People love beautiful stories. Literally in the next few days we will celebrate a holiday built on exactly one legend - St. Valentine's Day. It is unlikely that someone will tell you exactly what kind of Valentine it was and how exactly it is connected with falling in love. It seems like there was such a priest who married someone there or did not, the story is dark. The time has come to put an end to this uncertainty. Let's find out the real story of Saint Valentine.

More than one

And we will tell you the key news right away. There were several Valentines. At least two. In the Martyrology, a list of recognized Christian saints, there are references to a certain Valentine from Rome, who for some reason was beheaded in 269. And there you can also find information about Valentine of Interamne, who was also executed somewhere in the 3rd century AD. for the fact that with his sermons he converted the son of the mayor of the city of Terni to Christianity. His relics are still kept there. So we have some kind of proof of the reality of at least one Valentine.

It is not known for certain why Martyrology mentions these Valentines as two different people with a very similar fate. It may have been one person, or it may have been many more. Historical sources about the lives of many saints are generally fragmentary and unreliable. The city of Terni (aka Interamn) is located a hundred kilometers from Rome, so that the same Valentine could theoretically preach both there and there.

But the most interesting thing is that in connection with the holiday of February 14, Catholic sources do not mention Valentine from Rome and not Valentine from Terni, but someone else. Valentine from Africa. In this case, Africa should be understood not as the entire continent, but as a Roman province, approximately on the territory of modern Tunisia and Libya.

Thus, we have at least three contenders for the title of that very Saint Valentine. And all three in no way, at first glance, are not connected with love, romance and some kind of amorous relationship. They were, first and foremost, martyrs. Where did love come from in this story?

golden legend

Early information about Christian saints has never been a reliable source, they are scarce and contradictory. Therefore, medieval theologians often expanded the stories about the saints, introducing something of their own into them. And, of course, they did not report to anyone and did not say where they got their information from.

Around 1260, a book by the Dominican monk Jacob Voraginsky appeared in Europe under the title The Golden Legend. It is said that in later centuries it was the second most popular after the Bible. It is from this collection of stories about the saints that we draw detailed information. But we don’t know if Jacob had any sources of information of his own, used books that have not come down to us, oral retellings, or simply fantasized.

It is from the Golden Legend, for example, that we know about St. Patrick, who drove the snakes out of Ireland. Saint George and his victory over the Serpent, Mary Magdalene as a harlot, the story of the Life-Giving Cross and even the life of the Virgin - all this first appeared in the Golden Legend.

And it is there that contains the story of a certain priest Valentine, who lived during the time of Emperor Claudius II. The emperor then forbade the soldiers to marry, so that they would not be distracted from the service of Rome by all sorts of nonsense. And allegedly this Valentine secretly married the soldiers with their brides. And for this he was executed.

Already after the release of the Golden Legend, closer to the XIV century, this story began to acquire new details. As is often the case with legends and fairy tales, additional characters appeared. Such as, for example, the blind daughter of the jailer, who read Valentine's farewell letter and received her sight. Then, in oral retellings, the saint himself became the lover of this girl, to whom he confessed his love in a letter. He wrote, so to speak, the first Valentine's card in history.

Another version says that Valentine was not a priest, but a Roman patrician, a secret Christian who blessed his servants for a Christian marriage. In this version, when the guards "covered" the underground worship, Valentine exchanged the life of the servants for his own. And he sent them all letters in the form of hearts before his death. And from these letters the blind began to see, and women became beauties.

No serious sources confirm such information. And they can't confirm. Actually, even the Catholic Church in 1969 excluded February 14 from the list of obligatory holidays for liturgical veneration. Since there was no serious evidence of the legend, and no. Although, in general, reading Valentine is not forbidden if someone has a desire.

By the way, the Orthodox Church approached this issue from a different angle. There, the days of two different Valentines, Roman and Interamna, I celebrate on two different dates. And not even in February, but on July 6 and 30.

The final role in the formation of the holiday on February 14 as Valentine's Day was played by the English poet Geoffrey Chaucer, who in his poem "Bird Parliament" mentioned that it was on this day that birds find their mates. But this is just a poetic device, nothing more.

pagan roots

Where did the date of February 14 come from, if we not only do not know the date of Valentine's execution, but also his exact identity and history? Everything is quite simple here.

In 494, Pope Gelasius I launched a campaign against pagan remnants. One of these survivals was the feast of Lupercalia, celebrated in Rome on February 15th. It was a celebration of fertility and "feverish love", which was accompanied by a variety of sexual rituals.

Of course, the Christian church has taken care of the moral character of the youth. And I decided that the pagan holiday should be replaced with something close in spirit. This is how Valentine's Day appeared, only now dedicated not to feverish pagan love, but to humble, Christian and romantic.

However, in the 21st century, Valentine's Day has long been a purely secular character. And there is nothing wrong with taking and somehow pleasing those whom you love on this day. The main thing is to be sincere. Any saint would agree with this.

On February 14, the whole world celebrated Valentine's Day, better known as Valentine's Day. The holiday is exclusively secular in nature and is widely celebrated throughout the world, but is condemned by the Catholic Church, although it has church roots.

A bit of history

This story began 18 centuries ago, in 269 AD. At that time, the Roman Empire was ruled by Emperor Claudius II. There was another military campaign, and the Roman army experienced an acute shortage of recruits. The emperor was convinced that the main enemy of the army was marriage, because a married legionnaire thinks much less about military glory, and puts love for his wife higher than love for the Motherland.

Without thinking twice, the emperor issued a decree prohibiting marriages for the soldiers of the Roman Empire. Claudius II naively believed that the ban would raise the morale of the army and mobilize soldiers for feats of arms, but that was not the case.

A priest from the Roman city of Terni, named Valentine, intervened in the matter. According to a legend that exists among lovers, a priest married lovers under cover of night, contrary to imperial prohibitions. And during the day he reconciled those who quarreled, helped write poems and odes for lovers, and also delivered bouquets to the girls.

Soon, the "tricks" of the priest Valentine reached Claudius II, and he gave the order to imprison him. In prison, Valentine met the warden's daughter, Julia. On the eve of her execution, the priest wrote her a love letter and signed it "Your Valentine". And on February 14, 269 AD, Valentine was executed.

Information about Valentine's life is contradictory and unreliable. There is an opinion that the priest Valentine never married anyone, there was no secret lover in his life, but was an ordinary ordinary priest who kept a celibate dinner. But in 496, Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day, and Valentine himself was canonized by the Catholic Church, declared a Christian martyr who suffered for his faith.

"Basurman holiday"

Since 1969, Saint Valentine has been removed from the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church as a result of the worship reform. Since then, in Catholic churches, primarily in Russia, on February 14, instead of "Valentine's Day", the day of memory of Saints Cyril and Methodius, the Enlighteners of the Slavs, is celebrated. The Orthodox Church honors the memory of Valentine on July 19. But in Orthodoxy there are patrons of well-being in marital relations - Peter and Fevronia of Murom. Since 2008, on July 8, in their honor, Russia has celebrated the Day of Marital Love and Family Happiness.

In addition, there are ardent ideological opponents of Valentine's Day among young Russians. The Orthodox Youth Association “Georgievtsy!” held an online protest against the celebration of St. Valentine's Day, urging bloggers on February 14 to place a crossed out heart on their userpics. According to the "Georgievites", the holiday has a pagan and commercial background and is a date alien to both Orthodox and Catholics.

There are currently no bans on marriages between men and women. Therefore, sometimes priests very freely interpret the commandments of God and marry among themselves ... gays.

So on September 1, 2003, in Nizhny Novgorod, priest Vladimir Enert married two men of non-traditional sexual orientation in a chapel for a bribe of 15 thousand rubles. A month later, the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church deprived the priest of church rank. The Synod defined the act of the priest as blasphemy against the sacrament and violation of the foundations of Holy Scripture and called on Orthodox clergy to strictly observe church canons, and the flock - the holiness and indissolubility of marriage.

controversial issue

The complex relationship between gay people and priests is also characteristic of Western Christianity. In May last year, the Anglican Church married two homosexuals: the piquancy of the situation was given by the fact that both gays are priests. Peter Cowell of Westminster Abbey and Dr David Lord of New Zealand were married by Martin Dudley, Rector of a London parish, who described the union as "charitable".

But the hierarchs of the Anglican Church were far from approving this act, the press secretary of the Anglican Church, Lou Henderson, condemned the married gay priests, saying that such a ceremony violates all the guidelines of the church. The Bishop of London has warned the parish priest against holding a gay wedding ceremony.

In the US, there is no consensus on homosexuals in cassocks. In 2003, the first openly gay man became the Bishop of New Hampshire in the United States. The General Convention of the Episcopal Church - the denomination's highest body - approved this consecration, but the ordination of Gene Robinson led to a split in the Anglican Church. The leaders of the Canadian and Nigerian communities protested against the ordination.

The opinions of US priests on the “Gene Robinson case” were divided: liberal representatives of the church called for respect for the rights and freedoms of homosexuals, both priests and parishioners. In their arguments, the hierarchs appealed to the biblical teaching about the equality and justice of all before God. The conservative part of the Anglican Church in the United States considered the presence of a gay bishop as contrary to common sense and biblical teachings. Robinson himself reacted to the attacks: " I am not an abomination in the face of the Lord".

Piquant Crisis in the Anglican Church

In the UK itself, the crisis in the Anglican Church over homosexual priests is even more profound because of the country's civil partnerships law. It allows the British to officially register same-sex unions.

The first legally married homosexual couple in the UK was a female priest and her partner. Her Reverend Debbie Gaston and her partner Elaine Cook were married in the UK's gay capital city of Brighton on December 21, 2005. By that time, they had been together for 16 years and raised 2 children. " As a priest, I believe with all my heart in the sanctity of marriage, I myself have married more than 30 couples. I didn't feel fully satisfied until I got married before the Lord", - said Debbie Gaston after the wedding.

The conclusion of civil partnerships is authorized by the Archbishop of Canterbury Roan Williams. The head of the Church of England announced that by law gay priests have the right to enter into civil partnerships, and partners of gay priests will be endowed with the same rights in the field of social security as the spouses of heterosexual clergymen. But these alliances should only be of a platonic nature, because before marriage, gay priests must provide their bishop with a written promise that there will be no sexual relations between them.

The response of homosexual priests was not long in coming. A petition has appeared on the Internet, signed by 20 clergy of England, in which it is proposed to bless couples who have entered into civil partnerships. In the petition the priests say that " Jesus nowhere teaches that people who have same-sex relationships lose God. Denying recognition and blessing to same-sex unions is un-Christian, illegal and dishonest. We will bless those who turn to us".

"Unloved and unwanted children" of the Vatican

Not all is calm in the Vatican either. In the Roman Catholic Church, preparations are underway to ban homosexuals from being ordained to the priesthood, even if they have become celibate.

The official authorities of the Vatican intend to harshly suppress the wave of sympathy for the homosexual subculture among Catholic priests. The leadership of the Vatican reported: from now on, an applicant for the post of priest of the Catholic Church will have to undergo a psychiatric test before accepting the dignity, which will confirm that he does not have homosexual inclinations, but if the person is " publicly express one's homosexuality" or " demonstrate sympathy for gay culture at least on an intellectual level”, he will not receive permission for dignity. In another part of the document it is said that those who had " fluent experience of homosexuality", can become priests, but homosexual inclinations must be overcome three years before ordination.

In response to instructions issued by the Vatican's Congregation for Catholic Education, a group of unnamed Italian gay priests released a collective statement deploring the Holy See's policies for making them "unloved and unwanted children" of the church.

The measures taken by the Vatican are connected with the scandal in the Boston diocese, which became known in January 2002. In the epicenter of the Boston scandal, more than 400 lawsuits were filed against Catholic priests who were engaged in child molestation. A total of 176 American priests accused of child sexual abuse have been suspended from service in 28 US states. Of the 11,000 victims of Catholic priests, 80% are boys. In the United States, up to 25% of believers consider themselves to be Catholics.

At the same time, in the camp of Catholics there are ministers of the church who sympathize with homosexuals, both priests and parishioners. 30 Catholic priests in the American city of Rochester wrote an open letter condemning the position of the Vatican, which advocates a ban on same-sex marriages. " These people are important to our church. Every person has the virtues given by God».

In Germany, the homeland of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, they did not find support for the pope's action to prevent homosexuals from accepting the rank of the Catholic Church. This measure was rejected by 67% of German Catholics and 74% of Protestants, who saw in it a manifestation of obscurantism and infringement of human rights.

It is difficult to predict what reforms the church is ready to go to in order to keep parishioners. Perhaps, after the ordination of people of non-traditional sexual orientation and women, the celibacy dinner at the priests will be canceled. Indeed, in the Bible there is no direct indication of the need for priests to observe celibacy, this rule was later introduced by the Roman Catholic Church. In Catholicism, the Apostle Peter, who had a wife and three children, is traditionally considered the first pope. Perhaps, in order to avoid further scandals among the priests, the current ministers of Christ should take an example from him?

The history of Valentine's Day grows out of legends that have come to us through the centuries. One of the first popular symbols of Valentine's Day was Cupid, the Roman god of love, represented by a boy with a bow and arrow. But did Saint Valentine really exist?

Several theories surround the history of Valentine's Day.
For about three hundred years after the death of Jesus Christ, Roman emperors continued to insist on belief in their gods. Valentine was a Christian priest, and for his teachings he was thrown into prison. On February 14, Valentine was beheaded, not only because he was a Christian priest, but also because he performed a miracle. There is a story that he cured the jailer's daughter of blindness. On the night before his execution, he wrote her a farewell letter, signing it "From Your Valentine".

Another legend.
Valentine was an Italian bishop who lived around the same time, 200 AD. He was imprisoned for secretly marrying couples in love, contrary to the laws of the Roman emperor. According to some reports, he was burned at the stake.

It is not known exactly why February 14th is known as St. Valentine's Day, or if St. Valentine was actually related to this day.
Historians claim that the modern day celebration of Valentine's Day was a mixture of ancient Christian and Roman traditions. According to one legend, this holiday comes from the ancient Roman festival Lupercalia - Lupercalia, which was a fertility festival and was celebrated annually on February 15th. But during the rise of Christianity in Europe, many pagan holidays were renamed in honor of Christian martyrs. The Lupercalia festival is no exception. In AD 496, Popes Gelasius directed the inclusion of the Lupercalia festival as a Christian holiday and set its observance one day early, February 14th. He proclaimed February 14 as a holiday in honor of Roman Saint Valentine.

There were at least three Christian saints named Valentine in the Catholic Encyclopedia. One of them was a priest in Rome, the other was a bishop in Terni. Nothing is known about the third Saint Valentine except that he ended his life in Africa. But it is known that they were all executed on February 14th.

Most scholars believe that Saint Valentine was a priest who lived in Rome around 270 and drew the disgrace of the Roman emperor Claudius II, who was the ruler of that time. During the existence of Valentine, the golden era of the Roman Empire had almost come to an end. The lack of capable leaders led to frequent civil wars. Taxation has risen exorbitantly. The Roman Empire faced crisis from all sides - from the Gauls, Slavs, Huns, Turks and Mongols from Northern Europe and Asia. The story of St. Valentine also has two different versions - Protestant and Catholic. But both versions agree with the story when St. Valentine, as a bishop, performed secret marriage ceremonies for the soldiers of Emperor Claudius II, who forbade marriage for young soldiers and was subsequently executed for this. Claudius II believed that married men were more emotionally attached to their families, and thus would not make good soldiers. He issued a decree banning marriage for his military personnel.

The ban on marriage was a great shock to the Romans. But they did not dare to openly express their protest against the powerful emperor. Bishop Valentine considered this decree unfair, and seeing the imprint this trauma leaves on young lovers who have lost all hope of having a family, he secretly performed marriages for young lovers. But such things cannot remain secret for a long time. When Claudius II found out about this, Valentine was arrested.

Claudius II met Valentine and he is said to have been impressed by the latter's self-esteem. Valentine refused to agree with the emperor regarding the ban on marriage. He also refused to recognize the Roman gods and even attempted to convert the emperor himself, fully aware of the consequences.

Legend says that there was a deep friendship between Valentine and the daughter of Asterius. Just before the execution, Valentine asked for a pencil and paper from his jailer and signed a farewell for her" From your Valentine", a phrase that lives on to this day. Valentine was executed on February 14, 270 AD.

After that, February 14 became the day for all lovers and Saint Valentine became his patron.

And no matter how strange the origin story may be, Valentine's Day is the day of lovers. When a lover can send a letter and candy to his sweetheart, roses are a symbol of love. The first greeting cards "valentines" appeared in the 16th century. William Shakespeare helped romanticize Valentine's Day in his work, and the holiday gained popularity throughout the UK and beyond in the rest of Europe. Originally postcards were handmade. "Valentines" made of lace, ribbons, and with pictures of cupid with an arrow piercing the heart. After this tradition spread to the American continent. Today, Valentine's Day is one of the major holidays in the US and is a huge commercial success.

But who was Saint Valentine, and did he really exist? We only know that this day has a mixture of Christian and ancient Roman traditions. But the personal history of the patron saint of Valentine's Day is shrouded in mystery!

Happy Valentine's Day, dear readers!

All the best, happiness and love to you!

Why was Saint Valentine executed? and got the best answer

Answer from Leonid Yaroshevsky[guru]
February 14th is not an ordinary day. This is the holiday of all lovers, since according to the Catholic calendar, this is the day of St. Valentine, who is perceived as the patron saint of lovers. According to legend, Saint Valentine was a Roman bishop during the reign of Emperor Claudius II in the 3rd century. Since Valentine was a Christian, the emperor ordered his prefect Astorius to keep an eye on him. Astorius took Valentine to his house, where his blind daughter also lived. Valentine fell in love with her and cured her with the help of God. But the Roman pagans considered him a sorcerer and executed him. However, in memory of his martyrdom, the entire Christian world celebrates this day as a day of love.
There is another legend about the origin of the holiday. In ancient Rome, there was once a doctor named Valentine. He can even be called a "gastronomic doctor", since he was always concerned that the medicines that he prescribed for patients to take had a pleasant taste. To give a delicious taste to medicines, he mixed bitter mixtures with wine, milk or honey. He washed wounds with wine and used herbs to relieve pain.
Saint Valentine was also a preacher. Although Christians in Rome were persecuted at that time, he became a priest. Valentine lived during the time of Claudius II, who carried out many aggressive wars. When Claudius had trouble recruiting new soldiers for the army, he decided that the reason was the soldiers' attachment to their wives and families. And canceled weddings and engagements.
Valentine prayed for the health of his patients, and secretly married couples in love. One day the jailer of the Roman emperor knocked on Valentine's door. He held his blind daughter by the hand. He learned about the healing abilities of Valentine, and begged Valentine to cure his daughter of blindness. Valentine knew that the girl's illness was practically incurable, but he promised that he would do everything possible to cure her. He prescribed eye ointment for the girl and told her to come back in a while.
Several weeks passed, but the sight of the girl did not return. However, the man and his daughter did not doubt their faith in Dr. Valentine and continued the course of treatment prescribed by him. One day, Roman soldiers broke into Valentine's home, destroyed his medicines, and took him into custody because of his religious beliefs.
When the sick girl's father found out about Valentine's arrest, he wanted to intervene, but was unable to help. Valentine knew that he would soon be executed. He asked the jailer for paper, pen and ink and quickly wrote a farewell love letter to the girl. Valentine was executed on the same day, February 14, 270.
When the jailer returned home, his daughter met him. The girl opened the note and found yellow saffron inside. The note read "From your Valentine." The girl took the saffron in her palm and saw its sparkling colors. A miracle happened: the girl's vision was restored.
In 496, Pope Gelasius declared February 14th to be Saint Valentine's Day.
Officially, Valentine's Day has existed for more than 16 centuries, but the holidays of Love have been known since ancient pagan cultures. For example, the Romans in mid-February celebrated Lupercalia - a festival of eroticism in honor of the goddess of love, Juno Februata.

Answer from V.I.P.[guru]
for the fact that he married both the rich and the poor! and there was nothing to do in those days !!

Answer from I[expert]
For the fact that he illegally married

Answer from OK[guru]
Legionnaires were not allowed to marry, but he secretly married them

Answer from Glukos[guru]
For the fact that he married lovers during the war, which was forbidden.
Happy Valentine's Day!!

Answer from Anna Koryagina[guru]
there was a state ban on weddings, because there was a war, and marriage distracted men from the war. And SV. Valentine secretly married lovers.

Answer from Anonymous[guru]
For the love of nature!

Answer from KawaiiKa[newbie]
For love... it's so sad. after all, he only made people happier ... after all, love is the meaning of life ..

Answer from Victoria Arutunova[guru]
Valentine is a saint who lived until the third century.
He was bishop of the Italian city of Terni at a time when Christians were being persecuted by the emperor Claudius.
Once Valentine healed the daughter of a dignitary Asterius from blindness, after which the whole family of the dignitary converted to Christianity. This angered the emperor - and on February 14, 269, the bishop was beheaded.
There is another version. Emperor Claudius II issued a decree forbidding legionnaires to marry. Valentine secretly married legionnaires in love with their lovers. The emperor found out about this and decided to stop his "criminal activity". Valentine was sentenced to death. (Personally, this vesiya seems to me like a beautiful legend - how could he "marry" legionnaires if Christianity had not yet been approved as the state religion in Rome and the emperor Claudius was against Christianity as a religion?)
In any case, later, Valentine was canonized by the Catholic Church as a Christian martyr who suffered for the faith (but not as a secret accomplice of marriages). And in 496, Pope Gelasius announced February 14 as St. Valentine's Day (later they began to associate this day with the feast of lovers). However, in 1969, as a result of the reform of worship, Saint Valentine was removed from the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church, since information about his life is contradictory and unreliable.
Source:
link

Answer from Primadonna Natalie™[guru]
The legend tells how Emperor Claudius was going to conquer the world, but the Roman army experienced an acute shortage of soldiers for military campaigns. Allegedly, men preferred to spend time with young wives, rather than go to war. Therefore, Claudius forbade marriage as a phenomenon and forbade the legionnaires to marry. But Bishop Valentine disregarded the tyrant's prohibition and secretly married the lovers. For this he was thrown into prison.
A few days before the execution, a girl was brought to him, the daughter of one of the jailers, who was seriously ill. Using his healing gift, Valentine, who had loved her for a long time, cured the girl. But there was nothing he could do to help himself. The execution is scheduled for February 14th. The day before the execution, Valentine asked the jailer for paper, pen and ink and quickly wrote a farewell letter to the girl. On February 14, 270, he was executed. And the girl opened a note where Valentine wrote about his love and signed "Your Valentine."

Answer from User deleted[active]
glamorous

Answer from Glyana Barmenkova[newbie]
he crowned same-sex marriages and the day of love is celebrated in the summer, this is the day of Peter and Fevronya

Answer from Alexei[active]
There is another version. Emperor Claudius II issued a decree forbidding legionnaires to marry (among themselves), as this adversely affected the morale of the army. Valentine secretly married legionnaires (homosexuals) in love. The emperor found out about this and decided to stop his "criminal activity". Valentine was sentenced to death. He was posthumously recognized by Catholics as a saint. Valentine's Day was actively celebrated in the United States by American homosexuals in the 70s, and it was on this day that the first official same-sex marriages were concluded.

Canonized Day of Remembrance Attributes

birds; roses; a bishop carrying a sword; bishop holding the sun

asceticism

miraculous healings, confession of faith in Christ

Life and legends

The first reliable evidence of the veneration of Valentine the Roman dates back to the 7th century and is recorded in the "Martyrdom of Mary and Martha" (BHL 5543). As for Valentinus of Interamna, his life (BHL 8460) was written somewhat earlier, in or in the 7th century. Both texts are extremely typified, they can be considered with great difficulty as reliable evidence.

In the early lists of Roman martyrs, Valentine is not mentioned; undoubtedly, their veneration is recorded no earlier than the beginning of the 7th century. Memory is missing in the most complete app. Blessed Martyrology. Jerome and appears only in the Sacramentary of Pope Gregory I the Great (590-604), from where it passed into the Martyrology of Bede the Venerable. There is indirect evidence of the existence of the cult of St. Valentine in Rome as early as the 4th century, which shows the fact of the construction of two basilicas. According to information from the Roman Chronograph (354), one - “ called Valentina"- was built in the pontificate of Julius I (337-352) on the Flaminius road (" on the second miliarium of the Via Flaminius, quae appellatur Valentini""). At the same time, this name may indicate that a certain Valentine was a builder. The second was built in the city of Terni over the alleged tomb of Valentine, Bishop of Interam, but it is mentioned only in the middle of the 8th century (LP 1, 427).

relics

To possess the relics of St. Valentine claims many temples and monasteries. Despite the fact that the saint’s skull decorated with a wreath has long been located in the Roman basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, the Vatican recognized the relics of the remains removed in 1836 from the catacombs of Hippolytus on the Tiburtine road. Pope Gregory XVI donated this relic to the Carmelite Church in Whitefair Street, Dublin.

Also, the Cathedral of Roquemore in France, the Cathedral of St. Stephen in Vienna, the basilica in Balzan in Malta, the church of St. Peter and Paul in the Czech Vysehrad, the Greek Catholic Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Sambir and the church in Chelmno, Poland. On the desecration of the relics of St. Valentine in the Trinity Church of the city of Berestechko is narrated by I. Babel in the story "At St. Valens" from the collection "Cavalry".

veneration

In the West, the memory of Valentine the Roman and Valentine the Bishop of Interamna has been celebrated on the same day since the 7th century - February 14 (see St. Valentine's Day).

In the Catholic Church in 1969, when revising the general liturgical calendar of St. Valentine was excluded from the list of saints whose memory is obligatory for liturgical veneration. The saint is currently commemorated locally in a number of dioceses. In Russia, on February 14, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius, the enlighteners of the Slavs.

In Orthodoxy, the memory of both martyrs is celebrated on different days: on July 6 (19 N.S.) - the memory of Valentine the Roman, Hieromartyr, presbyter, and on July 30 (August 12, N.S.) - the memory of Valentine of Interamsky, Hieromartyr, Bishop.

In the Belarusian city of Smolevichi there is a Catholic church dedicated to St. Valentine. Also near it is a monument to the saint.

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Notes

Links

• (English)
• Catholic Encyclopedia. Ed. Franciscans, M.: 2002.
• (Russian) - Saints and Blessed of the Catholic Church
• (biographical radio play)

An excerpt characterizing Saint Valentine

[Death is saving and death is calm;
O! there is no other refuge against suffering.]
Julie said it was lovely.
- II y a quelque chose de si ravissant dans le sourire de la melancolie, [There is something infinitely charming in a smile of melancholy,] - she said to Boris word for word the passage written out from the book.
- C "est un rayon de lumiere dans l" ombre, une nuance entre la douleur et le desespoir, qui montre la consolation possible. [This is a ray of light in the shadows, a shade between sadness and despair, which indicates the possibility of consolation.] - To this, Boris wrote poetry to her:
"Aliment de poison d" une ame trop sensible,
"Toi, sans qui le bonheur me serait impossible,
"Tendre melancolie, ah, viens me consoler,
Viens calmer les tourments de ma sombre retraite
"Et mele une douceur secrete
"A ces pleurs, que je sens couler."
[Poisonous food of a too sensitive soul,
You, without whom happiness would be impossible for me,
Gentle melancholy, oh come comfort me
Come, calm the torments of my gloomy solitude
And join the secret sweetness
To these tears that I feel flowing.]
Julie played Boris the saddest nocturnes on the harp. Boris read Poor Liza aloud to her and interrupted the reading more than once from excitement, which took his breath away. Meeting in a large society, Julie and Boris looked at each other as the only people in the world who were indifferent, who understood each other.
Anna Mikhailovna, who often traveled to the Karagins, making up her mother's party, meanwhile made accurate inquiries about what was given for Julie (both Penza estates and Nizhny Novgorod forests were given). Anna Mikhailovna, with devotion to the will of Providence and tenderness, looked at the refined sadness that connected her son with rich Julie.
- Toujours charmante et melancolique, cette chere Julieie, [She is still charming and melancholic, this dear Julie.] - she said to her daughter. - Boris says that he rests his soul in your house. He has suffered so many disappointments and is so sensitive,” she told her mother.
“Ah, my friend, how I have become attached to Julie lately,” she said to her son, “I cannot describe to you! And who can't love her? This is such an unearthly creature! Oh Boris, Boris! She was silent for a minute. “And how I feel sorry for her maman,” she continued, “today she showed me reports and letters from Penza (they have a huge estate) and she is poor and all alone: ​​she is so deceived!
Boris smiled slightly, listening to his mother. He meekly laughed at her ingenuous cunning, but he listened and sometimes asked her attentively about the Penza and Nizhny Novgorod estates.
Julie had long been expecting an offer from her melancholic admirer and was ready to accept it; but some kind of secret feeling of disgust for her, for her passionate desire to get married, for her unnaturalness, and a feeling of horror at the renunciation of the possibility of true love still stopped Boris. His vacation was already over. Whole days and every single day he spent with the Karagins, and every day, reasoning with himself, Boris told himself that he would propose tomorrow. But in the presence of Julie, looking at her red face and chin, almost always strewn with powder, at her moist eyes and at the expression on her face, which always showed readiness to immediately move from melancholy to the unnatural rapture of marital happiness, Boris could not utter a decisive word: despite the fact that for a long time in his imagination he considered himself the owner of the Penza and Nizhny Novgorod estates and distributed the use of income from them. Julie saw Boris's indecisiveness and sometimes the thought came to her that she was disgusting to him; but immediately a woman's self-delusion offered her consolation, and she told herself that he was shy only out of love. Her melancholy, however, began to turn into irritability, and not long before Boris left, she undertook a decisive plan. At the same time that Boris' vacation was coming to an end, Anatole Kuragin appeared in Moscow and, of course, in the Karagins' living room, and Julie, suddenly leaving her melancholy, became very cheerful and attentive to Kuragin.
“Mon cher,” Anna Mikhailovna said to her son, “je sais de bonne source que le Prince Basile envoie son fils a Moscou pour lui faire epouser Julieie.” [My dear, I know from reliable sources that Prince Vasily is sending his son to Moscow in order to marry him to Julie.] I love Julie so much that I should feel sorry for her. What do you think, my friend? Anna Mikhailovna said.
The idea of ​​being fooled and losing for nothing this whole month of hard melancholic service under Julie and seeing all the income from the Penza estates already planned and used properly in his imagination in the hands of another - especially in the hands of stupid Anatole, offended Boris. He went to the Karagins with the firm intention of making an offer. Julie greeted him with a cheerful and carefree air, casually talking about how fun she had been at the ball yesterday, and asking when he was coming. Despite the fact that Boris came with the intention of talking about his love and therefore intended to be gentle, he irritably began to talk about female inconstancy: about how women can easily move from sadness to joy and that their mood depends only on who looks after them. Julie was offended and said that it was true that a woman needed variety, that everyone would get tired of the same thing.
“For this I would advise you ...” Boris began, wanting to taunt her; but at that very moment the insulting thought came to him that he might leave Moscow without achieving his goal and losing his labors in vain (which had never happened to him). He stopped in the middle of her speech, lowered his eyes so as not to see her unpleasantly irritated and indecisive face, and said: “I didn’t come here at all to quarrel with you. On the contrary…” He glanced at her to see if he could continue. All her irritation suddenly disappeared, and restless, pleading eyes were fixed on him with greedy expectation. "I can always arrange myself so that I rarely see her," thought Boris. “But the work has begun and must be done!” He blushed, looked up at her, and said to her, “You know how I feel about you!” There was no more need to speak: Julie's face shone with triumph and self-satisfaction; but she forced Boris to tell her everything that is said in such cases, to say that he loves her, and never loved a single woman more than her. She knew that for the Penza estates and Nizhny Novgorod forests she could demand this, and she got what she demanded.
The bride and groom, no longer remembering the trees that showered them with darkness and melancholy, made plans for the future arrangement of a brilliant house in St. Petersburg, made visits and prepared everything for a brilliant wedding.

Count Ilya Andreich arrived in Moscow at the end of January with Natasha and Sonya. The countess was still unwell, and could not go, but it was impossible to wait for her recovery: Prince Andrei was expected to Moscow every day; besides, it was necessary to buy a dowry; The Rostovs' house in Moscow was not heated; in addition, they arrived for a short time, the countess was not with them, and therefore Ilya Andreich decided to stay in Moscow with Marya Dmitrievna Akhrosimova, who had long offered her hospitality to the count.