Venerable Melanie the Younger

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O Great Mystery – December 30, 2005: Our venerable mother, Melanie, the younger, wife and nun.

I’m not sure why St. Melanie always sticks out in my mind as the feast of the Birth of Christ draws to a close. Perhaps it is because she is a wife and mother before professing monastic vows, or maybe it bugs me that her name is so often mistranslated. Perhaps it just sticks in my mind because I can’t figure out how one should pronounce the mistranslated name and have it not sound strange in English. muh-LANE-yuh? meh-luh-NEE-uh? See her icon? There’s no alpha in her name, so where’s the extra letter coming from?

In any case, St. Melanie, pray for us.

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13 Responses to “Venerable Melanie the Younger”

1. 

   Emanuel Says:
   December 30th, 2006 at 11:54 pm

   Hi, actually there is an alpha in St Melanie’s name, if you look at the letters in her icon, it comes straight after the lamptha.

   Christ is born!
   Emanuel

2. 

   Emanuel Says:
   December 31st, 2006 at 12:03 am

   Actually, Kevin, if you are saying that there is no alpha at the end of her name, you are correct. I also think you would be correct in saying her name as “Melanie”, pronounced “mel-uh-nee”.

   Emanuel

3. 

   Joyeux Noël | Kevin Basil Says:
   December 31st, 2006 at 2:21 pm

   […] Joyous Christmas to all. Today is the Conclusion of the Birth of Christ, in the Byzantine Rite, the seventh of the Twelve Days of Christmastide. It is also the commemoration of Saint Melanie the Younger. The twelve days continue tomorrow with the Circumcision of the Lord and Saint Basil the Great, my patron. The following day, January 2, begins the Prefeast of Theophany, which completes the Twelve Days, with the remembrance of Saint Seraphim of Sarov. […]

4. 

   Ted Khoury Says:
   July 18th, 2007 at 11:59 am

   I am interested in an icon of St. Melanie. Are there any available ? I would like one either about 5×7 or 6×8. Please advise

5. 

   Melanie Says:
   March 21st, 2008 at 4:22 pm

   Hi There,
   I am catholic and constantly heard as I grew up that I had no patron saint. My mother was adminent about the fact that there was in fact 2-3 saints baring the name Melanie. Actually, I learned that one was a young girl that was recognized as a maryter because she died for her faith. The other was in fact a male monk from France named Melanie in the 13th Circa.Last, St. Melanie as noted above. I constantly have mistpronunctions of my name. You are all right, it is pronounced phonetically…Mel-annie- hence Melanie.
   Melanie

6. 

   name detective Says:
   May 11th, 2008 at 11:52 am

   I read that the original form of the name Melanie in Greek is Melania. I’m not sure how we would know which one St. Melanie was actually called in her day.

   I’m looking for more info on St. Melanie or St. Melania, and with the different spellings it does get confusing!

7. 

   Melanie Says:
   September 26th, 2008 at 2:54 pm

   I am Roman Catholic but St. Melanie and her grandmother( FD-June 6) are venerated by the RC church as well. However, I’ve never seen a holy medal of her and am not sure if Orthodox Catholics follow this practice. If they do, could someone tell me how to obtain one? Thanks!!

8. 

   melanie Says:
   October 28th, 2008 at 8:33 pm

   i love saint melanie because Melanie is my name!:)*

9. 

   Melanie Says:
   November 16th, 2008 at 8:50 pm

   It is pernounced the way it’s spelled so it’s not pernounce weird but i hate it when ppl say it’s mel-uh-nee-a cuz it’s not!!!

10. 

    Melanie G. Says:
    December 20th, 2008 at 9:44 pm

    Hi, it is my name as well. How exactly do you pronounce- just curious. Please type it out phonetically

    Thanks

11. 

    Basil Says:
    December 22nd, 2008 at 12:25 pm

    MEH luh nee

12. 

    MELANIA M. Says:
    January 8th, 2009 at 6:56 am

    My name is also Melania, I’m orthodox. I love Saint Melania, I also wish to have more icons with her, in orthodox figure. Thanks.
    My name is pronounced as it is write: Mel – a- nia.DON’T DENATURATE HER NAME, IS A BLASPHEMY!

13. 

    george Says:
    February 18th, 2009 at 9:49 am

    The name Melanie has Greek origin based on Greek word “melena” (μέλενα-feminine gender) witch means “dark” or “dark colored”. On this word also is based the word melani (μελάνι) witch means “ink”.
    In Greek it is pronounced as “Melanea” (Μέλανη-see the icon, or Μέλανι) with the last “ea” being pronounced in the same way as in the word “tea”.
    The other two forms of the word “melena” are “melas” (μέλας-male gender) and “melan” (μέλαν-neutral gender).