Ask the Pastor
Why are only people’s first names mentioned during the prayers at church?
We have a long history of naming people. In the Old Testament, the Hebrews named male children at circumcision on the eighth day after birth. See Luke 1:59.
The early church adopted a similar pattern with baptismal names which were given at baptism. Historically, most were named after a famed saints, such as Martin of Tours. In modernity, we commonly treat a person’s first name as their Christian or baptismal name. At the actual baptism, the pastor uses this name and I baptize you “in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”
This is the name God knows this individual by.
© Patrick K Welton