Question about Patron Saints

[vlinder]

To Life Immortal

Hello I have question about patron saints.

Do Orthodox have saints for special things, like St Dymphna is patron of mentally ill and the Blessed Virgin is patron of Belguim. Do Orthodox have someone like St Anthony to ask when you lose stuff?

I saw this page at http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintm02.htm about a Catholic saint called Martin de Porres. He is the patron saint of black people and cats! (I did't know cats had a patron saint) It had me wondering do we Orthodox have saints that are patrons of certain groups and/or animals and things.


Peace and Long Life
~*~ Vlinder ~*~

 

[Rick of Wessex]

Hi, Vlinder.

You may want to check this list of Orthodox Saints called upon for special purposes.

For convenience, I reproduced the list below:

To Have a Child
St. Anna, Mother of the Theotokos
St. Elizabeth, Mother of the Forerunner
St. Sabbas the Sanctified of Palestine
St. Irene Chrysovolantou
St. Symeon the Myrrh-streamer, father of St. Sava of Serbia

For Safe Childbirth
St. Eleutherios

For the Care & Protection of Infants
St. Stylianos

For Young People
Holy Great Martyr Demetrios the Wonderworker

For Marital Difficulties
Holy Martyrs Samonas, Guria & Habib
SS Peter & Febronia of Muron (also for newlyweds)

Delivery from Sudden Death
St. Barbara the Great Martyr

Against Drinking
Holy Martyr Boniface & the Righteous Aglais

For Travelers
St. Nicholas: in general, & specifically for sea travel
St. John the Russian: for transport, auto, busses
St. Niphon, Patriarch of Constantinople: for safety at sea

For the Kitchen, Home
St. Euphrosynos the Cook
St. Sergius of Radonezh: for baking
SS. Spyridon & Nikodim of Kievo-Pechersk*: Prosphora making
St. Juliana Lazarevskaya
St. Prochor of Kievo-Pechersk

For Trading
St. Paraskeva

For Cobblers
St. Eustathius the Cobbler of Georgia

For Physicians
St. Panteleimon
Holy Unmercenaries Cosmas & Damian
St. Agapit the Physician of Kievo-Pechersk

For Perfumers
St. Abo the Perfumer of Georgia

For Headaches
Holy New Martyr Demas of Smyrna

For Eyes
St. Paraskeva
St. Lucia of Sicily

For Ears
St. Spyridon the Wonderworker

For Teeth
St. Antipas of Pergamum

For Hernias & Intestinal Disorders
Holy Great Martyr Artemius
St. Artemius of Verkola

For Throat
St. Blaise of Sebastia

For protection against cancer
St. Nectarios of Egina

For Finding Employment
St. Xenia of St. Petersburg

For Help in Studies
Three Hierarchs: St. Basil the Great, St. John Chrysostom, St. Gregory the Theologian
St. Sergius of Radonezh
St. John of Kronstadt
St. Nestor the Chronicler of Kievo-Pechersk
St. Justin the Philosopher
St. Catherine of Alexandria

For Church-Chanting
St. Romanos the Melodist
St. Theodosius of Chernigov
St. John Koukouzelis
SS. Leonty & Geronty, Canonarchs of Kievo-Pechersk

For Iconographers
St. Luke the Apostle and Evangelist
St. Alypius of Kievo-Pechersk
St. John of Damascus
St. Andrei Rublev

For Patient Endurance of Affliction
St. Job the Much-Suffering
St. Eustathius Placidas & Family
Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebastia: especially in freezing cold weather
Holy Forty-Two Martyrs of Amorion
St. Pimen the Much-Suffering of Kievo-Pechersk

For Protection Against Thieves
St. Gregory the Wonderworker of Kievo-Pechersk

For Stone-workers
Holy Martyrs Florus & Laurus

For Soldiers
Holy Archangel Michael
St. George the Great Martyr
St. Barbara the Great Martyr
St. Titus the Soldier of Kievo-Pechersk

For Spiritual Help, Consolation & Compunction
St. Ephraim the Syrian
St. Alexis the Man of God
St. Seraphim of Sarov

For a Good End to One's Life
Holy Archangel Michael
St. Niphon, Patriarch of Constantinople

For Captives and Court Cases
St. Onouphrios the Great
St. Peter of Athos
St. George the Great Martyr
St. Simeon the God-Receiver

For Help in Distress, Poverty, Etc.
St. Nicholas the Wonderworker
St. Martin of Tours, the Merciful
St. John the Almsgiver of Alexandria
St. John of Kronstadt

For Finding Things
St. Phanourios the Great Martyr
St. Menas the Great Martyr of Egypt

For Meeting a Difficult Situation, an Interview, Etc.
St. David the Prophet, Psalmist & King
The Holy Unmercenaries & Healers Cosmas & Damian
SS. Cyrus & John of Alexandria
SS. Panteleimon & Hermolaus
St. Mocius
St. Thallelaus
St. Diomedes the Healer
St. Anicetus
St. Julian the Martyr
St. Zotious the Orphan-Keeper
St. John of Kronstadt
St. Nectarios of Aegina
St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco
Holy Archangel Raphael

For Animals & Livestock
St. George: cattle & herds
St. Modestus of Jerusalem
Holy Martyr Mamas
St. Parthenius of Radovysdius: cattle
SS. Spevsippus, Elesippus & Melevsippus: horses

For Protection of Crops from Pests
St. Michael of Synnada
St. Gerasimos the New Ascetic
St. Tryphon

For the Protection of Gardens Against Pests
Holy Great Martyr Tryphon: also for hunters and Patron of Moscow

Against Witchcraft
SS. Cyprian & Justina
St. Theodore Sykeote
St. Mitrophan of Voronezh
St. Leo of Catania
Ss. Lucian & Marcion

For Chastity & Help in Carnal Warfare
St. John the Forerunner
St. Demetrios the Great Martyr
St. Moses the Hungarian
St. John the Much-Suffering
Holy Martyr Theodore the Byzantine
Holy Martyr Ignatios of Athos
St. Thomais
St. Martinian
St. Basil of Mangazea
St. Mary of Egypt
St. Joseph the All-Comely
St. Susanna [Old Testament]
St. Anysia the Virgin Martyr

For Mental Disorders
St. Naum of Ochrid
St. Anastasia
St. Gerasimos of Cephalonia: the possessed

Against the Plague
St. Haralambos
St. Marina the Great Martyr
St. Bessarion of the Saviour, Archbishop of Larissa

For Help Against Quick-Temper & Despondency
St. Tikhon of Zadonsk

For Workers in Hospitals
Holy Unmercenaries Cosmas & Damian
St. Anastasia the healer
St. Dositheus, Disciple of Abba Dorotheus

For Guilelessness & Simplicity
Holy Apostle Nathaniel
St. Paul the Simple

*Kievo-Pechersk Lavra is a large Slavic monastic community dating to the 10th century.

 

[Suzannah]

Rick,
That list is awesome!!!
Thanks!!!

To the OP: St. Dymphna is a very famous Irish Saint among Irish Catholics...she's a VIP!
She's also recognized by the Orthodox Church. St. Dymphna's story is here if you would like to read it...I found her very inspiring...http://www.odox.net/Icons-Dymphna.htm
Love,
Suzannah


p.s. Here is her Icon...

 

[Suzannah]

P.s.: I thought St. Jerome was the patron saint of cats???? Really, I did! In all his icons, he is shown with at least one small kitty, and often, a veryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy larrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrge kitty!

 

[Michael G]

vlinder,
Being we do not recognize St. Martin de Porres because he is Roman, the Orthodox Patron Saint of Black people is St. Moses the Ethiopian.

 

[ExOrienteLux]

Wow! Thanks a lot for that sight, Suzannah! I never really knew there were that many Western (especially British, Scotch, and Irish) saints that we honor.

I especially love St. Columba now, both for the kind of man he was and because of the fact that I'm about equal parts Irish and Scotch!

 

[Suzannah]

Wow! Thanks a lot for that sight, Suzannah! I never really knew there were that many Western (especially British, Scotch, and Irish) saints that we honor.

I especially love St. Columba now, both for the kind of man he was and because of the fact that I'm about equal parts Irish and Scotch!

Privately speaking, I think our Western Saints are very, very active today in praying for the West. I think St. John of San Francisco and Shanghai said that Orthodoxy would not take root in the West until our Western Saints were remembered and venerated....
St. Columba is my homeboy. (Matrona taught me that phrase). He's my clan and my very special friend.

 

[Rick of Wessex]

Hi, Suzannah!

St. Jerome is patron saint of translator. And God only knows the we need as many patron saints as we can.

In XC,
Rick

 

[Grand_Duchess-Elizaveta]

Wow! Thanks a lot for that sight, Suzannah! I never really knew there were that many Western (especially British, Scotch, and Irish) saints that we honor.

I especially love St. Columba now, both for the kind of man he was and because of the fact that I'm about equal parts Irish and Scotch!

"SCOTCH is a drink, SCOTS are a people, although we're both quite tasty." --Mike Myers.

I have a lot of Scottish ancestry meself.

 

[Rick of Wessex]

Some Orthodox Belgian Saints:

Pharäildis (Vareide, Verylde, Veerle) (Jan 4)
+ c 740. Probably born in Ghent in Belgium, she was married against her will. Maltreated by her husband, she became one of the patron-saints of Ghent.

Gertrude of Nivelles (March 17)
626-659. Daughter of Pepin of Landen and of St Ida. Ida founded the convent of Nivelles for herself and her daughter but insisted on Gertrude being the first abbess. Though only twenty years of age, Gertrude accepted this obedience. At the age of thirty she resigned in favour of her niece Wilfetrudis.

Landoald and Amantius (March 19)
+ c 668. A priest and deacon who helped enlighten what is now Belgium and north-eastern France. They founded the church at Wintershoven.

Macarius of Antioch (April 10)
+ 1012. Born in Antioch, he was a bishop who travelled westwards as a pilgrim and was received by monks at the monastery of St Bavo in Ghent in Belgium.

Floribert (April 27)
+ 746. Bishop of Liège in Belgium.

Servatus (Servais) (May 13)
+ 384. Bishop of Tongres in Belgium. He was the host of St Athanasius when the latter was exiled to the West.

Dymphna (May 15)
c. +650 Born in Ireland, she was forced to flee to Belgium accompanied by a priest, St Gerebern. Their relics were discovered at Gheel near Antwerp in the thirteenth century. Since then numberless cases of mental illness have been healed at their shrine

Gerebern (ou Gerebrand) (May 17)
7th cent. A priest from Ireland, he accompanied St Dympna to Belgium and shared in her martyrdom. He is patron-saint of a village in the Rhineland in Germany, where his relics are enshrined.

Lambert (September 17)
+ 709. Born in Maastricht in Holland, he became bishop there in 668, but in 674 he was driven out by the tyrant Ebroin. He then lived as a monk for seven years at the monastery of Stavelot in Belgium. He returned later and did much to help St Willibrord. He was murdered in the then village of Liège and is venerated as a martyr.

Gerulph (September 21)
+ c 746. Born in Flanders in Belgium, he was heir to a vast estate, but was treacherously murdered by a relative who hoped to succeed to his inheritance. He died with words of forgiveness on his lips.

All information from the site Orthodox England (site of the Church of Ss. Felix and Edmund, ROCOR parish in Felixstowe, England).

In XC,
Rick

 

[Michael G]

I contacted a group in Brittain last spring and they sent me icon cards of about 40 different English/Gaelic/Irish Orthodox (pre-schism) saints along with a few French, German and Central Europeans. There are alot more western saints than most of us are willing to admit, they just tend to be obscured by the Eastern Saints.

 

[vlinder]

To Life Immortal

A big dank U for Rick! That's an awesome list of Belgian saints. I am beginning to have a place in my heart for St. Dymphna after readng her story.

This place is awesome; I knew I had asked the right people my question. Thanks again for helping out an Orthodox newbie

Peace and Long Life
~*~ Vlinder ~*~

 

[ExOrienteLux]

"SCOTCH is a drink, SCOTS are a people, although we're both quite tasty." --Mike Myers.

I have a lot of Scottish ancestry meself.

OK, then, if we're going to be technical: I'm either equal parts Irish and Scottish or eual parts Guinness and Scotch. Take your pick.

 

[Grand_Duchess-Elizaveta]

OK, then, if we're going to be technical: I'm either equal parts Irish and Scottish or eual parts Guinness and Scotch. Take your pick.

Perhaps all of the above would be most accurate? That Mike Myers quote came from when he was still a star on Saturday Night Live, and did the scit about the Scottish guy who runs a Scottish import store. His famous line was "If it's not Scottish, it's C--P!!". I couldn't spell out the "c" word because of the Nazi-like censorship here. Rhymes with "wrap."

 

[ufonium2]

OK, then, if we're going to be technical: I'm either equal parts Irish and Scottish or eual parts Guinness and Scotch. Take your pick.

I'm told that I'm "Scots-Irish" and I have no idea what that means. As far as I can tell, it's a blanket term for anyone with red hair who isn't Cathoic

 

[ExOrienteLux]

That was a great skit! I especially like Dr. Phil McCracken, Scottish Therapist's Scotch Treatment: get p!$$-drunk. Won't have to worry about your problems then, will you?

Actually, I've never tried scotch. Guinness is good, though. Um, wait, I'm under 21. I didn't buy, though! And the pub didn't ask for ID!

 

[ExOrienteLux]

Nothing like derailing a thread, huh?

 

[Grand_Duchess-Elizaveta]

I'm told that I'm "Scots-Irish" and I have no idea what that means. As far as I can tell, it's a blanket term for anyone with red hair who isn't Cathoic

Yeah, kind of like "Anglo-Celtic." I fall under that category, although I don't have red hair. Some of my Celtic ancestors really......uh.......liked Cherokee Indians (who pretty much dominated the Virginia/Tennesee area, where my kin originally settled). Hence my dark hair and somewhat unusual eye color, and an unusual taste for boiled wildlife..........

Sorry.............back to our regularly scheduled topic...........what were we talking about?

 

[Rilian]

I'm told that I'm "Scots-Irish" and I have no idea what that means. As far as I can tell, it's a blanket term for anyone with red hair who isn't Cathoic

[Big bunch of boring information alert]

Generally ufonium, the term is one used only in America. It was applied to the mostly Scottish Presbyterian lowlanders that formed the main bulk of settlers in the plantation of Ulster in the 1600's. They were disdained by their English overlords and hated by the native Irish, so many in turn ended up migrating in large numbers to America in the 18th century. They populated a large swath of Pennsylvania, Virginia and the Carolinas and then followed the inland routes after that such as through the Cumberland Gap. Lots of Americans (including part of my family) trace their ancestry back to them.

 

[Akathist]

I have noticed that there isn't very many female Saints in North America. In fact, I haven't seen any.

I did recently read up on Saint Herman of Alaska and was really touched by his story.

The more I read about Saints, the more I don't know which one to pick.

Is it possible to become Orthodox without choosing a patron Saint?