Patron Saints

joeg

I have personally have never had a particular saint whose intercessions I ask for, nor to whom I feel especially close. I know however that it's quite a common thing amongst others, with many having e.g. St. Mary or St. George, or Pope Cyril VI as their intercessors.

I thought it would be beneficial to get a discussion going on patron saints:

Would you consider it necessary or of a particular importance for an Orthodox Christian to have a patron saint or "intercessor?"

For those of you who have a patron saint(s), who is it and why did you choose that particular saint to be a special intercessor for you?

Has this intercessor always been so for your family, or did you have a particular experience that you wish to share that lead you to make this decision?

I have previously considered trying to "choose" or "find" (not the best choice of words) a patron saint, but have no real idea of how to go about it, nor do I fully understand the potential dynamics of such a relationship.

I'm very interested in hearing your opinions and experiences on the matter  :D

TITL

Just as a heads-up, someone is going to yell at you for using the word "intercessor" :P


My patron saint is Anba Karas. He found me and helped me through some difficult times.

I believe it's like getting married--you don't look for and try different saints; It just happens once you "fall in love" aka "get close to them".

joeg

[quote author=TITL link=topic=11672.msg139972#msg139972 date=1308590982]
Just as a heads-up, someone is going to yell at you for using the word "intercessor" :P

Duly noted, thanks for the warning  ;D

[quote author=TITL link=topic=11672.msg139972#msg139972 date=1308590982]My patron saint is Anba Karas. He found me and helped me through some difficult times.

I believe it's like getting married--you don't look for and try different saints; It just happens once you "fall in love" aka "get close to them".

I understand this somewhat. But it seems very spontaneous - did you just put a bunch of saint's names in a hat and randomly decide that such-and-such a saint would be your patron?

TITL

Lol, I was going through a rough situation, and someone gave me a few books, CDs, and pictures of Anba Karas (not relating to my situation). I was really amazed by his story, so I called upon him for help, and he got me out of the situation. :)

He found me; I wasn't "looking" for a patron saint.

The "falling in love" metaphor relates to being deeply moved by the saint's story. Which story are you most affected by? Which saint would you like to meet? Which saint do you feel like you have most in common with? Which saint is your role model? A few questions to help narrow it down :)

George_Mina_Awad

Mine is St. Moses the strong, who I also found/he found me from a personal experience. I wrote him a letter and he received it via rush delivery, and he answered it quickly.

Hezekiel

At first I had none. My prayers were to ALL, though St Mary was always special. Amongst other saints, St Michael is one of the great patron saints of our family since perhaps the middle ages or early days of christianity:-). I personally did not ask for his prayers, though.Then,they started revealing themselves to me..in this following order:

St Mina -  3 *Miracles  ( the two alongside Pope Kyrillos, a special one alone) 2005, 2009 ,2010
Pope Kyrillos -3 *miracles ( 2 with st Mina, one alone) 2005, 2008, 2009
Abu Siefen - *Miracle ( doubted his saintly power, found a message from him the next day - a physical message) 2008

St Mary - Monumental *miracles  2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011.
St Michael - *miracle  in 2008

*The miracles are not the kind where you pray to get good grades and you get them and thank the Lord for His help (doubters can tell you you worked hard for it and you got it, for example, and dismss the rest), but they are in the literal sense of the word ( no room for doubters to philosophise and pontificate).

May your Patron Saints come to you soon to bless and protect you.

aidan

Good question.
The saint I look forward to meeting in heaven is an Irish saint , Aidan. He evangelised parts of northern Britain in the 7th century. You can read about him in St Bede's 'Ecclesiastical History' where he comes over as a thoroughly good man.
Unfortunately there are no primary relics left. You can visit the island off Scotland where he was a monk, the island of England where he was a bishop and venerate the spot where he died.