Christian Names

October 1, 2008

usmichael wrote:

The name we receive in Holy Baptism (or Holy Chrismation for some converts) ties us mystically to our patron (whether he be a saint or an event, e.g., Anastasia, etc), so much so that it has been said that as we progress in the spiritual life, we even take on the qualities of our patron.

St. John of San Francisco would counsel converts in his Church that to use one name in Church and another name in the world is to cheapen one's Baptismal name and to live a dual life, one foot in the Holy Church and one foot in the world.

In Holy Baptism, our old man is crucified and he dies. We die to the world and all its vanities. We are raised a new creation; we are a new person after Baptism. That new person has a new name.

How then can we still live in the world that we died to?

To change one's name legally seems to be a small crucifixion; I have applauded those I know that have done just that after their conversion.

Let us live our new lives that the Church has given us ...

All right. That makes considerable sense.

Consider the following, however. If you look at the names of the saints of newly converted Orthodox areas, or the names of converts to Orthodoxy in the early Church, you will notice, even amongst the saints, names of native origin rather than named after a former saint. Many of the Celtic saints, in particular, have names that previously were borne by the pagan gods. To my knowledge, neither St. Constantine nor St. Vladimir officially changed their names. To my knowledge, Blessed Augustine did not change his name either.

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