Is it possible?
One day a pregnant woman asked the priest what she should do. The father of the unborn child, who is also the husband of the heroine of this story, is interested in the Vedic history of the Slavs. This is taking into account his origin, the person was born into the family of a priest, for some time he helped his father at the temple, and was baptized according to the calendar. That is, his birthday coincides with his name day. The mother of the unborn baby was also baptized according to the calendar, which means that throughout her adult life she felt the intercession of a guardian angel.
But in the situation with the unborn child, the husband stood his ground, as they say. Give him the name Svyatoslav. A man wants his son to have two names - secular and baptismal. And the wife was all exhausted and came up with an alternative - Yaroslav, but the future dad does not agree to this name.
As a result, the woman asks what to do. Is it possible to give an Orthodox child two names? Otherwise, it turns out that the expectant mother thanks the Lord for her pregnancy, but will name the child in a pagan way.
Folk signs
Folk beliefs are passed down from generation to generation, which young parents try to adhere to at the sacrament of baptism.
- The baby's clothes should be new, preferably in light shades, since it is believed that at the moment of the sacrament the baby appears before the Almighty for the first time.
- After the baptismal ceremony, the child has a Guardian Angel who protects and protects from troubles, illnesses, and troubles. Therefore, many parents baptize their babies in the first months after birth.
- Before the child is baptized, they try not to show the child to anyone, because he is still without reliable protection.
- Our ancestors believed that the most successful day for performing the sacrament was Saturday.
- The godfather and godmother must not be married or in a close relationship.
- The godfather usually gives the godson a silver cross. If a cross is purchased not in a church, but in a jewelry store, it must first be consecrated. Before purchasing, it is important to make sure that the cross is Orthodox.
- It is undesirable to invite a woman who voluntarily terminated her pregnancy as a godmother.
- The towel in which the child is wrapped after the priest lowers him into the font is called kryzhma. Mom must store the kryzhma, but she cannot wash it. If a child suddenly gets sick, according to popular belief, he needs to be wrapped in a baptismal towel so that the illness will subside.
- Many parents purchase in advance a special bag for the baby’s hair, which will be cut during the sacrament. Our ancestors believed that it was advisable to immerse a lock of hair after baptism in a clean, fast river so that the child’s life would be bright and filled with happy events.
Father's answer
The priest replies that in Orthodoxy it is allowed to call children by two names. Secular and ecclesiastical, respectively. That is, according to the passport, the child, for example, may be Svyatoslav, but he will be christened with the name Yaroslav. With this name he will begin to take part in church life. However, this is not entirely convenient, especially for the child himself.
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As for pagan roots, most saints come from such families. They bore names that became Christian after professing this faith.
Baptism of a child with a double name or a name not according to the Saints
The Sacrament of Baptism in Orthodoxy can be performed both on children and on adults who were not baptized in childhood. One of the important aspects in both cases is the choice of the baptismal name; it must be from the Orthodox calendar (Svyatsev). Before baptizing a baby or adult, the priest must read a special prayer for the naming of the baptismal name.
What to do if the name is not in the Saints? Is it possible to baptize a child with a double name, as is customary in the West? We'll talk about this in our article.
If for Catholics and Protestants at baptism not only a double name (Anna Maria) is allowed, but also a longer name (let us recall at least the full names of members of the royal families of Europe, for example, Queen Victoria of England was baptized with the name Alexandrina Victoria), then the Orthodox Church allows baptism with a single name. If a girl in ordinary life bears a double name in European fashion, parents will have to choose which name will be the baptismal name for their daughter Anna-Maria - Maria or Anna.
Sometimes the secular name and the baptismal name are different. A worldly name, even such a popular one as Alice or Polina, may not appear in the Saints, then the name for Baptism is chosen from the Orthodox calendar according to the date of birth or one that is consonant with the worldly one. During Baptism, the girl Arina and the boy Bogdan will receive different names that they will use in church life. It is them who will be indicated by relatives and friends in health notes, and who will be named by the priest, performing the sacrament of wedding, when these children grow up and want to start their own families.
Sometimes children are named and then baptized with the names of saints, whose memory coincides with their birthdays, and sometimes it happens that the name is not given according to the church calendar, although it is present in the Saints. Then a person can be baptized with the same name or choose a different name for Baptism. It happens that a family especially reveres a saint and a person wants to receive his name in Baptism - this is also possible and permissible, but the issue must be discussed with the priest who performs the sacrament.
Because We often embroider names on baptismal shirts and diapers; please indicate the baptismal name already agreed upon with the priest for embroidery. For our foreign customers, we will embroider a double name, including in Latin, because... this is in keeping with European traditions. For Russian customers, we can embroider a double name with a hyphen only on a bag for baptismal clothes. For a name not according to the Saints, it is also better to choose embroidery on the bag, or, if you want to see exactly the secular name on the baptismal items, you can embroider both names, for example, “Alice in Baptism Anna.”
What to do if your spouse is stubborn?
In the above example, the husband is stubborn, the wife cannot convince him. The priest advises to turn to your father-in-law, for he is a priest. Firstly, the father-in-law will be able to deal with his son’s craving for the Vedas, and secondly, pray for him. And then, lo and behold, God will bring some sense to the stubborn future dad.
But what should women do who do not have a father-in-law? First of all, take into account the decision of the Holy Synod. For example, the baby’s dad belongs to another Orthodox church, for example, the Armenian one. He insists on giving the child the traditional name found in the calendar of the Armenian church. Then in the Russian Orthodox Church it is allowed to baptize a child with this name.
Folk signs
Previously, the child was given a secret name in order to protect him from the “bad” eye. Our ancestors believed that they could not spoil the baby if they did not know the middle name. For this reason, the closest people were invited to the sacrament of baptism, who would not tell anyone what name the baby was baptized with. Until now, parents who believe in popular beliefs give the child a secret name and do not tell it to anyone, so that no one can harm the baby.
They say that in all rituals associated with the application of damage and the evil eye, the church name must be called. If you don’t know it, you won’t be able to perform the ritual.
Prayer to the Guardian Angel
To the Angel of God, my guardian, holy and, given to me from God from heaven, I diligently pray to you: enlighten me today, and save me from all evil, guide me to good deeds and direct me on the path of salvation. Amen.
In church tradition, celebrating a birthday is less significant than celebrating a name day. And although at present this is not yet so clearly expressed, in pre-revolutionary times people of simple origin usually remembered only the year of their birth, and not the exact date, and in metrics, it was often the “Angelic Day” that was recorded, and not the date of birth. The difference in the emphasis of the celebration of both events is significant. On his birthday, the person himself is honored, less often his parents, although, by the way, this is unfair. On name days, attention is paid not so much to the living bearer of the saint’s name, but to the saint himself and his call for help. Therefore, the main element of the correct church celebration of Angel Day is enhanced spiritual life on this day. It is expressed quite practically. The birthday person is recommended to visit the temple, ideally, to confess and receive communion on this day, or, at least, to take part in a service in honor of his saint on this day.
The congratulatory and family part of the name day is not excluded at all. Gifts are always gifts. Usually, on this day, they are also of a religious nature. Now there are enough church souvenirs to be able to make a pleasant sign of attention to your family or loved one on Angel Day. However, everyday or everyday gifts are not excluded. In any case, name days are an additional family holiday that brings loving people together, strengthening their communication and relationship. The first congratulators, according to tradition, are, of course, the person’s godparents, his confessor and parents. In the literature you can find a fairly large number of descriptions of the home ritual actions associated with name days, right down to birthday menus and innocent entertainment. In any case, it should be noted that these customs are not so much church customs as everyday ones, and depending on geography and time they are quite diverse. Based on this, it is impossible to prescribe any templates for home birthday celebrations. What should, of course, remain common is the so-called “many years” in honor of the birthday person. It is proclaimed either by a priest, or by a head of the table, or by a person with special vocal abilities and includes the general wording:
“A prosperous and peaceful life, health, salvation, and good haste in everything, Lord, now grant to your namesake servant (your servant) “the name of the rivers,” and preserve him (her) for many years!”
And everyone present loudly and cheerfully sings “Many Years”! They sing as much as they want in whatever chants they want, there are quite a lot of them.
^ And just recently...
Just a few decades ago, newborns were given “new” names generated by the ideas of socialism, industrialization, etc.
Boys often received the name Kommunar, and girls Kommunara. The names October (male) appeared .
) – Oktyabrina (
female
);
May ( male
) - Maya (
female
) and so on. In one family, the son was named Revo, daughter of Lucius, which together meant “Revolution.”
In Soviet-era calendars you can also find some very extravagant ones: Dazdrasperma (stands for “Long live the First of May”), Vladlen (stands for “Vladimir Lenin”), Volya, Interna, Iskra, Idea, Perkosrak (the first space rocket).
In the 60s and 70s, interest in new “original” names faded away. If children are named
in a new way, then these are no longer “communist” names, but “industrial”, “cosmic”.
So, the following are becoming relatively popular: Ion, Apollo, Venus, Mercury, Phoebus, Helium. You can also meet Icarus, Odysseus, Titan, Selene. In the early 70s, at the Leningrad Palace for the ceremonial registration of births “Baby”, two girls were given the names Spring and Mystery.
Since the 70s, interest in old Russian names (especially for girls) has been awakening. By the 90s, the following became especially popular among them: Ksenia, Varvara, Juliania, Elizabeth, Evdokia, etc.
In the 90s, the following became especially popular among them: Ksenia, Varvara, Juliania, Elizabeth, Evdokia...
^ Does a name affect a person's life?
This is a question many parents ask themselves when naming their baby. If you give him the name of a martyr, he will suffer all his life; if you give him the name of a monk, God forbid, he will become a monk. Maybe give the name of a king, commander, thinker?
And every time the priests patiently explain: the name given to the child does not affect a person’s life in any way. And many common names - this is easy to see by opening the calendar - were borne simultaneously by kings, monks, and martyrs.
Here's an example: John.
The name is Hebrew, which translated means Grace of God.
There are 188 Saint Johns in the modern church calendar.
Here are the Apostle of Christ John the Theologian, and the poet-hymn-writer and theologian John of Damascus.
And one of the founding fathers of the harsh monastic feat, John Climacus, abbot of the monastery on Mount Sinai.
John Vlasaty - a holy fool for Christ's sake, who labored in Rostov.
John of Damascus is a hermit who left the city and shut himself up in a cave.
John of Kronstadt is a great Russian pastor and public figure.
John of Palestine is an outstanding faster.
John of Constantinople is a patriarch and an outstanding personality of his time.
John the Baptist, the first of the martyrs, and behind him many more martyrs of John, who suffered both in ancient times and in modern Soviet times.
We see the same thing with other famous names.
The conclusion is obvious: the name of the saint in no way affects the fate of the child.
Now let's say a few words about the history of naming.
