Some parents choose a name according to the calendar. This is not a very common tradition these days, and in the church environment it is not strictly mandatory. Nevertheless, it exists. In this article we will see what names are suitable for girls born in August.
August calendar
First of all, we look at the calendar and get out from there all the female names that are found in the days of memory of the saints in August. Dates are given by us in a new style.
08/01. Rev. Makrina. Militsa Serbian, mother of St. Stephen.
08/08. Equal to the Apostles Mary Magdalene.
08/06. Martyr Christina.
08/07. Righteous Anna, mother of the Virgin Mary. Deaconess Olympics. Saint Eupraxia. Confessor Iraida Tikhova.
08.08. Rev. Martyr Paraskeva.
08/09. Rev. Anfisa.
08/10. Martyr Anastasia and Elena. Martyr of the Moor Moiseyev.
11.08. Martyrs Theodotius and Seraphim.
08/13. Martyrs Anna and Julitta. Confessor Elizabeth.
08/14. Solomonia, mother of the seven martyrs of Maccabees. Rev. Sofia of Suzdal.
08/17. Rev. Martyr Evdokia.
08/18. Righteous Nonna. Martyrs Evdokia, Darius and Mary.
08.20. Rev. Martyr Potamia.
08/22. Martyr Mary. Rev. Martyr Margarita.
08/24. Martyrs of Sosan and Preedign.
08/26. Martyr Concordia.
08/27. Martyr Eve and Eudokia.
08/29. Rev. Martyr Anna.
08/30. Martyr Juliana.
And now let's talk about the most significant figures from this list - those who are most often chosen as heavenly patrons and who are most often remembered when they think about what name to give the girl born in August.
Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene is perhaps one of the most revered women in the entire Christian world. Girls born in August, whose names correspond to the name of this saint, have the opportunity to elect at least two more saints of the same name recalled this month. However, most often it is on Mary Magdalene that the final choice falls. History has preserved for us a little information about her life. However, church tradition is full of legends about who this woman was and how she lived her life.
According to the most common opinion, she was born in the Galilean town of Magdala, near Lake Tiberias. From here comes her nickname - Magdalene. During her life, before meeting with Christ, she, according to church myths, was engaged in prostitution. However, this is a rather late characterization, so it is not a fact that it is true. In any case, it is believed that her life was full of sin, until Christ cast out seven demons from her and forgiveness of sins. After this, she turned and sincerely, being faithful to her teacher, followed Christ everywhere he went. She was with him during his execution, when the other apostles were frightened and fled. She first went on Sunday morning to the sepulcher and the first saw the risen Jesus. It was she who commissioned him to go with the Easter gospel to the apostles and inform them of his resurrection. According to the Bible, the apostles did not believe her words, for which they were later rooted.
There is no reliable data on what Maria did in the following years and how her life ended. According to orthodox tradition, she went around preaching Christian doctrine to all of Italy and Rome, where even the emperor Tiberius was preached. This episode also includes the miracle committed by her, as a result of which the chicken egg supernaturally turned red. Therefore, it is attributed to her the establishment of the custom to paint eggs for Easter. At an advanced age, Mary moved to Ephesus, where she spent the last years of her life helping the apostle John the Theologian in his writings. It is believed that it was from her words that the twentieth chapter of his gospel was written. Unfortunately, this statement also does not lend itself to historical verification.
Maria Magdalene, as already mentioned, is widely revered in the Catholic and Orthodox world. Magnificent cathedrals are being built in her honor, and the day of her memory is celebrated by magnificent celebrations in many countries of the world. Particles of her relics are stored in various churches throughout Europe and in several other countries. It is not surprising, therefore, that she is primarily remembered when they ask themselves what name to give to a girl born in August.
Martyr Christina
The figure of this martyr hides a very bright, colorful character of church myth-making, which is why she has always been especially revered and distinguished from many other holy women. However, church legends and folklore have penetrated the biography of this woman so much that hardly anything is left of the real story of a person named Christina (Christina). Even her real name is unknown to us.
According to life, Christine lived in the III century and was the daughter of a ruler of Tire named Urban. Her father extremely wanted her daughter to become a priestess, for which, from childhood, instilled in her love and piety in the bosom of paternal pagan faith. However, the girl gradually came to the idea that behind all pagan gods there should be some one, the only creator god, superior in strength to all the others. One day, thinking about this, an angel appeared to her and instructed her in the Christian faith. Having believed in Christ, Christine broke the images of all pagan gods, which caused the anger of her parents. Her father demanded that she renounce the new faith, but she refused. In the future, as reported by life, she was tortured: burned with fire, drowned in the sea, but each time she miraculously came out healthy. In the end, her father died, and the girl herself was sent to prison, where she began to preach to those who visited her. Thus, she converted to Christianity about three thousand people. Finally, one of the rulers, tired of the torture and seeing her adamity in the practice of Christianity, ordered to kill her with a sword, after which the saint died.
This is a story that is quite powerful in terms of the strength of the psychological impact, although it is not very similar to the truth. One way or another, the church names of girls born in August are often given in honor of this particular martyr.
Rev. Martyr Paraskeva
This is another very revered saint. In honor of her, especially in the old days, many girls born in August were named. The names of many of them have been preserved by our history. Paraskev’s dialect itself comes from the Greek word for “Friday.” According to the life, this woman lived in the II century and was distinguished by unprecedented miraculous power. Among other things, she did not cook, being thrown into boiling resin, healed Emperor Anthony Pius from blindness, killed the dragon with the sign of the Cross, and much more. For preaching Christianity, she was beheaded by a ruler named Tarasius. Currently, the names of girls born in August are rarely given in her honor. But once in Russia she was extremely popular and loved.
Rev. Anfisa
Girls born in August can carry their names in honor of at least thirty-five holy women. But the name of Anfisa is one of the most beautiful among them. Although it is not very popular. Rev. Anfisa was a nun during her lifetime, who headed one of the monasteries in Asia Minor in the 8th century. It is believed that she suffered from the emperor Konstantin Kopronim, who forced her to switch to iconoclasm. However, for the fulfilled prediction about the emperor’s children, she was released back to her monastery, where she lived to a very old age.
Saint Nonna
Girls born in August bear their names in honor of various saints. But the name Nonna is one of the rarest among them. In life, she was a righteous woman. And in church memory she was remembered as the mother of the great St. Gregory the Theologian. She died in the temple during prayer in 374, shortly after the death of her husband.
