[xrumerang]

Howdy!

Being a catechumen who was brought up as a Lutheran, I am pretty much lost
when it comes to deciding on a name/patron saint for myself.

I thought that I might have felt a nudge when I went to a Liturgy on St. Nectarios Day...
Then again, that was the only "saint service" that I have attended to date.

I am lost!

Any suggestions about how to sift through the vast legion of saints and come up
with only one?

Dave

[Immarsecice]

Howdy!

Being a catechumen who was brought up as a Lutheran, I am pretty much lost
when it comes to deciding on a name/patron saint for myself.

I thought that I might have felt a nudge when I went to a Liturgy on St. Nectarios Day...
Then again, that was the only "saint service" that I have attended to date.

I am lost!

Any suggestions about how to sift through the vast legion of saints and come up
with only one?

Dave

Hi Dave

Congratulations! I was Presbyterian before converting to Orthodoxy.

You have so many choices don't you. Well, when I decided to become Orthodox it was before they really knew what to do with converts at least here in my country. The Priest handed me a Saints book and said choose a name on the very day of my baptism. It was the day of Great Martyr Irene May 18/5 so I chose Irene. I have liked having this name because I of course admire the Saint, the name means peace, and every time I have a Names' Day I am one year older in the faith.

However, it is true that maybe you are meant to be Nektarious, or maybe you are meant to choose one of the many Saint Davids like Saint David the King, Prophet and Psalm writer, or St David of Wales there is also St David the builder and King of Georgia .

Although I am very happy to be Irene, if I were to choose now I might choose a Saint I really identified with. For instance I really like and feel inspired by those Saints who didn't start out saintly but were converted from a bad life, I find it inspiring to know that people who started out so far from Saintly still became Saints for instance, St Moses the Ethiopian, sometimes called the black who was a thief and I think murderer, St Cyprian who was a very powerful sorcerer before he was converted by the power of prayer of the virgin Justina. But those who were always Saintly are inspirational as well I like St Seraphim of Sarov for everything in his life and I have a special devotion for St John of Shanghai and San Francisco for knowing the times we live in personally because he was around still as the modern world was forming in all it's craziness and he stuck to the faith through all matter of opposition.

I am no help at all I know, but I am so excited for you and look forward to hearing what Saint name you do choose. Just remember when you choose your Saint, that you will be, forever, asking for their help/prayers in your journey as an Orthodox Christian.

In Christ
Irene

[jimbomaxf]

Any suggestions about how to sift through the vast legion of saints and come up
with only one?

Dave

Stick with the saints name you already have! The Prophet and King David (whose memory is celebrated today (Sunday after Nativity) is a wonderful patron and not only that, your name day will always be a feast day. He's brought you this far - why abandon him now?

Fr David Moser

[myhackingtosh_ws]

Dear David,

Father David has good advice. After all, the Prophet David prays for our good Father David here, and I'm sure he will pray for you! And if you don't choose St. Nectarios, rest assured he'll be praying for you as well.

The name is not important. The love shared is!

In Christ,
Antonios

[BV6lwvXf]

And if you don't choose St. Nectarios, rest assured he'll be praying for you as well.

The name is not important. The love shared is!

This is very true. Although the Prophet and King David is my patron, I also have a very close relationship to St Seraphim of Sarov and St John of Shanghai and San Francisco. Both have guided and guarded myself and my family through the years. Although neither one is my "patron" they are both my close friends and confidants in Christ.

Fr David Moser

[Phywhewashect]

Due to my current exploration of skete monasticism
and
Due to my tendency to have accidents in the kitchen
(I've been to the burn unit TWICE,)

My priest had a twinkle in his eye at Vespers yesterday when he said:

"Here's one that David might be especially interested in --
Maximus the Hut Burner."

Wa'ja think?

Dave

[grubnismarl]

I have been attempting to find a cross reference of
Orthodox Patron Saints associated with specific medical conditions.

There is a RC cross reference but I haven't been able to find one
for Orthodox Saints!

Anybody know where I might be able to find one?

Dave

[Misebeita]

I have been attempting to find a cross reference of
Orthodox Patron Saints associated with specific medical conditions.

There is a RC cross reference but I haven't been able to find one
for Orthodox Saints!

Anybody know where I might be able to find one?

Dave

Of course! We have on our beloved monachos.net such list. If I understood you correctly.

http://www.monachos.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1335

[addisonnicogel]

PS I am trying to edit the list since it does not appear like before because of the changes on the system, but I am unable to although I posted it. There is no edit button. Are these threads archived and we can not edit? I do not wish to edit my words, but just the appearance of the list to make it more user friendly since the system changed many things.

[fotodemujerahldesnugdo]

My priest prefers converts keeping their original name unless it is not a Saint's name. Then he recommends one you can spell and remember.

Personally, I find it hard to remember people's original name anyway and now to remember their church name really throws me for a loop. Other's examples are great. the day you are Baptised, the day you were born, the day you first came to church, who stands out to you as someone you want to emmulate?

Mine is St. Paul the apostle. It just so happens my parents named me well. Can I emmulate him? Holy cow. Who could? I can try though. I also have a couple of seragate Saints I pray to unfortunately more than St. Paul. I just feel I have more in common with them and feel more comfortable talking to them. However, it would be odd me having a girl's name.

Paul

[amehoubFomo]

I didn't have a saint's name, though I don't understand why I couldn't just keep mine and turn into a saint someday, so someone else 200 yrs from now, could be named after me...

My priest picked St Mary of Egypt for me. He said, because she was brown like me! LOL. I picked her too, before I'd talked to him. But only because she's a woman, and I was told I had to have a woman saint.

The saint I pray to, is the one who led me into the Church and found our parish for us: St John the Baptist. Perhaps this is presumptuous and foolish, but I just know he loves me. I have no connection with St Mary.
I tried praying that short little prayer to a Patron saint by inserting her name in it: "Pray to God for me Holy Father/Mother ---------, for I diligently run to you, the speedy helper and intercessor for my soul" - and I never felt comfortable using her name. Mostly because, I'd spend the day talking to St John, (or complaining or whining or arguing), and then just that tiny line for her... So I don't bother anymore. I figured, she wouldn't be offended because she probably loves St John as much as I do.

Whenever I read about other saints, and I'm really touched by something, then I pray to them for a while, until it drops out of my mind.

I was at the monastery of St Nektarios yesterday, and picked up some Holy oil from his vigil lamp, and a small magnet icon. I'd heard a story about him while a catechumen, and I'd forgotten because there were just too many stories and names to keep in order. Then, when I started hearing stories about him again at the monastery, I instantly remembered the very first story I'd heard of him, and I felt like I'd found someone I'd been searching for. All the names of the Saints were written in Greek, but I figured out which one was St Nektarios. I still double checked with my friend, but I wasn't surprised when she pointed to the icons that I thought were his. I prayed to him last night and this morning, and I still feel connected to him. A different kind of connection, than with St John.

Then, there's St John of Kronstadt, St Theophan the Recluse, St Euphrosynos the Cook... And although he's not a saint yet... Elder Porphyrios! Totally love him for some reason.

Hmmm... I wonder if the reason St Mary is my patron saint is because I only seem to be connecting with the men saints!

Lord have mercy!

[rusculture]

Howdy Mary!

I was also thinking along the lines of "the one who lead me to the Church"...

Only problem is...
My first light came from the writings of Pseudo-Dionysius.

Can't very well go and call myself "Saint Pseudo" now, can I?

Dave

[i6mbwwdh]

Howdy Mary!

I was also thinking along the lines of "the one who lead me to the Church"...

Only problem is...
My first light came from the writings of Psudo-Dionysius.

Can't very well go and call myself "Saint Psudo" now, can I? ;->

Dave

It is better than pseudo saint.

[sposicke]

I was told I had to have a woman saint.

Is this strictly true? I always thought (perhaps wrongly) that all the Greek Dimitras and Nikoletas were named after, and celebrated, the corresponding male saint (and conversely that the Panagiotis's were named after the Panagia). But as I say, I may have got this all wrong.

Not that you could have chosen a better name than the one you have.

[duexjepevef]

Is this strictly true? I always thought (perhaps wrongly) that all the Greek Dimitras and Nikoletas were named after, and celebrated, the corresponding male saint (and conversely that the Panagiotis's were named after the Panagia). But as I say, I may have got this all wrong.

Not that you could have chosen a better name than the one you have.

It's one of those local things, I found out later. It's Russian. For the Greeks, there is no male or female!

Mary.

[deethythitoth]

It's one of those local things, I found out later. It's Russian. For the Greeks, there is no male or female!
Mary.

I know a Michelle who took on Archangel Michael for her Saint and another who took St Nikita as hers, in the Russian Church here.

[ArrereGarhync]

Greek tradition does not make the distinction between male and female saints as patrons. For instance, Greek Joannas are overwhelmingly named after one of the male saints called John, usually St John the Baptist. Greek Marys and Marias can be named after the Mother of God. Slavic Marys and Marias are invariably named after a saint by that name (such as Mary of Egypt, Mary the sister of Lazarus, etc), but never after the Mother of God.

Slavic custom is to appoint a saint of the same gender as the child or catechumen to be baptised. Therfore, a Slavic Ivana could be named, for example, after St Joanna the Myrrh-bearer. This also explains why female names derived from male names, such as Andrea, Nicole/Nicoletta, Georgia/Georgina, are almost unheard of in Slavic countries, though common enough in Greece.

The Serbs, of course, have yet another tradition: that of the family patron saint (Slava). Serbs also use descriptive names such as Dragomir, Miroslav, Slobodan, etc. as proper baptismal names.

Regarding Michael/Michelle, a young couple I know wanted to use the name Michael (after a Russian grandfather) for their soon-to-be born child, if it was to be a boy. The child was born, and was a girl. I was able to convince the grandparents (and, particularly, the priest) that Michaela was, in fact, a proper Orthodox saint's name, and the little one was duly baptised, with Venerable Michaela, New Martyr of Moscow (+1937) as her patron.

There are a number of Greek names which are derived from feasts of the Church, and which might not necessarily be names of known saints. These include Stavros/Stavroula (Sept. 14, Elevation of the Cross), Sotiris/Sotiria (Transfiguration), Anastasios/Anastasia (Easter), Theophanis/Theophania, Photios/Photini (Theophany), and, of course, Panaghiotis/Panaghiota (Dormition of the Mother of God).

It goes to show that there are a variety of long-standing traditions in bestowing names within the Orthodox world.

[flielagit]

Greek tradition does not make the distinction between male and female saints as patrons. For instance, Greek Joannas are overwhelmingly named after one of the male saints called John, usually St John the Baptist. Greek Marys and Marias can be named after the Mother of God. Slavic Marys and Marias are invariably named after a saint by that name (such as Mary of Egypt, Mary the sister of Lazarus, etc), but never after the Mother of God.

Slavic custom is to appoint a saint of the same gender as the child or catechumen to be baptised. Therfore, a Slavic Ivana could be named, for example, after St Joanna the Myrrh-bearer. This also explains why female names derived from male names, such as Andrea, Nicole/Nicoletta, Georgia/Georgina, are almost unheard of in Slavic countries, though common enough in Greece.

The Serbs, of course, have yet another tradition: that of the family patron saint (Slava). Serbs also use descriptive names such as Dragomir, Miroslav, Slobodan, etc. as proper baptismal names.

Regarding Michael/Michelle, a young couple I know wanted to use the name Michael (after a Russian grandfather) for their soon-to-be born child, if it was to be a boy. The child was born, and was a girl. I was able to convince the grandparents (and, particularly, the priest) that Michaela was, in fact, a proper Orthodox saint's name, and the little one was duly baptised, with Venerable Michaela, New Martyr of Moscow (+1937) as her patron.

There are a number of Greek names which are derived from feasts of the Church, and which might not necessarily be names of known saints. These include Stavros/Stavroula (Sept. 14, Elevation of the Cross), Sotiris/Sotiria (Transfiguration), Anastasios/Anastasia (Easter), Theophanis/Theophania, Photios/Photini (Theophany), and, of course, Panaghiotis/Panaghiota (Dormition of the Mother of God).

It goes to show that there are a variety of long-standing traditions in bestowing names within the Orthodox world.

Thank you Olga for this. Are you sure Andrea is used for females in Greece? I never heard any females with that name there. Unless it is a recent tradition borrowed from other Christian countries. They probably did not know what Andrea means in Greek when they called females that way.

[HRCPda7R]

Hello Nina

The name Andrea I used in my post is the female form of the name Andrew as known in the western world, not the Greek male name, also spelt Andrea, or, more properly, Andreas. The only instance I've come across a feminine form of Andrew in the Greek-speaking world is Androula, which is reasonably common in Cyprus. Many of the Greek islands (Cyprus, Rhodes, Zakynthos, Crete, and others) were greatly influenced by Venetian and other western customs over the centuries, including in names and language.

[electmobile]

Andrea, is a beautiful name for men, but for females it does not serve its purpose.

Italians also use Andrea for males. And I never heard it for females there also. They were attentive during their Greek language hour I guess.