Names???

[joyfulthanks]

Hello friends,

I've heard so much talk here about your baptismal names, it makes me wonder. Do you (converts) actually start using your baptismal name in place of your given name after your baptism? If so, what did your families think of that?

I know it's a dumb question, but I'm a dumb asker...

With love,
GraceMercyPeace

 

[Alexis OCA]

I took a name at my chrismation, but only my priest, my friends at church, and my brothers and sisters here at TAW use it....that's fine with me.

Regards,
Alexis (Douglas)

 

[Orthosdoxa]

remind them that this is a solidly biblical practice. A new life often meant taking on a new name... Abram, Abraham, Saul, Paul, etc.

I go by either. And my judgmental, hardliner Baptist family thinks I am no longer Christian, so I would say this is not one of the bigger issues I worry about.

LK

 

[vanshan]

I don't go by my baptismal name, Basil, but I would like to eventually use it more. It's a little awkward, especially if it sounds like an 80 year old man.

I have a friend who has completely started going by his baptism name, John. He loves it. It reminds him that the old man is dead and that he is a new creation in Christ. So, it varies. I think it's great if someone can put their baptised name above their given name.

Basil

 

[joyfulthanks]

I took a name at my chrismation, but only my priest, my friends at church, and my brothers and sisters here at TAW use it....that's fine with me.

Regards,
Alexis (Douglas)

Dear Douglas,

I hope I haven't offended you by referring to you by your chrismation name. I didn't mean to imply any familiarity that you might not approve of (since I am not one of your Orthodox brethren.) I just didn't know what else to call you. Please forgive me if I have offended you.

In Christ's love,
GraceMercyPeace

 

[vanshan]

GMP,

I can't speak for Alexis, but I know using our Orthodox names is not like a secret handshake that only baptised Orthodox can use with each other. As an inquirer I'm sure anyone would tell you to participate as much in the life of the Church as you'd like, aside from taking the Holy Mysteries, of course. That requires a little more prepartion.

Many years,

Basil

 

[joyfulthanks]

GMP,

I can't speak for Alexis, but I know using our Orthodox names is not like a secret handshake that only baptised Orthodox can use with each other.

Thanks, Basil. I didn't think it was a secret or anything, but different people are different, and what may not bother one might be unwelcome to another.

For example, I hate it when telemarketers and check-out girls call me by my first name. Just rubs me wrong.

I just didn't want to presume anything.

With love,
GraceMercyPeace

 

[Kolya]

Serafima and I are called by our given names in the world. But if someone from church meets me, or calls me, they use our baptised names. I would like to have my name changed legally, but that is a LOT of paper work and leg work.

Only a few folks know my given name on TAW (There was a thread a while back where we gave our 'world' names.
For the record, I prefer my New Name.

 

[vanshan]

For example, I hate it when telemarketers and check-out girls call me by my first name. Just rubs me wrong.

I feel exactly the same about that. It's too personal. I wouldn't mind going back to the days of Mr., Mrs., and Ms, it's just creates a comfort zone I like.

Baasil

 

[Mary of Bethany]

My chrismation name - Mary - is part of my given name - Mary Lou. Father and some of my fellow parishioners call me Mary. Most everyone else calls me Mary Lou (or Mary Ann or Mary Jo or Mary Beth or whatever else I get called!). Since I was chrismated at age 47, I wasn't going to try to get everyone to change what they called me at that point.


Mary

 

[The Prokeimenon!]

My Baptismal name is Moses, and my legal name is Michael (both good solid Christian names.) I would love, LOVE, to go just by Moses, but I can't seem to make it happen. Most people at Church know me as Michael Moses, and they assume that Moses is my last name. I've grown to like the two-edged first name, and may begin employing a hyphen at some future date (I don't want to rush into unnecessary punctuation, though.) But if I had my way, everybody would call me Moses.

I'm starting a new job in a week or so, and that would be a good opportunity to insist on being called by my Baptismal name. But I always feel so silly telling people who already know my "world" name that I'd prefer to be called by a different one.

Michael-Moses or whatever

 

[gzt]

Often, if you have a saint's name, your priest will make you keep it.

 

[joyfulthanks]

Often, if you have a saint's name, your priest will make you keep it.

Interesting. Actually, I do have a saint's name. I would tell you what it is, but then I'd have to kill you. (American joke, and a poor attempt at humor)

I looked her up online, and found an icon of her. Funny thing is, she kind of looks like me (or vice versa). Hmmmm.

With love,
GraceMercyPeace

 

[gzt]

Well, looks like we have a winner, then...

 

[gzt]

Just so you know, I'm planning on looking like my saint someday [the z in gzt]. See my avatar for details.

 

[Dust and Ashes]

I will most likely use Seraphim after I'm baptized, though I won't insist that people who know me use it if they are uncomfortable with that. I'll introduce myself as Seraphim and hope it sticks. I'm not sure how my wife feels about being called Anna but I'll ask her when she gets home.

 

[ufonium2]

My baptismal name is Angelina, and nobody ever calls me by it. My given middle name is Angeline, which is an old family name, so my grandparents and other family members call me Angie. But all of my friends, co-workers, priest and co-worshippers call me by my (secular) first name, which I prefer. It's one syllable and impossible to mispronounce, so it beats the heck out of Angeline. [rant] (Angeline, by the way, is pronounced with a long i. I've had people argue with me about this, which is funny considering it's my name. ) [/rant]

Since I never go by my baptismal name, and I travel frequently and commune at three different parishes, priests often will call me by the wrong name, by my given name, or not at all while taking communion. It's not a big deal, and doesn't invalidate the sacrament. I just hope he gets it right at my wedding, or that could be embarassing.

 

[Khaleas]

In church I go mostly by my 'church' name: Xenia! Father, Matushka, the Sisters at the Monastery all use it, some other people who got to know me before I was chrismated still call me Jennie. The funny thing was that I listened and reacted to Xenia right away after being chrismated.
I have to change my last name this fall when we have our wedding (chuch one, we're already married civil - but I keep my name til 'the real deal') so I am considering changing one of my two middle names to Xenia (since I'm gonna have to fork over almost 1000 dollars to change everything here in the US and in Finland).

 

[Monica child of God 1]

In the world I am still called by my given name. Because of the way that I came into the Church I didn't know very many people at the parish I joined when I was chrismated. So when I actually started attending on Sunday's (during my inquiry I only attended on feastdays) I just introduced myself as Monica. My given name is sort of hard to pronounce since it is Amharic (Ethiopian). I used to tell people to call me by my middle name, Imani, because its easier, but now I prefer Monica

 

[MariaRegina]

remind them that this is a solidly biblical practice. A new life often meant taking on a new name... Abram, Abraham, Saul, Paul, etc.

I go by either. And my judgmental, hardliner Baptist family thinks I am no longer Christian, so I would say this is not one of the bigger issues I worry about.

LK

You have that problem too!

Lord have mercy.

The last time I visited my relatives, no one wanted to go to church on Sunday. When I said that I was going, finally my youngest brother said that he would go with me. And he was fascinated because the priest is a convert from the Baptist Church -- and my brother is a staunch Baptist.