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Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky! So many wonderful books have been written about him that you are simply amazed. It is no coincidence that he was named “in the name of Russia” - the most popular Russian historical figure of all time... But today people dare to write and say a lot of bad things about him. Just look at the television program “The Court of History,” where the “case” of... the holy prince was examined! From this you simply don’t know where to go.

And he is just with us. Always.

I'm twelve. They brought me to St. Petersburg. The family of relatives behaves primly, and from my mother I hear the phrase “you’re disgracing me” more often than I hear my name. However, then I hated my name with a fierce hatred. My name means that now I’ll get it in full. And so the cold sweat had not dried yet - just with his second cousins, he and his second cousins ​​were throwing a ball on an elastic band, Romka didn’t catch it - and the ball bounced into a crystal glass. And my mother looked at me like that... - I couldn’t even cry from fear. You have to understand that my mother came to see me twice a year, and I really valued every minute when she was just there. And how painful it was to realize that I always did not meet her expectations, that I always did everything wrong...

However, Aunt Rita and her mother (my grandmother’s sister) somehow distracted my dear mother, and I, in a faded checkered dress, which is already noticeably too small for me, stay with my brothers. Sasha is two years younger than me, Romka is three years younger. They pull out some kind of game: “Look, here’s a chip, here’s a cube, you need to buy this from the store - uh, pay a hundred rubles!”

“Pay a hundred rubles” is a favorite saying of the “packed” fat-faced brothers. For the first time in my life I saw cervelat on their table. “Yulka, don’t eat this sausage, it stinks of fish!” - the brothers shouted to me across the table. “Now, the delicacies make you turn up your nose,” sighed Aunt Rita. I winked at my aunt, put a piece of cervelat on the toast, took a bite and closed my eyes: “Mmmmm, delicious!” A minute later, the brothers were racing to eat exotic toast sandwiches, and all the adults were vying with each other in praising me. Well... almost everything. Except mom.

Another day in St. Petersburg. Mom and Aunt Rita were somewhere, I had no time for that, my brothers and I were arguing. On different topics. Including those that it is better for adults not to know about. Adults are on our own, we are on our own. But then I understand that we have to go somewhere. Where to, mom?

- To the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

I know that there was such a hero Alexander Nevsky, I always loved him very much. But Lavra? Our family is entirely militant atheists. And that's how I was raised. One day, during her next visit, my mother mentioned that a monastery had reopened. Grandfather said: “Eh!” - and left, grandma frowned in disgust, and I, such a brainiac, said:

– Is anyone else going to monasteries?

Mom looked at me tiredly.

– Do you know, daughter... In this monastery, the nuns are very smart, intelligent women. Many have higher education. And they would be very offended to hear your words.

And for the first time in my life I thought. And it was as if a river, which had been held back by a dam for a long time, poured into my soul. It became clear: I always knew that God existed. I simply repeated what I was told day after day, not realizing that words mattered. And God – he always is, and was, and will be.

Since then, my mother and I have been “dissidents.” I easily looked at photos of churches and icons in my mother’s books. Nothing more: my mother herself, as I then believed, was an unbeliever. And now she called me to the Lavra. Brave mother, not afraid of grandparents!

- Mom, mom, what should we do there?

- Be baptized. You are being baptized. And boys too.

We are on the threshold of the temple. The brothers are trying to escape, teasing. They're stupid, they don't know how to behave decently. And I will be decent. The dress is tight in the chest, the belt of the dress is almost under the chest, if only those stupid old socks wouldn’t fall off. So, how do I know how to be baptized?

Let's go in. What frightens me is the huge black cross and the white skull somewhere at its base. I don’t even go to the icons: it’s as if there is no altar, the temple is seen as a huge corridor going to where we will all come someday. And I realized that I was going to lose consciousness.

There were about ten of us being baptized. I remember one young woman, her name was Zhanna, and in baptism she became Joanna. They bought crosses on a white string for me and my brothers, and my mother bought one for herself - a simpler one. And Aunt Rita proudly performed wearing two gold chains, on one there was a golden cross, on the other there was a zodiac sign (she was later asked to remove the zodiac sign).

The priest was middle-aged, kind, and clearly had a higher technical education. Later my mother said:

“Rita and I specifically went and talked with him in advance. I firmly decided: if I don’t like the priest, I won’t baptize you! And he came out - and like the sun shone. Yes, how smart...

Father, dear, thank you for liking her...

Father talked with us for a long time... Now, after years, I only remember that he compared something with “running electronics.” And I also remember a strange feeling: he talks, tells, and I understand that from somewhere I already know all this, that I belong here, dear. Everything is spinning, my legs are weakening, how I approached the font, how godmother Aunt Rita handed me a towel - I don’t remember, I don’t remember!

– Seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit.

- Amen...

– Seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit.

- Amen...

To confess and give me communion - this is what my mother promises with pleasure. But it doesn't fulfill it. However, the next day he brings him to the same temple in the late afternoon. I'm coming. Everything around me is echoing and loud, everything is breathing... When we leave the temple, I understand that my mother is scared.

- Mom, what are you doing?

- Yulka, you... How do you know all this? Who taught you what you did?

And I understand that no one really taught.

- Mom, how did you become a godmother? Are you baptized?

Mom gets embarrassed, waves her hand and switches the conversation.

Five years have passed. I don’t give up my dream of going to church. I just ask my friends to take me to some temple. Finally! A large icon greets me at the door of the temple. Who is it, who is on it?!

This is Saint Prince Alexander Nevsky.

Thank you, prince!

After a while, my friend comes to faith. She takes me to the same temple. And he gives me a prayer book. And I dumbfounded her with the words: “It simply must be connected with the Alexander Nevsky Lavra!”

She silently opens the book. On the first page there is a photograph of the temple in which I was baptized.

After a while. After a long, long time.

- Father, bless me... this is Yulia... Yes, I’m crying, sorry. And sorry for calling at night. Bless your son to be baptized according to the order of fear of death. Yes, there is an operation in the morning, they say everything is bad with him. Yes. Surely, Christ save.

My dear son. Little did I know that this would happen... I will name you in honor of Prince Alexander.

My husband calls:

– I contacted the sisters from the Novo-Tikhvin Monastery via the Internet. They pray for the baby.

– I don’t know about this monastery. And in honor of whom is their main temple?

– In honor of Alexander Nevsky. Why are you asking?

- Hey, hey, son, what are you doing! There is no need to tear the icon off the crib. What? "Peevesity"? No, it’s not “overweight”, let it hang where mom hung it. Who is this on the icon?

– Knyasya Kisander!!!

- Yes, son, this is your patron saint.

– Sasa is Kisander, mom is Kisander...

- No, mom has a saint...

– Nooo!! Nooo!! Sasa is Kisander, mom is Kisander and dad is Kisander!

- Well, as you say, son. Then you need to go to Serbia to celebrate family “glory”.

– SeLbiyu? And there are bam-bam bells?..

– ...In the meantime, we will celebrate your name day on September 12. On this day, it turns out, our spiritual father was ordained as a deacon. I didn’t know!

There is such a legend. During the days of the Leningrad blockade, one woman prayed at night, where did she get the strength to stand in prayer and bow down. She decided to look out the window. And I saw the holy prince. He rode a horse through the streets of the city, he looked at the houses. And she understood: he was looking for who else in this city could be brought to the Lord. And he will always search like this.

Here, he found me.

About the author. Mother Yulia Kulakova - wife of priest Dimitry Kulakov, rector of the temple in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Inexhaustible Chalice” in the village of Prosvet, Volzhsky district, Samara region. Yulia Kulakova is a professional journalist, the author of many publications in the Orthodox newspaper “Blagovest” and the magazine “Lampada”.

Find out your patron saint:

The Russian Orthodox Church venerates a large number of saints. She is strong in them - those who suffered for the true faith, or performed another feat for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. The most important church service, the Divine Liturgy, is performed on the particles of the relics of the holy martyrs.

Every Orthodox Christian should know and honor his saint, but first you need to find out who your patron saint is. There is a special rite of naming, when the priest, after reading a prayer, gives a newborn baby a name, but these days this ritual is rarely performed, since not everyone knows about it. Parents name the child themselves, and when they bring him to church for baptism, it sometimes turns out that a saint with that name is not in the calendar. Then the child is given a different name, called a baptismal name. Usually a name is given that is consonant with the birth name, for example, the patron saint of Christina will be Saint Christina, and the patron saint of Jeanne will be Saint Joan.

But most often it happens that the birth name and baptismal name coincide. Then it remains to find out which saint is your patron? If there are several namesake saints, that is, your namesake saints, the saint whose memorial day is closest to your birthday is selected according to the church calendar. To facilitate this search, we have developed this section.

How to use the section

It should be noted that recently the list of newly glorified saints - new martyrs of the twentieth century has been constantly growing. If you are looking for a patron saint for your baby, then the New Martyrs should definitely be taken into account when searching. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill gave his blessing to name children in honor of the new martyrs, so that their veneration would grow and spread. But if you are looking for a patron saint for an adult, be careful, since at the time he was baptized, many saints had not yet been glorified.

Our conversation with the cleric of the Church of the Nativity of Christ in the city of Saratov, priest Jacob Korobkov, is about the place in our lives of the saints, after whom we are named at Baptism.

- Why is his heavenly patron so important for a person?

— A heavenly patron is not only the saint who intercedes for you before God throughout your life, it is also an example of Christian life. After all, we can and should learn from the holy saints of God, since we are called by Christ Himself to imitate them. Of course, we are not able to repeat their life path and asceticism, but we can adopt the spirit of fidelity to Christ with which they burned. And a person’s heavenly patron is his closest teacher on the path to the Heavenly Kingdom.

— Many people do not know in honor of which saint they were baptized. What to do in this case? Can a person choose which saint he considers his heavenly patron?

- Yes maybe. Usually, according to the calendar, they choose a saint whose memory falls on the days closest to his date of birth. But, in order not to be mistaken, it is best in such cases to come to the temple and resolve this issue individually with the priest.

—What should people do whose names are not in the Christian calendar? How then to choose a saint in whose honor such a person will be named at Baptism?

— Indeed, there are a number of names, both male and female, that have no analogues in the Orthodox calendar. This means that in the entire history of Christianity there was simply not a single saint who bore the name, for example, Edward, Stanislav or Evelina. In this case, priests are usually guided by an unspoken rule: a Christian name is chosen that is consonant with the one that the person bears from birth. For example, a man with the name Ruslan is usually named in honor of Saint Roman, Arina in honor of the martyr Irina, etc. This issue is best resolved not on the day of Epiphany itself, but in advance, after consulting with the priest at pre-baptismal - catechetical - conversations.

— Is it possible for a person who bears a non-Christian name and wants to receive Baptism to be guided in this matter not by consonance, but by a special heartfelt disposition towards this or that saint?

“If the life, deeds and virtues of this or that saint inspired a person so much, then, I think, this can be considered evidence of God’s call.” Perhaps the Lord is thus indicating who to imitate, whose footsteps to follow, and who can become a guiding star in the life of a new Christian.

- Is it really so important to give a name to a born child according to the calendar? Or is it rather just a tradition?

— In fact, there is an ancient Orthodox tradition according to which new Christians are named after Christian heroes - saints. Choose the name of a saint whose memory falls on the person’s birthday, or on the day of the person’s Baptism, or is in between these days. This tradition is good, time-honored, but, however, it is not obligatory. It often happens that parents, expecting a child or asking God for him, turn to the help of one or another saint, especially revered in this family or even locality. And when the Lord fulfills their prayers, it is quite natural that they name the child by the name of the saint to whom they addressed. This happens often and does not in the least contradict Christian principles. It also happens that parents especially like a certain name, not because it was borne by this or that saint, but because the name itself is pleasant or dear to them. Of course, in this situation, you can baptize a child with that name if it is in the Christian calendar. In other cases, it is better to follow tradition.

“Parents are sometimes afraid to name their child after a saint who suffered a martyr’s death. What would you recommend in this case?

—Martyrs are the glory of the Church. They are the bravest, most decisive witnesses to the true God in all of Christian history. After all, the very word “martyr” (in Greek “martiros”) means “witness”. These people were not afraid of anything in the world, they were ready to endure unbearable torture, just to remain faithful to Christ. But there is no need to be afraid that the life of a person named after a martyr will be continuous suffering. In such a view there is something of occultism, completely alien to Christianity.

— Father Jacob, please explain how name days differ from Angel Day?

- Indeed, many people today mistakenly confuse these two concepts. Name day - name day - the day of remembrance of the saint whose name you bear. And Angel Day is the anniversary of Baptism. After all, the Guardian Angel is given by God to a person precisely at the moment of Baptism, as is clearly stated in baptismal prayers. Only if a person was baptized on the day of remembrance of his saint, these two holidays will coincide. But most often these are two different days. Although the saint came closer to God, he remained a man, and a man and an Angel are ontologically different beings. That is, you should not think that the saints turned into Angels.

— Often people especially venerate certain saints (they order prayer services for them, read canons and akathists), but they neglect prayer to their heavenly patron, limiting themselves to only a short prayer address as part of the morning rule. What is the reason for this?

— Very often you can meet people who treat the Church as a kind of clinic with offices, where each saint is assigned a certain narrow “specialization.” For example, they pray to St. Sergius of Radonezh for help in studies, to the holy Great Martyr Panteleimon for healing, to St. Spyridon of Trimythous for help in trade matters, and so on. It seems as if only these requests can be addressed to them. And the whole task of an Orthodox person who finds himself in some kind of need comes down to finding in the appropriate sources which saint should pray in a given situation. But the righteous are those people who stand before God, and each of them can pray for us in any of our difficulties. This is especially true for the heavenly patron. I know that many priests, faced with probably the most common question, “Who should I light a candle to, who should I pray to, so that the Lord will help me in this or that situation?”, are interested in what saint the person was named after at Baptism. And they advise resorting to his help and prayers first of all - of course, after the Lord and the Most Holy Theotokos. I completely agree with this. You must never forget about your heavenly patron, whose name you bear and to whose care you are entrusted.

Interviewed by Inna Stromilova

Many people wonder what their patron saints are based on their name and date of birth. Our article is entirely devoted to the answer. You will learn the name of your patron saint, and information will also be provided on how best to celebrate the name day. This day is incredibly important for every person. So, read the information provided below carefully.

Nowadays, after a long break, more and more people are beginning to revive their interest in their heavenly patrons and name days. But many continue to confuse the concepts of “name day”, “birthday” and “guardian angel day”. Also, often people simply don’t think about why their name day is celebrated, say, today, and not tomorrow or some other day. Even more often, having learned that there are several saints with a certain name, people begin to be at a loss as to which of these saints is the heavenly patron for this or that person. Let's try to understand these questions and find answers to them. These concepts simply need to be distinguished.

I think everyone knows what a birthday is and loves to celebrate it, invite guests and receive gifts. Everything is simple here: a birthday is the day on which a person was born. But let’s think about it, why is it that quite often we call a person “birthday boy” on his birthday? This happens because, thanks to the long atheistic period throughout the post-Soviet space, people simply began to confuse their birthday and their name day, sometimes combining them into one date. However, “birthday” and “name day” are different concepts. It is worth mentioning that before the revolution in Tsarist Russia, name days for Orthodox Christians were a much more important holiday than birthdays. Nowadays they are celebrated much less often. This is due to people's lack of awareness about the significance of name day. But every year the situation changes and more and more people show interest in them and their heavenly patrons. So what is this day? Believers also call it “namesake”. You know the meaning of the words “namesake”, “namesake”? They denote a person who has the same name. So: a certain calendar day on which one or another saint or several saints at once is remembered is the namesake, a holiday for the person bearing the name of the saint who is remembered on that day. In the common people, especially in the western parts of Ukraine and Belarus, name day is often referred to as “the day of the angel”, “the day of the guardian angel”, which, of course, is also not entirely correct. The mistake occurs for the reason that believers sometimes call their saints angels, guardian angels. But this is not a saint, this is precisely an angel, a good spirit, given to a person at baptism by God, so that he would guide the person during his earthly life on the path of salvation. But a person cannot know his personal name, since he is invisible to a person. That is why each guardian angel is not assigned a separate day for his remembrance. But certain days are established on which all heavenly angelic powers are honored.

How to find out the name of the patron saint

So how do you find out when the day of veneration of your saint is set? And what are the patron saints by name and date of birth for each of us? In the end, who decides all this? So, in order: firstly, in order to find out which of the saints is our heavenly patron, we need to look at the Saints, or, as this church-folk calendar is also called, the Book of Months. It is there that the names of all the saints and dates for their memory are written down. And these dates are set by the Church, which canonize this or that person as a saint. Secondly, patron saints are usually identified by name and date of birth. Okay, this is understandable, because we know our name. However, what should we do if several saints with our name are mentioned in the Saints? In this case, we must choose the saint whose memory is celebrated closest to our birthday. It should also be taken into account that the list of saints is constantly updated as more and more saints are glorified. For example, at the Council of Bishops in 2000, the new martyrs and confessors of Russia were glorified, and if a person was baptized before 2000, then the saints by name and date of birth are determined according to the publications of the Saints before 2000. And if after, then the saint is determined from a broader list by date of birth, according to publications of the Saints later than 2000. What if we don’t find a saint with our name in the Saints? For example, what if a person has a non-Christian name? In this case, we must choose a patron saint close in name to ours. So, Dina becomes Evdokia, Angelica becomes Angelina, Zhanna Ioanna, and Svetlana becomes Photinia. But Yuri at baptism is called George. Does this mean that a person is called by this new name in ordinary worldly life? No. In worldly life, he naturally remains Yuri. And in church life, during, say, confession or communion, when identifying himself, he must say his church name: George. When submitting notes about health or repose, the person’s church name is also written. Previously, when they decided to name and baptize a newborn, they usually looked into the Saints and saw which saints the Church honors on this day, and chose a patron saint for the baby by name from this list. It is on the day of the child’s baptism, and not on his birthday. Now this is a forgotten tradition, and in our time few people adhere to it. They are now named mainly in honor of their relatives or in honor of some favorite characters from books or films, but not in honor of saints. This also happens because many do not know which patron saints exist by date of birth and name. Using the example of some names, let’s see how many saints there are per name.

Patron Saint named Andrew

The name Andrey is of Greek origin. Translated, it means “courageous, brave.” Since this name is very common - this was the name of one of the twelve apostles of Christ - then, accordingly, there should be many saints with this name. Let's see if this is true? Let's look at the Saints. Yes, indeed, there are many saints named Andrei. Here they are. Hieromartyr Andrew, Bishop of Ufa (January 8), Martyr Andrew of Lampsaki (May 31), Apostle Andrew the First-Called (July 3, July 13, December 13), Rev. Andrei Rublev, icon painter (July 17), Holy Martyr Andrew of Crete (October 30).

So, as we can see, there is a lot of choice. This is not a complete list. Remember that in order to determine his heavenly patron, Andrei needs to select a saint with the name Andrei from the list that would be closest to his birthday.

Vladimir

What is the patron saint of the name Vladimir? It's Slavic. The first part of the name goes back to the Proto-Indo-European basis and means the word “strength, power.” The second part of the name is borrowed from Germanic languages ​​with the meaning “great, famous.” However, this second part (measures) among the Slavs, under the influence of the word “peace,” took on a different meaning corresponding to the indicated word. It turns out that the name Vladimir means the combination “owning the world”; simultaneously peace in the meaning of “Universe, globe”, and peace in the meaning of “silence, peace”. Originally this name was pagan. But after the baptism of Rus', subsequently, the name Vladimir was canonized, since Rus' was baptized by Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich. There are much fewer saints with this name than in the case of Andrei. Let's look at the Saints. Hieromartyr Vladimir, Metropolitan of Kiev and Galicia (February 1), Martyr John-Vladimir, Prince of Serbia (June 4), Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir (July 28), Martyr Priest Vladimir (August 29), Right-Believing Prince Vladimir Yaroslavich of Novgorod (October 17) .

Name Dmitry

Now we will find out what the patron saint of the name Dmitry is. This Greek name means "dedicated to the goddess Demeter." The established church form of the name is Demetrius. There are also many saints with this name, since the name Dmitry is very common to this day. What saints with the name Demetrius do the Saints mention? Reverend Demetrius Skevofylaks (February 7), Righteous Demetrius of Yuryevsky, son of the blessed Prince Svyatoslav (February 16), Passion-Bearer Righteous Tsarevich Demetrius of Uglich and Moscow (May 28, June 5, June 16), Martyr Demetrius of Kazan (October 15), Martyr Demetrius ( November 28), righteous Demetrius (December 14).

Alexandra

Let's talk about what the patron saint of the name Alexander is. This is the feminine form of the name Alexander; is of Greek origin and is translated as “protector of people”, “brave”. There are, frankly speaking, few saints with this name, here they are: Martyr Alexandra of Pontus (April 2), Martyr Alexandra of Rome, Nicomedia, Empress (May 6), Martyr Alexandra of Corinth (May 31, November 19), Venerable Alexandra of Diveyevo (June 26 ), Holy Passion-Bearer Empress Alexandra (July 17). In Russia, by far the most popular saint bearing this name is the Russian Empress, wife of Nicholas II, the last Russian Emperor.

Anna

It is worth talking about the patron saint of the name Anna. If all the previous names we were considering (with the exception of Vladimir) were of Greek origin, then this name is of Hebrew origin, and is translated as “grace, favor, mercy, dear.” This name is biblical. Since the name is very common throughout the world, there are, of course, many saints with this name, unlike Alexandra: the prophetess Anna (February 16, December 22, the martyr Anna of Goth (April 8), the blessed Grand Duchess Anna Kashinskaya (25 June, August 3, October 15), Venerable Anna of Bithynia (June 26, November 11), Martyr Anna (July 18).

Elena

What are the patron saints of the name Helen? It is of Greek origin. It is interesting that its etymology is still unclear. There were suggestions that it is associated with the sun god Helios or indicates the self-name of the Greeks - Hellenes. However, despite its popularity, there are very few saints with this name. Martyr Elena (January 28), Equal-to-the-Apostles Queen Elena (June 3), Martyr Elena, daughter of the Apostle Alpheus (June 8), Venerable Elena of Diveevskaya (June 10), Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga, Grand Duchess of Russia, Elena in holy baptism (July 24), righteous Helena, Queen of Serbia (November 12).

A little about the icons of patron saints

There are many icons with images of saints. And it is very good if a person has at home or carries with him an image of his heavenly patron saint. You can turn to the saint with any request; our patron saints hear us and help us. In order to choose the right icon with the image of our saint, we need to know about our patron, how he is depicted on the icons, go to the church shop and choose the right one. It will be good if the icon of the patron saint by name will always be next to you. In addition, let’s say that it would be nice to also know at least one prayer addressed to your saint.

How to properly celebrate the patron saint's day?

If you understand the difference between a name day and a birthday, you certainly understand the difference between celebrations. On name day, we, first of all, remember our saints, so that they also remember us. On name day, believers usually go to church, confess and receive communion. But, of course, there are no obstacles to guests, a festive dinner and gifts. But this should not be noisy fun and a feast with alcoholic drinks. It’s better if it’s a sincere conversation, filled with meaning and content. It is worth noting that if your name day falls during Lent, you only need to prepare Lenten dishes. Follow this rule. If your name day falls on a weekday during Lent, it must be moved to Sunday or Saturday.

Some people do not celebrate their name day in any way. This is extremely wrong, because, in addition to the religious overtones, it is also just a good bright day filled with joy.

It is very important from an early age to teach children to celebrate name days, take them to church for communion, and also give them small gifts and arrange a quiet feast with their family. In the future, throughout his life, the child will treat this day as a festive and special one.

And further. Never forget to congratulate your relatives and friends on their name day. Give them small gifts. They will be very pleased with your attention on this day. Visit them whenever possible. Knowing which patron saints your loved ones have by date of birth and name will help you with choosing a gift if you decide to present an icon.

We really hope that this article was useful to you. You know what the patron saints are by name and date of birth, and how to identify them. That's not all. You found out which patron saint you have by name. We also hope that you will find the information on how to celebrate name days interesting. For many people, this is another reason for a feast, which is not right. Now you will know what actions are best to take on this wonderful name day for every person. How to find out the name of the patron saint? It's not that difficult. You just need to show a keen interest.

Heavenly patroness

“Yesterday was your name day, today is your birth. I congratulate you and myself, my Angel,” Pushkin always remembered the two August days, which became significant in his life.

The third daughter, born into the Goncharov family, will be named Natalia. She will be born just three hours later, when the last day of remembrance of the holy martyr Natalia expires. And how amazingly the life of the ancient zealot of Christianity, the heavenly patroness Natasha Goncharova, predicts her future fate.

…The holy spouses Adrian and Natalia lived at the beginning of the fourth century, during the reign of Emperor Maximian II Galerius, a persecutor of Christians. The young noble husband Adrian, the head of the judicial chamber, having witnessed the cruel torture of Christians, endured by those with extraordinary courage, believed in Christ. And he voluntarily decided to share their martyrdom. The emperor tried to reason with his subject, but Adrian was steadfast in his new faith, and then the angry Maximian ordered the stubborn man to be shackled in iron chains and thrown into prison.

Natalia, having heard the sad news from the servant, was saddened. But when she found out that her husband decided to suffer for Christ, she rejoiced in spirit. After all, she herself had long been a secret Christian.

In prison, Natalia fell at the feet of her husband:

“My lord! Now, at such a young age, through your faith in Christ, you have accumulated such wealth that you would not have acquired even in your old age, remaining in Hellenic error. Now, without sorrow, you will move into the future eternal life...”

Before his execution, Adrian, having paid the prison guards, went home to say goodbye to his wife. But she, deciding that her husband had abandoned the faith, closed the door in front of him:

“I was not awarded the title of wife of a martyr; on the contrary, I became the wife of an apostate. My joy was short-lived and it turned into eternal reproach...”

And the excited Adrian exclaimed:

“Blessed are you, wife! Truly you are a wife who loves her husband! Your crown will be bliss!”

Together with her husband, Natalia went to prison, where she washed and bandaged the wounds of all Christian sufferers.

At the behest of Maximian, Adrian was the first to be subjected to severe torture. Half-dead, he was again thrown into prison, and, as before, Natalia encouraged and consoled him.

The king planned a painful death for Christians. Natalia did not leave Adrian during the terrible execution... She secretly took her husband’s severed hand with precious myrrh and wrapped it in purple, and secretly took it home...

With the consent of the king, a certain noble military leader decided to take the beautiful widow as his wife. But Natalia secretly fled from home and sailed by ship to Byzantium. In a dream, Adrian appeared to her with the news of her imminent death, and soon during her sleep she quietly rested. Saint Natalia completed her martyrdom without shedding blood - she is called the bloodless martyr...

Just like her heavenly patroness, Natalia Nikolaevna strengthened her husband in faith, and she also happened to witness the mortal suffering of the poet. Saint Natalia secretly kept her husband's severed hand, Natalia Nikolaevna secretly kept the manuscripts of her late husband. And like Saint Natalia, the poet’s widow had to accomplish her bloodless feat of martyrdom, a feat of love and memory.

The Monk Theognostus, who lived in the 14th century, said: “The name is the seal and veil of Providence.”

It's hard to imagine that Natalia Goncharova could have a different name. “Natalya’s days” in her life are exactly fifty. The same number of name days were celebrated in the Goncharov families, then the Pushkins, and later the Lanskys. And, undoubtedly, these days Natalia Nikolaevna especially zealously prayed to her heavenly protector and her holy chosen one - after all, their names are forever merged together.

Prayer to Saints Adrian and Natalia, patrons of honest marriage:

“Oh, sacred duo, holy martyrs of Christ, Adrian and Natalia, blessed spouses and good sufferers. Hear us, praying to you with tears... and deliver us with your prayers from famine, destruction... invasion of foreigners and internecine warfare, from vain death and from all troubles, sorrows and diseases... Forever and ever. Amen".