Church calendar April 20
In Orthodoxy, every day they remember through prayer those who helped the faith expand and develop. Today these are the Monks George, Danila, Serapion, Evdokia, as well as the martyrs Calliopius, Rufinus, Aquilina, Arkady.
One of those listed in the calendar on April 20 is Metropolitan George of Mytilene, who devoted his entire life to serving people. In the middle of the 8th century, he was persecuted by representatives of the iconoclastic movement. Towards the end of the century, the saint became the main archbishop of the island of Lesvos.
Historians consider George a model of chastity. He was involved in charity work, helping the poor, and educating parishioners. He had the gift of healing and successfully practiced exorcism. In 815, the saint was exiled to Chersonesos as part of the iconoclastic policy of Leo the Armenian, where he died.
Two Orthodox martyrs - Rufinus and Aquilina - are known for converting two hundred Roman soldiers to their faith, for which they were publicly executed. But this is not what people remember them for.
Saints
Among Christian traditions, there are those that are aimed at honoring people who lived in the name of popularizing the faith. After death they are canonized. In difficult moments, asking for help or protection, parishioners turn to them with prayers. In addition, saints are the intercessors of their namesakes on earth. On the twentieth of April, the guardian angel is remembered among men:
- Arkady - this name has conflicting meanings: “blessed” or “shepherd”. The boy is a favorite of adults. This is a long-awaited baby for all relatives. But despite the tenderness and delight, the child grows up obedient, well-mannered and not spoiled.
- Georgy/Egor (“farmer”) - prefers to spend time in silence, likes to read books, play quiet games (puzzles, modeling, drawing). However, this isolation does not lead to open confrontation with the team or parents.
- Daniel - translated from Hebrew as “God is my judge.” He is kind and resembles his mother in character. Avoid lies and omissions, quick-tempered, but quickly calms down. Constantly surrounded by people, he is the life of the party.
- Peter - literally means "stone". An inquisitive child who constantly asks questions to adults: what are the birds singing about? Where do trams sleep? How does the alarm clock ring? He has an ear for music and a pleasant voice.
Representatives of the fair sex have only two birthday girls on April 20:
- Akulina (“eagle”) is a passionate, amorous nature, persistent in her desires. For her, there is nothing stronger than love. The girl is gullible, somewhat idealizes people, and therefore is often disappointed. Hot-tempered and a little arrogant, she loves to hurt the pride of others.
- Evdokia means “benevolence” in ancient Greek. Mischievous, stubborn, naughty. Her only authority is her father. Constantly capricious, easily offended. Her main trait is curiosity.
general information
It is very important for a believer to know that he has a patron with the same name. In difficult moments, Orthodox Christians turn to their spiritual savior, and the day of remembrance of such a saint is revered as Angel Day.
Sometimes the worldly name does not coincide with the name at baptism, since the calendar of saints preserves the memory only of the great martyrs of the Christian faith. These names came from Ancient Greece, the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Judah, as well as from Ancient Rus'.
Calendar of the first half of April
April is a month rich in names. So, from the first to the eighth of April 2018, name days are celebrated by women with the name: Maria, Sofia, Daria, Claudia, Yulia, Svetlana, Ulyana, Taisiya, Aglaya, Anastasia, Feona, Lydia, Varvara, Akulina, Larisa.
Angel Day is celebrated during this period by men with the names: Hilarion, Abraham, Efim, Innocent, Nikita, Vasily, Rodion, Sergey, German, Miron, Vladimir, Thomas, Kirill, Veniamin, Gregory, Ilya, Mark, Alexey, Andrey, Peter, Egor, Albert, Kondrat.
Among the great martyrs with a female name, Anastasia the Pattern Maker is especially revered. She is the patroness of women bearing babies. Convicts who were imprisoned prayed to the same saint for salvation. From ancient Greek the name is translated as deliverance and liberation.
One of the most popular names is Maria. The name was the mother of Jesus Christ. And in the Bible that was the name of the prophetess of the Jews and the sister of Moses. Angel Mary Day is celebrated on the first, fifth and ninth of April. In the Catholic and Orthodox faiths, the name means serenity.
The Apostle Peter is famous among saints with male names; he is considered the patron saint of many megacities, as well as those workers whose work is related to the maritime profession. The ancient Greeks personified this name with a rock and a stone, and a person named so was considered very reliable, faithful and strong in his convictions.
Vladimir - a Slavic name meaning to own the world was originally pagan. It was Prince Vladimir who began the history of Christianity in Rus'. He is revered as the patron saint of large families, and in some Catholic countries it is customary to pray to him for those who have sincerely repented of a great sin.
Ilya celebrates his name day in April. This Hebrew name was glorified by the prophet Elijah, who ascended into the sky on a fiery chariot. The saint is the patron of pilots, motorists and everyone whose profession involves constant risk to life. Name day dates are the fifth and seventeenth of April.
From the ninth to the seventeenth of April they celebrate their name days: Vadim, Maria, Ilya, Nikolay, Marina, Illarion, Egor, Stanislav, Ivan, Leonard, Kirill, Afanasy, Safron, Mina, Vlas, Arthur, Efim, Makar, Sergey, Anastasia, Galina, Joseph, Prokhor, Stepan, Rodion, Kondrat, Aristarchus, Apollo.
Especially famous among these names is Nikolai Ugodnik (Wonder Worker). In the world, Nicholas of Myra was an archbishop. He helped poor large families by throwing bags of gifts or gold coins under their houses. Thus, he introduced the tradition of giving gifts for Christmas. Catholics consider him the progenitor of Santa Claus. In Russia, sailors, merchants and fishermen pray to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker for salvation.
Ivan - comes from the Hebrew John, meaning blessed or forgiven by God. It is with the name John that the largest number of saints are marked on the church calendar in April: 1, 2, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 19, 21, 25, 27, 30.
Makar is a Greek name, whose bearers are often venerated in church calendars. Many church ministers were called it. The ancient Greek form of the name meant blessed or blessed. Among the famous saints is the hermit Macarius, who wrote many righteous works instructing people on the spiritual path of development.
Galina celebrates her name day on the sixteenth and twenty-ninth of April. The Greeks named the girls Galina, in the hope that she would become meek, quiet and balanced. The meaning of the name is a quiet sea surface.
Stepan is mentioned in the April calendar three times: on the sixth, eighth and tenth. The ecclesiastical form of Stephen is translated from Greek as crowned or crowned. Europeans often name boys Stefan, hoping that they will raise him to be a very insightful, intelligent and pious person.
Cyril from Greek means ruler. From Persian it is translated as the sun. Day of the angel Cyril on the third and eleventh of April. There are many famous saints with this name: Patriarch Kirill, who became the Patriarch of All Rus' in two thousand and nine, Kirill of Radonezh, father of Sergei of Radonezh.
National holiday
According to legend, mermaids wake up on April 20. Women bring clothes and fabrics so that the sea beauties can dress. This helped them stay warm and be more like people. The undead reciprocated the kindness and did not touch the girls. Those who wanted to swim had to take some wormwood with them. This herb repels water maidens. Without proper safety measures, a person could be tickled to death.
Agricultural workers carefully monitored the weather. If it rained, then the spring harvest could not be expected. On the other hand, this promised a lot of viburnum fruits. A scattering of stars in the sky foreshadowed an abundance of berries and mushrooms. But frosts in clear sunshine are a positive sign; the grain will grow.
Reading the Gospel:
Gospel of Mark, chapter 8, verses 34 - chapter 9 verse 1
Read excerpt
34 And he called the people with his disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the Gospel will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? 37 Or what ransom will a man give for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.
1 And he said to them, “Truly I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God come with power.”
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Priest Dmitry (Baritsky) comments
What is celebrated around the world on April 20
In 2010, the United Nations established days to honor its official languages. The purpose of these holidays is to encourage the study of different cultures, as well as to provide a material basis for the use of acquired knowledge within the UN system.
The twentieth of April for the Chinese language was chosen in honor of Cang Jie, the founder of writing. According to legend, he served at the court of Emperor Huang Di and held the position of historian. For personal use, he developed a set of pictograms, which later formed the basis of hieroglyphs. This allowed the Chinese to abandon the knot writing method. The first mentions of this person are found in tomes dating back to the 3rd century BC.
This language is rightly considered one of the most complex existing ones. It has more than 80,000 hieroglyphs, but three thousand characters are enough for everyday communication. Chinese is recognized as the official language in the DPRK, Taiwan, Singapore and some US states (for example, New York). It is spoken by more than 1.5 billion people.
Another international holiday is the March of Parks. This is the largest environmental campaign of a permanent nature. It attracts caring people from the media and commercial organizations to assist in the development of protected areas, as well as educating the population and instilling a sense of responsibility in people.
The event is held annually in more than 200 countries, including the Russian Federation. The founder is the United States, where the first Earth Day was held in 1990, where the state of parks and nature reserves was discussed. The topic gained relevance and grew into a separate celebration. Anyone can take part in the procession. For several days, environmental protection zones open their doors, talk about themselves, hold events, seminars, and conferences.
Saints' Day
Martyr Drosida of Rome (104–117)
Listen to the short life of the daughter of King Trajan on radio “Vera”.
Venerable Isaac of Dalmatia (IV)
1300 years later, on one of the days in memory of St. Isaac, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov had a son, Peter, who later became the famous Peter the Great. It was he who decided to build a cathedral in St. Petersburg, consecrated in honor of the saint. Listen to the short life of Isaac of Dalmatia on radio “Vera” .
Hieromartyr Vasily of Ancyra (362)
Punctured by hot rods, the saint seemed to fall into a sweet sleep, giving his soul into the hands of God on June 29, 362. For the sake of the feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, his memory was moved to March 22 (old style). the short life of the saint on radio “Vera” .
Public holidays
Since 2007, an official Donor Day has been established in Russia. As the name suggests, the celebration is dedicated to people donating blood for the sake of the health of strangers. But they also honor the doctors involved in the process of collecting, storing and transferring biomaterial to recipients. The date was not chosen by chance. In 1832, on April 20, a young obstetrician from St. Petersburg, Andrei Wolf, performed the first successful direct transfusion to a woman in labor from her husband.
Every year in the Russian Federation more than 1.5 million people need blood or its components. In Moscow alone, about 200 liters of this vital substance are used per day. According to statistics, since the beginning of the millennium, the number of donors in emergency situations (disasters, natural disasters, terrorist attacks) has increased 15 times. Doctors did not have time to see everyone who wanted to help. Each blood bank must have a strategic supply of frozen red blood cells, plasma and proteins.
The title of “Honorary Donor” is given to a person who has donated blood or plasma 40 times. In addition to the badge, these people can count on annual leave at a time convenient for them, receiving medical care at all times, vouchers to a sanatorium, as well as cash incentives, the number of which is growing.
Since 1997, the Russian Federation has held the annual Spring Week of Kindness (VND). This is a voluntary action based on the initiative of individuals organizing charity events. The goal is to increase civic engagement and social awareness of the population, draw attention to local problems in order to find a joint solution.
The idea itself is not new. In the USSR there was the practice of subbotniks, as well as the Timur movement. Today events are taking place in all federal districts, but the timing of the event may change and may not coincide with each other. In schools, according to tradition, they begin with a “lesson of kindness,” where the principles of volunteering are explained to children. Among the events, cleaning of territories, improvement of parks, public gardens, and fundraising prevail. At the end of the week, participants are rewarded and results are summed up.
Museum Day in the Netherlands
The event is aimed at increasing the cultural level of the population. For 48 hours of the day, admission to museums, and there are more than 400 of them, is free. Workers are preparing special programs, expositions, and lectures.
This is an opportunity to visit the largest art centers in Europe: the Rijksmuseum (masterpieces of the Renaissance), Stedelijk (modern art), Van Gogh, Rembrandt galleries, Amsterdam Historical Museum. Exotic lovers visit exhibitions dedicated to the tropics, outstanding personalities, jewelry, brewing, and even cats.
For sophisticated connoisseurs, it opens the doors to the world's only museum of hashish, marijuana and hemp. In the next building there is an exhibition about tattoos.
Jam en Nessim
“The Aroma of the West Wind” is the most anticipated holiday in Egypt. It marks the beginning of agricultural work. The history of the celebration goes back almost 5,000 years. The first mentions date back to 2700 BC. Plutarch wrote that residents brought fish, onions, and lettuce to the gods as sacrifices.
There is also a traditional obligatory dish - fesikh. This is salted fish, garnished with beans and herbs. The main ingredient is prepared several months in advance, marinated with herbs. The secret of cooking is passed down in the family for generations. And errors in the recipe lead to sad consequences for tasters.
The products on the holiday table are not random. Onions drive away evil spirits. According to legend, the pharaoh was healed with its help. There are also painted eggs - the predecessors of Easter eggs. They were hung in temples as a symbol of rebirth. Often, they were performed very skillfully. The celebration is a day off in the country. Residents, regardless of religion, spend it outdoors: they go on picnics, go to the zoo.
Most April 20 holidays are related to nature protection or culture. This is symbolic, since with the return of warm days, people get out of their homes more often, communicate, learn something new, and do good deeds.
