Day of the angel and name-day of Margarita

Margarita is a very beautiful, but not very popular name in Russia. In addition, he is not in the church lists of names, and because of this there are difficulties during baptism. Among other things, the question arises as to which name to baptize Margarita and on what day she should celebrate the name day. Margaritas currently have several options for solving these problems, which we will discuss in this article. But beforehand we will find out what the name-day is by its nature.

About Name Day

Name day is the holiday, which is officially called the day of the angel. Although the angel means not an angel, as we imagine it, but a saint, in honor of whom a man bears his name. This association is established at the time of performing the sacrament of baptism, and therefore unbaptized people in principle can not celebrate the name day. That God-pleaser, whose name is given to man in the sacrament, becomes his patron, so to speak, a patron in the spiritual life and an intercessor before the Most High. And the day of his church memory is also a personal holiday of a man.

How to find out the name day?

When believers are baptized or when they baptize their children, they are more than serious and conscious about choosing a name and patron saint . Therefore, questions about when to celebrate and in honor of whom to celebrate, these people do not arise. But the majority refers to this more negligently, therefore it is necessary to make some explanations. First, if a person was baptized as a child, and he does not know, in honor of whom (not preserved evidence, parents do not remember, etc.), he has the right to choose himself the patron of any of the same-named canonized saint, based on his personal sympathies and antipathies . If he himself can not make a choice, then the patron is calculated according to the calendar. To do this, the saints need to find a holy namesake, the day of commemoration of which will be closest to everyone else on the day of birth of a person. This is something holy and will be considered a patron. It is worth saying that once made a choice in the future is not subject to revision.

Below we will talk about how to choose the patronesses of Margaritas, and let us briefly describe the life of their main saint.

Name Day of Margarita in the church calendar

Traditionally, Margarita is considered to be a Catholic name, which is not found in Orthodox saints. Therefore, the name-day of the Margarita is celebrated on the church calendar on the day of memory of one of the saints Marin - it is with this name that the girls named Margarita are baptized. However, the situation changed somewhat in 2010, when after the glorification of a number of holy new martyrs and confessors of Russia, two holy Margarites were introduced into the saints. And now the name-day Marguerites, who were baptized after 2010, can celebrate in their honor.

The first of these is Margarita Gunaronulo, who was the abbess of one of the monasteries during her lifetime. The problem is that it does not have a resident memory day, and therefore women assigned to it should celebrate the day of the angel on January 25 - the day of remembrance of all new martyrs and confessors.

The second is the nun Margarita Zakachurina. Her memory day is celebrated, in addition to the general commemoration day of the confessors and new martyrs, on December 2. Of course, they are little known, and many continue to be baptized in memory of the more famous Marina of Antioch. It is due to the fact that in the Catholic Church this ancient saint is named Margarita. Orthodox names are therefore also most often timed to her memory. Thus, the choice remains for the person.

About the holy martyr Margarita (Marina)

Be that as it may, most of Marguerite has the honor of being the ward of this holy martyr. Martyr Marina (Margarita), the day of the angel, the name day and simply the church memory of which is widely and solemnly celebrated throughout the Orthodox Church (especially in Greek jurisdictions), was born in Antioch of Pisidia. Her father was a pagan priest, and when he learned that his daughter converted to Christianity, he denied it and drove him out of the house. Together with her guardian she began to live in the field, grazing herds of animals. Once it was seen by the prefect of the region named Olimvri and, falling in love, offered her a hand and heart, while setting a condition that she return to the fold of the religion of her ancestors. However, Margaret, wishing to keep the virginity and faithfulness to Christ, refused. The angry ruler subjected her to torture, as a result of which she died, having performed a series of fantastic miracles. Among other things, she was allegedly swallowed by a dragon, but then spat it out because she had a cross.

It happened, according to the life, in 304 year. However, many historians doubt both the historical authenticity of the story about St. Margaret and its existence. Some experts claim that the legends about her are the development of a Christianized legend about the goddess Aphrodite. Moreover, already at the end of the 4th century the Pope of Rome Gelasius cult of St. Margarita was banned as false. Therefore, there the name-day of the Margarita was not celebrated in her honor. However, the veneration of this saint remained in the eastern church, whence it again re-entered the western church during the Crusades. In one way or another, the name-day of the Margarita is celebrated today on July 17, according to the old style or July 30, according to a new style.