Difference between revisions of "Taxiarchis"

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m (New page: The name '''Taxiarhis''' is given to either the Archangel Michael or Gabriel. To anyone unfamiliar with Greek, and its various systems of transliterations scattered throughout the lite...)
 
m (Taxiarhis moved to Taxiarchis: Standardizing Latinization)
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Revision as of 15:26, July 30, 2008

The name Taxiarhis is given to either the Archangel Michael or Gabriel. To anyone unfamiliar with Greek, and its various systems of transliterations scattered throughout the literary world, "taxiarchis" translates as "archangel." In the case of St. Taxiarchis of Lesvos (singular grammatical form), the name appears to apply solely to Archangel Michael. Hence the often interchangeable translation of "Taxiarchis" with "Michael" in English, even though the correct Greek counterpart of "Michael" is "Michalis" (sometimes transliterated also as "Mihalis"). Few Orthodox churches, however, are named after St. Taxiarchis, prefering to take the name "Taxiarchae," meaning "Archangels" (plural grammatical form).

Taxiarchis is known as one of the patron saints of the Greek Aegean and Dodecanesse islands. Many Greek children are named after this saint, taking the baptismal name of either Taxiarchis (for males) or Taxiarchoula (for females), just like, for example, Michalis and Michaela (respectively).