Hello! I hope that everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving. I did. For the first time, Steve and I split this particular holiday with both families. A few days back I was sort of worried that it'd be stressful and no fun... but I soon realized that if I changed my outlook just a smidgeon, then my experience would follow suit. And it did! I chose to expect a lovely day, and that's what I got :) Thank God! Even when we got lost for an hour on the way to his aunt's, we managed to not let it bother us. Personally, I think it has something to do with the fact that we were able to start our day right, by attending the feast day liturgy of St. Katherine!
Listening to St. Katherine's life story yesterday made glad that I shared her name. Of course, when I was born there was no saintly motivation in my parent's name choice for me. Actually, Kathryn happens to be a family name on my mom's side: my mother, my great-aunt, two cousins and three second cousins (and perhaps some ancestors I don't know of) all share the middle name of Kathryn.
Now that I'm Orthodox, though, I see that both my original first and middle name are quite kosher in the Orthodox sense! I kind of wonder now why I didn't just keep my name as my baptismal name. Probably because I grew up being one of a million Katies and wanted something different. And even at church, there were three other Catherines in my approximate age group.
SO... three years ago when I became Orthodox, I decided to take on Xenia-- a fine, unique, Russian name of an amazing saint. Yes, at that time there were no other Xenias at my church-- I was finally unique! But, as God would have it, last Pascha a convert took on the name Xenia. I realized then that I did not own the copyright of that name. More important, I realized that names do not signify our uniqueness in the eyes of God!
So now I look back and wonder why I didn't make my given name and baptismal name the same. It would have been a lot easier, and I wouldn't do a double take each time someone actually calls me Xenia (although, that's not to say I don't like it). So... perhaps my own pride inhibited me from appreciating the beauty of my own given name, and the wonderful saint who I wasn't named after. But, at least I have two wonderful names now, and two wonderful saints to claim as "mine." And at least I've learned that it is the soul which makes a man or woman unique, and not a name (I'm pretty sure the Greeks understand this perfectly, i.e. the scene from the Greek Wedding movie when the dad introduces Toula's relatives: "This is Nick, Diane, Chris, Nico, Nikki, Chris, Diana...." or something like that).
So to all of those named Catherine, Katherine, Kathryn (or any other spelling variation thereof)-- Many years!!!
(Be sure to scroll down for a *bonus* recipe for a Lenten treat :D)
3 comments:
Good post. I have often wondered why I took Job, rather than say with Steven. However whats done is done and I must say I need both them praying for me constantly and that they both help me on my journey towards salvation. May the Lord have mercy on us all,
Job
As a cradle Orthodox, I always wonder why converts with perfectly good Christian names would pick a different name... I was give the name Christina... not after St. Christina, but after the Nativity. So when I was younger, I felt a little left out because I had an icon of the Nativity over my bed and not an icon of a saint (like my sister Katherine or my brother Yianni (John)). Anyway, I guess somewhere along the way I realized, like you, that a name doesn't make a person... and that I can pray to any saint I want for their intercessions. We have adopted St. Nektarios as a family saint because he has helped us so much (and now Pavlos' middle name is Nektarios so it is incorporated into our family in a more real way).
Steven/Job,
It's nice to know that I'm not the only convert who wonders why they didn't keep their own name. Oh well.
Christina,
Becoming Orthodox really is like taking on a new life. You're priorities shift, your culture shifts, your day in and day out life changes altogether... and I think sometimes converts want to choose entirely new names to signify this. Of course, after a while it begins to feel like you've been Orthodox your whole life. Then you start to realize there was nothing wrong with your original name in the first place :D hehe. It's kinda funny.
Thanks for your comment, though. It's nice to know that, as a cradle Orthodox Christian, you've experienced some dissatisfaction with your name (to a different degree). However-- just think! Whereas your brother and sister get one name's day, you have an entire, 40-day season to commemorate :D
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