Since the fourth century, in the Christiana patron appears. Hoping for the favor and protection of the latter, parents called the child's similar name. Subsequently, many spheres of life acquired such holy patronage.
Who is the patron
The easiest way is to determine personal patron saints by the date of birth. How to do this, we'll look at the end of the article.
It is also interesting to know that in the process of the formation of Christianity, the lives of saints and professions were studied, similar to their occupations or abilities, received them as patrons.
So Levi Matvey, being in his lifetime as an assemblertaxes, became a defender of employees of financial departments. Clara Asizskaya had the gift to see and hear the Christmas Mass in the temple, even lying sick in bed. Therefore, she is assigned the role of patron of television.
On occasion, look at the icons, pictures. Guardian angel, holy saint, martyrs usually keep in their hands the attributes that show their belonging to some kind of activity.
Patrons of professions
You will be amazed when you learn how many saintspatronizes certain types of activity. The bulk of these names refers to Catholicism, but there are many Orthodox. Let's look at this in more detail.
All occupations that are associated with movementon land transport, whether it's a bicycle, a car or a bus, the prophet Ilya patronizes. He is portrayed in the Holy Scriptures on a fiery chariot after being taken alive to heaven.
The physicians are patronized by the archangels Raphael and Gabriel, as well as the Evangelist Luke. All of them in one way or another were associated with treatment.
Even housewives have their patrons. They are Martha, the disciple of Jesus Christ, and Anna, the mother of Mary, the Virgin.
Evangelist Mark patronizes all kinds of activities related to animals. Zoologists, biologists, veterinarians and other specialists can ask for help from him.
Archangel Gabriel, being in the Christian traditionenvoy, helps diplomats, couriers, ambassadors, postmen and other figures connected with the delivery of something or establishing relations. Orthodoxy also includes media workers.
The patron saint of journalists in Catholicism is Francis of Salsk, and the publishers, booksellers, writers and composers are John the Theologian.
A patron of sailors and singers is called Andrew the First-Called. It is not for nothing that his cross is depicted on the flag of the Russian Navy.
Archangel Michael is associated with professions that deal with military affairs, law, and administration. This includes, in fact, soldiers, police officers and other employees of law enforcement agencies.
You will laugh, but the Vatican even identifiedpatron of Internet users. The patron saint of this activity is Isidore from Seville. During his lifetime he was an encyclopedist and, after faith, first of all put knowledge.
Patrons of countries and cities
Holy patrons by the name of the settlement do notare determined. But, proceeding from different Christian directions, every city and country has a patron. Some even have a few. Prefix to the name of the saint means the place of his birth, and not the point to which he favors.
Let's look at this in more detail. Since the missionaries tried to identify the defenders of most of the settlements, we will stop at the most famous and significant cities and states.
The patron saint of Belarus is Euphrosyne of Polotsk.
Russia has several patrons, if we talk aboutdifferent denominations. The Orthodox consider the patrons of St. George the Victorious and St. Andrew the First-Called, the Catholics - Prince Vladimir, Basil the Great and Joseph the Betrothed.
Ukraine in Orthodoxy is patronized by the Apostle Andrew, and in Catholicism - by Joseph Polotsky.
The United States of America as its defender consider the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception.
France relies on the help of two patronesses. This is Anna, the mother of Mary the Virgin, and Joan of Arc.
Britain, according to Catholic priests, is under the auspices of Archangel Michael.
We listed only a few countries from America, Western Europe and the near abroad. Next, the patrons of some Russian cities and regions will be presented.
Icons of patron saints sometimes reflect the place to which they favor. But this can not always be determined by images. Let's see who defends which city in the Orthodox tradition.
Moscow is pleased with George the Victorious, he is even depicted on the coat of arms.
St. Petersburg is defended by the apostles Peter and Paul, as well as Alexander Nevsky.
The latter is also the patron of Transbaikalia, and the apostles Peter and Paul are also the whole of the Kamchatka region.
This topic is very extensive, the volume of the same article allows you to touch it only briefly. Next, we will talk about the holy helpers in various life troubles.
Patrons of patients and assistants in treatment
In Christianity there is not only the protector of the dead, but also protectors from various ailments, and also saints who help doctors in healing.
Let's get acquainted with the help of doctors.
So, with alcoholism, as Orthodox believers believe, the martyr Boniface of Tarsus and John of Kronstadt are helping to cope. Catholics on this occasion turn to Urban from Langr.
Pregnant women pray to the great martyr Anastasia or Sylvia of Rome, depending on the confession.
Simeon Verkhotursky will help with leg diseases, and in case of any ailments associated with the hands, the believers turn to the icon "Troeruchitsa", on which the Virgin is depicted.
In principle, the patron of all patients in Catholicism is Mavr Glanfei.
With the eyes, they say, the archangel Gabriel helps, and Francis of Silesia is considered to be the patron of problems related to hearing.
Job Long-suffering in Catholicism "responsible" for the cure of depression.
As it turns out, the patron of the dead is not alone. They are divided by age. Cartridges of child mortality - Jadwiga Silesian or Matilda of Saxony, and untimely death - Archangel Michael.
If a person is difficult to understand the naturepain or the origin of the disease, there are saints who help, it is believed, with healing in general. This is the great martyr Panteleimon in Orthodoxy and Juliana of Nicomedia in Catholicism.
Assistants in difficult situations
As the proverb says, from sumka and prison it is not necessary to renounce. Let's see what kind of saints help people who have met misfortunes on the path of life.
In such situations, a patron is not determined by the date of birth, but a candle is put to someone who helps in such a misfortune.
So, it is believed that helping Catholics find a new job, Kaztan of Tyensk, and the Orthodox - Xenia from St. Petersburg.
Agnell in Catholicism, in Orthodoxy - Boris and Gleb, Alexander Nevsky, Neil Sorsky and Theotokos support and help recover the victims of the war.
The captives are patronized by Peter of Athos and Simeon of Bogopryimets.
If nostalgia crept into my soul and my heart yearned for family and friends, I prayed to John the Crow.
From the destruction on the water protect the Virgin (the icon "Savior of the drowning") and Iakinf from Krakow. Rescue in a shipwreck patronizes Yudok.
The patron saint of children is Sergius of Radonezh. He is prayed if the offspring are unsuccessful in their studies.
If you feel desperate, they say, the put candle will help John Chrysostom.
Of course, this is a matter of faith, especially in our enlightened age, but there are situations when this remains the only way out. As they say, "there are no atheists in the trenches."
Protection against natural disasters
Natural disasters come suddenly, and the power of the elements frightens and delights.
Christianity believes that some saints help people, protect them from the anger of nature and divert destructions to the side.
Let's find out who is praying in different faiths in similar situations.
During an earthquake, it is unlikely to be a time to determine who your patron saints are by birth date. Therefore, holy fathers recommend to address in this case to Grigory Miracle-worker.
When a volcano erupts nearby, you should quickly leave. But later it will not hurt to put the candle of Agafia Sicilia, so that this does not happen again.
In the Middle Ages, in a violent storm, Yudok, Walburg, Urban Langrus or Erasmus Formian prayed.
To avoid a lightning strike, they turned to Wirth of Rome and Magnus of Fussen.
Ermengild is considered a defender in thunderstorms, droughts and floods.
It is noteworthy that in the mainpatrons-saviors from various calamities are in Catholicism. Orthodox addressed to the defenders only in two cases. In severe frosts - to the holy fool Procopius from Ustyug, and during the fire - to the recluse Nikita of Novgorod or to the icon "Burning bush". Apparently, the rest of the cataclysms were not disturbed by our people.
Patrons of educational institutions
Often the name of a large educational institution, especially in the Middle Ages, crowned the name of the patron saint. By the name of the patron they judged the status of the school or university.
Separately, all schools in Catholicism are patronized by Thomas Aquinas, and to universities - Contardo Ferrin.
And here supporters of the Catholic confession were more noted. Orthodox recognize mainly only that the Apostle Andrew is the patron of the University of Patras in Greece.
In Western Europe, many universities have acquired holy defenders.
In the Bologna Academy of Arts - Catherine of Bologna.
The patroness of Cambridge is considered Edeltrud, and in Oxford - Fredeswind.
For greater success, the University of Paris considers four saints to be its patrons. These are Catherine from Alexandria, Nikolai from Mirlikia, Ursula from Cologne, and Charlemagne.
So some of the oldest trainingestablishments have cartridges. The problem is that, according to the canons, they protect the universities themselves, and not help students with their studies. So on the exams, you still have to rely only on your intellect or a friendly cheat sheet.
Defenders of the ruling dynasties
As usual, here we will focus mainly on the Catholic faith.
Apparently the desire to become a universal church andthe love of wealth and luxury influenced the fact that practically every social, natural, and other phenomena, as well as various spheres of life, had their own patron saints. After all, only in this case can you affect the tithe, offerings and gifts to the temples.
So, who among the saints became the royal protector?
Ferdinand of Castile is considered the patron saint of all heads of state, regardless of region or continent.
Next comes a specific feature.Cartridges have each ruling house, in particular, French, English and German. And also separately from people who have different titles, such as the king, princess and others.
So, the monarchs patronize Louis, Edward the Confessor and Henry of Bavaria, respectively.
Kings are helped to bear the burden imposed on them by Edgar the Peace and Dagobert.
Queens - Jadwiga Polish, Isabella Portuguese and Matilda Saxon.
Empress protects Equal Apostles Helena.
Adelaide of Burgundy favors the princesses, and the counts are patronized by Karl the Good.
The patron saints of the family of the ruling monarchs of Great Britain are Edward the Confessor and the Archangel Michael, as the protector of England.
The German Habsburg dynasty was favored by Maximilian, and the dauphins of France by Petronilla.
Thus, many ruling families had not only their spiritual fathers and advisers from the clergy, but also patron saints.
Animal patrons
Cattle breeding has long been one of the most importantoccupations person. It was this activity that helped move from random luck on the hunt to planned food. Therefore, people are constantly concerned about the health and performance of their pets.
Here we mention the Orthodox and Catholic patrons of animals.
So let's start with the birds. Domestic ducks, geese and other flying animals have a protector in the person of the Great Martyr Nikita with the Orthodox and Martin from Tour in Catholicism.
The pigeons are patronized by David from Wales, and the swans by Hugo Lincols.
Next is livestock. In Orthodoxy, George the Victorious and Paraskeva Friday are considered his defenders. Catholics call Pope Cornelius, the hermit Onuphrius and Perpetua from Carthage.
All horned animals are protected by Guido from Anderlecht.
In Orthodoxy, Mamant of Caesarea is considered the patron of goats and sheep, but Catholics do not believe that goats may have a patron. Therefore, according to their tradition, St. George defends only sheep.
How to know your patron saint
Today, most people again begin to seek faith. Some are returning to Christianity. In this religion, it is customary to celebrate the Day of the Angel, that is, the date when one or another saint is honored.
The easiest way to determine the name of a saintpatron - on behalf of the child. First, at baptism a new name is given (if the given is not related to the Christian tradition, or the parents wanted to give the second), but the old one may be preserved.
What to do?Basically, patron saints are determined by name and date of birth. Even if you don’t remember the name by which you were baptized (not preserved), find the closest Christian one. If there are several - choose the one that you prefer.
So, now open the calendar and look for what kind of patron suits you by date of birth. This is not the exact number when you were born, but the closest day, in which they honor a saint with that name.
For example, you are celebrating your birthday on September 2and the nearest date, when the patron with the same name is mentioned, is December 11th. It turns out that you have two celebrations. In September - Birthday, in December - Angel Day.
On such days, it is customary to give children images and pictures. The guardian angel need not be depicted there, but it will not be superfluous.
So, we learned to identify our patron, as well as recognize the holy defenders in various spheres of life.
