You choose a patron saint through prayer and conversation with your priest. It’s that simple, and it’s that personal.
When you’re baptized or chrismated into the Orthodox Church, you receive a Christian name. That name connects you to a saint who becomes your patron, your heavenly friend, your intercessor before God, your model for how to live this faith. If your given name is already a saint’s name (Michael, Mary, John, Catherine), you’ll probably keep it and take that saint as your patron. But if you’re named Jennifer or Brandon or something without an Orthodox saint attached, you’ll need to choose.
Start With Prayer
Don’t overthink this. Pray about it. Ask God to guide you toward a saint who can help you grow in holiness. Some people feel drawn to a particular saint they’ve read about or whose icon they’ve seen. Others have no idea where to start. Both are fine.
You might consider saints commemorated on your birthday or baptism date. The Church calendar is packed with saints, so there’s almost certainly someone whose feast falls on a day that matters to you. Or maybe you’ve been reading about the desert fathers and St. Anthony the Great keeps showing up in your thoughts. Pay attention to that. Saints have a way of choosing us as much as we choose them.
Talk to Your Priest
Your priest isn’t going to assign you a saint at random, but he’ll guide you. He knows the calendar. He knows which saints might resonate with your life circumstances. If you work offshore on a rig, he might suggest St. Nicholas, patron of sailors. If you’re a nurse, maybe St. Panteleimon. If you’re struggling with a particular sin or life situation, there’s probably a saint who struggled with the same thing and can pray for you with special understanding.
Some priests will make suggestions. Others will ask what you’re drawn to. The conversation matters because your patron saint isn’t just a name you pick, it’s a relationship you’re entering. Your priest can help you discern whether that relationship makes sense spiritually.
What If Your Name Doesn’t Match?
Plenty of converts keep a form of their given name. William becomes Basil. Katherine stays Katherine. Sean takes John. But sometimes there’s no good match, and that’s when you get to choose something entirely new.
This isn’t about rejecting who you were. It’s about receiving a new identity in Christ and the Church. You’re being grafted into a family that stretches back two thousand years, and your patron saint is your personal link to that family. Some people choose a saint whose life story moves them. Others pick a saint whose prayers they’ve been asking for months. A few just like the name.
All of those are legitimate. But don’t choose based on aesthetics alone. You’re going to be asking this saint’s prayers for the rest of your life. You’ll celebrate their feast day as your name day. You’ll keep their icon in your home. Pick someone you actually want to know.
You Can Have More Than One
Your baptismal patron is primary, but Orthodox Christians often develop relationships with other saints over time. Maybe St. Mary of Egypt becomes important to you during Lent. Maybe you start asking St. Xenia’s prayers when things get hard. That’s normal. The communion of saints is a real communion, not a bureaucratic assignment system.
But for your baptism or chrismation, you need one name and one primary patron. That’s the saint whose name you’ll carry, whose feast you’ll celebrate as your name day, whose prayers you’ll ask first.
What Happens After You Choose?
Get an icon of your saint. Read their life. Learn their troparion. Ask their prayers. On their feast day, go to Liturgy if you can. Light a candle. Thank God for their example and their intercession.
Your patron saint isn’t a mascot or a lucky charm. They’re a member of the Church who’s already been perfected in Christ, who’s alive in God’s presence, who can pray for you in ways you can’t pray for yourself. They’re your friend in heaven. Treat them like one.
And if you’re still not sure who to choose, that’s what the catechumenate is for. You’ve got time. Keep praying, keep reading, keep talking to your priest. The right saint will make themselves known. Trust the process, and trust that God cares about this as much as you do.
