The fashion for names begins and goes the same way as everything else, only more slowly. Earlier, when names in Russia were still given at baptism, they were very diverse. Often the name was given according to the date of birth: on the day of memory of which saint the child was born, that's what they called him. It was then that such names as Maria for a girl and Ivan for a boy became the most common.
What is the traditional Russian name?
Many even consider them traditional Russian names. But in fact, the Russian name should be immediately understandable to a native speaker, it should be speaking. There are such examples, for example, the name Vladimir is perfectly deciphered - "own the world", Bogdan - "the child whom the Lord gave." There are quite a lot of such examples in the Russian language even now.
But neither Maria, nor Ivan, nor Ilya, nor Evdokia, nor many other Russian names considered traditional can be deciphered. This is because, in fact, all these are foreign, or rather, Jewish, Greek, Roman names.
These names came to us along with Christianity and have since taken root.
Yes, and many Russian names gradually became Christian, when the people who wore them were glorified as saints.
How the name spreads
The name Elijah was well known in ancient Israel. That was the name of the greatest Jewish prophet taken to heaven alive. The Orthodox Church honors all the true prophets who served God, therefore Elijah's name day is celebrated on the day of the memory of the ancient prophet - August 2. But later, in honor of the holy prophet, Christian children began to be called. Some of them just lived their lives and died, while others became saints. For example, among the Egyptian elders was the Monk Elijah, glorified as a saint.
His memory is set for January 21 (according to the new style), so that Ilya's name day is now twice a year. Somewhat earlier, some Orthodox, bearing the name Ilya, heroically confessed Christianity before the torturers and became martyrs. So the name day named after Ilya began to be celebrated several more times a year. Among the saints with this name are now not only Israelis, but also Romans and Greeks.
Naturally, the more often Ilya's name day is celebrated, the more children are called that way in accordance with tradition. This means that the number of righteous people bearing this name is increasing. Gradually, Russian children began to be called Ilya.
Russian Saint
For example, looking into the holy calendar on January 1, we will be surprised to find the Reverend Ilya of Muromets there.
What is this? The Russian fairy tale became a myth and ended up in the Lives of the Saints, or, conversely, did the Lives of the Saints become a fairy tale?
According to legend, the Monk Ilya Muromets really existed and was really born in this ancient city on the Oka River. The boy was named Ilya,his name day (angel's day, in other words) was apparently on January 1st. He was paralyzed for a long time, and then healed by some wanderers. Ilya Muromets was for some time a warrior, a hero, but then he went to a monastery, to the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, and ended his days there. Russian fairy tales and legends preserved the heroic part of his biography, although they embellished it, of course, but lost the idea of him as a saint. So from the moment of the glorification of the Monk Ilya Muromets, a newborn boy can also be named after him.
How to determine which saint is your heavenly patron?
If a newborn baby is named after a certain saint whom parents love, everything is clear with name days.
For example, a child named after the prophet will celebrate his name day in August, and the name day of Ilya, who was named after Ilya Muromets, in January. But how to determine the patron saint if the parents were not religious people and named the child after the artist?
The rule is this: the first saint whose memory is celebrated after the birthday is the heavenly patron of a person.
The saint of the same name is the person who seems closer to us from all those saved by God. Therefore, it is to him that people pray first of all in difficult situations.
How to celebrate the day of the angel Elijah?
Name days are sometimes also called the day of the angel. This is a very poetic, but not entirely correct name, because the patron saint and the guardian angel of a person are two differententities.
On the name day, the Orthodox usually partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. For this, it is necessary to fast for several days and confess on the eve or on the very day of communion. The Holy Mysteries are consecrated at the Liturgy, which must be upheld from beginning to end. After communion, they read thanksgiving prayers, return home and gather guests. The party on this day is unlikely to be noisy: it is a spiritual, intimate holiday. Relatives or close friends are usually invited.
Strong alcoholic drinks are rarely consumed at the table, more often it is just wine. It is better to choose topics for conversations carefully so as not to cause a quarrel or offend someone.
The tradition of celebrating your name day is gradually being restored.
