When is Leonidas’s name day?

Leonidas can be celebrated on 4 feasts in the Orthodox calendar. People keep the feast of the saint they were named for, or the one their family has always kept.

Every feast on which Leonidas is celebrated

The saints behind the name

• 

  Leo the Great

  February 18, Hierarch, Λέων ο Μέγας

  St. Leo the Great was Pope of Rome in the fifth century, one of the great fathers of the undivided Church. His celebrated Tome, read at the Fourth Ecumenical Council at Chalcedon in 451, confessed with clarity that Christ is one Person in two natures, true God and true man, and the fathers of the council received it as the voice of Peter.

  Name days: Leon, Leo, Leonidas, Leonidas, Nidas

• 

  Leo of Catania

  February 20, Hierarch, Λέων

  St. Leo was Bishop of Catania in Sicily in the eighth century, a shepherd remembered for his mercy toward the poor and the sick, and honored as a wonderworker for the healings granted through his prayers. Tradition also tells of his boldness in confronting a notorious sorcerer who was leading the people astray, whose deceptions collapsed before the bishop's faith.

  Name days: Leon, Leo, Leonidas

• Leonides of Athens

  April 15, Hierarch, Λεωνίδης Αθηνών

  Leonides was Bishop of Athens in the third century. During the persecution of Decius he was arrested and taken to Corinth, where he was tried with seven Christian women who had been converted by his preaching.

  Name days: Leonidas, Leonides, Leonidis

The other feasts are listed in the table above, each with a link to the saint’s life.

Also celebrating with Leonidas

These names share the feast, many of them other forms of the same name:

Leon, Leo, Nidas, Leonides, Leonidis, Leontos, Leontios, Leontius

What to say on a name day

The Greek wish is Χρόνια Πολλά (Chronia Polla), “many years.” A call or a short message on the day is what people remember. See name day wishes you can send and what a name day is.