ANANIAS AS A NAME.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXIX, Issue 140, 5 August 1911, Page 3

ANANIAS AS A NAME.

In an article on epitaphs and cirri6us tom l>Ktono names “Claudius Clear” in the “British Weekly” mentioned as one of Ins most interesting discoveries the following- inscription in a Colchester churchyard: “Sain ed to the mom >ry of Auaanias Cha'iiberl.'.in of this Parish, who died April 21th, 1834, aged 71 years.” “Claudius Clear’ ’thought he had heard of Sapphiraa, but he had never known of a Christian child having been deliberately called Ananias. A request to his readers for information on the point, elicited some interesting letters. An Edinburgh clergyman paints out that in some calendars and diaries January 25th is marked as the day of St. Ananias. More than once on that day he lias preached, not on the Ananias who is host known, but on the Ananias of Acts ix 10-19, “to whom the Christian church owes St. Paid.” “Of the eight men in Bible Sdstory who hole the name, his a f least has lifted the name above contumely, and made it possible for the old Puritans to give it as a Christian name in the ease cited by ‘Claudius Clear.’ ” Moreover, the moaning of the name “Jehovah hath been gracious,” would give it a deep significance to some people. An Irish . correspondent paints out that there is a Bev. Ana-

nias Cnllesin in Kansas, and another correspondent forwards a newspaper cutting giving three examples of the use of Ananias as a Christian name. A third mentions that the name Ananias occurs twice in the marriage register of Pilton, North Devon. The

ea.se is Mm cite! of M ,- s Sapphira Lightmakcr, of Sussex, who died in 1701. No doubt tiie public will be as surprised as “Claudius Clear” at the number of these instances. It is a heavy handicap to give a boy the name Ananias and send him out into a world that is not conspicuous for close study of the Bible and therefore knows oal.v the note’ins Amu ia-.

hut to some the mime would he an indication that he came of parents who knew their Bible.