People celebrate their name day not only on the date on which their birth occurs, but also during the celebration of the saints whose name they were named at baptism. This date is usually called the day of the angel. Sophia will celebrate her name day 10 times during 2021. At this time, girls, girls and women with the beautiful name Sofia can, with the help of prayer, ask their patron saints for the most secret things.
Characteristics of the name
Translated from Greek, Sophia means wisdom. Girls with this name always know their worth. They are smart, reasonable and very responsible. They have a penchant for creative and philosophical sciences. They love comfort. As they grow older, their character and personality change slightly. In general it can be described as follows:
- Childhood. Sonya always does well at school. They manage to complete not only their own tasks, but also help their comrades. Compassion and helping people are the hallmark of all Sonya. Sometimes the desire to help others can run counter to one's own interests.
- Youth. Sofia's girls are very charismatic and this attracts people. There are always many like-minded people and fans around them. Usually young ladies have a pretty appearance, which allows them not to need a lack of male attention.
- Maturity. As adults, these are very sensible ladies. They are good housewives, mothers and wives. It is difficult to even notice a speck of dust in their house, since Sonya has an innate sense of order. Their children and husband are always cleanly dressed and well-groomed. However, this does not prevent women from realizing themselves in their careers. Especially if their work is related to creativity.
In love, representatives of this name are always successful. Men often pay attention to them. It is not surprising that Sofia always celebrates her angel day, name day, on a grand scale, even if she herself does not want it. Gifts and congratulations from numerous fans and friends simply will not let the girl forget about this date.
As for health, Sonya was not very lucky here. Like many creative people, they often become depressed, which negatively affects their nervous system. Often these ladies have diseases of the stomach and intestinal tract, so they should monitor their diet especially carefully.
By nature, Sony is not a leader. They prefer to build a career deliberately and measuredly. However, this does not interfere with their work, but rather the opposite. They are responsible and very punctual, and management values these qualities in their employees. With the right support and guidance, Sophias can reach the peak of their career in just a few years.
According to the church calendar, Sophia's name day falls on 10 dates. On each of these days the name of a saint is venerated. This means that the representatives of the name have not one patron saint, but several.
Angel Sophia Day according to the church calendar
January 26 and February 15 - veneration of the Venerable Martyr Seliverstova, who was shot by the Bolsheviks for her unwillingness to renounce the Christian faith and recognize the justice of the executions by the authorities.
April 1 is the day of the patron angel of Sofia Slutskaya, a princess from the Olelkovich family. Having married a Catholic, she managed to preserve the Orthodox faith, which she devoted her whole life to strengthening in her native Slutsk. She died during childbirth; after her death, her relics still have miraculous powers.
Holy Righteous Sophia, Princess of Slutsk
The Holy Spiritual Cathedral of Minsk stores holy relics in the chapel of the holy image of the Mother of God “Minsk”.
On May 6, June 4, June 17, the Church honors the new martyrs with the name Sophia, who remained faithful to Orthodoxy during the years of repression.
August 14, December 29 are the days of veneration of Grand Duchess Solomonia or Venerable Suzdal, who was forcibly tonsured a nun due to infertility in her marriage to Prince Vasily Ivanovich. The nun managed to overcome worldly passions within herself and became a faithful bride of Christ, for which the Lord endowed her with miracle-working relics.
On September 30, the martyr Sophia of Rome, the mother of Faith, Hope and Love, is venerated; she was subjected to cruel torture to watch the torture of her daughters during the time of Diocletian.
In front of the mother's eyes, her little daughters were tortured, the eldest of them was not 12 years old. The courageous woman convinced the girls to remain faithful to Christ until the end of the torture, and later became witnesses to their death through beheading. The cruel emperor ordered the mother to bury the bodies of her daughters with her own hands, at whose grave the courageous woman spent three days and died of grief.
Icon of the Great Martyrs Faith, Nadezhda, Lyubov and their mother Sophia
In Greek, the names of girls sound like Pistis - Faith, Elpis - Hope, Agape - Love, but the name Sophia - Wisdom, remains unchanged.
On October 1, the Egyptian martyrs Sophia and Irina are honored, whose heads were cut off for their loyalty to Christianity. The relics of the saints are kept in Constantinople.
December 31, New Year's Eve, is a name day in honor of Sophia the Wonderworker, whose life story remains a secret to historians.
Iconography
The icon of the Holy Great Martyr Sophia of Egypt has several variants of the image, which are united by the following common features:
- the icon depicts a young woman whose head is shrouded in a halo;
- the hair on the head is covered with a white scarf, which flows smoothly to the shoulders;
- a cloak of orange or maroon color will be thrown over the clothes;
- in Sophia’s hands is the sign of the cross or a scroll with prayers;
What to give to Sophia and how to celebrate their name day?
And at the very end I would like to talk about what congratulations on Sofia’s Angel Day should be. On such a day, you can give your child a quiet game. It can also be paints, a book. Such girls are very kind to their family, so the little ones can be presented with a baby doll, which they will definitely babysit and take careful care of.
If we are talking about an adult, then the day of the angel Sofia is best spent at home, in a familiar environment. Family is of great importance for women with this name. These ladies will be very happy to give preference to a quiet family dinner rather than noisy gatherings with friends. You can also present something for the home: a beautiful robe, a set of towels or a set.
Among other things, you need to remember that Sofia loves to travel and visit new places. So the excursion can be an excellent present for such a woman on Holy Name Day.
The name Sophia in Orthodoxy
Sophia is a Greek name meaning wise. When the baptism of Rus' took place, it spread widely throughout the territory of the adoption of Christianity. This name is one of the most revered in Orthodoxy.
It is associated with the martyr Sophia of Rome and other saints who glorified this name. Sofia's life path was full of suffering, but she was able to survive all the hardships and hardships with dignity.
Hagia Sophia Cathedral in Veliky Novgorod
Many temples were built in honor of Sophia the Wisdom of God. But this name does not mean a specific saint, but God’s Wisdom and Power.
We are sure that you will be interested in an article about when Julia’s name day is.
Sofia's name day February 28
On this day (in 1938), Sofia Panfilovna Seliverstova was martyred on charges of anti-Soviet agitation. She was shot at night at the training ground in Butovo, and almost 60 years later she was numbered among the new martyrs of Russia for church-wide veneration.
It is known about the life of the reverend martyr that she was born in the Saratov province in 1871. When the girl Sofia was 10 years old, her mother died, and her father sent the child to an orphanage that existed in a women's community and was later converted into a monastery. At the age of 20, the girl left the orphanage and went to St. Petersburg, where she became a servant. At the age of 27, Sofia entered service at the Passion Monastery in Moscow. When it was closed in 1926, she, along with three other novices, settled in one of the basements of Moscow, where she was captured by the NKVD in February 1938.
What do they ask for and how does the image of a martyr help?
Parishioners who decide to turn to the Lord God through the icon of Sophia of Egypt ask for:
- Strengthening faith. Sophia had a strong, unshakable faith in Jesus Christ and the righteousness of his prayers. She carried the fire of the Christian religion in her heart all her life, continuing to strengthen and support the spirit of the parishioners, being called to heaven.
- About getting rid of sinful thoughts. Sofia was a decent woman who avoided any actions that went against her faith. If your heart is restless and bad thoughts are creeping into your head, pray and your soul will find balance and peace.
- About healing from bodily ailments. The Holy Great Martyr did not possess a strong healing gift during her lifetime, but being elevated to the rank of saints, she manifests the Will of God by healing seriously ill people.
In addition to the above-mentioned misfortunes, a prayer dedicated to Sophia of Egypt helps to bring peace and tranquility to the house, as well as to deal with everyday problems.
Note! Prayer to any saint, regardless of his strengths of character, must come from a pure heart. If this is so, and faith in God is sincere, the holy image will help with any problem, regardless of its status.
Rules for addressing the icon of the Holy Great Martyr
When turning to the image of the holy great martyr, keep in mind the following nuances:
- before reading the prayer and after its completion, do not forget to cross yourself three times;
- You need to pray in neat, formal clothing;
- the thoughts of the person praying must be pure and directed towards a good cause. Under no circumstances ask the icon to harm another living being or somehow oppress its rights. Such a prayer will not find a response, and negative thoughts may return to you a hundredfold;
- It is advisable to fast before prayer. This way you will tune your soul and body in the right way.
Patron Saint named after Princess Sofia Slutskaya - April 1
On this day, the church remembers a man who throughout his life actively fought against Uniatism and defended the Orthodox faith.
The future Princess Sofia was the daughter of Slutsk Prince Yuri Yuryevich. She was born in 1585 and belonged to the ancient and powerful Olgerdovich family, and the Slutsk principality was considered at that time one of the most prosperous in Rus'. When the girl was 1 year old, her parents died, and after some time her uncle also passed away. At the age of seven, Sofia became the heir to the Grand Duchy.
During her reign, she fought against the Uniates. It was thanks to her that the city of Slutsk remained the only place in the entire North-Western Territory that was untouchable by Uniatism. The princess was involved in charity work, donated a lot, and built churches.
Sofia's name day according to the Orthodox calendar is celebrated on April 1. On this day, at the age of 26, the princess died in childbirth.
Character Sophia
Girls with this name are very active and love society. They are the center of attention and attract the opposite sex. Sofia has a rich inner world, but they gain new knowledge with difficulty. In life they like to achieve their goals and more often do this without much difficulty.
As friends, they are very frank and always come to help. But sometimes they are very gullible, which leads to unpleasant consequences. In family relationships, Sofia is faithful and demanding, so she has been looking for a life partner for a long time. But she devotes a lot of time to her family, becoming a good housewife and mother.
Sofia is always diligent at work and realizes herself more in professions that involve constant communication with people, for example, journalism.
Brief biography
Unfortunately, the life story of Sophia of Egypt was lost, and only meager scraps of chronicles have reached us. According to church legends, Sophia lived around the 3rd century, when Christians in many countries were subjected to severe persecution. This fate did not spare Sofia either. She, together with another martyr, Irina, preached on the streets for a long time, bringing the light of truth to ordinary peasant people.
The ruling emperor Aurelian, who hated Christians and worshiped pagan gods, found out about this. Naturally, he could not tolerate such obscenity on his lands, ordering the women to be caught and brought before his eyes.
Irina and Sophia were seized by the guards and presented to the emperor as soon as possible. Aurelian decided to lure Christian women to his side, promising freedom if they publicly renounce Jesus Christ. The women did not do this, which greatly angered the ruler. He ordered the unfortunates to be tortured, and after the executioners were unable to achieve the desired result, he executed both of them by cutting off their heads. The bodies of the women were buried, and their graves were forgotten for a long time. Only many years later, thanks to the efforts of Constantine the Great, the bodies of the martyrs were transferred to Constantinople, where they found well-deserved peace and respect.
Name day tradition
Previously, before the fight against religion began in Russia at the beginning of the last century, according to the Orthodox tradition, a newborn had to be baptized a few weeks after birth. Baptism is not only a sign of initiation into the sacraments of Orthodoxy, but also the acquisition of a name by which a person could be identified in the face of the Almighty. As a rule, during baptism the name of the saint who patronized the day on which the child was born was used. If the name seemed inappropriate, you could choose the names of the saints who patronized the days closest to the date of birth. Typically, name searches were limited to three days before and three days after the date of birth. Therefore, most often name days and birthdays coincided, hence the confusion when today’s birthday is called name day.
Saints are still used today when choosing a name; they can be bought in church shops.
Holy Martyr Sophia of Rome
The martyr Sophia of Rome is better known in Orthodoxy. She lived in the 2nd century in Rome, was a widow and led a pious lifestyle. She had three daughters - Vera, Nadezhda, Love, whom she raised to be virtuous and loving Christ.
During this period, the Roman Empire preached paganism and mercilessly persecuted believers in Jesus Christ. Emperor Andrian learned about a family that did not hide their faith, and ordered it to be brought to him.
Realizing that nothing good awaited them, the mother and children prayed and asked God to give them strength to endure the upcoming suffering. When the family was brought to the ruler, he was amazed that they behaved as if they had come to a festival. There was not a shadow of fear in their eyes.
The ruler convinced the girls to sacrifice to the goddess Artemis. But although the sisters were small (12, 10 and 9 years old), they did not give in to persuasion. After much persuasion, Emperor Andrian ordered the sisters to be tortured and then killed.
Sophia was destined for, although not physical torture, but no less terrible. She was ordered to watch her children suffer. The executioners expected her to persuade the girls to renounce Christ. But the mother, on the contrary, encouraged her children, persuaded them to endure torment in the name of the Heavenly Bridegroom. The daughters patiently endured physical suffering.
Having killed the girls, the emperor allowed Sophia to take them away. The mother put the lifeless bodies of her daughters in the ark and buried them outside the city. For three days Sofia mourned her daughters without leaving the grave. And finally, unable to withstand the mental suffering, she died there. Residents buried her next to their daughters.
In 137, Sophia was canonized. Together with her daughters, she endured severe torment, but their will and faith were not broken. They paid with their lives, but remained faithful to Jesus Christ. This is an example to Orthodox people that faith in the Lord is stronger than the fear of torture.
Prayer text
Oh, long-suffering and wise Great Martyr Sophia of Christ! You stand with your soul in heaven at the Throne of the Lord, and on earth, by the grace given to you, you perform various healings: look mercifully at the people who are present and those praying before your relics, asking for your help: extend your holy prayers to the Lord for us, and ask us for forgiveness our sins, healing for the sick, quick help for the grieving and needy: pray to the Lord to give us all a Christian death and a good answer at His Last Judgment, so that we may be worthy to glorify the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit with you forever and ever. Amen.
