This may be getting ahead of things, but in a sense it's not. As I adjust to the whole saint business, one thing I'm generally lacking is a patron saint. I've considered Anna of Novgorod and Sigfrid of Wexlow, since I'm of Swedish and English background. (Sigfrid was an English missionary who planted Christianity in Sweden, and Anna was a Swedish princess who married Russian.) But neither one is really clicking. I guess when it comes down to it, I've never felt as Swedish as some of my older relatives do. Plus, I really find myself drawn to Orthodox culture, so it feels better to me to go with a more "eastern" saint.
Another option is a name saint. I figure if one day I actually convert, I will need an Orthodox name. Someone has said that a person who already has a Christian name has already been living under the intercession of their name-saint, so it's best to honor them by keeping the name one already has. I can't find a saint Trevor, but my middle name is Michael, which seems like a good alternative. So the next question is, which St. Michael? I guess the first thing I'm wondering is, is it appropriate to have an angel as one's patron saint? It doesn't seem like it, but maybe I just haven't picked up on it before.
There have been several St. Michaels in Orthodoxy. Some are sort of obscure, but I've come up with two good possibilities--St. Michael the first Metropolitan of Kiev, and Holy Prince Michael of Chernigov. It's kind of neat, IMO, that one was instrumental in founding Russian Orthodoxy (which was first centered in Kiev), while the other seems to have been the last free ruler of Kiev before the Tatar invasion that effected the shift of dominance to Moscow. I like the missionary emphasis of Met. Michael, but I also like Prince Michael's testimony as a confessor and martyr, and the way that he had to deal with both Islam and the West in his efforts to protect his subjects. I guess I'm leaning more in the direction of Prince Michael, but I'm curious if others have thoughts on picking Orthodox names and patron saints in general, or on preferences for one St. Michael over another.
thanks,
Trevor