Antique and beautiful name Arina. It came to Russia from Greece, where for a long time it was common among representatives of the nobility. It is derived from the name of the ancient goddess of peace, whose name was Eirene, and translated means “calmness” and “peace.” Having undergone changes over the years, the name has taken several forms. Among them are the well-known Irina and the rarer Arina. The birthdays of the owners of these names are celebrated several times a year. Usually everyone chooses the day that is closest to her birthday according to the calendar.

Common heavenly patrons of Irina and Arina

According to the church calendar, Arina’s name day is celebrated on the same days as Irina’s. They have the same patron saints. If you open the church calendar and look carefully, you can see that throughout the year the holy saints of God who bore this name are repeatedly commemorated from the pulpit. Which one you consider your guardian angel is a purely personal matter. Arina herself must make the choice. Name day - Orthodox holidays, and they need to bring joy to the hero of the occasion.

How to choose a child's name in the old days

Previously, there was such a tradition, now forgotten, but generally accepted in the old days: when a child was born, parents were sure to look in the calendar to see which saint was being honored on that day. Among several names, they chose the one they liked best and gave it to the newborn at baptism. This saint was henceforth considered his heavenly patron. Thus, the birthday and name day (that is, the day of the angel) always coincided. This custom has long been a thing of the past, but according to tradition, everyone celebrating a birthday is usually called birthday people. Those who would like to revive this tradition should definitely look at the calendar.

Two Arinas - the Great Martyr and the Empress

What saints from the heights of heaven patronize our Arins and Irins? This is important to know, because according to the church calendar, Arina’s name day should be celebrated on the days of their memory. The host of these saints of God is large enough that it allows you to make a choice between them. The most famous, perhaps, is the early Christian holy great martyr Irene of Macedon, who lived at the end of the 1st and beginning of the 2nd centuries. She is commemorated on May 18 (new style). She deserved the crown of holiness by choosing martyrdom renunciation of the Christian faith.

Arina Arina's name day) can also be celebrated on the holiday of another Christian saint - the blessed one. This saint of God was a Byzantine empress and was awarded the crown of holiness for the fact that in 787, at the Supreme Church Council, she decisively advocated the veneration of icons. The fact is that in those days there were many clergy and representatives of secular authorities who advocated abandoning them. With her imperial authority, Saint Irene put an end to disputes, and thanks to her, icon veneration has been preserved to this day. The saint's memory is celebrated on August 22. So Arina, whose name day will be celebrated on this day, will be under her heavenly protection.

A host of Saint Irenes, sung by the Orthodox Church

Four days later, on August 26, another holy Queen Irina is mentioned in the calendar, who ended her days as a monk and was named Xenia upon tonsure. But since in this case the name received at baptism is important, she can also be one of the heavenly intercessors whom Arina has the right to choose for herself. Name days according to the calendar can also be celebrated on the day of remembrance of the wife of St. George the Confessor - Righteous Irina. Her holiday is May 26th.

But this does not limit the list of dates on which Arina can celebrate the day of her angel. The name day can also be celebrated on August 10, when the Orthodox Church remembers the life of St. Irina of Cappadacia. This pious virgin, who lived at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries in Byzantium, took monasticism from a young age and acquired the crown of holiness through a strict monastic life. She entered the history of the church as the abbess of the Constantinople monastery of Chrysovalandou.

Christian faith, watered with the blood of the great martyrs

In addition to the listed God-pleasers, in church calendar Several more names are noted whose days of remembrance Arina can choose. Name days can also be celebrated on January 12 and 16, April 29, August 17 and October 1. All these dates are days of remembrance of the holy great martyrs who bore the name Irina. One should not be surprised at such a large number of them.

The fact is that, having appeared in the 1st century AD, Christianity met on its way fierce resistance from paganism, which at that time was the state religion of the Roman Empire and many territories subject to it. Faith in Christ grew and strengthened on the blood of those who gave their lives for it, and there were a lot of them. History has not preserved the names of most of them, but those that have come down to us are included in the calendar for annual commemoration.

Character traits characteristic of Arin

And in conclusion, a few words about what qualities are most often inherent in those who wear this beautiful and It is generally accepted that the main and most pronounced of them are balance and independence. In addition, it was noted that the Arins are distinguished by their peace and tranquility.

Their immediate circle consists mainly of good and reliable friends, and their enemies are life path not so numerous. Among others characteristic features sociability and friendliness can be distinguished. As a rule, they are pleasant to communicate with, which puts them in an advantageous position.

One day the Savior passed through the land of Samaria, preaching the Gospel. To rest and recuperate, He stopped near the town of Sychar. At the same time, a Samaritan woman approached the well for water. Her name was Photinia.
Christ asked her for water, to which Photinia, amazed, asked how He, being a Jew, asked for water from a Samaritan woman, because Jews and Samaritans did not communicate in those days. The Savior answered her: “If you knew the gift of God and Who says to you: Give Me a drink, then you yourself would ask Him, and He would give you living water.” Photinia did not immediately understand Him, but Christ said to her: “Everyone drinking water this he will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst; But the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life.”
In His words, the Lord meant Himself and His teaching by “living water,” but Photinia decided that we're talking about about fresh running water. At the same time, Jesus Christ told her about her life filled with sin, and the woman recognized Him as the Great Prophet and Teacher. She began to ask Him: who worships God correctly: the Samaritans or the Jews? To which Jesus answered her: “The time will come and has already come when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is looking for such worshipers for Himself. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth. The woman says to Him: I know that the Messiah will come, that is, Christ; when He comes, He will tell us everything. Jesus says to her, “It is I who speak to you.” After this conversation, Saint Photinia rushed to the city, where she told many about her meeting with Christ. Together with her, many more Samaritans believed in Him.
Thus Saint Photinia became one of Christ’s devoted disciples, who preached the Gospel in many corners of the world.
During the reign of the cruel emperor Nero, after the murder of the holy apostles Peter and Paul, Saint Photinia was captured by pagan guards. During interrogation in the presence of Nero, she confessed Christ. The cruel ruler ordered her hands to be cut off with an ax, but no matter how hard the monsters worked, they could not even approach her, because... fell to the ground themselves.
Then Nero ordered Photinia to be taken to his palace, where he left her under the supervision of his daughter Domina, who, after conversations with the martyr Photinia, herself believed in the Savior Christ. Along with her are 100 of her slaves.
Upon learning of this, the enraged Nero ordered Photinia to be skinned and then thrown into a well. Thus ended the earthly life of this Great Martyr. Saint Photinia, pray to God for us!

The Most Holy Theotokos herself is considered the intercessor and patroness of Russia. It is not surprising, therefore, that among the nearly 300 Russian Orthodox saints there are women. And the first person to convert to Christianity in Rus' was Princess Olga.

1. Euphrosyne of Polotsk

In the world, Euphrosyne of Polotsk was called Predslava. She was the daughter of the Vitebsk prince Svyatoslav Vseslavich.
Predslava with early years showed interest in spiritual life, as soon as the girl turned 12 years old, she abandoned dynastic marriage and on February 15, 1116, she took secret tonsure in the Polotsk monastery.
A few years later, Euphrosyne began rewriting books, which was a very labor-intensive and lengthy process. Usually it was men who received such obedience, but Euphrosyne was firm in her faith.
The Venerable Euphrosyne is credited with acquiring the icon of the Mother of God of Ephesus from the Polotsk St. Sophia Cathedral. Euphrosyne also ordered a reliquary cross from the master Lazar Bogshe, which began to be called after her. Euphrosyne of Polotsk died during a pilgrimage in Jerusalem, May 23, 1167. They began to venerate her in Polotsk soon after her death, but Euphrosyne was canonized only in 1893.
Euphrosyne of Polotsk was a prominent church figure of her time. She initiated the construction of the Spassky Convent for women, took part in political life principality and became a kind of banner of the Polovtsian struggle for their independence.
It is interesting that in the life of St. Euphrosyne there is no story about posthumous miracles.

2. Princess Olga

Princess Olga is the only Russian woman who has been canonized as an Equal-to-the-Apostles saint. Olga was the first in Rus' to convert to Christianity, even before Baptism.
Very little is known about Olga’s youth; the most accurate information about her appears in the chronicles of 945, when her husband Igor died. At the same time, Nestor describes in the chronicles Olga’s revenge on the Drevlyans, who were guilty of the death of the prince.
Since 947, Olga begins to rule herself. It establishes a system of graveyards, opens several land routes, and sets the size of the polyudye. It was Olga who laid the foundation for stone construction in Rus'.
In 955, Olga was baptized in Constantinople under the name Helen. The princess tried to introduce her son Svyatoslav to Christianity, but he remained a pagan until the end of his life.
Saint Olga was recognized already during the reign of Yaropolk, her grandson, and in 1547 Princess Olga was canonized as an Equal-to-the-Apostles saint.

3. Matrona of Moscow

Matrona of Moscow is one of the most popular Russian saints. She was canonized relatively recently - in 1999.
Matrona was born blind. The parents wanted to leave the child in the orphanage, but the girl’s mother had a prophetic dream about a blind dove, and they left Matrona. Already at the age of 8, the girl was a deeply religious person, she had the gift of predicting the future and healing the sick. By the age of 18, Matrona of Moscow lost her legs.
Matrona lived most of her life with her fellow villager Evdokia Mikhailovna Zhdanova and her daughter Zinaida, and hosted the suffering and sick. Matrona of Moscow died in 1952.
In 1999, Matrona was canonized as a locally revered saint, but people from all over Russia come to venerate her.

4. Ksenia Petersburgskaya

Ksenia Petersburgskaya chose the path of foolishness at the age of 26. Many legends and memories of the prophetic gift of the saint have been preserved.
Ksenia was born in the first half of the 18th century. Having reached adulthood, Ksenia married the court singer Andrei Fedorovich Petrov. The young couple lived in St. Petersburg. Andrei Fedorovich did not die when Ksenia was 26 years old.
The young widow took the path of foolishness, began to respond only to her husband’s name, distributed all their property to the poor, and gave the house to one of her friends, on the condition that she would let the poor spend the night.
The exact date of death of Ksenia of Petersburg is unknown. In 1988 Russian Orthodox Church ranked her among the holy fools.

5. Fevronia

The life of the saint became widely known after the publication of “The Tale of Peter and Fevronia,” which rather resembled fairy tale than a historical document. Fevronia was the daughter of a beekeeper. One day, Prince Peter turned to her for help, who promised to make her his bride if she healed him of his wounds. The girl cured Peter, but he did not keep his promise, and the disease returned. Then Peter took Fevronia as his wife. The boyars did not accept the prince's common wife. Peter took his wife and left the city, where unrest almost immediately broke out, and the prince was asked to return.
Peter and Fevronia ruled for many years, and in their old age they took monastic vows in different monasteries. They prayed to die on the same day and bequeathed to be buried together. When Peter and Fevronia’s request was not fulfilled, they miraculously ended up in the same coffin. The couple were buried in 1228, and in 1547 they were canonized. Peter and Fevronia are considered the patrons of the family.

6. Anna Kashinskaya
Anna (in her monastic vows - Sofia) was born in the 13th century into the family of the Rostov prince Dmitry Borisovich. In 1299, she married Prince Mikhail Yaroslavich of Tver, and 20 years later he was killed in the Horde. Years later, her sons and grandson were executed in the Horde.
The year of Anna's tonsure is unknown, but in 1358 she is mentioned as the 80-year-old abbess of the Tver Convent in the name of St. Afanasia. Just before her death, Anna accepted the schema.
The veneration of Anna Kashinskaya began in 1611, when her remains were discovered in the Kashin church in the name of Holy Mother of God. In 1650, she was canonized, but already in 1677, as part of the fight against double-fingered baptism, decanonization was carried out, and the life of St. Anne was anathematized. Only in 1909 did Emperor Nicholas II give permission for re-canonization.

7. Juliania Lazarevskaya

The real name of Juliania Lazarevskaya is Ulyana Ustinovna Osoryina. She was born in 1530 into a family of nobles, the Nedyurevs. Since childhood, the girl was very pious and diligent. At the age of 16, she married Yuri Osorin, and with him she gave birth to 13 children. After the death of two sons in the royal service, Ulyana began to beg her husband to let her go to the monastery. He agreed on the condition that before that she would raise the remaining children.
When famine broke out during the reign of Boris Godunov, Juliania sold all her property to feed the poor.
Juliania died in 1604 and was buried in Murom. In 1614, when a grave was being dug nearby, the relics of Juliana, which exuded myrrh, were discovered. Several people were then healed. In the same 1614, Juliania Lazarevskaya was canonized as a righteous woman.

8. Holy Princess Elizaveta Feodorovna

Elizaveta Fedorovna was older sister Alexandra Feodorovna, the last Russian empress. In 1884, Elizaveta Fedorovna married Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, brother of Emperor Alexander III.
Throughout her life, Elizaveta Fedorovna was involved in charity work. She organized the Elizabethan Benevolent Society, and during the war she worked medical care to the warriors. In 1905, her husband died as a result of an assassination attempt.
Having been widowed, Elizaveta Feodorovna founded the Martha and Mary Convent of Mercy, which was engaged in medical and charitable work. Since 1909, the princess devoted her entire life to work at the monastery.
Elizaveta Feodorovna was killed and thrown into a mine in 1918 in the city of Alapaevsk along with other members of the Romanov family. There is evidence that Elizabeth died later than the others, since chants could be heard from the mine for some time.
In 1992, Elizaveta Feodorovna was canonized and included in the Council of New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia.

9. Varvara Skvorchikhinskaya

Blessed Barbara was born into the family of a priest. Having trained as a home teacher, the girl began teaching. She was a devout believer and often brought a priest to classes, but when atheism began to be preached in schools, Varvara stopped working and chose the path of a recluse for herself.
She lived for more than 35 years in an old barn, constantly praying and fasting. All these years, Varvara did not attend church, but received priests and believers.
Varvara died in 1966, and in 2001, Patriarch Alexy II gave his blessing to glorify the ascetic among the locally revered saints of the Ufa diocese.

10. Evdokia Dmitrievna

Evdokia Dmitrievna is also known as the Venerable Evdokia of Moscow; during her lifetime she became famous for her charitable activities. At the age of 15 she was married to the Moscow prince Dmitry Donskoy. She spent 22 years with him happy marriage, and after the death of her husband she ruled for some time, being the guardian of succession to the throne among her sons.
During her lifetime, Evdokia Dmitrievna initiated the construction of many churches and monasteries, including the Ascension Convent. Under the leadership of Evdokia Dmitrievna, the Moscow militia was assembled to protect the city from Tamerlane. In 1407, the princess retired to the Ascension Monastery, where she was tonsured with the name Euphrosyne. Euphrosyne lived in monasticism for only a few months and died in the same year. In 1988 she was canonized along with her husband.
In 2007, a church award was established - the Order and Medal of St. Euphrosyne of Moscow.

11. Euphrosyne Kolyupanovskaya

Princess Evdokia Grigorievna Vyazemskaya was Catherine II's maid of honor, but her desire to devote herself to serving God was so great that she faked her own death and secretly left the court. She wandered for more than 10 years, until in 1806 she met Metropolitan Plato, who gave her his blessing to perform the feat of foolishness. From that moment on, the former princess settled in the Serpukhov Vladychny Vvedensky Convent under the name “fool Euphrosyne.”
It is known that Euphrosyne secretly wore chains and even went barefoot in winter.
When the abbess changed in the monastery, Euphrosyne began to be oppressed, which ultimately forced the woman to leave the walls of the monastery. The last 10 years of my life former princess spent in the village of Kolyupanovo in the house of landowner Natalya Alekseevna Protopopova. Even during her lifetime, Efvrosinia Kolyupanovskaya was credited with the gift of healing and foresight. Blessed Euphrosyne reposed in 1855, but the veneration that began during her lifetime continued after her death.
In 1988, Euphrosyne Kolyupanovskaya was canonized as one of the Tula saints.

12. Juliania Vyazemskaya

The fate of Juliana Vyazemskaya bears little resemblance to the fates of other Russian saints. She was the wife of Prince Simeon Mstislavich Vyazemsky, until the Smolensk prince Yuri Svyatoslavovich tried to forcibly bring Juliana to himself “even if he wanted to live with her.” Unable to tolerate the abuse, the princess stabbed the offender, and he, in a fit of rage, killed her husband, cut off her own arms and legs, and ordered her body to be thrown into the Tvertsa River.
In the spring of 1407, the body of the martyr Juliana was found floating against the current of the Tverets River. The found body of the saint was buried at the southern doors of the Transfiguration Cathedral in the city of Torzhok, and soon after this miraculous healings began to occur at the burial site.
The exact date of the canonization of Juliana Vyazemskaya as a locally revered saint is unknown, but many historians believe that this happened in 1815, the year of the rediscovery of the saint’s relics.

A shrine cannot be “deteriorated” or diminished by something that is not in Orthodox church, Andrei Muzolf, KDA teacher, is sure.

– Andrey, which saints are equally revered by the Orthodox and Catholic Churches? Why is that? Give an example.

– Those saints who were glorified by the Church even before its division in the middle of the 11th century (the final schism between East and West actually occurred much later, but officially in almost all textbooks on the history of the Church the schism dates back to 1054), are generally recognized as Eastern Church, and in Western. These include, firstly, the holy apostles, martyrs and those saints and saints who labored during the indicated period. Therefore, the names of such saints as, for example, Nicholas of Myra, Basil the Great or Ambrose of Milan, the Monks Anthony and Pachomius the Great, are found in the calendar of both one and the other Church.

- Why Catholic Church St. revered Sergius of Radonezh, St. Andrey Rublev and etc. Seraphim of Sarov?

– A similar practice of venerating Orthodox saints in the Western Church was introduced first in 1940 by Pope Pius XII, and in 1969 by Pope Paul VI for proselytizing purposes, that is, in order to more successfully preach Catholicism in the Orthodox environment. However, at the same time, many representatives of the Roman Catholic Church claim that the images of some saints, traditionally revered by the Orthodox Church, are very impressive to them and are for Catholics a kind of ideal of spirituality and love for neighbors.

– Does the Orthodox Church accept any Catholic saints? Give an example, please.

– Many saints canonized by the Western Church do not meet the criteria of holiness that are accepted in the Orthodox Church. If we compare, for example, Orthodox saints and saints glorified in the Roman Catholic Church, especially in Lately, we can see that the principles of spiritual life and attitude to salvation among the former are radically different from these criteria among the latter. Thus, from the lives of Orthodox saints, we know that none of them considered themselves to have achieved salvation during their lifetime. Moreover, many saints called themselves the most sinful and the lowest of people. In the Western Church, on the contrary, according to the lives of such “ascetics” as Catherine of Siena and Teresa of Avila, they considered themselves to have pleased God and, therefore, to have every right to speak on His behalf. Saint Ignatius of Caucasus remarks on this matter: “All the saints recognized themselves as unworthy of God: by this they showed their dignity, which consisted in humility. All the self-deluded considered themselves worthy of God: this revealed the pride and demonic delusion that had invaded their souls. Some of them accepted demons, who appeared to them in the form of angels, and followed them... Others aroused their imagination, heated their blood, made nervous movements in themselves, mistook this for blessed pleasure and fell into self-delusion.” Thus, we see that in the first case people were led by meekness and humility, and in the second by pride and delusion, which can never lead a person to God.

– Are the relics of Orthodox saints in Catholic churches? Is it possible to apply to them?

– Historically, most Christian shrines, with the exception, of course, of those located in the Holy Land - in the place where our Lord Jesus Christ performed His feat of the Cross, are kept in Catholic churches. This circumstance is explained by the fact that the first emperors were Christians, such as, for example, Saint Equal to the Apostles Constantine The Great spent most of his life in the western part of the Roman (later Byzantine) Empire. In this regard, many shrines of the Christian world were naturally taken to where the emperor lived. That is why so many Christian shrines are located in Catholic churches in Rome (the first capital of the empire) or Milan (the actual place of residence of St. Constantine, to which, in fact, the practice of “collecting” shrines dates back). However, this is not at all an obstacle to their veneration by the Orthodox. A shrine cannot be “deteriorated” or diminished by the fact that it is not located in an Orthodox church. Thus, the relics of one of the most revered saints - St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia - also reside on the territory of the Catholic church in the Italian city of Bari, but at the same time the Orthodox have the free opportunity to venerate them and even perform the Divine Liturgy on them.

Andrey Muzolf, KDA teacher
Interviewed by Natalya Goroshkova
Orthodox Life

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These are individuals whom the church and believers especially honor for their steadfastness in faith, selflessness, desire to overcome sinfulness, ability to perform miracles, etc. It is believed that such people have achieved a “direct” union with God.

Saints are not worshiped (only God is worshiped), but they are asked to intercede for something before him. Saints are depicted with a shining circle around their heads - a symbol external sign holiness.

How many saints are there in Orthodoxy?

There is no exact figure here. According to Christians, God brings a person closer to himself and he becomes a saint, but people may never know about this. Among them are unknown martyrs for the faith who died in the arenas of Roman circuses, in Soviet prisons and camps.

- there were now forgotten Orthodox saints who were once revered in the East;

- in addition to the “general Orthodox”, there are numerous saints who are revered in different local churches;

- many Western saints who were canonized before the division of Christianity into and; however, there is no verified list of them.

Do the thousands of saints whose names are unknown still be venerated in any way in the church?

For this, the Orthodox have a special holiday - “All Saints Week”. Its name retains old name the seventh day of the week - Sunday.

This holiday is celebrated seven days after. In the Catholic calendar, this day is tied to a clear date - November 1st.

Who became the first Russian saint?

There were two of them - the prince brothers Boris and Gleb (these were their names at birth, after baptism they became Roman and David). Their father was Kyiv prince Vladimir the Baptist. According to the widespread version, Boris and Gleb died at the hands of assassins sent by their brother Svyatopolk. Christians see their feat in the renunciation of armed resistance and humility in the face of the threat of death.

And before the death of the brothers, saints lived in Rus', but the church canonized them later than Boris and Gleb. These were the baptized Varangian warrior Theodore and his son John, killed by a crowd of warriors under Prince Vladimir, when he was still a pagan.


Later, Vladimir himself was ranked among the saints - as the baptizer of Rus', as well as Princess Olga, who became a Christian even before Rus' was baptized.

Are saints always virtuous?

Saints are earthly people whose lives were not always blameless. The Church canonized one of the two villains crucified next to Christ: the criminal repented before his death and accepted Jesus.

In his youth, the Apostle Paul took part in the cruel persecution of Christians. In our minds, life was originally immoral. Mary Equal to the Apostles Egyptian. The famous Optina Pustyn monastery in the Kaluga region was founded by a repentant robber named Opt, who became a monk Macarius.

In general, the saints were deprived of ordinary human passions, but they learned to control, direct them, and follow higher spiritual needs.

Under what conditions can a person be declared a saint?

In the Russian Church, three conditions are accepted for this: his pious life, veneration by the people and miracles performed thanks to his remains or by invoking his name. The third condition is considered the most important; it is, as it were, an indication from God himself that this person is united with him. In addition, at least several decades must have passed since the death of the righteous.


The general procedure (it is called canonization) is as follows. A commission is created that collects and evaluates evidence of piety, veneration and miracles. If there is a lot of evidence and they are considered reliable, the highest church body, the Council, makes a decision on canonization.

Of course, it is not she who makes a person a saint - the decision only means official recognition of his feat and permission to honor him, along with other saints, to turn to him with prayers.