- October 30, 2018
- Name day
- KHLUDEEVA KSENIA
On August 11th, birthday people are both men and women. This day in the Orthodox world is marked by the days of remembrance of several saints. Firstly, August 11th is the birthday of the great Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker. But Orthodox Nicholas does not celebrate his name day on this day. Secondly, the beginning of August was marked in the religious world by the day of the holy martyr Seraphim of Rome. Thirdly, in the last month of summer, the lives of the Venerables Cosmas and Constantine, as well as the Venerable Martyr Anatoly, are remembered. Fourthly, August 11th is the men's name day, in memory of the martyrs Mikhail and Kalinnik. And also about the martyr Eustathius.
Thus, birthday people on August 11:
- Ostap;
- Seraphim;
- Kuzma, Kosma;
- Anatoly;
- Michael;
- Kalinnik.
Anatoly
August 11th is Anatoly’s name day, Tolya’s. The patron saint is the Venerable Martyr Anatoly (Smirnov), hieromonk. Father Anatoly lived at the beginning of the 20th century and received holy orders in the city of Alma-Ata. During the reign of the Bolsheviks, the monks, led by Father Seraphim and Father Anatoly, went to the mountains, where they built a monastery. Saint Anatoly served in the cathedral in the city of Verny in 1921, where he directed the church choir. In 1925, he was arrested and executed for anti-Soviet propaganda.
The meaning of the name is (Greek) “eastern, ascending.” Character traits: modesty, self-criticism, frugality.
Konstantin
Patron Saint - Reverend Konstantin Kosinsky, Starorussky. The life of St. Constantine is associated with the names of Varlaam of Khutyn and St. Anthony of Dym. He was their student. Until the beginning of the 13th century, the saint lived in the Khutyn monastery. In 1220, he set out to preach and stopped on an island between two rivers, where he later founded a monastery in honor of St. Nicholas. Saint Constantine served at the monastery until his death.
The meaning of the name is (Latin) “constant, persistent.” Character traits: masculinity, nobility, pedantry.
Kuzma
August 11th is the name day of Kosma, Kusma and Kuzma. Patron Saint - Venerable Kosma of Kosinsky of Starorussky, associate of St. Constantine of Kosinsky, successor and his main disciple. Cosmas became rector of the Church of St. Nicholas after the death of Constantine. Made a significant contribution to the development of Christianity.
The meaning of the name is (Greek) “world.” Character traits: sensuality, initiative, accuracy.
Birthday people
It is very significant that August 12th is the name day of 12 names:
- Anatoly - (Greek) “east, eastern, ascending.”
- Agnia - (Latin) “immaculate.”
- Angelina - (ancient Greek) “messenger”.
- Valentin - (Latin) “healthy.”
- Herman - (Latin) “only begotten, half-blooded.”
- Gelasius - (Greek) “deep, laughing.”
- Elympus - (Greek) “sky”.
- Ivan - (Old Hebrew) “the mercy of God.”
- Luke - (ancient Greek) “light.”
- Maxim - (Latin) “greatest”.
- Olympius - (Greek) “mountain of the gods.”
- Silouan - (Roman) “forest, wild.”
Michael
The patron saint is the Venerable Martyr Michael (Zhuk), hieromonk. The saint lived and served the Christian faith at the beginning of the 20th century. Like many church ministers of that time, he suffered at the hands of the Bolsheviks. He was shot in 1937 for agitating against Soviet power. He did not admit his guilt and did not renounce Christ. The sentence was carried out in early July. In 2000, Michael was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church.
The meaning of the name is (ancient Hebrew) “equal, like God.” Character traits: purposefulness, ambition and honesty.
Kallinik
Patron Saint - Martyr Callinicus of Cilicia, Gangra. Callinicus, who lived in the 4th century, suffered for the Christian faith during the reign of a pagan emperor. From early childhood the saint was raised in Christianity and therefore suffered greatly when he saw a large number of pagans. Having reached the age of eighteen, the martyr went through the cities, carrying the word of God, bringing many people to the faith. When Callinicus arrived in the city of Ankyr, he was arrested. The ruler called on the saint to worship idols, but he did not renounce his faith. For this the martyr was tortured. Wearing shoes with iron nails, Kalinnik was brought to the city of Gangr, where he was burned.
The meaning of the name is (Greek) “good-victorious.” Character traits: kindness, responsiveness, love.
Women's name day August 12
On August 12, women's name day is celebrated quite rarely. Not all sources point to representatives of the fair sex who are birthday girls. But in some of them, including the month book of the Orthodox Church of the last generation, you can find the names: Angelina, Agnia, Lukia.
Angelina - (Greek) “messenger, messenger.” Patron Saint - Blessed Angelina of Serbia (Brankovic), Queen. The life of Saint Angelina is connected with Serbia and Italy. For her Christian faith, the saint was banished along with her husband. After the death of her husband, Angelina took monastic vows and gave her life to serving the Lord and charity. The blessed one raised her two sons in Christianity. After the death of Mother Angelina, her relics began to have healing powers.
On August 12, women's name days are celebrated by Angelinas, Agnias, and Lukias.
Ostap
August 11th is the name day of Eustakhia, Evskhia, Ostap. Patron Saint - Martyr Eustathius of Mtskheta, Tiflis. Eustathius was originally a Persian pagan named Bgrobandav. At the age of thirty, the saint moved from Persia to the Georgian city of Mtsekha. There he went to an Orthodox church and listened to Christian sermons. Noticing the pagan, Archimandrite Samuel told him about the Christian faith in great detail. After this conversation, the saint accepted Christianity and was baptized with the name Eustathius.
Having harbored a grudge against the saint, the pagan Persians living in Georgia achieved the arrest and imprisonment of Eustathius. The villains kept the saint in prison for about six months. But at the request of the nobility of those places, the saint was released and lived a calm, virtuous life for another 3 years. When the pagan Bezhan-Buzmil came to power, the martyr was arrested again and subjected to torture. Without renouncing his faith, Eustathius was executed. The saint became the patron saint of the Ostaps, born in August.
The meaning of the name is (Greek) “persistent, firm.” Character traits: hard work, sentimentality, nobility.
This wonderful Holiday, deeply revered by our ancestors, is just beginning to return to the consciousness of Orthodox Rus'. Therefore, it is natural that for the majority of even church people, August 11 is in no way associated with the memory of the great saint of God. Even for scientists, the Feast of the Nativity of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is the most mysterious of all church memories associated with the name of the saint. It is not known exactly when and where this holiday was first established. Was it celebrated in Byzantium or does it belong to the list of Russian memories? What “status” did it have among other commemorations of the church year? This holiday is not found in any modern Local Orthodox Church. Today, the Nativity of St. Nicholas is an exclusively Russian church tradition, which, however, has ancient historical roots (known since the 12th–13th centuries). It was the absence of the holiday in the monthly calendars of other Orthodox Churches that most likely became the reason for the abolition of its celebration in the Russian Church during the reign of Catherine II.
Nevertheless, by the Providence of God, the good tradition of celebrating the Nativity of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is returning to the Russian Orthodox Church. And we should become more familiar with the meaning of this Holiday in order to know its depth and importance.
First of all, let us pay attention to the fact that in the Orthodox Church, in addition to the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, the birthdays of only three holy people are celebrated - the Most Holy Theotokos, John the Baptist and St. Nicholas. And if the memories of the birth of the Mother of God and the Forerunner of the Lord John are closely connected with the coming of the Savior into the world and constitute a kind of prologue to this event, then the birth of St. Nicholas the Pleasant seems to fall out of this line and may even seem somewhat artificial.
However, if we turn to the liturgical texts of the Nativity of St. Nicholas, we will see that the event celebrated in them takes on a universal scale:
“Come, all good saints, kings and princes and dignitaries and all people, men and women, young men and virgins, and all ages and all wealth, accordingly, sing, the honorable and glorious birth of St. Nicholas the All-Blessed...”; “Your wonderful and glorious Nativity, to Saint Nicholas, the Orthodox Church brightly celebrates today...” This universal scale of the birth of a righteous man, even one as revered and dearly loved as Nicholas the Wonderworker, can indeed cause bewilderment. Moreover, in the hymns in honor of the saint one can notice clear parallels with the glorification of the Mother of God. “Today, fertile Nona gives birth to God’s chosen child in the Dwelling Place of all, the King and Creator of Christ God...” is sung in one of the stichera of the holiday. This is a paraphrase from the service of the Nativity of the Theotokos: “Today the barren Anna gives birth to the Mother of God, chosen from all generations to be the Dwelling Place of all the King and Creator of Christ God...” Also with the line: “This is a day of joy, rejoice, people...” (option: “This is the day of the Lord, rejoice, people...”) from the following of St. Nicholas, the hymns begin, repeated several times in the service of the Nativity of the Mother of God.
We see amazing parallels when the Mother of God and the saint are called “the Home of all the King and Creator.” We are timidly perplexed by the comparison of the greatness of the birthday of She, whose appearance in the world directly announced the imminent coming of the Savior, and just one of the righteous. But all this is not accidental; the Church teaches us an important lesson here.
After the coming of the Savior into the world, after His death on the cross and resurrection, every human person involved in Christ becomes the highest value of the Universe. In an amazing way, the glory of God Himself is imprinted in the life of one who has accepted the Son of God into his heart. The life of one person becomes significant for the entire Universe. Moreover, only the Christian faith, unity with the Savior, fills human life with such meaning.
We are often dissatisfied with our life, with the circumstances or situations that enter into it, burdening us with everyday worries. The rare joyful moments that one has to experience too quickly lose their color in the diversity of everyday life. Even such an event as the birth of a child does not always please loved ones for a long time. Everyday life and the realities of life, unfortunately, often take their toll. But from the vaults of the temple, slightly illuminated by the quiet evening light, touching words descend to us: “Rejoice, Theophanes and Nono, from them salvation was born to man... Theophanes, Rejoice, Nono, rejoice in glorifying the True Saint and Savior Jesus the Only Lord.” Here the joy is completely different, real, enduring, heavenly joy, because it is filled with hope and trust in God!
“Worldwide joy came to us from the righteous, from Theophan and Nona...” continues to be heard even in the most hidden corner of the temple. “Come, all idle lovers, let us praise the honest birth of St. Nicholas of God...” - the heavenly forces serving with the priests call upon everyone standing in the house of the Heavenly Father.
The wondrous feast of the Nativity of St. Nicholas reveals to us the greatness of the gift of Grace that the Savior bestows on everyone who comes to Him with a pure heart. This is an amazing hymn of the unity of man with God, the glorification of the Son of God, who accomplished the Redemption of the human race. Everything here reminds us of God’s closeness to man. All is filled with sweet promises of true joy, glory and eternal life for those who will tirelessly strengthen their determination to follow Christ.
“Triumph, all earth-born people, rejoice spiritually, all idle lovers, on the glorious Nativity of St. Christ and the Wonderworker Nicholas, praying to Christ God unceasingly for our souls,” we hear the call again and again to draw closer in heart to the great saint of God. In a way that is incomprehensible to us, completely new dimensions of human life appear on this holiday. The birth of a baby, a person like each of us, becomes a worldwide celebration. The joy of pious spouses overcomes centuries and millennia, without diminishing in the least... But the answer to this bewilderment is not lost in the past, it also fills us with hope that everyone can know the same joy in their own lives. The answer is heard in every phrase, every word of the service: draw closer to God - and He will give you eternity, bring peace, make you His...
Day of Seraphim of Rome
On August 11, women's name days are celebrated by bearers of the rare, bright and tender name Seraphim. This day is associated with the memory of the holy martyr Seraphim of Rome. The story of her life tells that Seraphim suffered during the persecution of Christians. Ruler Beryl wanted to attract the saint to the pagan side by ordering sacrifice to idols. Seraphim refused the sacrifice. For this the saint was tortured. The virgin was given to two young men. Praying to God, the saint asked not to allow her honor to be violated. An earthquake occurred, the young men died, and Beryl himself became blind from a splinter that flew off from the rod with which the maiden was beaten. For this, the angry ruler executed Seraphim.
The meaning of the name is (ancient Hebrew) “burning, fiery.” Character traits: vanity, insight, responsibility.
According to the church calendar, women's name days on August 11 are celebrated only by those bearing the name Seraphim.
