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**darieBarexish** · 04-12-2006, 12:51 PM

(I tried to send this message yesterday, but the Monachos site seemed to be down for some reason...)

Dear Anthony

Tsarina Alexandra was given the patronymic Fyodorovna on her conversion to Orthodoxy from the Lutheran faith. It seems that this particular patronymic, meaning daughter of Theodore (Fyodor), was frequently given to women who married into the Russian imperial family if they were converts to Orthodoxy. Tsar Nicholas II's mother Marie, the former Princess Dagmar of Denmark, was also given this patronymic, as were a number of other women who married into the family, so Fyodorovna seems to be a "generic" patronymic. Marie was one of Dagmar's middle names, so it seems she adopted this as a baptismal name on her conversion.

Neither Alexandra nor Marie's fathers were named Theodore; Alexandra's father was Ludwig, Grand Duke of Germany, Marie's father was Christian IX of Denmark. Russians, when naming their children, traditionally select a name which belongs to a saint recognised by the Orthodox church, so the names Ludwig and Christian would have fallen outside this requirement, hence I suspect these names were considered unsuitable to be used as a patronymic. (but why Theodore? That has me stumped...)

04-12-2006, 12:51 PM	#12
darieBarexish Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 428 Senior Member	(I tried to send this message yesterday, but the Monachos site seemed to be down for some reason...) Dear Anthony Tsarina Alexandra was given the patronymic Fyodorovna on her conversion to Orthodoxy from the Lutheran faith. It seems that this particular patronymic, meaning daughter of Theodore (Fyodor), was frequently given to women who married into the Russian imperial family if they were converts to Orthodoxy. Tsar Nicholas II's mother Marie, the former Princess Dagmar of Denmark, was also given this patronymic, as were a number of other women who married into the family, so Fyodorovna seems to be a "generic" patronymic. Marie was one of Dagmar's middle names, so it seems she adopted this as a baptismal name on her conversion. Neither Alexandra nor Marie's fathers were named Theodore; Alexandra's father was Ludwig, Grand Duke of Germany, Marie's father was Christian IX of Denmark. Russians, when naming their children, traditionally select a name which belongs to a saint recognised by the Orthodox church, so the names Ludwig and Christian would have fallen outside this requirement, hence I suspect these names were considered unsuitable to be used as a patronymic. (but why Theodore? That has me stumped...)
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