Newbie Questions on Orthodoxy & Names

[Aitea]

I am not an Orthodox Christian, but I have been to an Orthodox Church a few times, including during Holy Week last week. I have many questions, but am reading 2 separate catechisms now, and most of them are being answered, but for one concerning Saints and Saints names...
How do you get your saints names? I know it is something you get when you are charismated/baptized, but how is it decided upon? Birthday? But what if there are no saints on your birthday with the same gender; is a lady expected to take the name of a male saint? I know this isn't the best ever question but...thanks for any info!

[Justin Kissel]

Aitea,

Welcome to the forum! I'm unsure about the "proper" answer, if we are talking about "by the book" answers, but I can at least tell you what I've observed in the local parishes here in Western Pennsylvania, US.

I don't think there are many (if any) dates in which there is not both a male and female saint celebrated. Usually the saints you see listed on colendars are only the tip of the iceberg (because of space); usually the best known saints, or the saints of importance to the calendar makers, are mentioned. For instance, there might be saint today who is really well known among Georgian Orthodox, but we might not hear about him/her because we might have our calendar filled with other saints. As to how Saints are received, I think it's largely a choice these days. I've seen people even take 2 saints for their patrons.

I'm not sure what to say other than this. I'm glad you are getting your questions answered in reading the catechisms, and I'm glad that you were able to attend some services during Holy Week. f you have any questions, please feel free to post them; we can't guarantee answers, but we can try to answer at least

Christ is risen!

Justin

[Aitea]

Thank you for your answers!
Not wanting to get this forum off of its subject...I was looking around, but I didn't see a forum for questions and answers for curious individuals...is there such a forum and I am just not seeing it?

[Justin Kissel]

Well, you can try to fit it in if you think it fits somewhere in particular. Like if it's a question about the trinity you could put it in the theology section. Or if you aren't sure where the question would go, just put it in the Miscellaneous section. We're not really fussy about everything being in it's "proper place". We're much more worried about interaction with people and having good discussions

[尼古拉前执事]

Christ is Risen!

I split these posts from the "Getting to know the Saints" thread so that Aitea has a clear place to ask her questions if she so desires.

Let me be sure to welcome you to the forum Aitea, I hope we can help you learn more about the Holy Orthodox Faith.