A name day is a celebration of the memory of one or more saints. In the church, a child is given an appropriate name at baptism, according to the date of his birth. By looking at an Orthodox document called the month, you can find out who celebrates the name day in May.
Name days have a different name - the day of the angel. This is due to the fact that by giving a child a name in honor of a saint, parents provide him with additional protection. The angel protects a person during his life, prays for him, rejoices in good deeds and supports him in repentance for the sins committed.
If the name does not correspond to the name of the patron saint, then you can choose the name day according to the one that is closest to the date of birth. The names of all the saints are contained in the Orthodox Saints or Monthly. For example, it can be used to determine who celebrates the name day in May.
It is easy to see that some names appear in it more than once. For example, two days are dedicated to the male name Alexander - May 3 and 26 in a new style. On May 3, a tribute is paid to the memory of the Monk Alexander of Oshevensky, and on May 26 - to the martyr Alexander of Rome.
The face of a saint is given to a person for various merits: prophecy, transmission of Christ's messages to people, shepherding, martyrdom in persecution for their faith, asceticism, selfless service to the poor and sick, as well as government. The latter applied to kings and princes.
The reason for elevating a person to the face of a saint is not necessarily his death. This may be the date of canonization, the dedication of the temple of God to him, the acquisition of relics, etc. This circumstance is indicated in the complete reference book of names. It is imperative to know more about your patron, because on this day you need to pay tribute to him and say the appropriate prayer. In addition, it is advisable to go to church and receive communion.
So, who is celebrating the name day in May? If you bring the dates according to the new style, then the list will be as follows:
Male names: Alexander (3 and 26), Alexey (7), Anatoly (6), Arseniy (21), Afanasy (15), Bogdan (31), Boris (15), Valentin (7), Vasily (9 and 12), Victor (1), Vitaly (11), Vsevolod (5), Gabriel (3 and 5), Georgy (2, 6 and 26), German (25), Gleb (15), David (15), Denis (25 and 31), Dmitry (28), Efim (26), Ephrem (29), Ivan (1, 2, 12 and 21), Ignatius (13), Joseph (10 and 24), Isaac (17), Cyril (11, 17 and 24), Clement (5 and 17), Kuzma (1), Lawrence (29), Leonty (27), Makar (14 and 26), Maxim (11), Mark (8), Methodius (24), Nikita (13, 17 and 27), Nikifor (2 and 17), Nikolay (22), Nil (20), Pakhom (28), Peter (16 and 31), Roman (15), Savva (7), Semyon (10), Sidor (27), Stephan (9), Timofey (16), Tryfon (2), Fedot (31), Fedor (3, 4, 5 and 29), Yakov (13 and 18).
Female names: Alexandra (6 and 31), Glafira (9), Evdokia (30), Euphrosinia (30), Elizabeth (7), Glyceria or Lukerya (26), Zoya (15), Irina (18 and 26), Claudia (31), Mavra (16), Maria (10), Martha (10), Muse (29), Pelageya (17), Susanna (10), Taisia (23), Tamara (10 and 14), Faina (31), Julia (31).
