Once again, I would like to remind you that the name day is the day when an Orthodox Christian saint is venerated, whose name any baptized person can be called. There is another identical name - the day of the angel. On this day, the birthday man needs to come to the temple and pray at the liturgy or at the prayer service to his heavenly patron. Congratulations on the day of the angel Love accepts in the fall. What to give a girl, a woman on this day? These can be theological books or the lives of saints, icons or souvenirs from holy places. The meal on this day should not break the fast if it fell out at that time, however, there may be some indulgence here. It is such congratulations on the day of the angel that Love will appreciate first of all. At the table, it is more correct to have decent pious conversations and not abuse alcohol.
Angel Day: Love
The name "Love" is rooted in the times of ancient Russia. It was copied from the ancient Greek name Agape (an early Christian saint). In Orthodoxy, the day of memory of this saint is especially revered along with her sisters.and mother. If you call it differently - name day, or angel's day. Love, Faith, Hope and Sofia - these names appeared in the name book at the same time. And on the same day, the bearers of these seemingly Russian names are congratulated.
When does the angel Love celebrate its day? The date is the end of September. And here's a brief backstory. The Christian holy martyrs Faith, Hope, Love (in Greek, Pistis, Elpis and Agape) lived in Rome in the 2nd century during the time of Emperor Andrian, a cruel persecutor of Christians. Sophia, a widow from Milan, came with her girls to Rome and stayed with a rich lady she knew, whose name was Thessamnia.
Godly Family
Sofia was a deeply religious Christian. She brought up her daughters, who bore the names of the main Christian virtues, piously and in love for the Lord. As a mother, she always urged them to appreciate the blessings of heaven more than earthly. The rumor about Sophia's commitment to the faith reached the emperor himself, and he wanted to see the believing family with his own eyes. All four came to him and fearlessly began to confess their faith in Christ, who had risen from the dead. Hearing such bold speeches from very young people, the evil emperor became indignant and sent them to a certain pagan so that she could convince them to renounce Christ. But her eloquent speeches did not for a moment shake the fiery faith of the sisters. Then they were again brought to Andriana, and he demanded that they sacrifice to the pagan gods. But the pious maidens refused to do so and replied that they spit on his gods and were not at all afraid of threats, butready to die for the name of their dear Lord.
The Wrath of the Emperor
Then, enraged with anger, Andrian gave the poor children to the executioners. At first, Vera was beaten and parts of her body were torn off in front of her mother and sisters. Her torment did not end there, and they began to burn her on a red-hot grate, but thanks to the power of God, the fire did not harm her. Then the emperor ordered the executioners to throw it into a cauldron of boiling tar, but at the same moment the tar cooled and again did not damage it. Faith said that she would gladly accept death and go to her beloved Lord Jesus Christ. Then they simply cut off her head with a sword, and she betrayed her spirit to her God.
Saving faith in the Lord
Her younger sisters also courageously endured all the tortures, and they were tormented by fire, but, as with Vera, they did not receive injuries from him. But then they cut off their heads.
Suffering Sophia during this time experienced the most terrible torment. The poor mother was not tortured, but she had to bury the bodies of her girls, then for two days she could not move away from their graves, on the third day, seeing her such torment, the Lord took care and sent her a quiet death. Finally, her long-suffering soul was reunited with her daughters in the heavenly abode of the Lord. At the time of her death, Vera was 12 years old, Nadezhda - 10, Lyubov - 9. Sophia, along with her daughters, was canonized.
The history of the name Love
Many are interested in the question, when do the Orthodox of this name celebrate the day of the angel? Love as we knowin Greek it sounds like "Agape". But if the Greek names of the daughters were translated into Russian, then the name of their mother Sophia retained its original sound. Translated, it means “wisdom.”
Returning to the topic “Angel's Day: Love”, you can also pay attention to very amazing data regarding the fact that Love as a proper name arose in the 9th century, when liturgical books were translated from ancient Greek into Church Slavonic. And unlike most Christian names of saints, the names of the holy martyrs Hope, Faith and Love were translated into Russian.
For a long time, almost until the 18th century, these names were not used, even though they were mentioned in the holy calendar. When baptized with Faith, Hope and Love, it was not customary to name them, since they were very different from the names of saints because of their connection with the common sense.
Name promotion
In Russian society during the reign of Empress Elizabeth, there was a great interest in these names. Under her, who loved Russia with all her heart, national self-consciousness began to grow. And therefore, three names became in demand, and above all - among the nobility. According to some reports, in the second half of the 18th century, the nobles called about 15% of newborn girls by the name Lyubov, Moscow merchants - about 2%. In the peasant environment, this name was almost never met.
At the beginning of the 19th century, interest in the name among aristocrats increased to 26%, among merchants - already 14%, among peasants near Moscow - up to 1%. Peak in the 20th centurypopularity came in the 50s and 60s. The name Love took 9th place among fashionable and popular names. Later, interest in this name began to fall.
The day of the angel named Love, her sisters Vera, Nadezhda and their mother Sophia in the Orthodox Church is usually celebrated on September 17 according to the old calendar and September 30 according to the new one.
