Yeah, the thing is that when you convert, if you aren\'t already named for a saint, well... you kind of have to pick one. In some cases, if you already have a saints name, the priest may allow you to take another saints name to mark the beginning of your new life as Orthodox.
It\'s really not that shocking. Remember, monks and nuns take new names when tonsured (and again if they are subsequently tonsured into the Great Schema!). Cephas became Peter, Saul became Paul, even Abram became Abraham. But Luke stayed Luke, Matthew stayed Matthew, etc. There\'s no hard and fast rule, and it\'s pretty individual.
Just my two kopecks. Feel free to ignore it. :)
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