “honorary parents”, sometimes the baby was symbolically enrolled in a trade union, and so on. The fight against "survivals" reached ridiculous extremes: for example, in the 1920s, censorship banned K. Chukovsky's "Fly-Tsokotukha" for "propaganda of name days."

Traditionally, name days are attributed to that day of memory of the named (named) saint, which immediately follows the birthday, although there is also a tradition of celebrating name days on the day of memory of the most famous saint of the same name, for example, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, the Apostle Peter, St. Alexander Nevsky, etc. e. In the past, name days were considered a more important holiday than the day of “corporal” birth, in addition, in many cases these holidays practically coincided, because traditionally the child was baptized on the eighth day after birth: the eighth day is a symbol of the Kingdom of Heaven , to which the baptized person joins, while the number seven is an ancient symbolic number denoting the created earthly world. Baptismal names were chosen according to the church calendar (saints). According to the old custom, the choice of name was limited to the names of saints whose memory was celebrated on the day of baptism. Later (especially in urban society) they abandoned this strict custom and began to choose names, guided by personal taste and other considerations - in honor of relatives, for example.
Name days turn us to one of our incarnations - to a personal name.

Perhaps to the ancient motto "Know thyself" one should add: "Know thy name." Of course, the name primarily serves to distinguish people. In the past, a name could be a social sign, indicating a place in society - now, perhaps, only monastic (monastic) names stand out sharply from the Russian nomenclature. But there is also a mystical meaning of the name, almost forgotten now.
In ancient times, people gave the name much greater value, than now. The name was considered a significant part of a person. The content of the name correlated with the inner meaning of the person, it was, as it were, put inside him. The name controlled fate (“a good name is good sign"). A well-chosen name became a source of strength and prosperity. Naming was considered a high act of creation, guessing the human essence, invoking grace.
In primitive society, the name was treated as a part of the body, like eyes, teeth, etc. The unity of the soul and the name seemed undoubted, moreover, it was sometimes believed that as many names as there are so many souls, therefore, in some tribes, before to kill the enemy, it was supposed to find out his name in order to use it in his native tribe. Often the names were hidden in order not to give weapons to the enemy. Harm and trouble were expected from bad treatment with a name. In some tribes it was strictly forbidden to pronounce (taboos) the name of the leader. In others, it was customary to assign new names to the elders, giving them new strength. It was believed that the sick child was given strength by the name of the father, who was shouted into the ear or even called him by the name of the father (mother), believing that part of the vital energy of the parents would help overcome the disease. If the child cried especially much, then the name was chosen incorrectly. For a long time, the tradition of naming “deceptive”, false names was preserved among different nationalities: the true name was not pronounced in the hope that death and evil spirits maybe they won't find the baby. There was another version of protective names - unattractive, ugly, frightening names (for example, Nekras, Nelyuba and even Dead), which averted adversity and misfortune.

V Ancient Egypt personal name was carefully guarded. The Egyptians had a "small" name, known to all, and a "big" one, which was considered true: it was kept secret and was pronounced only during important ceremonies. The names of the pharaohs enjoyed special reverence - in the texts they were distinguished by a special cartouche. With great respect, the Egyptians treated the names of the dead - improper handling of them caused irreparable harm to otherworldly existence. The name and its bearer were one whole: characteristic Egyptian myth, according to which the god Ra hid his name, but the goddess Isis managed to find out by opening his chest - the name literally turned out to be inside the body!

From time immemorial, the change of the name corresponded to the change of the human essence. New names were given to teenagers at initiation, i.e., upon joining adult members of the community. In China, there are still children's "milk" names, which are abandoned with maturity. In ancient Greece, newly minted priests, renouncing old names, carved them on metal plates and drowned them in the sea. Echoes of these ideas can be seen in the Christian tradition of naming monastic names, when a person who has taken tonsure leaves the world and his worldly name.

Many peoples taboo names pagan gods and spirits. It was especially dangerous to call evil spirits (“cursing”): in this way it was possible to call out “evil force”. The ancient Jews did not dare to call the Name of God: Yahweh (in Old Testament is the "unspeakable Name", the sacred tetragram, which can be translated as "I am who I am." According to the Bible, the act of naming often becomes God's work: the Lord gave names to Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Ishmael, Solomon, renamed Jacob to Israel. The special religious gift of the Jewish people was manifested in many names that are called theophoric - they contain God's "indescribable Name": thus, through his personal name, a person contacted God.

Christianity, as the highest religious experience of mankind, takes personal names with all seriousness. The name of a person reflects the sacrament of a unique, precious personality, it implies personal communication with God. At the sacrament of Baptism Christian church, accepting a new soul into its bosom, connects it through a personal name with the name of God. As he wrote about Sergei Bulgakov, “human naming and name-incarnation exist in the image and likeness of the divine incarnation and naming… every person is an incarnate word, a realized name, for the Lord himself is the incarnate Name and Word.”

The purpose of Christians is holiness. Naming the baby with the name of a canonized saint, the Church tries to direct him on the true path: after all, this name has already “realized” in life as a saint. wearer holy name always keeps in himself the uplifting image of his heavenly patron, “helper”, “prayer book”. On the other hand, the community of names unites Christians into one body of the Church, into one "chosen people."

Reverence for the names of the Savior and the Mother of God has long been expressed in the fact that in Orthodox tradition it is not customary to give names in memory of the Virgin and Christ. Previously, the name of the Mother of God was distinguished even by a different accent - Mary, while other holy women had the name Maria (Marya). The rare monastic (schema) name Jesus was assigned in memory not of Jesus Christ, but of the righteous Joshua.

The Russian Christian name book has evolved over the centuries. The first extensive layer of Russian names arose in the pre-Christian era. The reasons for the emergence of a particular name could be very different: in addition to religious motives, the circumstances of birth played a role, appearance, character, etc. Later, after the Baptism of Russia, these names, sometimes difficult to distinguish from nicknames, coexisted with Christian calendar names (until the 17th century). Even priests sometimes had nicknames. It happened that one person could have as many as three personal names: a “nickname” name and two baptismal names (one is explicit, the other is hidden, known only to the confessor). When the Christian nomenclature completely supplanted the pre-Christian "nickname" names, they did not leave us for good, moving into another class of names - into surnames (for example, Nekrasov, Zhdanov, Naydenov). Some pre-Christian names of canonized Russian saints subsequently became calendar ones (eg Yaroslav, Vyacheslav, Vladimir).
With the adoption of Christianity, Russia was enriched with the names of all human civilization: with the Byzantine calendar, Greek, Jewish, Roman and other names came to us. Sometimes under the Christian name, images of more ancient religions and cultures were hidden. Over time, these names became Russified, so much so that the Hebrew names themselves became Russian - Ivan and Marya. At the same time, one should keep in mind the lofty thought of Fr. Pavel Florensky: "There are no Jewish, Greek, Latin, or Russian names - there are only universal names, the common property of mankind."

The post-revolutionary history of Russian names evolved dramatically: a mass campaign of "de-Christianization" of the name-word was carried out. The revolutionary obscurantism of some sections of society, combined with a tough state policy, was aimed at reorganizing, and therefore at renaming the world. Along with the renaming of the country, its cities and streets, people were renamed. “Red calendars” were compiled, new, “revolutionary” names were invented, many of which now sound just like curiosities (for example, Malentro, i.e. Marx, Lenin, Trotsky; Dazdraperma, i.e. Long live May Day, etc. .). The process of revolutionary name-creation, characteristic of ideological revolutions in general (it was known in France at the end of the 18th century, and in republican Spain, and in the countries of the former "socialist camp"), did not last long in Soviet Russia, about a decade (20-30s ). Soon these names became the property of history - here it is appropriate to recall another thought about. Pavel Florensky: “you can’t think of names”, in the sense that they are “the most stable fact of culture and the most important of its foundations”.

The change in the Russian personal name went along the line of borrowing from other cultures - Western European (for example, Albert, Victoria, Jeanne) and common Slavic Christian names (for example, Stanislav, Bronislava), names from Greek and Roman mythology and history (for example, Aurelius, Aphrodite , Venus), etc. Over time, Russian society again returned to calendar names, but "de-Christianization" and a break in tradition led to an extraordinary impoverishment of the modern name-book, which now consists of only a few dozen names (the general property of "mass cultures" also played its role - the desire for averaging, standardization ).

Hieromonk Macarius (Markish):
From ancient times it has been customary to give a newly received member of the Church the name of a saint. Thus, a special, new connection arises between earth and Heaven, between a person living in this world and one of those who worthily passed his life path whose holiness the Church has witnessed and glorified with her conciliar mind. Therefore, every Orthodox must keep in mind the saint after whom he is named, know the basic facts of his life, and, if possible, remember at least some elements of the divine service in his honor.
But the same name, especially from the common ones (Peter, Nikolai, Maria, Elena), was worn by many saints of different times and peoples; therefore, we have to find out in honor of which saint, who bore this name, the baby will be named. This can be done using the detailed church calendar, which contains an alphabetical list of saints revered by our Church with the dates of the celebration of their memory. The choice is made taking into account the date of birth or baptism of the child, the circumstances of the feat of life of the saints, family traditions, and your personal sympathies.
In addition, many well-known saints have several days of remembrance during the year: it can be the day of death, the day of finding or transferring relics, the day of glorification - canonization. You have to choose which of these days will become a holiday (name day, name day) of your child. It is often referred to as Angel Day. Indeed, we ask the Lord to give the newly baptized his Guardian Angel; but this Angel must by no means be confused with the saint after whom the child is named.
Sometimes when giving a name there are some difficulties. There are many Orthodox saints known in history, but not included in our calendars. Among them are saints Western Europe who lived and glorified even before the fall of Rome from Orthodoxy (until 1054 the Roman Church was not torn off from Orthodoxy, and we also recognize the saints revered in it by that time as saints), whose names have gained popularity with us in recent decades (Victoria, Eduard and others), but are sometimes listed as "non-Orthodox". There are also reverse situations when the usual Slavic name does not belong to any of the Orthodox saints (for example, Stanislav). Finally, there are frequent formal misunderstandings associated with the spelling of the name (Elena - Alena, Ksenia - Oksana, John - Ivan) or its sound on different languages(in Slavic - Svetlana and Zlata, in Greek - Photinia and Chris).
If necessary, the child can be given a baptismal name that is different from the one recorded on the birth certificate, choosing it, for example, by consonance (Stanislav - Stakhiy, Karolina - Kaleria, Elina - Elena). There is nothing flawed in this: among the Serbs, for example, almost everyone has one name in everyday life and another in baptism. Note that in the Russian Church, unlike some other Orthodox Churches, everyone's favorite name Maria is never given in honor of Holy Mother of God, but only in honor of other saints who bore this name. You should also know that since 2000, our Church has been counting as saints many of our countrymen and fellow citizens - the new martyrs and confessors of the 20th century - and calls on believers to name their children in their honor and memory.