Yes, but with guidance. You can choose any canonized Orthodox saint as your patron, but you’ll make that choice in conversation with your priest, not on your own.
Here’s how it works. When you’re preparing for baptism or chrismation, you’ll pick a patron saint whose name you’ll receive as your Christian name. That saint becomes your heavenly protector and a model for your life. The priest needs to approve your choice because he’s making sure the saint is actually recognized by the Orthodox Church and that the choice makes pastoral sense for you.
Most people choose based on a few common criteria. Some pick a saint whose feast day falls on or near their birthday. Others choose a saint whose life story resonates with them, maybe you work offshore and feel drawn to St. Nicholas, protector of sailors. Maybe you’re a teacher and want St. John Chrysostom. Some folks keep their existing name if there’s an Orthodox saint who shares it (John becomes St. John the Baptist or St. John Chrysostom, Mary becomes St. Mary of Egypt or the Theotokos herself). Others pick a saint from their family’s heritage or someone whose virtues they want to imitate.
The key restriction is that your patron has to be a canonized Orthodox saint. You can’t pick your grandmother, even if she was the holiest woman you ever knew. You can’t choose a fictional character or a living person. And while the Catholic Church has saints we don’t recognize (and vice versa), your priest will help you navigate that. If you were baptized Catholic as Teresa, you might keep that name since St. Teresa of Avila isn’t in our calendar, or you might choose St. Thekla or another Orthodox saint instead.
Your baptismal saint isn’t just a formality. This is the saint whose icon you’ll bring to your baptism or chrismation. This is the saint whose feast day becomes your name day, a bigger deal in Orthodox life than your birthday. This is the saint you’ll ask to pray for you, whose life you’ll read about, whose example you’ll try to follow. You’re entering into a real relationship.
Some people wonder if they can have multiple patron saints or change their patron later. Your baptismal saint is your primary patron, the one whose name you received sacramentally. But plenty of Orthodox Christians develop special devotion to other saints over time. That’s natural. You might venerate St. Seraphim of Sarov or St. Mary Magdalene or St. Raphael of Brooklyn without changing your baptismal name. Your baptismal saint remains the one tied to your sacramental identity in the Church.
The Antiochian tradition emphasizes pastoral consultation throughout this process. Your priest isn’t just rubber-stamping your choice. He’s helping you understand who this saint was, what their feast day means, how to pray to them. He might suggest saints you haven’t considered, especially saints from the Antiochian patrimony, St. Ignatius of Antioch, St. John Chrysostom, St. Thekla, St. Romanos the Melodist. These are our spiritual ancestors in a particular way.
Don’t stress too much about making the “perfect” choice. God isn’t going to reject your baptism because you picked St. George instead of St. Demetrios. But do take it seriously. Read some lives of saints. Ask your priest for suggestions. Pray about it. This saint will be with you for the rest of your life and into eternity.
When you’re ready to talk about your patron saint, bring it up with Fr. Michael. He’ll walk you through it, help you find an icon, and make sure you’re prepared. And if you’re still in the inquiry stage and not sure you’re ready for baptism or chrismation, that’s fine too. Learning about the saints is one of the best parts of discovering Orthodoxy.
