Patron Saints for Russian Professions: a Modern Point of View
Patron Saints for Russian Professions: a Modern Point of View

Summary/Abstract: Holy patronage has always had a special place in Russian Orthodoxy. A modern prayer book offers prayers that cover almost all occasions, and in each case, there is a specific saint who can help in the situation. Most often, such cases of patronage are based on the facts of the saint’s life, or vita. For example, people pray to St. Nicholas because they want to get married. This is because, in the miracle about the three girls, he helped poor girls get married. However, in some cases, a substitution of concepts may arise. For example, the same St. Nicholas became the patron of the Russian people, which is proclaimed in Russian hymnography and folklore. But the most interesting cases occur when holy protection is completely rethought. For example, St. Barbara became the patron saint of miners and even of missile troops. Modern patronage sometimes takes absurd forms. (For example, St. Vaclav is the patron saint of barmen and St. Alypius of the Caves is the patron saint of hairdressers and imagists). This paper analyses some popular cases of modern patronage and its representation in the modern media.

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