is Irenaeus of Lyons considered a saint by Orthodox?
Lee Malatesta
Is Ireneaus of Lyons considered to be a saint by the Orthodox Church?
If so, when is his feast day and are there any icons of him?
Next month is when my family and I are to be received into the
Orthodox Church and I need to pick a Christian name.
I'm drawn to Ireneaus because it has more or less the same meaning as
my given name, Lee. Lee literally means "from the meadow" and (from
what I understand) could be translated through dynamic equivalence to
"peaceful". Ireneaus, meaning "man of peace", would seem to me to be
in keeping with my parents desire to name me after a bringer of peace.
I'm also drawn to the writing style of Ireneaus.
Many people have suggested Leo, but I can't say I feel much attraction
to both of the Leos I know of that are saints (Leo the Great, Pope of
Rome, and Leo of Cantana). I'm not a big fan of forcible persecution
of heretics and witches. Although, I must admit, Saint Leo of Cantana
had guts. I have a certain amount of respect for a bishop that
accompanies a sorceror onto the bonfire.
Suggestions, comments, complaints?
Regards,
Lee Malatesta
Caedmon Parsons
wrote:
>Hello all.
>
>Is Ireneaus of Lyons considered to be a saint by the Orthodox Church?
>If so, when is his feast day and are there any icons of him?
Yes. He's an important Father. His feast day is August 23. And I have
seen icons of him--I would presume if you check the standard catalogs
you should be able to find one.
Leonidas
says...
>Suggestions, comments, complaints?
Yes, Eirenaios/Irenaeus is absolutely a Saint, and many people (esp.
hierarchs/monastics) have that name (inc. the brand new patriarch of Jerusalem).
It is actually sounds very beautiful in Greek too.
As far as Leonine names go. There is also Leontius of Byzantium. An excellent
theologian who developed the theological concept of enhypostasia in the drawn
out disputes between Chalcedonians and non.
And then there's...ahem...Leonidas ( ;) ). Origen's martyred father was named
thus, though my Patron is the pre-Constantinian Abp. of Athens (and there are
the remains of a very anc. Church near Hadrian's Gates in Athens named in his
honor). There is also the famous Russian elder Leonid of Optina.
You could also go for something like "Elias" (i.e. LXX rendering of Elijah)
which vaguely sounds like "Lee." The Prophet Elias is one of the most beloved
of the Prophets in Orthodoxy. And it's a beautiful name.
Of course, we won't mention the string of iconoclastic emperors called "Leon."
8-)
If you feel a special attachment to Irenaeus, then follow your heart.
I wish you and yours a wonderful, spiritual and uplifting preparation for the
Font.
Regards,
Leonidas
Gillespie
Lee Malatesta wrote:
>
> Hello all.
>
> Is Ireneaus of Lyons considered to be a saint by the Orthodox Church?
> If so, when is his feast day and are there any icons of him?
Yes, his feast day is August 23. (It's June 28 in the Western Church)
Check these out:
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese:
http://www.goarch.org/access/calendar/#SEARCH
Orthodox Church in America:
http://oca.org/pages/orth_chri/Feasts-and-Saints/Aug-23.html
An icon can be found at the following:
http://www.skete.com/moreinfo.cfm?Category=103&Product_ID=1220
> Next month is when my family and I are to be received into the
> Orthodox Church and I need to pick a Christian name.
Cheers! I hope your journey into Orthodoxy will be as blessed (and more
so) than my own. I was chrismated this past October.
Dennis (Methodius)Gillespie
Marina
Pope of Rome.
He did not have a problem with it! All though it got him some strange looks
in Greece, where it is not that common. The name Leontios is much more
common, and they kept mistaking him for that.
I guess Ireneaus would get you some strange looks in America! In Greece,
Ireneaus is generally an unusual name too, more for monastics! And so hard
to spell!!! You are in for a life-time of puzzled looks and "How do you
pronounce that?" "What was that again? How do you spell that?"
There are also several Leontios, Martyr Sept. 13, October 15, April 24, June
18, July 10, August 1, August 9, Leontios Patriarch May 14, also saint
[hosios] in Achaia December 11, and Leontios the philosopher December 19.
There are also some other Leos Patriarch Nov. 12, bishop February 20th, and
several martyrs Dec. 7, Jan 22, Feb.18, August 18.
And of course, here on the news group we have our very own Leonidas.
I don't know which one he celebrates, but there is the Bishop April 15,
Martyr Sept. 2, April 16, June 5 and August the 8th.
Plus - Leonis June 25th.
If you want to go with Ireneaus that's fine, but why pick another name when
you've already got one, with about twenty saints to choose from?
I know some people like to do it, with the idea of a new start etc. However,
I know this isn't going to make me Miss Popularity, this can create
unnecessary problems and lots of explanations.
I know someone who was called one name at birth and given another when
baptised as an adult. It was a totally dissimilar name too. So, when she had
to go into hospital recently there was terrible confusion as the friends and
family were asking for Maria and no Maria with that surname was coming up.
She was registered as Rose!
The Greeks tend to anglicise their names, but to something sort of similar.
I don't know what the case is in the States, but in the UK, even then they
still keep the Greek baptismal name as their legal name, and use an
anglicised name as shorthand. So someone called Charalambos, is Charlie at
work, or someone called Panayiota is Penny [Dimitrios -Jimmy (and from there
James!!), Kyriakos -Gary, Renos/Reginos - Ryan, Constantinos - Dino, Dean...
and so on. Many just keep the Greek name, as is - and make their
non-linguistically minded workmates suffer. Sometimes the names can be
unfortunate. At school I there was a girl called Fanny (celebrated the
Theophany) - which gave her very thick skin!
Sorry, to put a dampener on it, but just thought I should forewarn you of
the practicalities
Marina
"Caedmon Parsons" <wit...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:kmatntk2tb718velr...@4ax.com...
Alexander Arnakis
>
>The Greeks tend to anglicise their names, but to something sort of similar.
>I don't know what the case is in the States, but in the UK, even then they
>still keep the Greek baptismal name as their legal name, and use an
>anglicised name as shorthand. So someone called Charalambos, is Charlie at
>work, or someone called Panayiota is Penny [Dimitrios -Jimmy (and from there
>James!!), Kyriakos -Gary, Renos/Reginos - Ryan, Constantinos - Dino, Dean...
>and so on.
Among the Greek-Americans, "Constantinos" is usually nicknamed "Gus."
Don't ask me why.
Photios Michael
"Alexander Arnakis" <alexande...@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:mg0unt8ldaurkii2s...@4ax.com...>snip<
> Among the Greek-Americans, "Constantinos" is usually nicknamed "Gus."
> Don't ask me why.
>
I used to wonder the same thing, but somehow I found the answer (I don't
remember how).
When Greek immigrants began to come into the U.S. in the early part of the
20th century, those named Constantinos would often give their names as
Kostas when interviewed by immigration officials at Ellis Island. They
would hear the name Kostas (diminutive for Constantinos) and, being
absolutely unfamiliar with any foreign language (much less Greek) and not
particularly concerned, these officials would simply write "Gus" on the
immigration documents. The sound of the name Kostas and Gus were close
enough for them. So Constantinos becomes Gus.
Photios Michael
Steve Bambakidis
http://www.cygnus.uwa.edu.au/~jgrapsas/pages/panteleimon.htm
-Stylianos
"Lee Malatesta" <lee_ma...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:7df25a06.01081...@posting.google.com...