A patron saint is given to each person at baptism. If a person is not baptized, he does not have not only a patron saint, but also a guardian angel. The holiday in honor of the patron saint is called name day or, according to the church, the name day. This holiday does not have to coincide with the person's birthday.
It is necessary
- - saints
- - church calendar
Instructions
Step 1
At baptism, each person is given an ecclesiastical name. It is given in honor of one of the saints, and it is this saint who becomes the heavenly patron of man. At present, at baptism, a person, as a rule, already has a name, then in the calendar they choose the saint in whose honor the naming will take place. This is done as follows: if there are several saints with the desired name, according to the church calendar, the day of remembrance of the saint with that name closest to the birthday of the baptized person is determined.
Step 2
It is this saint who becomes the holy heavenly patron of the baptized, and the day of his memory, determined according to the calendar, becomes the day of the angel, or name day. The same rule applies if a person has already been baptized, but does not remember or does not know which saint he was named after.
Step 3
Do not forget that the name day is not a birthday, but a church holiday, the day of remembrance of the patron saint. Several centuries ago, birthdays were not celebrated in Russia at all; name days were celebrated instead.
Step 4
If the baptized people bear names that are not in the calendar of the Orthodox Church, then this may cause some difficulties (for example: Victoria, Yegor, Arthur, Edward, etc.). If there is a similar name in the calendar, which is suitable in meaning, then the problem is easily solvable. So Svetlana in baptism will bear the name Fotinia (Greek "photo" - "light"), and Victoria will be called Nika (from the Greek "Nika" - "victory"). But in other cases, when an analogue cannot be found, the choice of a name is left to the parents or to the baptized person himself.
Step 5
According to an old tradition, on the day of your namesake, you must definitely go to church, pray, confess and partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. You can order a prayer service to your patron saint.
Step 6
The heavenly patron and the guardian angel are often confused. This is not worth doing, because an angel is an ethereal spirit that is relentlessly near a person throughout his entire life path from baptism to death. He protects from evil and helps in the creation of good deeds. Whereas the heavenly patron is a saint or saint, famous for their exploits in the spiritual life, whose names are given to people at baptism. It is to them that a person should turn with prayers and requests.
