My heavenly patron by name and date. How to find out who my patron saint is

There always comes a moment in life when you begin to think about religion, and then you remember that you should also have your own patron saint, since you are baptized, but you are not able to remember him. We wrote an article to answer the question of how to recognize your saint. You will not have to struggle with this question if you remember the name given to the child at baptism once and for all his life, and also if you yourself learn to determine who your patron saint is.

Who is the "patron saint"

Every person hopes that some invisible forces protect him. Apparently, the desire to have your own patron saint is connected with this. However, it must be mentioned that the patron saint is not equal to a guardian angel, who essentially must accompany a person throughout his life; he is a disembodied spirit. But there is still some connection. The fact is that the patron saint is the saint in whose honor a person is given a name at baptism. Previously, the name was given this way. The child was named after a real person, who was later named a saint, and the name was chosen after the name of the saint, whose memory was celebrated on the date closest to the birth of the child. That is, the day of remembrance of the patron saint was primary. Consequently, there were no problems with identifying one’s saint. How can you recognize your patron saint these days?

Defining your saint

Now the situation has changed and if a person does not remember what name he was given at baptism, then they start from the secular name given by the parents to their child. There is a church calendar called the calendar. You need to find your name there. One or more saints will bear the same name. If there is only one saint with your name, then he is your patron. The day of his memory will be your name day. On this day you must go to church to pray, confess, receive communion, and order a prayer service to your saint. If there are several saints with your name, then the saint whose memorial day is closest to his date of birth is selected.

If there's no saint with your name

There are cases when there are no saints with the name given to a person at birth. For example, this applies to the name Victoria. Then you should look for a name in the calendar that is similar in meaning. For example, for the Latin name Victoria, the Greek name Nike, also meaning “victory,” can be a substitute. If you can’t find an analogue, then you are allowed to choose a saint at your own discretion.

We told you about how to recognize your saint or your saint; it is up to you to decide how to “receive” your patron. The main thing is not to rely only on him in all life situations, but to make your own efforts, prudence, intelligence and intuition.

The patron saint and intercessor is your namesake saint, to whom you can pray as your intercessor.

Your name day will be the day of remembrance of the saint in whose honor you are named in Baptism. In addition, you can choose your own patron saint if you have not yet been baptized or do not know who you are named after.

Saint - what kind of person is this?

Every Orthodox Christian knows and venerates many saints. Prayer to the Lord Jesus Christ and His Most Pure Mother is a common petition that accompanies the life of a believer. But often it seems to us that our requests are small for God, and we are overcome by doubts: will He hear us, will He have mercy... In such cases, we pray to spiritual patrons - saints. It is traditional to pray to different saints in different areas of life, for example, for the healing of serious illnesses - Panteleimon the Healer, for animals - Saints Florus and Laurus.

In addition, every Christian has his own patron - the namesake saint. The patron saint is usually found by date of birth.

Saints and Angels - intercessors before God

Such saints are also called “our Angels,” but this is not entirely true. “Your Angel” is a Guardian Angel who protects you from the moment of Baptism, a Heavenly being. Every baptized Orthodox Christian has his own Guardian Angel, but we do not know his name. Angels are individuals, but their nature is different from human and animal ones. They are taller and more perfect than humans, although they also have limitations. The angel is usually depicted in ancient clothes - a cloak and chiton with gold edging around the collar and around the wrists, with golden wings.

And a patron saint is a person who lived a holy life on earth and shone in the Kingdom of God for his ascetic or martyrdom.

Dates of holy names

This will be a saint or saint (for girls and women) whose memory is celebrated in the coming days after the birthday. For example, if you were born on October 6 and bear the name Sergei, then your patron will be the Monk Sergius of Radonezh (his memory is October 8), and if on October 10 - the martyr Sergius (his memory is October 20).

Parents can be advised to consult the Saints - the Orthodox calendar - at the birth of a child. Try to name the child in honor of the saint whose memory is celebrated on this day or the next. For example, one should not neglect the patronage of great saints for children born on their holidays:

Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker is perhaps the most revered saint in the whole world. Both Catholics and Orthodox Christians pray to him. It is not for nothing that he bears the name of the Wonderworker. Both during his life and after his death, he became famous for many wondrous deeds, showing the power of God's grace: through his prayers the sick were healed, those who were perishing at sea were saved, justice was restored.

The saint lived in the 4th century, but even today he remains dear and beloved to many people: he continues to hear prayers, help those who turn to him, save from death, poverty, melancholy and many troubles, turning to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not without reason that huge, hours-long queues lined up to see the relics of the saint, a rib from which was brought to Russia from Italy for the first time in 900 years.

The saint has the grace to help in many areas of life.

In childhood, a miracle happened to St. Sergius. The future Saint Sergius, who in childhood - before changing his name in monasticism - was called Bartholomew, was the son of a local prince and therefore had to learn to read and write. But he did not understand the teaching at all. His classmates laughed at him, the teachers “taught” him with rods, and he himself was very worried.

One day, not far from his house, the youth Bartholomew met a monk. Being pious and hospitable, the boy invited the monk to visit his parents’ house and relax. The monk turned out to be an angel who appeared to the child: thanking Bartholomew for his hospitality, he offered to pray to God for the fulfillment of the boy’s cherished desire. Bartholomew asked for “understanding of literacy.” The monk-angel blessed Bartholomew, went outside the gates of his house and disappeared. The boy immediately began to understand literacy and learned to read and write. Everyone understood that a miracle had happened, and Bartholomew eventually became a monk and, having received the blessing of the monastery authorities, went into the forests and founded a monastery himself. Today this is the Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius - one of the largest monastic monasteries in Russia.

The saint has great grace to help in studies and, of course, in spiritual life, in all needs.

The image of the young martyr, Saint Tatiana, reminds us of the heavenly reward for all who remained faithful to God, and the heavenly punishment for cruel God-fighters: the face of the martyr, who brought many people to the Lord, is bright and joyful. She is portrayed as young, because it was in her youth that she suffered a painful death. Saint Tatiana lived in the 1st-2nd centuries AD. The formation of the Church of Christ in the world took place through the labors and martyrdom of the apostles and first disciples of Christ. Tatiana, a young girl, had to endure death for Christ during the years of persecution of the first Christians. Saint Tatiana is revered in Russia as a helper of students. She was not a student herself and during her lifetime she did not help students, but it was on her day, in 1755, that the Russian Empress Catherine the Second signed a decree on the construction of the first University of Russia. Today it is called M. Lomonosov Moscow State University.

The image of the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica is one of the most beautiful icons. It is often confused with the image of St. George the Victorious, but on the icon, Dmitry of Thessalonica strikes a wicked man with a spear. This is a miracle from his life. The saint is also called Dmitry the Myrrh-Streaming: his relics exuded myrrh, a special miraculous liquid, the composition of which no one on earth knows. The day of celebration of the memory of St. Demetrius of Thessaloniki is October 26. The saint was especially honored on this holiday in Rus': the battle on the Kulikovo field in 1380 was fought shortly before the memory of the holy warrior-defender, and through prayers to him the Russians won.

Among the apostles, the apostles Peter and Paul, called the supreme ones, stand out especially. Peter was one of the witnesses to the earthly life of Christ, his closest disciple, but during the arrest of Christ he denied Him. And Paul at first was even a persecutor of Christ - during His earthly life he did not meet Christ. However, these two apostles are the most famous, they worked for the sake of the Lord and for the enlightenment of people, and were able to ascend to the heights of holiness, despite their previous deeds.

The Holy Apostle Andrew was called the First-Called because he became the first disciple of Christ. His Lord was the first to invite people to follow Him, learning His teaching. And after the Resurrection and Ascension of the Lord into Heaven, together with the other apostles, Saint Andrew worked and preached the teachings of Christ. His journey was longer and more extensive than that of other missionaries. It was the Apostle Andrew who brought Christianity to the lands of future Russia. But he did not die among the barbarians, but ended his life as a martyr not far from his homeland, preaching the Cross of Christ and His teaching with his very death.

In Rus', many temples were dedicated to Saint Elijah: he was widely revered due to his help in growing crops. People were filled with awe at his name: it was believed that he commanded thunder and could incinerate a sinner with lightning. Perhaps this is the most revered of the saints and righteous people of the Old Testament. In modern Russia, the prophet Elijah is revered as the patron of airborne troops - after all, he ascended to heaven alive on a chariot.

St. George the Victorious is the great patron of Moscow, the capital of Russia, and therefore of every Russian. He has long been revered as the patron saint of all those unjustly offended and powerless to justify himself, an assistant in the fight for truth, in any good deed

Queen Helena was canonized among the saints equal to the apostles, that is, the Church, thanks to the missionary and educational activities of Helena, equated the saint with the apostles themselves, the first disciples of Christ. In the icon she is depicted with a large Cross, because she found the Cross on which Christ himself was crucified, and in royal clothing. Often her son is depicted next to her - Constantine the Great, also glorified among the Equal-to-the-Apostles. He was the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity and stop the persecution of Christians.

Baptism by another name

We have listed the most common names of the most famous saints in Russia. However, you can baptize a child in honor of your favorite saint and even in honor of your relative, making any named saint the patron saint of the child. This does not require any special customs. One has only to warn the priest before the Baptism, for example, of Alexander, that the heavenly patron of the child will be the blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky or the Reverend Alexander Svirsky.

You cannot baptize a child in honor of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Virgin Mary. Their names have long been revered. The names of Mary are given in honor of the martyrs, and Jesus - this is a rare monastic name - in honor of the Old Testament righteous man Joshua.

In addition, you can baptize a person with a name different from the name on the passport. This is necessary when the name you have chosen for the child is not in the calendar - for example, Amelia or Svetozar. Therefore, you can baptize your girl named, for example, Aramina with the name Irina. But this can be done simply at will. Then, in church notes for commemoration during the Liturgy, for example, it will be necessary to write exactly this name.

It is impossible to baptize a person because of a name change or for the sake of it.
If you don’t know how to choose a name for a child whom you named not according to the calendar (Orthodox calendar), take a baptized name that sounds close to yours.

Prayer to your namesake patron

We should remember the saint in whose honor we are named and who patronizes us not only on name day. The daily morning and evening prayer rule includes a short general prayer to the namesake praying saint.

People should turn to their patron saints for all their needs. It is known that for saints there are no unimportant prayers: it seems to us that the loss of some things is not worth prayer, but if this plunges you into despair, it is better to pray to your saint and calm down, she will not refuse help.

A prayer to the saint for all needs for every day, if you bear this name, can be read online using the text below:

“Pray to God for me, holy saint of God (holy saint of God) (name), because I diligently ask for your intercession, helper (tsy) in everything and prayer book (tsy) for my soul.”

A donated or purchased icon of the patron saint is placed in your home iconostasis. It can be in any room of the house. The place where the images stand in the room is called the “red corner” - usually it is opposite the door, by the window, in any clean and bright place. It is necessary for you to be comfortable standing in front of the icons during prayer, to be comfortable reading the prayer book, and to have no distractions nearby.

On a special shelf for icons, which can be bought in shops at churches, the image of the Lord Jesus Christ is placed in the center, on the left is the Most Holy Theotokos, and on the right is a revered saint, usually the namesake of you or your loved ones. Icons can also be placed on a shelf with books, better for spiritual content.

It may turn out that you have a rare name and cannot find an icon of your heavenly patron in church shops. Then purchase and place in your home iconostasis an icon of All Saints, where absolutely all Orthodox saints are symbolically depicted.

Angel's Day, name day, birthday

On the day of celebration of the memory of the patron saint, name days are celebrated, or Angel's Day - this is one and the same. Previously, name days were celebrated simultaneously with a person's birthday.

Orthodox believers visit church on name days and prepare for the sacraments of Confession and Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. You can at least visit the temple on this day if you cannot proceed to the Holy Sacraments. In the evening or during the day, you can invite your family and friends to a festive meal (lunch or dinner). If the name day falls on a fast day, then the treat should be made fast.

If your name day falls on a weekday during Lent (one of the major seasonal fasts: Great, Petrov, Uspensky, Rozhdestvensky), it is better to move their celebration to Sunday.

A gift for the birthday person should be appropriate and have a religious context.

• Gift editions of the book of the life of the saint or about the time in which he lived;


• The Bible is a family book that can even be passed down from generation to generation;


• Paid pilgrimage to holy places in your region;


• A modest but elegant gift - a bottle of church cahors with interesting glasses;


• A beautiful lamp for the “red corner” - the home iconostasis of the house;


• Chain for a pectoral cross;


• Ring “Save and preserve” with a cross and prayer;


• A bracelet with a prayer or with a cross (both men's and women's are now on sale);


• The most traditional option is a beautiful, hand-painted or self-embroidered icon of the patron saint;


• Vessel for holy water;


• Audio and video CDs with spiritual content.

Patron Help

The Church Fathers themselves, the priests, while still on earth, said that the heavenly patrons, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, see our lives and our deeds. “The saints embrace the whole world with their love,” said the Monk Silna of Athos. “They see and know how exhausted we are from sorrows... and, without ceasing, they intercede for us before God.”

How can you not only ask for help from a saint, but also please him? To imitate his earthly deeds and exploits, his great faith in God - otherwise we are only using his or her prayers.

Even Saint Ambrose of Optina, a venerable elder of the 19th century, said: “Let your life be according to your name.” The patron saint should not only be a prayer book for us, but also, most importantly, a role model.

We need to know well the life and exploits of our patron: we cannot sincerely love our saint if we do not know him. Many lives of saints are described in fiction: for example, in the book “Paterik” by Nikolai Leskov the lives of many ancient saints are described; in the book of Archpriest Nikolai Agafonov “Myrrh-Bearing Women” - the life of the patron saints of all Mary, Joan, John, all bearers of the names of the apostles.

Think about ways in which you could follow the example of your saint. According to the nature of Orthodox deeds, saints are traditionally divided into faces (classifications, categories): apostles, equal to the apostles, saints, prophets, martyrs (great martyrs, venerable martyrs, holy martyrs), righteous, reverend, holy fools, holy believers, confessors, etc.

Try to pay attention to their exploits and imitate them a little with your life.

• Women bearing the names of myrrh-bearing women can serve God and people by preaching and teaching the Law of God.


• If you bear the name of a confessor or martyr, think about how to tell people about the Orthodox faith. Endure harassment and ridicule.


• If you bear the name of a saint, help your loved ones find the path to salvation by your own example and by telling stories about the books you have read.

Venerables and monks can be imitated in asceticism, independence from earthly pleasures, special efforts to protect themselves from the sins of the flesh and in maintaining purity of thoughts.

May the Lord protect you through the prayers of all saints!

Christians believe that every person at the time of birth receives a Guardian Angel, who protects them from various misfortunes throughout their lives. In addition, there are also icons-intercessors, which are selected by date of birth. Images of saints help protect yourself and your home from various negativity, as well as solve various problems and improve life in general.

What is the patroness icon by date of birth?

The easiest way is to choose your patron saint according to your horoscope. Contact icons not only to ask for help, but also to thank them for their protection and help.

How to choose a patron icon by date of birth:

1. Aries. Representatives of this zodiac sign can turn to the Kazan Mother of God for support. before the image will help to cope with difficult situations.
2. Taurus. It is recommended to place the icon of the Iveron Mother of God and the “Help of Sinners” in the house. Prayers will help you get rid of various diseases, receive forgiveness and earn repentance.
3. Twins. Those born under this zodiac sign should ask for help and protection from the image of the Vladimir Mother of God. More protective icons by date of birth: “The Burning Bush” and “Recovery of the Lost.” In front of the icons you should pray for your own health, as well as for the healing of children.
4. Cancer. You should pray to the icon of St. Cyril, “Joy of All Who Sorrow” and the Kazan Mother of God. Images help to find physical and spiritual healing.
5. a lion. In difficult situations, you should turn to Nikolai Ugodnik and Elijah the Prophet. It is worth placing an intercessor icon in the house - “Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos”. Prayers to this image give strength and patience.
6. Virgo. Patron icons by date of birth for a person born during this period are “Passionate” and “Burning Bush”. Prayer calls help in grief and misfortune, and also provide healing and consolation.
7. Scales. Representatives of this zodiac sign are protected by the icon of the Pochaev Mother of God, and they can also pray in front of the image of the “Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord” and the “Burning Bush”. Icons protect the house from various troubles.
8. Scorpion. Intercessory icons – the Mother of God of Jerusalem and the “Quick to Hear”. Appeals to the saints will help you receive consolation and forgiveness. Prayers will help you find the right path in difficult situations.
9. Sagittarius. Those born under this sign should place an icon of St. Nicholas the Pleasant and the Tikhvin Mother of God “The Sign” in their home. The images will help strengthen family relationships, protect against various diseases, etc.
10. Capricorn. The patron icon “Sovereign” helps in personal life and in difficult situations, and also heals from various diseases.
11. Aquarius. For protection, it is necessary to have in the house the icon of the Vladimir Mother of God “The Burning Bush”. Saints protect against the evil eye, slander and help cope with heart disease. Being in the house, the icon will protect you from scandals and quarrels.
12. Fish. Representatives of this zodiac sign are protected by the icon of the Iveron Mother of God. Prayer requests will help you find solace in grief and various problems.

Everyone has their own guardian angel and their own intercessor icon, which is given from birth. Icons of “Joy to All Who Sorrow” and the Kazan Mother of God are the intercessors of those born from June 22 to July 22. Saint Cyril is their guardian angel.

Using the Kuznetsov writing technique, you can show not only the entire action from beginning to end, but also be present...” Painting a personalized icon takes from 10 days, depending on the size and complexity of the plot. The need for a constant feeling of the invisible Lord's protection and connection with the Highest world gives rise to the need in us to bring the icon into our home, assigning it a worthy place in its space.

Also, the saint of the same name is often considered the heavenly patron, especially revered in the family, regardless of the time of the name day celebration. A personalized icon has great spiritual value for a person, since it depicts his heavenly patron and intercessor. At the same time, let us mention that the home iconostasis must certainly contain images of the Savior and, to the left of Him, the Mother of God.

Color and ornament, like scenes from life, symbolically convey the essence of the saint’s earthly deed and that place at the throne of God, which is now established for him by God forever and ever... It is clear that the icons were painted for three different individuals, three human souls, each of which needs its own spiritual treatment.

The patron saint appears in a person with the first heartbeat at birth and protects us until the moment of death. There are also people who believe in divine powers and treat such power as a magic wand, that is, when making a request, they immediately expect the immediate fulfillment of their desire. Reverend Seraphim of Sarov and Blessed Sylvester protect those who were born on the days from December 22 to January 20.

Those born from February 21 to March 20 are protected by Saint Alexios and Venerable Milentius of Antioch. People born between May 21 and June 21 can recognize the patron saint by date of birth. They are assisted throughout their lives by Saint Constantine and Alexei of Moscow. People born between July 23 and August 23 also have an Orthodox patron saint.

A personalized icon is of great spiritual value

Those born from August 24 to September 23 will be helped by John, Paul and Saint Alexandra. Those born between November 23 and December 21 are under the protection of St. Barbara and Blessed Nicholas the Pleasant. Icons for protection - “The Sign” and “Tikhvin”. Angel Day in the Orthodox Church is highly valued, because it is the day of the heavenly intercessor, a saint before a person, whose name is given to a Christian.

A unique site about icons, prayers, esotericism.

As a rule, the day of the heavenly patron is the next day of celebration of the saint whose name the person bears. To determine the name of your heavenly patron, use the Orthodox calendar. All the birthdays of the saints are written in it. And if your name is not in the calendar of the Orthodox calendar, then at baptism a name is always chosen for a person that is very close in sound to yours. Also in the church there are traditional other sounds of names. Example: Victoria - Nika, Svetlana - Fotinia, etc.

Which patron saint protects you?

In the understanding of a believer, a happy family is mutual love, support, respect, and all this is accompanied by the Lord. Families... The complexity of modern life is that it does not allow people to live in peace and relax a little. In Orthodoxy, there has long been a tradition of naming a newborn after a saint.

There are countless icons in churches, and they are all revered

One, the Guardian, protects us from evil and troubles, the other, the holy saint, intercedes for us before God.” Therefore, in the red corner of the house, next to the images of the Savior and the Mother of God, icons of the namesake saints are necessarily placed.

Saint Nicholas the Pleasant and Elijah the Prophet protect those born from July 23 to August 23, and the icon “Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos” protects them. Almost every believer has Orthodox icons in their home, and if someone doesn’t, then these people go to church and pray there. Although an icon is not at all necessary for prayer. Orthodox believers should not forget that their guardian angel is, first of all, a patron saint by name and date of birth.

In the modern world, few people honor the traditions of their ancestors. For example, at the birth of a baby, he is given a name in honor of his grandfather, grandmother or favorite book character, famous actor, singer. But choosing a name is a very important moment in anyone’s life; one might say it has a sacred meaning. After all, it is then that your baby receives a patron saint forever. They are identified either by date of birth or by the same name as a child (or adult).

In the article we will explain how to find out which saint is “yours”, what is the difference between the Guardian Angel and the heavenly patron, how name days differ from birthdays, and we will give a lot of other useful information.

What are name days

Few people think about why a person is called a birthday boy on his birthday. Long years of godless Soviet power almost erased from people's memory the customs that their grandfathers and great-grandfathers observed. Modern people confuse the concepts of “birthday” and “name day”. But this is not the same thing at all.

• A birthday is the date on which a person was born. Today it is customary to celebrate each year of life, especially highlighting “round” dates (multiples of 5 or 10). But the first Christians did not celebrate birthdays at all. They considered the most important day of transition to eternal life (that is, the death of man).
• Name day - this particular date was solemnly celebrated in pre-revolutionary Russia. Among churchgoers you can also hear another name for it - namesake (this is where the word “namesake” comes from - a person who celebrates a name day on the same day, accordingly, bears the same name). This is a day of church veneration of one or another saint. Namely, your heavenly patron, who bore the same name during his lifetime. Today many people mistakenly call this date “angel day.”
• A guardian angel is given to a person on the day of baptism, but the proper names of these inhabitants of heaven are not revealed to people. We know only a few from the Bible (for example, the Archangel Michael). The Orthodox Church honors all heavenly powers on one day.

Name days are mistakenly confused with Angel's Day. An angel is an incorporeal heavenly entity assigned to the soul by God to guide it on the true path.

So, name day is the day of church celebration of your memory. Quite often it does not coincide with the date of birth. But you will learn why this is so from the next section, which is devoted to the issue of choosing a heavenly intercessor.

Choosing a patron saint by name

Today, many parents baptize their child in infancy, according to Orthodox tradition. In this case, the choice falls on their shoulders. Let's say they registered their son as Ivan. Now, before baptism, dad and mom must decide which saint’s name will be given to the baby during the ceremony. In this case, it is necessary to find a righteous person for whom it is the same.

• First you need to find out what the church form of the name is. It does not always coincide with the secular one. For example, Ivan will become John, Svetlana will become Fotinya, Martha will become Martha, Yuri will become George. There are many similar examples. To find out exactly, refer to the church calendar; there is usually a dictionary of names at the end.
• Don't be alarmed if the name form is different. It is not necessary to use it in everyday life. It is useful only for church rituals - when submitting health notes, during Communion, and confession. For example, in Orthodoxy there are a lot of saints named John. Choose one of them. It is advisable, of course, that you are familiar with the biography of the righteous man. There you will be able to form a personal attitude, because otherwise the prayers will be formal.
• There is another book that is useful in our business - the Saints, or church calendar, the Monthly Book. There you can find the names of all the saints whose memory is officially immortalized in the Orthodox Church.

Choosing a patron saint by date of birth

Using the month word you can also search by date of birth. This makes the task much easier, especially if people are just starting church life. As a rule, the calendar contains several saints with the same name. In this case, you need to do a simple thing - choose the one whose celebration is closest to your birthday.

• Please note that the list of righteous people is changing and being supplemented. At the beginning of this century, many new martyrs and confessors were canonized.
• If a Christian was baptized before 2000, then the patron saint should be determined according to the calendar published earlier than this date.
• If the baptism was carried out after 2000, then you can take a new edition.
• Previously, a saint was chosen by the date of his baptism, but today they are more often guided by the day of his birth.

What to do if a person at birth received a name that is not in the calendar? You can choose any other or similar sounding one. For example, Jeanne can become Joanna.

About patron icons

In Orthodox church shops you can buy a wide variety of icons. But in order to choose the one that is your personal one, you need to have accurate information:

• know the name of the saint and by whom he is recognized (martyr, new martyr, blessed, righteous, etc.);
• imagine how it should be depicted - the image should be written according to certain rules (canons);
• decide in advance what size the icon is needed, and to do this, take measurements from your shelf. According to the rules of iconostasis design, the image of a saint cannot be larger than the image of Christ.

You can purchase a small sample to take with you on trips. It is also advisable to find a troparion and prayer compiled by the church for your patron saint. You can turn to the heavenly intercessor in any difficult situation, ask for help and assistance, like a close friend.

The most famous icons

There are literally thousands of images of saints in Orthodoxy. Therefore, there is a problem of choice. Most often, people simply choose the most popular righteous people among believers. Let's list some of them, starting with the winter months:

22.12 - 20.01 “is highly respected.” This shrine was found in the basement of an old house on the very day when the last Russian emperor signed his abdication.

Considering the further tragic fate of the Romanov family, many see a special sign in these events. It is believed that the Mother of God herself took Russia under protection. Also on these days, services are held in churches in memory of St. Seraphim of Sarov and St. Sylvester.

During the spring-summer period there are also many saints to whom you can turn for protection.

• 21.03 - 20.04 The image of the Queen of Heaven under “ is widely known for its strong properties, capable of sheltering from many troubles. The name was given after the place where this valuable Russian shrine was found. Of the holy fathers, prayers should be directed to Innocent of Irkutsk, St. Sophronius, Gregory the Confessor.
• 21.04 - 20.05 is especially revered among Russians. “” helps even those who have hopelessly fallen into the abyss of sin. You can turn to her in the most hopeless situations. The Apostle John the Theologian is well known as the beloved disciple of Jesus Christ Himself.
• 21.05 - 21.06 The memory of the icon "" occurs during the same period as the celebration. Both miraculous faces are widely known among believers. Saints Constantine and Alexei of Moscow will be reliable patrons.
• 22.06 - 22.07" gives hope to anyone who comes to him with faith and hope for help. Believers can also turn their prayers to St. Kirill, one of the apostles of Russia. After this period (from July 23 to August 23), one should choose either St. Nicholas or the Prophet Elijah as a patron (known for the fact that he was taken to heaven alive, i.e., did not see bodily death). The patron image is the icon of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Saints Paul and John (quite popular names in Russia) protect those born on August 24 to September 23. You should also have an icon called “Passionate” in your home. Starting from 24.09 to 23.10, the patronage is provided by the image of the Pochaev Mother of God, “The Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord,” and prayers to the Venerable Serius of Radonezh also have special power during this period. The Jerusalem Icon will intercede for those who were born from 10/24 to 11/22.

A fitting celebration

Christians should spend their name day not in riotous fun, but in prayer. In the morning, be sure to come to the service and take Communion during the Liturgy. To do this, you need to confess in the evening, and before that, fast for at least three days. The whole church will pray to the saint whom you consider your intercessor before God. It is on this day that it is best to ask for your soul.

In the evening, of course, you can get together with relatives and friends. But there should be no alcohol on the table, and wild celebrations should be excluded.

Choose a suitable topic for conversation with your loved ones. If the holiday falls during the period of fasting, then modest dishes (from animal products) should be excluded. There is also a pious tradition - if an important holiday falls during Lent, it can be postponed. For example, on the next Sunday.

If there are children in the house, they should be taught from their early years that name days are an important milestone in life. This holiday should be a bright family day. Congratulate your family and friends on the occasion as well. Based on your date of birth, you can easily choose a wonderful gift - an icon depicting the patron saint. This would be an appropriate offering for any believer.

Patron saints by name and date of birth was last modified: September 5th, 2018 by Bogolub