B
bc2000
Guest
I do understand why people are given new names upon taking vows. Does anyone know WHEN and HOW this practice began? Obviously, St. Benedict, St. Francis of Assisi and St. Dominic kept their names.
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D
DaughterOfMary6
Guest
I think the best explanation I can give begins with the Bible. In stories of conversions in the Bible, the individuals were known by a different name because their life was beginning anew in the Lord. St. Paul was originally known as Saul. Abram became Abraham. Sarai became Sarah. Those are just a few examples I can think of.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! --Corinthians 5:17
Not all religious orders require name changes. Even some communities within the same charism have differences in religious names. Some allow you to keep your baptismal name, some allow you to incorporate your baptismal name with a new name in religion, and some change it altogether.
I hope this helps.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! --Corinthians 5:17
Not all religious orders require name changes. Even some communities within the same charism have differences in religious names. Some allow you to keep your baptismal name, some allow you to incorporate your baptismal name with a new name in religion, and some change it altogether.
I hope this helps.
A
Apollos
Guest
It started long before Christianity. With a change in status there is often a change of name. Abram became Abraham, for example. In the case of popes, there was a pope whose original first name was Mercury, the Roman god, so he changed it to John and became Pope John II and later on it eventually became a custom for popes to change their names even if they weren’t named after pagan gods. For monks and nuns, since it’s a radical change in life status, they normally take a new name.
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