Conversion and Chrismation names

[~Anastasia~]

I have a question. Does EO parishes in US celebrate "names day" ? In eastern Europe people celebrate the day of the saint they were named and it is a kind of second birthday. In this day you must read about your saint and try to become more like him and learn from his life, but in reality in the modern world it is used mainly for drinking and partying.

In our parish, people sometimes celebrate their name day by bringing food to Church for everyone, especially if their Saint has a Liturgy.

Father and the parishioners also wish a person "Xronia Polla" on their nameday. A person may get gifts from a godparent, etc. It is very much like a second birthday. Some people celebrate their name day more than their birthday. Most people do read the hymns and the life stories of their Saint.

 

[ArmyMatt]

I have a question. Does EO parishes in US celebrate "names day" ? In eastern Europe people celebrate the day of the saint they were named and it is a kind of second birthday. In this day you must read about your saint and try to become more like him and learn from his life, but in reality in the modern world it is used mainly for drinking and partying.

yes we do

 

[ArmyMatt]

Add to this the fact that often a Saints name is different in a different country and you would not even be aware of it. For example, when choosing my saint for Chrismation, I felt drawn to St. Genevieve of Paris. Came to find out that my given name, Jennifer is an English form of that name. As such, I find that many of the priests I have been communed by will use both names interchangeably at the chalice for me, without my having requested it.

yep, like how Sean, Shawn, Ian, and Shane are all Celtic versions of John

 

[AKBlessings]

I have a question. Does EO parishes in US celebrate "names day" ? In eastern Europe people celebrate the day of the saint they were named and it is a kind of second birthday. In this day you must read about your saint and try to become more like him and learn from his life, but in reality in the modern world it is used mainly for drinking and partying.

We do. If our names day falls on a day with a service, the parish sings many years to those with that saint. Otherwise it is up to the person/family to celebrate as they wish on their own. At our house it is celebrated similar to a birthday but with added prayers and readings of the saints life.

 

[AKBlessings]

I've actually seen Russian priests bless AK's! Great name! I own five in my gun safe.....unless you might be referring to Alaska..nah.....(gurney would prefer it be a Kalashnakov name than a state)

View attachment 187847 View attachment 187848
My kind of blessings!!!

Sorry to burst the bubble, but it is in reference to Alaska, where I suspect there are many AK's stashed.

 

[AKBlessings]

I knew about this already, but hadn't thought about it in a couple of years.

Now that I know a little more, and in thinking about it, I have to wonder what Orthodox prayers might be said over guns that are intended to take human lives?

I'm not anti-gun. And I'm not anti-military. But ... I can't imagine prayers of the Church in that situation?

Same here. I have always been curious about this. Are they praying for the protection of the soldiers using the weapons, for the salvation of the nation, or what?

 

[ZaidaBoBaida]

Iain is a celtic version of John????????? I have no idea when my name day is.

 

[~Anastasia~]

I have no idea when my name day is.

Which particular Saint does your name come from?

 

[ZaidaBoBaida]

Mary of Bethany.

 

[~Anastasia~]

Mary of Bethany.

Your name day should be June 4 then - both Mary and Martha of Bethany are commemorated of that day.

 

[seashale76]

I'm sure I am not the first with this question, but I have a question about taking a Chrismation name. I'm not so concerned with choosing a name - that's something I'm praying about with my priest and sponsor - but I am curious how many converts actually go by that name. I ask because at my parish, the practice is sort of all over the place among the converts and I was curious if that was indicative of Orthodoxy everywhere or just where I've landed.

My husband and I are lucky. Our given names are names of saints. It just so happens that the Holy Saturday we were Chrismated was my husband's names day (which we discovered later).

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

The prayer is, "may God protect these magnificent firearms from socialist gun-grabbing tyrants and weak-minded goons! Amen"



On a serious note, I see the weapons as modern day swords, blessed to defend the realm from anti-Christian enemies. Putting a bullet in an ISIS terrorist who cuts off the hands of little children and rapes groups of girls or burns churches, well, is a necessary thing. Just war. Blessing those Kalashes makes sense to me.

I have enough ammo and gats in my house to re-create the Alamo if the manure ever hits the fan. When the zombie apocalypse kicks in, I'll give you gurney's address.

I knew about this already, but hadn't thought about it in a couple of years.

Now that I know a little more, and in thinking about it, I have to wonder what Orthodox prayers might be said over guns that are intended to take human lives?

I'm not anti-gun. And I'm not anti-military. But ... I can't imagine prayers of the Church in that situation?

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

Praying the 5.45 x 39 finds its target!!

Same here. I have always been curious about this. Are they praying for the protection of the soldiers using the weapons, for the salvation of the nation, or what?

 

[~Anastasia~]

The prayer is, "may God protect these magnificent firearms from socialist gun-grabbing tyrants and weak-minded goons! Amen"



On a serious note, I see the weapons as modern day swords, blessed to defend the realm from anti-Christian enemies. Putting a bullet in an ISIS terrorist who cuts off the hands of little children and rapes groups of girls or burns churches, well, is a necessary thing. Just war. Blessing those Kalashes makes sense to me.

I have enough ammo and gats in my house to re-create the Alamo if the manure ever hits the fan. When the zombie apocalypse kicks in, I'll give you gurney's address.

I'll be looking for your address!

We have a small arsenal of our own. Mostly because my husband is/was a hunter. I have a rifle my mother passed down to me that she carried as a kid - it's ancient - she found it in the woods in the early 1950's and my Grandpa carved a new stock and rebuilt it - it shoots a tad low and to the left, but I love it for sentimental reasons. I own a couple of handguns (hopefully as deterrents - but one day I was traveling cross country, wore a sidearm, had my 110-pound German Shepherd with me, stopped at a rest stop ... and this goon STILL stalked me and followed me into the restroom! I really did not want to have to hurt the man so we managed a quick exit, but you really have to wonder about some folks ... ). Mine have all been used only for target practice, but I've had to use my husband's on the farm with predators a few times.

Like I said, I'm not anti-gun. I don't have the stomach for violence myself, I HATE when it's necessary even with animals.

But I just can't imagine the words of an Orthodox prayer to bless them, you know? Seriously. Maybe I'll look it up, maybe not. I wonder if I'd be bothered by them?

 

[~Anastasia~]

Actually I was curious, and found one.

O Lord our God, God of Power and Might, powerful in strength, strong in battle, You once gave miraculous strength to Your child David granting him victory over his opponent the blasphemer Goliath. Mercifully accept our humble prayer. Send Your heavenly blessing upon these weapons (..naming each weapon..). Give to them power and strength that they may protect Your holy Church, the poor and the widows, and Your holy inheritance on earth, and make them horrible and terrible to any enemy army, and grant victory to Your people for your glory, for You are our strength and protection and unto You do we send up praise and glory, to the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Then the Priest sprinkles blessed water on the weapons saying:

Let the blessing of the Triune God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, come down on and remain upon these weapons and those who carry them, for the protection of the truth of Christ. Amen.

After this the soldiers carrying the weapons are blessed, with the prayer:

Be brave and let your heart be stronger and win victory over your enemies, trusting in God, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.


It was written, it seems, for a time of swords and sabers, but I don't think that matters.

The page where I found it had a lot of interesting things to say on the subject, including the fact that apparently St. Tikhon's does not include such prayers in their book of needs.

Lord have mercy on us. Truly we live in a fallen and sinful world. But as prayers go, I'm glad it is all about blessing and protection, though it does say make them terrible to enemies. I just couldn't imagine a priest actually praying for anyone's death.

 

[Antony Krasimirov]

The prayer is, "may God protect these magnificent firearms from socialist gun-grabbing tyrants and weak-minded goons! Amen"



On a serious note, I see the weapons as modern day swords, blessed to defend the realm from anti-Christian enemies.

I just cant agree on that. I think that for a EO person, Christ should be your sword. Of course i am not against the ritual of blessing military flags and military personal, but i am against the firearms and military hardware. It kind of degrades the church and it is making a bad example. In Russia and other parts of eastern Europe you can see people bless very weird objects because of such examples....

 

[All4Christ]

Actually I was curious, and found one.

O Lord our God, God of Power and Might, powerful in strength, strong in battle, You once gave miraculous strength to Your child David granting him victory over his opponent the blasphemer Goliath. Mercifully accept our humble prayer. Send Your heavenly blessing upon these weapons (..naming each weapon..). Give to them power and strength that they may protect Your holy Church, the poor and the widows, and Your holy inheritance on earth, and make them horrible and terrible to any enemy army, and grant victory to Your people for your glory, for You are our strength and protection and unto You do we send up praise and glory, to the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Then the Priest sprinkles blessed water on the weapons saying:

Let the blessing of the Triune God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, come down on and remain upon these weapons and those who carry them, for the protection of the truth of Christ. Amen.

After this the soldiers carrying the weapons are blessed, with the prayer:

Be brave and let your heart be stronger and win victory over your enemies, trusting in God, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.


It was written, it seems, for a time of swords and sabers, but I don't think that matters.

The page where I found it had a lot of interesting things to say on the subject, including the fact that apparently St. Tikhon's does not include such prayers in their book of needs.

Lord have mercy on us. Truly we live in a fallen and sinful world. But as prayers go, I'm glad it is all about blessing and protection, though it does say make them terrible to enemies. I just couldn't imagine a priest actually praying for anyone's death.

An interesting question is whose prayer would God answer if weapons are blessed on two opposing sides??

Personally, I prefer prayers for the soldiers, such as this:

Christ our True God, who loves mankind, look down with mercy and compassion upon every soldier who is facing a daily struggle with war, aggression and terrorism. Each one desires to live before You, and be ever protected by Your Right Hand. Preserve them, we humbly pray, and watch over them every given hour. Guide their steps, give wisdom and discernment to all who are in leadership, that Your will may prevail, and that they may return safely to their homes and loved ones.

We beg You to hear the cry coming from our hearts, dear Lord Jesus Christ. We know that we are surrounded by many dangers. We are frightened as destruction; pain and death seem so near. We hurt with those who are hurting, and grieve with those who grieve, whether on the battlefield or in their homes.

Draw us closer to You, we pray. Grant to us and to each soldier the desire to say as the Psalmist did, "I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.' He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge." (Psalm 91)

In Your righteousness forgive us as we continue in the defense of our beloved country. Watch over those whom we love, our wives, our children, relatives, and friends, as well as all civil authorities. May Your guiding Spirit be with those who govern us. Bless our country [country name here], our allies, and all those who love freedom, peace, and good will among all men.

May Your mercy be ever granted to us, for without fear but with love, humility, and obedience we to turn to You, that we may be strengthened, stand firm, and live.

Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.

Or this:

O Holy Master, Almighty Father and Pre-Eternal God, Who alone made and directed all things; Who rises up quickly against the evil of the impious ones; Who, by Providence, teaches Thy people preservation of Justice and the obliteration of the sword on earth; Who condescend to raise up military columns to help the people: O God, Who commanded the Forerunner John to say to the soldiers coming to him in the desert, "Do not intimidate anyone … and be content with your wages:"

We entreat Thee with compunction, that Thou gave Thy child David the power to defeat Goliath, and as Thou condescended, through Judas Maccabeus, to seize victory from the arrogant pagans who would not call on Thy Name; so too, grant protection in righteousness and truth to these Thy servants against the enemies rising against them, and by Thy heavenly loving-kindness, strength and might for the preservation of faith and truth.

Condescend, out of Thy mercy, O Master, to grant them the fear of Thee, together with humility, obedience and good endurance; that they kill no one unrighteously, but rather preserve all righteousness and truth; that they may fear Thee and honor Justice; that they run in friendship to those who are scattered, extending thy love to those near them, serving the elderly with justice; and that their ranks fulfill all things righteously;

For thou art our God, and to Thee do we ascribe glory; to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

Christ is our sword. And clearly you can't be advocating for a Roman Empire that wasn't willing to fight to defend the Empire or for a modern day Greece or Russia, Bulgaria or Serbia that is supposed to lay down their arms and surrender their country to their enemies, right? Of course not because that would be insane, so your post doesn't really make sense then. We have a right to defend our sovereignty, to fight terror, and protect our loved ones. Our sword is the rifle. Case closed.

I just cant agree on that. I think that for a EO person, Christ should be your sword. Of course i am not against the ritual of blessing military flags and military personal, but i am against the firearms and military hardware. It kind of degrades the church and it is making a bad example. In Russia and other parts of eastern Europe you can see people bless very weird objects because of such examples....

 

[~Anastasia~]

An interesting question is whose prayer would God answer if weapons are blessed on two opposing sides??

Personally, I prefer prayers for the soldiers, such as this:



Or this:

I prefer the prayers for the soldiers too.

The question of what happens if both sides get the blessing ... well, it's odd isn't it, that both would be praying to protect the Church? Then who are we fighting, and why?

I don't like to get too far into it. War pains me, probably more than anything else.

I used to wonder a similar thing, when both sports teams pray for victory. Much less serious issue of the process and outcome. But it's the same question, in a way.

As for me, I prefer the idea that we are to pray for our enemies. I'm not saying war isn't necessary, or that I'm anti-military. It's just that I PREFER to pray for them. It's very easy for me to put myself in the place of civilians, whose family members are in the opposing military, or who are simply caught up in circumstance. Far too many suffer in war, that really have nothing to do with the problematic ideologies.

 

[Antony Krasimirov]

Christ is our sword. And clearly you can't be advocating for a Roman Empire that wasn't willing to fight to defend the Empire or for a modern day Greece or Russia, Bulgaria or Serbia that is supposed to lay down their arms and surrender their country to their enemies, right? Of course not because that would be insane, so your post doesn't really make sense then. We have a right to defend our sovereignty, to fight terror, and protect our loved ones. Our sword is the rifle. Case closed.

I meant that i am against the blessing of small firearms and military equipment. The people should be blessed, not the guns. I am not advocating any aggressor and everyone should protect themselves of course. The problem is that almost always both sides claim they are waging wars in the name of god and often some nations tend to attack others as a "preemptive strike" which is completely wrong. This why i said that the weapons are not our sword against anti-christian enemy, but Christ is. Once again if someone wants to take your life,faith or freedom you must defend it by any way possible.