Starting from the fourth century, a patron saint appears in the Christian tradition. Hoping for the favor and protection of the latter, the parents called the child by a similar name. Subsequently, many areas of life acquired such holy patronage.
Who is a patron
The easiest way to determine personal patron saints is by date of birth. How to do this, we will figure it out at the end of the article.
It is also interesting to know that in the process of the formation of Christianity, the lives of the saints were studied and professions similar to their occupations or abilities received them as patrons.
So Levi Matvey, being a tax collector during his lifetime, became a defender of employees of financial departments. Clara of Assisi had the gift of seeing and hearing the Christmas mass in the church, even when she was sick in bed. Therefore, she is assigned the role of patron of television.
On occasion, take a look at the icons, pictures. Guardian angel, saint, martyrs usually hold attributes in their hands that show thembelonging to some type of activity.
Professions
You will be amazed when you find out how many saints patronize this or that kind of activity. Most of these names belong to Catholicism, but there are many Orthodox ones. Let's take a closer look.
All professions that are associated with movement by land transport, whether it be a bicycle, car or bus, are patronized by the prophet Elijah. He is depicted in Holy Scripture on a fiery chariot after he was taken alive to heaven.
Doctors are patronized by the archangels Raphael and Gabriel, as well as the Evangelist Luke. All of them were somehow connected with the treatment.
Even housewives have their patrons. They are considered Martha, a disciple of Jesus Christ, and Anna, the mother of Mary, the Mother of God.
Evangelist Mark is a patron of all animal-related activities. Zoologists, biologists, veterinarians and other professionals can ask him for help.
Archangel Gabriel, being a messenger in the Christian tradition, helps diplomats, couriers, ambassadors, postmen and other figures related to the delivery of something or the establishment of relations. In Orthodoxy, this also includes media workers.
The patron saint of journalists in Catholicism is Francis de Sales, and of publishers, booksellers, writers and composers is John the Theologian.
St. Andrew the First-Called is called the patron of sailors and singers. No wonder his cross is depicted on the flag of the Navy of the Russian Federation.
Archangel Michael is associated with professions that relate to military affairs, law, government. This includes, in fact, soldiers, policemen and other employees of law enforcement agencies.
You will laugh, but the Vatican has even identified a patron of Internet users. The patron saint of this activity is Isidore of Seville. During his lifetime, he was an encyclopedist and, after faith, put knowledge above all else.
Patrons of countries and cities
Saint patrons by the name of the settlement are not determined. But, based on different Christian directions, each city and country has a patron. Some even have several. The prefix to a saint's name means the place of his birth, not the place he favors.
Let's take a closer look. Since the missionaries tried to identify the defenders of most settlements, we will focus on the most famous and significant cities and states.
The patron saint of Belarus is Euphrosyne of Polotsk.
Russia has several patrons, if we talk about different faiths. The Orthodox consider St. George the Victorious and St. Andrew the First-Called as patrons, the Catholics - Prince Vladimir, Basil the Great and Joseph the Betrothed.
Ukraine in Orthodoxy is patronized by the Apostle Andrew, and in Catholicism - by Joseph of Polotsk.
The United States considers Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception to be its protector.
France relies on the help of two patrons. This is Anna, mother of Mary the Virgin, and Joan of Arc.
UK, according toCatholic priests, is under the auspices of the Archangel Michael.
We have listed only a few countries from America, Western Europe and neighboring countries. Next, the cartridges of some Russian cities and regions will be presented.
Icons of patron saints sometimes display the place they favor. But this is not always possible to determine by images. Let's see who defends which city in the Orthodox tradition.
Moscow favors George the Victorious, he is even depicted on the coat of arms.
St. Petersburg is defended by the apostles Peter and Paul, as well as Alexander Nevsky.
The latter is also the patron of Transbaikalia, and the apostles Peter and Paul are also the patron of the entire Kamchatka region.
This topic is very extensive, the volume of the article allows us to touch on it only briefly. Next, we will talk about holy helpers in various life adversities.
Patrons of the sick and assistants in treatment
In Christianity there is not only the patron saint of the dead, but also defenders from various ailments, as well as saints who help doctors in healing.
Let's meet the Healing Assistants.
So, as the Orthodox believe, the martyr Boniface of Tarsus and John of Kronstadt help to cope with alcoholism. Catholics turn to Urban of Langres about this.
Pregnant women pray to the Great Martyr Anastasia or Silvia of Rome, depending on the denomination.
Simeon of Verkhotursky will help to cope with diseases of the legs, and for any ailments associated with hands, believers turn to the Three-Handed icon, on whichthe Mother of God is depicted.
In principle, the Moor of Glanfeysky is considered the patron of all sick people in Catholicism. The Archangel Gabriel is said to help with the eyes, and Francis of Sales is considered the patron of hearing problems.
Job the Long-suffering in Catholicism "responsible" for the cure of depression.
As it turns out, the patron saint of the dead is not alone. They are divided by age. Patrons of infant mortality - Jadwiga of Silesia or Matilda of Saxony, and untimely death - Archangel Michael.
If it is difficult for a person to understand the nature of the pain or the origin of the disease, there are saints who are believed to help with healing in general. This is the Great Martyr Panteleimon in Orthodoxy and Juliana of Nicomedia in Catholicism.
Helpers in difficult situations
As the proverb says, you should not swear off the bag and prison. Let's see what kind of saints help people who have encountered troubles on their way of life. In such situations, the patron is not determined by date of birth, but a candle is lit to the one who helps in such a misfortune.
So, it is believed that Kaztan Tiensky helps Catholics find a new job, and Ksenia from St. Petersburg helps the Orthodox.
Agnell in Catholicism, in Orthodoxy - Boris and Gleb, Alexander Nevsky, Nil Sorsky and the Mother of God support and help the victims of the war recover.
Peter from Athos and Simeon the God-bearer patronize those captured. If nostalgia crept into the soul and longing for family and loved ones fell into the heart, they prayJohn Kushnik.
The Mother of God (the icon "Savior of the drowning") and Iakinf from Krakow protect from death on the water. Shipwreck rescue is patronized by Yudok.
Saint patron of children - Sergius of Radonezh. They pray to him if the offspring are not academically successful.
If you feel despair, they say that a lighted candle will help John Chrysostom. Of course, this is a matter of faith, especially in our enlightened age, but there are situations when this remains the only way out. As the saying goes, “there are no atheists in the trenches.”
Disaster Protection
Natural disasters come suddenly, and the power of the elements frightens and delights.
Christianity believes that some saints help people, protect them from the wrath of nature and take destruction aside.
Let's find out who is prayed to in different faiths in situations like this.
During an earthquake, it is unlikely that there will be time to determine who your patron saints are by date of birth. Therefore, the holy fathers recommend turning to Gregory the Wonderworker in this case.
When a volcano erupts nearby, you should quickly move away. But later it does not hurt to put a candle to Agathia Sicilian, so that this does not happen again in the future.
In the Middle Ages, during a strong storm, they prayed to Yudok, Walburg, Urban of Langres or Erasmus of Formia.
To avoid a lightning strike, they turned to Wirth of Rome and Magnus of Füssen.
Ermengild is considered a protector during thunderstorms, drought and floods.
It is noteworthy that there are mostly patrons-saviors from various disasters in Catholicism. The Orthodox turned to the defenders only in two cases. In severe frosts - to the holy fool Procopius from Ustyug, and during a fire - to the hermit Nikita Novgorodsky or to the icon "Burning Bush". Apparently, the other cataclysms did not bother our people much.
Patrons of educational institutions
Often the name of a major educational institution, especially in the Middle Ages, crowned the name of the patron saint. By the name of the patron, the status of a school or university was judged. Separately, all schools in Catholicism are patronized by Thomas Aquinas, and universities - by Contardo Ferrini.
And here supporters of the Catholic denomination were more noted. The Orthodox mainly recognize only that the Apostle Andrew is the patron saint of the University of Patras in Greece.
In Western Europe, many universities have acquired holy protectors.
At the Bologna Academy of Arts - Ekaterina Bologna.
Edeltrude is considered the patroness of Cambridge, and Fredeswinda is considered the patroness of Oxford.
The University of Paris considers four saints to be its patrons for greater success. These are Catherine from Alexandria, Nicholas from Myrlikia, Ursula from Cologne and Charlemagne.
So some of the oldest schools have patrons. The problem is that, according to the canons, they protect the universities themselves, and do not help students in their studies. So in the exams you still have to rely only on your intelligence or a friendlycheat sheet.
Defenders of ruling dynasties
As usual, this will focus mainly on the Catholic denomination.
Apparently the desire to become a universal church and the love of we alth and luxury have influenced the fact that almost every social, natural and other phenomena, as well as various spheres of life, have their own patron saints. After all, only in this case it is possible to influence the tithe, offerings and gifts to temples. So, which of the saints became the royal protector?
Ferdinand of Castile is considered the patron saint of all heads of state, regardless of region or continent.
Next comes some specific feature. Each ruling house has patrons, in particular French, English and German. And also separately for people with different titles, such as king, princess and others.
So, the monarchs are patronized by Louis, Edward the Confessor and Henry of Bavaria respectively.
Kings are helped to bear their burdens by Edgar the Peaceful and Dagobert.
Queens - Jadwiga of Poland, Isabella of Portugal and Matilda of Saxony.
Empresses are protected by Equal-to-the-Apostles Elena.
Adelaide of Burgundy favors princesses, and Charles the Good patronizes counts.
The patron saints of the family of the ruling monarchs of Great Britain are Edward the Confessor and the Archangel Michael, as the protector of England.
The German Habsburg dynasty was favored by Maximilian, and the Dauphins of France by Petronilla.
Thus, many ruling families had not onlytheir confessors and advisers from the clergy, but also patron saints.
Animal Patrons
Cattle breeding has long been one of the most important human occupations. It was this activity that helped to move from random hunting luck to planned subsistence. Therefore, people constantly cared about the he alth and performance of their pets.
Here we will mention the Orthodox and Catholic patrons of animals.
So let's start with the birds. Domestic ducks, geese and other flying animals have a protector in the person of the Great Martyr Nikita among the Orthodox and Martin from Tours in Catholicism.
Doves are patronized by David of Wales, and swans are patronized by Hugh of Lincoln.
Next livestock. In Orthodoxy, George the Victorious and Paraskeva Pyatnitsa are considered to be his defenders. Catholics call Pope Cornelius, the hermit Onuphrius and Perpetua from Carthage.
Guido of Anderlecht patronizes all horned animals.
In Orthodoxy, the patron of goats and sheep is Mamant from Caesarea, Catholics do not believe that goats can have a patron. Therefore, George the Victorious, according to their tradition, protects only sheep.
How to recognize your patron saint
Today, most people are starting to seek faith again. Some are returning to Christianity. In this religion, it is customary to celebrate Angel Day, that is, the date when this or that saint is honored.
The easiest way to determine the name of the patron saint is by the name of the child. Firstly, a new name is given at baptism (if the name given at birth does not belong to the Christian tradition,or parents wanted to give a second one), but the old one can be preserved.
What to do? Basically, patron saints are determined by name and date of birth. Even if you do not remember the name with which you were baptized (not preserved), find the closest Christian one. If there are several, choose the one that is more pleasant for you.
So, now we open the calendar and look for which patron suits you by date of birth. This is not the exact date when you were born, but the closest day on which a saint with that name is venerated.
For example, you celebrate your birthday on September 2nd, and the next date when a patron of the same name is mentioned is December 11th. It turns out that you have two celebrations. Birthday in September, Angel Day in December.
On such days, it is traditionally customary to give children images and pictures. The guardian angel does not have to be depicted there, but it will not be superfluous.
So, we have learned to determine our patron, and also learned the holy protectors in different areas of life.
