What St. Valentine said to Emperor Claudius 2. M. Grant. Roman emperors. Claudius II of the Gothic. Legends and myths about Saint Valentine

In the Western world, February 14 is celebrated as Valentine's Day or Valentine's Day. The adoption of this tradition in Russia is sharply criticized by conservatives, and especially sharply now that there is talk that the “real” Saint Valentine married even same-sex couples. Surprisingly, the version of “Christian gay marriages” has a basis, moreover, taken from Orthodox history.

Valentine's Day is an interesting holiday in the sense that every year it acquires new connotations, sometimes very strange ones. At the same time, in Russia in recent years it can be called a holiday with a fair amount of conventionality. It appeared as a tracing paper from Western traditions, gained a foothold thanks to marketers, and was designed primarily for young people. However, in recent years, there are simply no particularly noisy celebrations of Valentine's Day. The maximum is discounts in stores and “valentines” in stationery kiosks. Young people prefer to bake pancakes during Shrove Tuesday.

Nevertheless, the battles over whether this holiday is necessary and how authentic it is for Russia to celebrate it have not subsided so far, albeit on a residual basis. The peculiarity of this year is a wave of stories that St. Valentine secretly married gays - Roman legionnaires, and therefore this is “a date alien to us and an alien saint”, although Valentine was recognized as a saint long before the split of the Christian church into the western (Catholics) and eastern (Orthodox) branches .

For certain, by the way, it is not known who St. Valentine married and which Valentine is meant. Perhaps we are talking about Valentine of Interamne, a bishop who lived in the Italian city of Thermi in the third century. He is known as a preacher and healer, through whose prayers the son of the Roman aristocrat Kraton was cured. After that, many people converted to Christianity, including the son of the mayor. Due to this fame, Valentine was taken into custody, and then tortured and beheaded. The memory of this martyr in the Russian Orthodox Church is celebrated on July 30 according to the old style.

There is also Valentine of Rome, also a martyr who lived around the same time and was also executed. Specialists in hagiography, however, say that in the person of Valentine of Rome, several martyrs who bore this name could be "connected".

As for the romantic component, the person of St. Valentine acquired it already in the late Middle Ages, more precisely, after the “Golden Legend” of Jacob Voraginsky, a collection of apocrypha and “entertaining lives of the saints”, which appeared around 1260. There were not so many literate people at that time, but among them this reading gained popularity, and therefore the image of St. Valentine as the patron saint of “young and in love” quickly entrenched.

Another thing is that the story of secret weddings does not stand up to historical criticism. The version that is most common tells about a certain priest and field doctor Valentine, who lived during the time of Emperor Claudius II. In order for men to fight better and more willingly carry out military service, Caesar allegedly forbade them to marry, as well as girls to marry.

There are several nuances here. Firstly, in the third century there was still no separate rite or rite that would fix the sacrament of marriage. Secondly, the Roman Empire in those days was quite pagan, and Christians were a marginal and persecuted community. And it is extremely unlikely that "advanced Roman youth" would marry in defiance of the will of the emperor, swearing allegiance to an "incomprehensible god" and not to "native pagan gods."

Much more plausible is the version according to which Valentine's Day has replaced the traditional and no less pagan lupercalia, in which case it was also about love and childbearing. It all started before the birth of Christ - in 276 BC, when a sudden "epidemic" of stillbirths and miscarriages occurred in Rome. Since medicine was, as they say, powerless, oracles came to the rescue, who announced that women needed to be subjected to ritual flogging. And dedicate the action itself to the Faun, one of whose nicknames is Luperc.

On the other hand, the celebration of the “day of the wolf” (Lupus is exactly the wolf) for Rome, with its legend of Romulus and Remus, fed by a she-wolf, was very symbolic. As a result, the new holiday has become one of the most popular. Luperki priests ran with goat leather belts (a goat was considered the most delicious victim for a wolf) and whipped women, and women willingly substituted these blows in order to enlist the support of higher powers for the sake of easy childbirth and the health of newborns.

It all ended, like many other holidays in Rome, with an orgy.

In 494, when Christianity had already become the dominant religion in the empire, Pope Gelasius I decided to stop Lupercalia, and the holiday of "pagan love" was replaced by the holiday of Christian love. However, a number of researchers find this version not too reliable. If only because the replacement of one holiday by another is a very long process in the historical perspective, and at the level of everyday paganism, lupercalia could continue for a long time.

As for stuffing about Valentine and gay marriage, they have some historical basis. The fact is that already in the eastern, Byzantine, church, there was such a rite as adelphopoiesis, or “twinning”, which is more correctly called “brotherhood”. We are talking about a church-blessed friendly union of two people of the same sex, usually men. It also took place in the Russian Church. For example, it is very likely that it was through adelphopoiesis that Alexander Nevsky and Sartak, the son of Batu, strengthened their alliance. Other political cases of such brotherhood are also known.

Over time, this rite completely went out of church practice, and one of the versions of why exactly rests on the topic of non-traditional relationships. Yale historian John Boswell generally interpreted adelphopoiesis as something close to gay marriage, but his approach is disputed by other researchers. And here we must understand that Boswell himself (who died, by the way, of AIDS) can be attributed to such a category of persons as gay activists, that is, he was biased in his own way.

Most likely, adelphopoiesis was abandoned due to the extreme politicization of this “brotherhood”. In addition, the family ties of such sworn brothers were not fully clarified. The Church equated spiritual kinship with blood. If so, the question arises - could the children of the “brothers” who passed the adelphopoiesis get married? The people thought that no, they could not.

According to the specialist in the history of the Church, hegumen Athanasius (Selichev), this late Byzantine rite did not take root because of its artificiality and uselessness. “You can make friends without vows. I also think that this confused the already confusing system of calculating kinship. It prevented the children of sworn brothers from marrying each other. After all, they actually became cousins, ”he told the VZGLYAD newspaper.

Whether there was an analogue of adelphopoiesis among Catholics is not an easy question. The historian Boswell mentioned above believed that no, there was not. His British colleague Alan Bray opposed him and even cited in his book the text of a Catholic rite from Slovenia called “Following the creation of the brothers”, although he admitted that much less is known about this phenomenon in the West, therefore, it was less common.

One way or another, but until the middle of the 20th century in the Roman Church, St. Valentine's Day was a significant event and one of the obligatory holidays. This continued until the Second Vatican Council of 1962-1965, which changed a lot of fundamental things in the structure of the Roman Church, up to the appearance of a new rite of the liturgy, which provoked several schisms and the emergence of the so-called Old Catholics, or Lefevrites (after the leader of the movement, Cardinal Marcel Lefebvre) .

At the same time, a global revision of the saints and holidays associated with these saints was carried out. As a result, in 1969, Valentine's Day as a general Catholic holiday was canceled, becoming "optional". The formal reason for this is the obscurity of all these Saint Valentines. Their canonical lives were too short and vague, too many later changes were made to them.

At the same time, God, as they say, has an excellent sense of humor: now in the Catholic Church February 14 is celebrated as the day of Cyril and Methodius, the enlighteners of the Slavic peoples.

Thus, for almost half a century, St. Valentine's Day has been a purely secular holiday, which has very little in common with church tradition (either Western or Eastern). He took the corresponding place in Russia - as a reason for discounts on cosmetics and other promotions. And faith and the church have nothing to do with it.

Soon, very soon .. February 14 will come. I do not celebrate this strange and incomprehensible "holiday" for me.
But I decided to take an interest in its history. And this is what I found:

Emperor Claudius II issued an order: "Young people fit for military service did not have the right to marry (among themselves!), As this adversely affected the general morale of the army." A priest named Valentine went against the emperor and continued wedding ceremonies for lovers (homosexual warriors), for which he was sentenced to death and was posthumously recognized by Catholics as a saint. Valentine's Day was actively celebrated by American homosexuals in the 70s, and it was on this day that they entered into the first official same-sex marriages.

Enemy Wikipedia of course does not write about it.
She writes:
In the late Middle Ages in France and England, the life of St. Valentina gradually began to acquire legends associated with the secret wedding of couples in love. According to the Golden Legend, in those distant and dark times, the imperious and cruel Roman emperor Claudius II came to the conclusion that a single man, not burdened with a wife and family, would be better off fighting on the battlefield for the glory of Caesar, and forbade men to marry, and women and girls - to marry the men you love. And St. Valentine was an ordinary field doctor and priest who sympathized with the unfortunate lovers and secretly from everyone, under the cover of night consecrated the marriage of loving men and women. Soon the activities of St. Valentine became known to the authorities, and he was put in prison, sentenced to death. In conclusion, Saint Valentine met the warder's beautiful daughter, Julia. Before his death, the priest in love wrote a declaration of love to his beloved girl - a valentine, where he spoke about his love, and signed it "Your Valentine". It was read after he was executed, and the execution itself took place on February 14, 269

But, since anyone and anything can write in an enemy dump, there is no faith in the wiki.
And now let's read what adherents of Christian teaching think about Valentine's holiday, etc.:

St. Valentine the Roman (Comm. 6/19 July), who is not mentioned in the Orthodox calendar for February 14, supposedly secretly married couples in love according to the Christian rite around 270 AD, for which he was executed. The repeated replication of the legend did not bring it closer to the truth by a millimeter. In the Life of St. Valentine the Roman there is no hint of secret weddings of Christians. But in mid-February, once there were Roman pagan holidays of the awakening of nature from winter sleep, associated with the cult of fertility. This is where the ears of the "holiday of love" grew. It is understandable, in the Mediterranean at this time you can already see the awakening of the stormy nature, but in the native snowy expanses something does not work out. So there were no "Valentines" in vast Russia until the very beginning of the 90s.
In the second half of the 20th century, Western corporations, whose business was associated with the gift trade, thought about how they could get rid of the traditional February sales decline. Christmas has died down a long time ago, and the rest of the holidays do not even think of coming. This is where Valentine's Day came in handy. For a couple of decades, an entire Valentine's Day industry has grown out of an unknown "holiday".

The whole story of santa valentine is the story of santa barbara, only without a TV set, a set of scenario blanks, nothing more. Being, according to all versions, beheaded in 269-270, how could he marry someone in the Roman Empire, if Christianity, as a religion, was legalized by the Milan Edict of Emperor Constantine only in 323?!

secular version.

According to secular sources, the story went like this. In Rome, under Emperor Claudius II, who forbade his soldiers to marry, lived the priest Valentine. Valentine, contrary to the imperial decree, secretly continued to marry lovers, for which he was imprisoned. Claudius even ordered the execution of the priest. And in conclusion, Valentine allegedly wrote notes to the jailer's daughter, whom he fell in love with. Before the execution, the young priest wrote a farewell note to the girl with the brief phrase "from Valentine". Having received this news, the jailer's daughter, being still blind, received her sight. Since then, people have revered this day as the holiday of lovers.

According to church records.

These events took place in the 3rd century, when the persecution of Christianity, begun under the emperor Nero, continued. The state was afraid that Christianity, as an alien religion, would anger its "gods", and they would turn away from the empire. In addition, each emperor bore the title of Pontificus magnus (high priest), that is, he was a convinced pagan.

In the "Lives of the Saints" for July 6, we see the priest Valentine brought to trial, but not because he supposedly crowned soldiers, but because he confessed Christ as God. Let us listen to the conversation that took place between the cruel emperor Claudius, who issued a decree to execute all Christians, and the young presbyter.

Why are you, living among our people, not in agreement with us? I hear enough about your Christian teaching and wonder how you, being an intelligent person, are seduced by the empty tales of your faith? asked Valentina Claudius.

- If you knew the gift of God, which is in our faith, then you would gladly accept it, and you yourself and your people, would reject false gods and idols made by human hands and confess the One Almighty God the Father and Jesus Christ, His Son , the Creator of all that exists, who created the sky, and the earth, and the sea, and everything that is in them, answered Valentine.

"If Christ is God, why don't you tell me the whole truth about Him?" asked the emperor, who was listening attentively.

— Oh, king! Listen to me, and your soul will be saved, your kingdom will expand and your enemies will disappear, you will defeat everyone and here you will enjoy the temporary, and in the future life - the eternal kingdom. Do only the following: repent of the blood of the saints that you shed, believe in Christ and receive Holy Baptism.

After listening to these words, Claudius betrayed Valentine to one of the main dignitaries - Asterius, a man known for his mind, so that he would convince him that the pagan faith is better than the Christian one.

Arriving at the house of Asterius, Valentine prayed that the Lord would turn that house to Himself and give it light after darkness, so that he would know God and Christ in unity with the Holy Spirit. Asterius, who heard the prayer of St. Valentine, asked with surprise why he called Christ the Light. The saint answered that the Lord Jesus Christ is the true light that enlightens every person who comes into the world.

“If He enlightens every person,” Asterius said to this, “then I will now test whether what you say is true.” I have a daughter who was blind before the age of two, and if you restore her sight in the name of your Christ, then I will do everything you command.

Valentine asked to bring the girl. He prayed with tears, then put his hand on the eyes of the blind man and said: "Lord Jesus Christ! Enlighten Your servant, for You are the true Light." After these words, the girl immediately regained her sight. Seeing this, Asterius and his wife fell at the feet of the saint with the words: "We beseech you, do with us what you wish, so that we become the slaves of Christ and our souls are saved." Then St. Valentine ordered them to destroy all the idols that were in the house, to forgive the debts of debtors and, after a three-day fast, to receive Holy Baptism. Asterius and his wife agreed to fulfill everything, and the saint began to teach them the truths of the Christian faith.

Three days later, Asterius was baptized with all his house. Upon learning of this, the emperor immediately sent soldiers to seize all those living in the house of Asterius and torture them so that they renounce Christ. In addition, he ordered that Valentine and some other Christians be separated from the family of Asterius, hoping that the newly baptized and not yet tested in the faith would soon renounce Christ away from them. But he was wrong. Saint Asterius was martyred along with all the household, whom he strengthened with the words: "Be bold, do not be afraid, for the One who was seen in the Babylonian furnace with three youths, now stands among us."
And St. Valentine with some Christians was brought to trial before Claudius, where, by imperial order, he was beaten with sticks without mercy, and then his head was cut off with a sword.

The holy martyr Valentine ended his life with a glorious Christian death for the Lord, and by no means for secretly crowning Roman soldiers. And being in chains, he did not write love letters to the jailer's blind daughter, but, like all Christians sentenced to death, he prayed to Jesus Christ to strengthen his strength during terrible torment.

The pagan roots of the holiday.

Where did this holiday, called Valentine's Day, come from? It turns out that he did not come from the Christian East and not from the Catholic West, but came out of rude paganism.

In ancient times in Rome there was a festival of Lupercalia, which was celebrated on February 15th. This holiday was dedicated to the Faun - the pagan god of fields, forests, pastures and animals. On this day, Luperk priests sacrificed animals to the Faun. It was believed that on this day each bird chooses a mate. Lupercalia was also a holiday for lovers, patronized by the goddesses Juno and Fauna. In order to preserve the feast of the Lupercalia, a certain Christian “plaque” was imposed on it.

This is what we are actually celebrating...

// January 31, 2011 // Views: 5 676

Almost all over the world on February 14, people have been celebrating Valentine's Day for many years. They give hearts to their soul mates, most often they delight with various romantic surprises. However, few people know who Saint Valentine is, where all these traditions came from and why they are so ardently honored in our time. Well, let's try to understand the history of this celebration, plunging into the depths of religion and mythology, as well as focusing on the traditions of various countries and peoples.

A retrospective of the legends about the origin of this saint

There are three legends about who Saint Valentine is. More precisely, three people are known under this name. The first is Valentin Rimsky, who worked in Rome as a clergyman. He died in the third century AD as a result of the persecution that took place during the collapse of the Roman Empire. The second character is Valentine, who also worked in Italy as a church bishop. He was executed in 270 and buried in the Third - a person completely unknown to people of our time. Some, however, believe that he was a warrior and died on a campaign against Carthage. With the advent of the Middle Ages, when all kinds of romance, art and other manifestations of beauty were under the strictest ban, people painted Valentine as an associate who promoted the church (Catholic) idea all over the world.

A beautiful fairy tale that could be true

Nowadays, there is the so-called "Golden Legend", which tells about who Saint Valentine is, where he lived and why he became the patron saint of all lovers. So, once ruling in the Roman Empire, Claudius II considered that young men were reluctant to enter his army. It seemed to him that it was their wives who did not let them go to war, so the emperor signed a decree banning weddings for every unmarried member of the stronger sex. Valentine was a local doctor, a preacher of Christianity. Along with this, he secretly married lovers. Once a man, whose daughter Julia was blind, approached him, and he prescribed an ointment for her. Later rumors of secret weddings reached Claudius, and Valentine was locked up in a dungeon. Knowing that he would be executed, he sent an envelope to Yulia, where, along with healing saffron, he left a message with the text “Your Valentine”. The former doctor was executed on February 14, and the girl, having opened the envelope, gained her sight. Officially, this holiday was included in the church canons in 496.

Inconsistencies in the most beautiful legend

The story of the celebration of Valentine's Day, which was outlined in the previous paragraph, cannot be true for several reasons. Firstly, the holy martyr himself lived in Rome in the third century of our era, when wedding rites as such did not yet exist. This is primarily due to the fact that at the moment Christianity has not yet taken over in the Roman Empire, and all citizens, including the ruler, remained pagans. The spouses could do this both secretly and publicly, so such rumors could hardly reach the emperor. Although it is not worth stating with accuracy that every word in this legend is a fiction, since a saint with a similar name is fully recognized by the Catholic Church, and most often he is identified with a doctor who prayed for every sick person in the world and helped every person who asked him about healing.

The origin of Valentine's Day according to pagan theory

Some historians believe that this celebration was invented, like St. Valentine himself, in order to displace a very cruel pagan holiday from Roman traditions. According to a long tradition, the city of Rome was founded by the brothers - Romulus and Remus, who were fed with their milk by a she-wolf. That is why every year the inhabitants of the empire sacrificed one sheep (the food of wolves), as well as a dog (an animal that wolves hate). The skin of dead animals was divided into narrow thin belts, after which completely naked young guys whipped everyone who got in their way with them. It is noteworthy that young girls tried to fall under these blows, since it was believed that scars made it possible to successfully marry, bear and give birth to a child. In turn, the history of the appearance of Valentine's Day here is connected with the fact that these belts were called "februa", and the ritual itself was carried out in the middle of this February, which in the Romano-Germanic languages ​​sounds like "februarium" and its other derivatives.

Love rituals associated with this celebration

In the form familiar to us, the holiday of all lovers began to be celebrated only in the 19th century in Great Britain. Of course, no one knew who Saint Valentine was, as well as the history of the origin of this entire ritual. For people, this has already become a simple entertainment, which appeared either at the behest or by some decree of the local government. However, every year on February 14, the young men pulled out notes from the drum, which indicated the names of the girls they knew. This is how the “couples” were formed, which during the year had to accept each other’s courtship, after which they could disperse or get married. Later, this tradition migrated to the United States, where it gained great popularity and new rules, many of which are well known to us today.

History of Valentine's Day in the 20th century

At the dawn of the new century, newly-minted merchants took up such entertainment. Thanks to them, heart-shaped postcards, specialized gift bouquets, sweets and other trifles appeared on sale. Also, the owners of restaurants and cafes began to organize certain programs, which could only be attended by couples in love. Gradually, this celebration has become a great opportunity to earn money by selling postcards, "valentines", flowers, good wine and other gifts that today, as a rule, men give to their beloved ladies. In the 21st century, in honor of such a holiday, they just do not suit. And DJ specialized sets, and films, and concerts, and many other events.

Traditions that depend on the culture of a particular country

Despite the fact that we now know who Saint Valentine is and that his homeland is Italy, the celebration held in his honor covers the whole world. In England, where the holiday was celebrated for the first time, today most of all they guess ... on birds. If on February 14 the first thing you see is a robin, then you will live happily ever after with a sailor. A sparrow is most often found in a poor groom, but a goldfinch is a clear messenger of a rich prince. When this holiday became the property of the Americans, their men took up the tradition of giving marzipan to their other halves. Today they are easily replaced with chocolate and other confectionery, but their color should remain red or white. the French do for their women - they present jewels and jewelry to those they love. But in Japan, citizens are limited only to chocolate. At the same time, this product is a manifestation of the purest love, and both a man and a woman can confess their feelings.

Brief conclusion

Such a mysterious and diverse origin of the holiday "Valentine's Day" has made it a worldwide celebration. In our country, he also gained popularity, but only with the beginning of the 1990s. Also, all over the world it is customary to believe that marriages concluded on February 14 will not only be happy, but also eternal.

In many countries around the world, it is customary to celebrate Valentine's Day.The history of this holiday is very interesting, although at the same time somewhat confused. Some call it "Valentine's Day", "Love Day", etc. As a rule, on this day people give each other cards in the form of hearts called "valentines", either out of friendship or to confess their sympathy. Also, there are many other customs for this day. The tradition of the celebration is very extensive, there is a lot of paganism in it ... The most important thing in this holiday, as a rule, is the love of a man and a woman. And at the same time, few people think that this is also the day of memory of a certain saint.

Did such a saint really exist, and is he revered in the Orthodox tradition? Let's find out! And to understand this issue, we turn to authoritative Internet sources.

Saint Valentine(lat. Valentinus) is the name of several early Christian holy martyrs. Almost nothing is known about their lives, it is even impossible to reliably establish whether they were really different persons or whether we are talking about different lives of the same saint.

Martyrologists mention Valentine, a Roman priest who was beheaded around 269; as well as Valentine, Bishop of Interamna (modern Terni), famous for miraculous healings and executed for converting the son of the mayor to Christianity. In connection with the feast of February 14, a martyr of the same name, who suffered in the Roman province of Africa, is also mentioned.

In early lists of Roman martyrs, Valentine is not mentioned. However, the cult of Saint Valentine was widespread in Rome already in IV century, which shows the fact that two basilicas were erected at this time. One was built around 350 in the pontificate of Julius II on the Via Flaminius in the place where, according to legend, Valentine the Roman was buried. The second was built in the city of Terni over the alleged grave of Valentine, Bishop of Interam. The feast of February 14 in memory of both saints was established in 496 by Pope Gelasius I.

In the West, the memory of Valentine the Roman and Valentine the Bishop of Interamna with V century was celebrated on the same day - February 14. In the Catholic Church in 1969, when revising the common liturgical calendar, St. Valentine was excluded from the list of saints whose memory is obligatory for liturgical veneration. Currently, the memory of the saint is celebrated 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 the Golden Legend of the XIII century, there is very little information about Saint Valentine, in particular, it is said that he refused to renounce Christ before the emperor Claudius and was beheaded for this.

In the late Middle Ages in France and England, the life of St. Valentina gradually began to acquire legends associated with the secret wedding of couples in love. According to them, Emperor Claudius II forbade soldiers to marry, so that they would not be distracted from the service. Valentine secretly married those who wished and for this he was sentenced to death. Various legends provide details about the farewell letter that Valentine wrote to a blind girl before execution (according to other versions, the jailer's daughter) and which healed her.

In the 17th century in France, the historian Tillemont, and later in the 18th century in England, Butler and Douce, suggested that Valentine's Day was introduced to replace the pagan rite of choosing at random the names of lovers on the eve of the feast of the goddess Juno, celebrated on February 15 (see Lupercalia).

The relics of St. Valentine are stored in the Carmelite Church on Whitefriar Street, Ireland, Dublin "Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church".

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

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

According to http://ru. wikipedia. org

Was there really such a saint?

Yes, St. Valentine lived in the Italian city of Terni in the 3rd century and was executed on February 14, 270.

"Our" is he a saint or a Catholic?

Our. All the saints who accomplished their feat in Western Europe before 1054, that is, before the date of the rupture of Orthodoxy and Catholicism, are our Orthodox saints.

But maybe, although he lived in Orthodox times, but only Catholics realized his holiness and he is a saint only according to Catholic, but not Orthodox criteria?

No, Valentine as a saint was glorified long before the gap between East and West. It is usually said that this canonization was made by Pope Gelasius in 494.

It is possible that Valentine, remembered on February 14, is already known to our calendar - as the Hieromartyr Valentine of Interam (or Italic); his memory is celebrated on August 12 according to the new style (July 30 according to the old one).

But it may well be that this is another person about whom we have not known anything until now.

And in the case of the veneration of St. Valentine, it may be that the memory of a more famous ascetic absorbed the memory of other saints named after him.

After all, the veneration of saints can be different - it can be universal, but it can be local. We do not know all the saints who are revered in this or that monastery in Georgia…

In addition, if it was indeed Pope Gelasius who appointed the memory of St. Valentine on February 14, then this act of his fell at the time of the break in relations between the Roman Church and the Church of Constantinople (from 484 to 519). These were the years of the so-called "Akakian schism". The truth in this schism was on the side of Rome, which in the end was recognized by Constantinople. So the decisions made at that time in Rome simply did not reach the Christian East. But this did not stop them from being Orthodox decisions.

Finally, on the TVS website, you can see a photograph of Patriarch Alexy II kissing the reliquary of St. Valentine.

Here is the official information: « During the meeting, which took place on January 15, 2003, at the working residence of the Patriarch in Chisty Lane, a particle of the relics of St. Valentine of Interamsky was donated to the Russian Orthodox Church. The ceremony was attended by Bishop Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia of Terni, Vicar General of the Diocese Monsignor Antonio Maniero, Vice Mayor of the city of Terni Eros Brega, President of the Province of Terni Bruno Semproni, and other members of the Italian delegation.

The idea of ​​transferring to the Russian Orthodox Church a particle of the relics of the heavenly patron of the city of Terni, Saint Valentine, who died a martyr in the 3rd century, was expressed by Bishop Vincenzo Paglia after the meeting of the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church in July 2001 with the leadership of the Catholic peacemaking charitable organization "Community of St. is Monsignor V. Paglia. Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia called symbolic the fact that the transfer of a particle of the relics of St. Valentine takes place on the day of the celebration of the memory of St. Seraphim of Sarov, whose 100th anniversary of canonization the Russian Orthodox Church will celebrate this year. Thanking Bishop Vincenzo Paglia for this gift,

Holy Pa Triarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II said that the ark with a particle of the relics of St. Valentine will stay in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, where every believer will be able to pray in front of this shrine of the ancient undivided Christian Church . “The 20th century has become a century of severe trials for the Russian Orthodox Church,” said His Holiness the Patriarch. – We hopefully turn our prayers to the martyrs of the first centuries of Christianity, who testified to the pagan world about the Savior, remaining faithful to Him “even unto death.” The history of the Church continues. and centuries ago, the blood of the martyrs lays down and establishes the Church of Christ. "" "Patriarch Alexy, accepting the gift, noted that "with great emotion he accepts a particle of the relics of the holy martyr Valentine - the saint of the Undivided Church" ". “I perceive this act of transferring a particle of the relics of the holy martyr Valentine as a spiritual act, an act that will help Russians, Orthodox believers in Russia to pray, not only remembering the memory of the holy martyr Valentine, but to pray before a particle of his holy relics.”

Based on materials http://www.kazan.eparhia.ru/zhurnal/?id=18121

The custom of celebrating Valentine's Day on February 14 is commented by Priest Kirill Gorbunov, Director of the Information Service of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow :

“Many people think that Valentine's Day is some kind of incredible celebration for the entire Catholic Church. In fact, this is a locally venerated saint, in the calendar of the Catholic Church in Russia, his memory is optional, and the main holiday for Catholics on February 14 is the memory of Saints Cyril and Methodius, the patrons of Europe and the Enlighteners of the Slavs, which I speak with full responsibility, since I bear names both of these saints.

On the other hand, even if St. Valentine himself did not expect that he would be entrusted with the “duty” of being the patron saint of all lovers, I think he accepted it with joy, because this is actually a very important and responsible task. Falling in love is a difficult and often dangerous experience when a person especially needs the presence of God and the intercession of the saints.

According to http://www.pravmir.ru

Bishop of St. mch. Valentin Interamsky

Little is known about the life of Valentin Interamsky. The icon of Valentin Interamsky symbolizes the faith of the Christian people.
Valentin Interamsky lived in the III century in Rome. He was a bishop in the city of Interama, which was eventually renamed Terni.

Saint Valentine was a skilled physician and possessed the gift of healing. The pagan Carton turned to him with a request to cure his son Herimon, who was bent to the knees by the disease, and he could not straighten up in any way, it was most likely chondrosis. Valentine began to pray over the sick and, most likely, Herimon was cured not by the art of medicine, but by prayer. After recovery, Herimon and his father Karton, as well as many of his disciples, believed in the Lord. The mayor, whose son Avundin also accepted faith in the Lord, learned about the mass baptism. The mayor got angry and ordered to imprison Saint Valentine. In prison, he continued to treat and convert prisoners to the Christian faith. The enraged mayor ordered that the saint be tortured and then killed Saint Valentine. His disciples moved the body to the city of Interam. In the fourth century, a basilica was built in honor of St. Valentine, which, thanks to reconstructions, has survived to this day. Here, in the main altar, the holy relics of St. Valentine of Interam are kept.

Christians venerate the saint and celebrate his honor by praying before the icon depicted by the icon of the holy martyr Valentine of Interam.

St. martyr. Valentine

The martyrs of Christ Pasicrates and Valentine came from Rhodostol, the Mysian city, and, being soldiers, were in the service of the hegemon of that country, Avsolan. There were many idolaters in the country who sacrificed to demons, for the rulers of the country forced people to idolatry with the threat of torment. The Christians of that country, fearing torment, fled and hid. These same two holy men openly and boldly declared themselves Christians and, glorifying the one true God, elinated soulless idols. For this they were seized by the idolaters and brought to the court, where they were forced to burn incense before the idols. Here stood the idol of Apollo. Saint Pasicrates, going up to the idol, spat in his face and said: - Such is the honor befitting this god! Immediately they tied Pasicrates with heavy chains and threw him into prison. The warrior of Christ, adorned with these chains, as if adorned with golden royal attire, rejoiced that he was worthy to wear these chains for Christ. Together with him, he was imprisoned and Valentine. Soon they were again demanded to be taken to court by the hegemon. When they appeared at the judgment seat, the brother of Pasicrates, Papian, also came there. He was a Christian, but out of fear of torment, he sacrificed to idols. Papian began to beg his brother with tears that he, following his own example, would bring incense to the idol, so that, having become for a while, as it were, an idolater, he would get rid of fierce torment, but Pasicrates rejected his brother’s request and called him unworthy to be considered in his kind because he departed from the faith of Christ. He himself, going up to the altar and putting his hand on the fire, said to the hegemon: - The body is mortal and, as you yourself see, burns on fire, but the soul, being immortal, despises these visible torments. St. Valentine, interrogated by the same hegemons, uttered the same thing and showed his complete readiness to endure all the torments for Christ. They were both sentenced to beheading with a sword. When the servants of the tormentor led them out of the city to their death, Pasicrates' mother followed them, admonishing him to fearlessly go to death, fearing for him, so that he would not be afraid, for he was very young. The heads of the holy martyrs were truncated. Saint Pasicrates was twenty-two years old, and Valentine was thirty. Mother, with joy and joy, accepted their bodies, and buried them with honor, glorifying Christ God.