Patron Saints - December

Greetings!

Here are some common Patron Saints for the month of December (and again, this is by no means a comprehensive list). The sources are http://oasigr.5.forumer.com/a/_post1688-30.html and http://orthodoxwiki.org/Patron_saint primarily.

Menaion Icon of the Saints and Feasts of the Month of December (icon taken from Holy Transfiguration Monastery: http://www.thehtm.org/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=27_33&products_id=345&osCsid=27a498fa78d0352697e3178f15e0fbd1)

December
1 – St. Filaretos [Philaretos or Philaret] - the patron of charity and charitable institutions, and he helps people in difficulties
2 – St. Avvakoum the Prophet - protector against diseases of the ears
3 - St. Angelis the Neomartyr - St. Angelis (because he was a physician) is the protector of empirical doctors [i.e. practical, experienced doctors, without scientific knowledge], wrestlers, and those who suffer from psychological problems.
4 – St. Barbara the Great-martyr – for delivery from sudden death, the patron of artillery [and/or protector against fire], protector against skin diseases (smallpox, measles, chicken pox, leprosy), protector of those pregnant, soldiers, cooks, braziers, kodonopoion [κωδωνοποιών?], prisoners, protector of those who travel, those who handle mechanical objects, those engaged in the construction of towers and fortifications.
4 – St. John, of Damascus - protector of public officials and politicians, protector of iconographers
5 – St. Savvas the Sanctified – for help to have a child
6 – St. Nicholas Archbishop of Myra the Wonderworker - protector of seafarers and ports, protector of widows, children, orphans, virgins, families, travel (especially by sea), protector against evil thoughts, for help in distress or poverty.
9 – St. Anna the Ancestor of God [the Mother of the Theotokos] – protector of childless couples and children
10 – St. Minas [or Menas] the Martyr, the Kallikelados ["most-eloquent"] - protector of journalists
11 – St. Patapios the Righteous – protector against various diseases, particularly against cancer and dropsy [edema in modern terminology]
12 – St. Spyridon Bishop of Trimythountos – the protector of ceramicists, protector from epidemics, smallpox, and diseases of the ears
13 – Holy Five Martyrs, Sts. Orestes, Eugene, Afxentios, Efstratios and Mardarios - protectors for all kinds of wounds, protection so that we not fall into heresy in times of weak faith
13 – St. Lucia of Sicily – for eyes
15 – St. Eleftherios the Hieromartyr – frees those pregnant [through safe childbirth] and prisoners and protects from wild beasts
15 – St. Anthia the Martyr, mother of St. Eleftherios – protector of breast-feeding mothers
16 – St. Modestos Patriarch of Jerusalem - protector against diseases of animals and against locusts, protector of plows
17 – St. Daniel the Prophet and the Three Children in the Furnace - protectors from fire

17 – St. Susanna (from the Old Testement) – for chastity and help in carnal warfare
18 – St. Joseph the Betrothed of the Theotokos - protector of carpenters and furniture-makers, protector of adopted children and adoptive families
19 – Sts. Boniface the Martyr and Aglais – give help to alcoholics
19 – St. Vlasios [Blaise] the Hieromartyr the Akarnan and those with him - protector against witchcraft and demonic temptations and all kinds of illness
20 – St. Ignatios the God-bearer of Antioch - the protector against ophthalmologic and eye diseases
20 – St. John of Kronstadt – for help in distress or poverty, for help in studies, for meeting a difficult situation
27 – St. Stephen the Protomartyr, the Archdeacon - protector of the marriage crowns, protector against diseases of the bile, kidney stones and cysts
30 – St. Anysia the Virgin-martyr – for chastity and help in carnal warfare
31 – St. Zotikos the Righteous, the Feeder-of-Orphans or Orphan-Keeper [ορφανοτρόφος?] - patron of orphanages and orphans