Name Saint and Patron Saint
Categories: uncategorized
Date: 23 December 2005 00:41:40
The servant of God Ian has been Chrismated.
My name saint is St John Climacus and my patron saint is Martyr Sebastian of Rome, whose feast it was on the day of my Chrismation. You can read about their lives by clicking the images below, which are from the Orthodox Church in America's website. The Ladder Icon is from the fanastic, and growing, Orthodox Wiki site.
St John Climacus was one of the first saints whose quotations I read as I was looking into Orthodoxy. I was greatly encouraged by his words and the emphasis on raising one's self, soul and body, to God. The Icon of The Ladder of Divine Ascent, the title of his most famous book, is -- to me -- a thing of great beauty and rich in symbolism. Clicking on the icon brings you to a page which describes the icon better than I could. In addition, as Ian is the Scottish form of John, taking a John seemed right [as there are no Saint Ian's we could find!], and St John Climacus was foremost in my mind.
The Martyr Sebastian of Rome has always been a saint I have known a little about. I had always been greatly encouraged by his love and steadfastness in the faith, and his great encourging of others to persevere in the faith -- even unto death. When I learned it was his feast day on the day I was to be chrismated, it seeemed ordained and ordered from above, and I was happy and blessed to take him as my Patron / Family saint. [It is the tradition in some (all?) Orthodox churches for the family to have a Family Saint: in the case of some people I know, the saint whose name they took was the saint of the day when the first family member was received into the Orthodox Church. A wonderful sign and symbol of our link to those in our family in the faith who went before us.]
 |  |  |
| Troparion - Tone 8 By a flood of tears you made the desert fertile And by your longing for God you brought forth fruits in abundance. By the radiance of miracles you illuminated the whole universe. O our holy Father John Climacus, pray to Christ our God to save our souls. Kontakion - Tone 1 | Troparion - Tone 1 O Sebastian, spurning the assemblies of the wicked, You gathered the wise martyrs Who with you cast down the enemy; And standing worthily before the throne of God, You gladden those who cry to you: Glory to him who has strengthened you! Glory to him who has granted you a crown! Glory to him who through you works healing for all! Kontakion - Tone 4 |