Before the 1917 revolutionin Russia, newborn children were called by the name, which is indicated on the day of their birth in a special church book - Svyattsyakh. The holy calendar is published by the Orthodox Church and is a list of the names of saints canonized throughout the history of the church. The final version of the Holy calendar does not exist, but only the names of canonized saints can be included in this book. Nowadays, saints can be purchased at the church, they can also be found on many sites on the Internet.
The names of the boys according to the calendar are selected by the daythe birth of a child. Each day usually has one or (more often) several church names. As a rule, these are names that have become firmly established in Russian everyday life. At one time, many names of Greek origin, such as Alexander, Andrey, Makar, Hilarion, entered the society through the church. Perhaps, at certain times, they even made up most of the names, along with the "biblical" names of Jewish origin (Isaiah, Daniel, Mary, David, Moses, Solomon, etc.). Thanks to all the same church traditions, the names of Romanesque (Latin) origin, such as Adrian, Vitaly, Valery, Concordia, Matrona, Julius and others, also entered the Russian language. In the Svjatcie you can find the church names of boys of original Slavic origin. These are names with two roots (end with "glory"): Yaroslav, Vyacheslav, Stanislav. In addition, such names as Vsevolod, Bogdan, Lyudmila, Nadezhda, Vladimir are also ancient Slavic names. In short, the Holidays offer a wide choice of names for your baby.
But what if the church names of boys,recorded in the birthday party for your child, you do not like? For example, the baby was born on April 7, and the three proposed names are Gabriel, Jacob, Ivan, and you want to give your child a more modern name. Well, according to church tradition, you can also use the names of the boys, according to the church calendar, falling on the 8th and 40th day from the birthday of the baby. Those. in our example, more names are added: Makar (April 14) and Arseny and Pimen (May 21). According to church laws, on the 8th day the order of naming is performed, and on the 40th child they are baptized, which is why these days are chosen as alternative.
However, many people in modern Russiansociety at one time received completely non-church names. Boys were often called by names that are not in the Sacraments, such as Velizar, Robert, Andron, Stanislav, Anton (there is no such name in the church books, only Antony is). If these people were not baptized in their childhood and they want to be baptized, an Orthodox priest will select a name for them that sounds similar in meaning, in sound or close to the date of birth of the person. So, Yuri, most likely, will be given the name George (from which the name Yuri originated); Anton will probably be called Anthony. A new name given at baptism can be used by attending church during confession and communion; the church name is also indicated in the notes on health and repose.
Ancient tradition
Church names of boys testify to theirheavenly protectors, guardian angels. It is believed that the saint, whose name his parents gave birth to his child, will accompany and protect this child throughout his life. Therefore, perhaps this is not just a fad, but a long tradition with ancient roots and deep meaning.
