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in reply to a message by Christo
Thanks for your comments. Very interesting.
Since the custom in Christendom in the 19th century was to same children after saints, should Ahaphia have been a saint? I have searched online for a St Ahaphia with no results. I find the name in Greek Catholic Church records located in the former Galicia, Austria, today's Poland and western Ukraine. Perhaps someone with connections to a Ukrainian Catholic Church may have an answer.
Since the custom in Christendom in the 19th century was to same children after saints, should Ahaphia have been a saint? I have searched online for a St Ahaphia with no results. I find the name in Greek Catholic Church records located in the former Galicia, Austria, today's Poland and western Ukraine. Perhaps someone with connections to a Ukrainian Catholic Church may have an answer.
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My grandmother was born Ahaphia (pronounced Afiya) and during her time as an Ostarbeiter in Germany she was called Zofia, then when she moved to Venezuela after World War II she became Sofia. She used that name when she emigrated to the United States. In my research, Lemkos actually have a tradition of having a name that they keep to themselves and family, but officially known as another name. So all this makes sense.
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Ahaphia is probably just Ahafiya. Which would be the Ukrainian form of Agatha/Agafya (г is generally transcribed as "g" in Russian but as "h" in Ukrainian).
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