Emperor Claudius II banned same-sex marriage. Who is Saint Valentine? Traditions that depend on the culture of a particular country
Soon, very soon... February 14th will come. I do not celebrate this strange and incomprehensible “holiday” for me.
But I decided to take an interest in his story. 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 would adversely affect 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 execution and was posthumously recognized by Catholics as a saint. American homosexuals began to actively celebrate Valentine's Day in the 70s, and it was on this day that they entered into the first official same-sex marriages.
The enemy Wikipedia, of course, does not write about this.
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 powerful and cruel Roman Emperor Claudius II came to the idea 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 - marry the men you love. And Saint Valentine was an ordinary field doctor and priest who sympathized with unhappy lovers and, secretly from everyone, sanctified the marriage under the cover of darkness loving men and women. Soon the activities of Saint Valentine became known to the authorities, and he was put in prison, sentenced to death penalty. In conclusion, Saint Valentine met the warden’s beautiful daughter, Julia. Before his death, a priest in love wrote a declaration of love to his beloved girl - a Valentine card, where he told 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 the enemy trash heap, the wiki has no faith.
And now let’s read what adherents of Christian teaching, etc., think about Valentine’s Day:
Saint Valentine the Roman (July 6/19), who is not mentioned in the Orthodox calendar for February 14, allegedly secretly married loving couples according to Christian rites around 270 AD, for which he was executed. Repeated replication of the legend has not brought it even a millimeter closer to the truth. In the Life of St. Valentine the Roman there is no hint of secret weddings of Christians. But mid-February once marked the 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. This is understandable, in the Mediterranean at this time one can already see the awakening of the stormy nature, but in the native snow-covered 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 related to the gift trade began to think about how they could get rid of the traditional February sales slump. Christmas has died down a long time ago, and the rest of the holidays don’t even think about coming. This is where “Valentine’s Day” comes in handy. Over the course of a couple of decades, the entire industry of Valentine's Day has grown from an unknown “holiday”.
The whole story of Santa Valentin is the story of Santa Barbara, only without the TV, a set of script templates, 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 Edict of Milan by Emperor Constantine only in 323?!
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 even married same-sex couples. Surprisingly, the version of “Christian gay marriage” has a basis, taken precisely 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 last years It can be called a holiday with a fair amount of convention. It appeared as a copy of Western traditions, gained a foothold thanks to marketers, and was aimed primarily at young people. However, in recent years there have simply been no particularly noisy celebrations of Valentine's Day. The maximum is discounts in stores and “Valentines” at stationery kiosks. Young people prefer to bake pancakes during Maslenitsa week.
Nevertheless, battles over whether this holiday is necessary and how authentic it is for Russia to celebrate it still do not subside, albeit on a residual basis. A special feature of this year is a wave of stories that St. Valentine secretly married gay Roman legionnaires, and therefore this is “an alien date 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 .
By the way, it is not known for certain who was married by Saint Valentine and which Valentine he means. Perhaps we are talking about Valentinus of Interamna, a bishop who lived in the Italian city of Termi in the third century. He is known as a preacher and healer, through whose prayers the son of the Roman aristocrat Crato was cured. After this, many people converted to Christianity, including the mayor’s son. Due to this fame, Valentin 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 Valentin of Rome, also a martyr, who lived around the same time and was also executed. Experts in hagiography, however, say that in the person of Valentin of Rome several passion-bearers who bore this name could have been “united.”
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 of Voraginsky - a collection of apocrypha and “entertaining lives of 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 “the young and in love” quickly took hold.
Another thing is that the story of secret weddings does not stand up to historical criticism. The version that is most widespread tells the story of a certain priest and field doctor Valentinus, who lived during the time of Emperor Claudius II. In order for men to fight better and perform military service more willingly, Caesar allegedly forbade them from getting married, just as he forbade girls from getting married.
There are several nuances here. Firstly, in the third century there was still no separate rite or rite that would record the sacrament of marriage. Secondly, the Roman Empire in those days was completely 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 the “native pagan gods.”
Much more plausible seems to be the version according to which St. Valentine's Day 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 and warned that women should be subjected to ritual flogging. And the action itself should be dedicated to Faun, one of whose nicknames is Luperk.
On the other hand, the celebration of the “day of the wolf” (Lupus is precisely a wolf) for Rome with its legend of Romulus and Remus, fed by a she-wolf, was very symbolic. Eventually new holiday became one of the most popular. The Luperc priests ran with goat leather belts (a goat was considered to be the most delicious prey for a wolf) and whipped women, and the women willingly exposed themselves to 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 Roman holidays, 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 replacing one holiday with another is a very long process from a historical perspective, and at the level of everyday paganism, Lupercalia could continue for a long time.
As for the rumors 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 friendly union blessed by the church between two people of the same sex, usually men. It also had a 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, cemented their alliance. There are other political cases of such fraternization.
Over time, this ritual completely fell out of church practice, and one of the versions of why exactly rests on the topic of non-traditional relationships. Yale historian John Boswell has 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, by the way, died of AIDS) can be classified as a gay activist, 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 twin cities were not fully clarified. The Church equated spiritual kinship with blood. If so, the question arises: could the children of “brothers” who underwent adelphopoiesis get married? The people believed that no, they couldn’t.
According to Church history specialist Abbot Athanasius (Selichev), this late Byzantine rite did not take root because of its artificiality and uselessness. “You can fraternize without vows. I also think that this confused the already complicated system of calculating kinship. It prevented the children of sworn brothers from marrying each other. After all, they actually became cousins,” he told the newspaper VZGLYAD.
Whether there was an analogue of adelphopoiesis among Catholics is not the simplest question. The historian Boswell mentioned above believed that no, it 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 was known about this phenomenon in the West, therefore, it was less widespread.
One way or another, until the middle of the 20th century in the Roman Church, 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, right up to the emergence of a new order of liturgy, which provoked several schisms and the emergence of the so-called Old Catholics, or Lefebvres (named after the leader of the movement, Cardinal Marcel Lefebvre) .
At the same time, a global audit of saints and holidays associated with these saints was carried out. As a result, in 1969, Valentine's Day as a pan-Catholic holiday was abolished, becoming “optional.” The formal reason for this is the little known nature 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, Valentine’s Day has been a purely secular holiday, which has very little in common with church tradition (whether Western or Eastern). It has also taken a corresponding place in Russia - as a reason for discounts on cosmetics and other promotions. But faith and the church have nothing to do with it.
People love beautiful legends. Just one of these days we will celebrate a holiday built on exactly one legend - Valentine's Day. It is unlikely that anyone will tell you exactly what kind of Valentine he was and how exactly he is connected with falling in love. It seems like there was a priest who married someone there or not, the story is dark. It's time to end this uncertainty. Let's find out the real story of Saint Valentine.
More than one
And we will immediately inform you of the key news. There were several Valentines. At least two. In the Martyrology, a list of recognized Christian saints, there is mention of a certain Valentine from Rome, who for some reason was beheaded in 269. And there you can also find information about Valentinus of Interamna, who was also executed sometime in the 3rd century AD. for converting the son of the mayor of the city of Terni to Christianity with his sermons. His relics are still kept there. So we have some proof of the reality of at least one Valentine.
It is not known for certain why the Martyrology mentions these Valentines as two different people with very similar fates. Perhaps it was one person, or perhaps many more. Historical sources about the lives of many saints are generally fragmentary and unreliable. The city of Terni (aka Interamnus) is located a hundred kilometers from Rome, so 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 mention not Valentine from Rome and not Valentine from Terni, but someone else. Valentine from Africa. Under Africa in in this case 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 same Saint Valentine. And all three, at first glance, are in no way connected with love, romance or any kind of amorous relationships. 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; it is scanty and contradictory. Therefore, medieval theologians often expanded the stories about saints, introducing something of their own into them. And, of course, they did not report to anyone and did not report where they got their information from.
Around 1260, a book by the Dominican monk James of Voragino entitled “The Golden Legend” appeared in Europe. It is said that in subsequent centuries it was second in popularity after the Bible. It is from this collection of stories about saints that we draw detailed information. But we don’t know whether Jacob had any sources of information of his own, used books that have not reached us, oral retellings, or simply fantasized.
It is from the “Golden Legend,” for example, that we know about St. Patrick, who expelled snakes from 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 Mary - all this first appeared in the Golden Legend.
And it is there that the story of a certain priest Valentinus, who lived during the time of Emperor Claudius II, is contained. The emperor then forbade the soldiers to marry so that they would not be distracted from serving Rome by all sorts of stupid things. And supposedly this Valentine secretly married soldiers to their brides. And for this he was executed.
After the release of "The Golden Legend", closer to 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 regained her sight. Then, in oral retellings, the saint himself became the lover of this girl, to whom he confessed his love in a letter. I wrote, so to speak, the first valentine in history.
Another version says that Valentine was not a priest, but a Roman patrician, a secret Christian who blessed his servants for Christian marriage. In this version, when the guards “caught” the underground worship service, Valentin exchanged the lives of the servants for his own. And before his death he sent letters in the shape of hearts to all of them. And from these letters the blind began to see, and women became beauties.
No serious sources confirm such information. And they can’t confirm it. In fact, even the Catholic Church in 1969 excluded February 14 from the list of obligatory holidays for liturgical veneration. Since there was no serious evidence for the legend, and no. Although, in general, it is not forbidden to read Valentine if someone has a desire.
By the way, the Orthodox Church approached this issue from a different angle. There, I celebrate the days of two different Valentines, Roman and Interamnic, 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 “The Parliament of Birds” 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 February 14 itself come from, if we not only do not know the date of Valentine’s execution, but also his exact personality and history? Everything is quite simple here.
In 494, Pope Gelasius I launched a campaign to combat pagan remnants. One such relic was the festival of Lupercalia, celebrated in Rome on February 15th. It was a festival of fertility and “feverish love”, which was accompanied by a variety of sexual rituals.
Of course, the Christian Church is concerned about the moral character of young people. And I decided that the pagan holiday should be replaced with something close in spirit. And so Valentine's Day appeared, only now dedicated not to feverish pagan love, but to humble, Christian and romantic love.
However, in the 21st century, Valentine's Day has long been of a purely secular nature. And there is nothing wrong with taking and somehow making those you love happy on this day. The main thing is that it be sincere. Any saint would agree with this.
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 time 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. Valentin fell in love with her and, with the help of God, cured her. 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 Once upon a time there lived a doctor named Valentin. He could even be called a “gastronomic doctor,” since he was always concerned that the medicines he prescribed for patients to take tasted good. To give medicines a delicious taste, he mixed bitter mixtures with wine, milk or honey. He washed the wounds with wine and used herbs to relieve pain.
Saint Valentine was also a preacher. Although Christians were persecuted in Rome at that time, he became a priest. Valentin lived during the time of Claudius II, who carried out many aggressive wars. When Claudius had trouble recruiting new soldiers into the army, he decided that the reason lay in the attachment of soldiers to their wives and families. And canceled weddings and engagements.
Valentin prayed for the health of his patients, and also secretly married couples in love. One day, the Roman Emperor's jailer knocked on Valentine's door. He held his blind daughter by the hand. He learned about Valentin's healing abilities, and begged Valentin to cure his daughter of blindness. Valentin knew that the girl’s illness was practically incurable, but he promised that he would do everything possible to cure her. He prescribed the girl eye ointment and told her to come back after a while.
Several weeks passed, but the girl’s vision never returned. However, the man and his daughter did not doubt their faith in Dr. Valentin and continued the course of treatment he prescribed. 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 Valentin's arrest, he wanted to intervene, but was unable to help. Valentin 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 as St. Valentine's Day.
Officially, Valentine's Day has existed for more than 16 centuries, but the holidays of Love have been known since the times of ancient pagan cultures. For example, in mid-February the Romans 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 rich and poor! But there was no way to do this in those days!!
Answer from I[expert]
Because he performed an illegal wedding
Answer from ЎК[guru]
Legionnaires were not allowed to marry, but he married them in secret
Answer from Glukos[guru]
Because he married lovers during the war, which was prohibited.
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. A SV. Valentine secretly married the lovers.
Answer from Anonymous[guru]
For the love of nature!
Answer from KawaiiKa[newbie]
For love... it's so sad. All he did was make 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 the bishop of the Italian city of Terni at a time when Christians were persecuted by the Emperor Claudius.
One day, Valentine healed the daughter of the dignitary Asterius from blindness, after which the dignitary’s entire family 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 prohibiting legionnaires from marrying. Valentine secretly married legionnaires in love with their lovers. The emperor found out about this and decided to stop his “criminal activities.” Valentin was sentenced to execution. (Personally, this story seems to me like a beautiful legend - how could he “crown” legionnaires if Christianity had not yet been approved as the state religion in Rome and Emperor Claudius was against Christianity as a religion?)
In any case, subsequently, 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 declared February 14 as St. Valentine's Day (they began to associate this day with the Valentine's Day later). However, in 1969, as a result of the reform of worship, Saint Valentine was removed from the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church, because information about his life is contradictory and unreliable.
Source:
link
Answer from Diva 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 their young wives rather than go to war. Therefore, Claudius prohibited marriage as a phenomenon and forbade the legionnaires from the wedding ceremony. But Bishop Valentine ignored the tyrant’s ban and secretly married the lovers. For this he was thrown into prison.
A few days before the execution, a girl, the daughter of one of the jailers, who was seriously ill, was brought to him. Using his healing gift, Valentin, who had loved her for a long time, healed the girl. But he himself could no longer be helped. The execution is scheduled for February 14. The day before the execution, Valentin 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 Valentin wrote about his love and signed “Your Valentine.”
Answer from User deleted[active]
Glamorous
Answer from Glyana Barmenkova[newbie]
he celebrated same-sex marriages and the day of love is celebrated in the summer - the day of Peter and Fevronya
Answer from Alexei[active]
There is another version. Emperor Claudius II issued a decree prohibiting legionnaires from marrying (among themselves), as this had an adverse effect on the morale of the army. Valentine secretly married legionnaires (homosexuals) in love. The emperor found out about this and decided to stop his “criminal activities.” Valentin was sentenced to execution. He was posthumously recognized as a saint by Catholics. Valentine's Day began to be 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.
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 confusing. Some people call it “Valentine’s Day”, “Love Day”, etc. As a rule, on this day people give each other heart-shaped cards 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 considered to be the love of a man and a woman. And at the same time, few people think that this is also the day of remembrance of a certain saint.
Did such a saint really exist, and is he revered in Orthodox tradition? Let's figure it out! To understand this issue, let’s turn to authoritative Internet sources.
Saint Valentine(lat. Valentinus) - 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.
Martyrologies mention Valentine, a Roman priest who was beheaded around 269; as well as Valentin, Bishop of Interamna (modern Terni), famous miraculous healings and the son of the mayor, executed for converting to Christianity. In connection with the holiday of February 14, a martyr of the same name is also mentioned, who suffered in the Roman province of Africa.
In early lists of Roman martyrs, Valentine is not mentioned. However, the cult of St. Valentine was widespread in Rome already in IV century, which shows the fact that two basilicas were erected at that time. One was built around 350 during the pontificate of Julius. II on the Flaminian Way in the place where, according to legend, Valentine the Roman was buried. The second was built in the city of Terni over the supposed tomb of Valentine, Bishop of Interam. The holiday of February 14 in memory of both saints was established in 496 by Pope Gelasius I.
In the West, the memory of Valentin the Roman and Valentin - Bishop of Interamna with V centuries was celebrated on one day - February 14. In the Catholic Church in 1969, when revising the general liturgical calendar, St. Valentine was excluded from the list of saints whose memory is obligatory for liturgical veneration. Currently, the saint's memory is celebrated locally in a number of dioceses. In Russia, on February 14, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius, educators of the Slavs.
The Golden Legend of the 13th century provides very little information about Saint Valentine, in particular, it says 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 their service. Valentin secretly married those who wished and was sentenced to death for this. Various legends provide details about the farewell letter that Valentine wrote before his execution to a blind girl (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 St. Valentine's Day was introduced to replace the pagan rite of choosing the names of lovers at random on the eve of the feast of the goddess Juno, celebrated on February 15 (see Lupercalia).
The relics of St. Valentine are kept in the Carmelite Church on Whitefriar Street, Ireland, Dublin "Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church".
In Orthodoxy, the memory of both martyrs is celebrated in different days: July 6 (19 New Art.) - the memory of Valentin the Roman, holy martyr, presbyter, and July 30 (August 12, New Art.) - the memory of Valentin of Interam, holy martyr, bishop.
In the city of Smolevichi there is a Catholic church dedicated to St. Valentine. Also near it there is a monument to the saint.
Based on materials from 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.
Is he “our” saint or Catholic?
Our. All the saints who accomplished their feat in Western Europe before 1054, that is, before the date of the break between Orthodoxy and Catholicism, these are our Orthodox saints.
But maybe, even though he lived in Orthodox times, only Catholics realized his holiness and he is a saint only according to Catholic, but not Orthodox criteria?
No, Valentine was glorified as a saint long before the break between West and East. It is usually said that this canonization was performed by Pope Gelasius in 494.
It is possible that Valentine, remembered on February 14, is already known to our calendar - as the holy martyr Valentin of Interam (or Italy); His memory is celebrated on August 12 according to the new style (July 30 according to the old style).
But it may well turn out that this is another person about whom we have known nothing until now.
And in the case of the veneration of St. Valentine, it may be that the memory of the more famous ascetic absorbed the memory of other saints named after him.
The veneration of saints can be different - it can be universal, and it can be local. We don’t know all the saints who are venerated in this or that monastery in Georgia...
In addition, if in fact it was Pope Gelasius who appointed the memory of St. Valentine on February 14, then this act of his occurred at the time of the rupture 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 Constantinople eventually recognized. 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 website of the TVS television channel you can see a photograph of Patriarch Alexy II kissing the ark with the relics of St. Valentina.
Here official information: « During a meeting held on January 15, 2003 at the Patriarch’s working residence in Chisty Lane, a donation took place to the Russian Orthodox Church particles of the relics of St. Valentine of Interam. The ceremony was attended by the Bishop of Terni, Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia, the Vicar General of the diocese, Monsignor Antonio Magniero, the Vice-Mayor of the city of Terni Eros Brega, the 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 saint of the city of Terni, St. Valentine, who died as a martyr in the 3rd century, was expressed by Bishop Vincenzo Paglia after the completion of a meeting in July 2001 between the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church and the leadership of the Catholic peacemaking charitable organization “Community of St. Egidio”, whose confessor is Monsignor V. Paglia. Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia called it symbolic 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, the 100th anniversary of whose canonization the Russian Orthodox Church will celebrate this year. Thanking Bishop Vincenzo Paglia for this gift,
Holy Pa Triarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II said, that the ark with a particle of the relics of St. Valentine will remain in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, where every believer will be able to pray before this shrine of the ancient undivided Christian Church . “The 20th century became a century of difficult trials for the Russian Orthodox Church,” said His Holiness the Patriarch. “We turn our prayers with hope to the martyrs of the first centuries of Christianity, who testified to the pagan world about the Savior, remaining faithful to Him “even to death.” The history of the Church continues. Already in our time, many thousands of Russian new martyrs and confessors have joined the host of God’s saints. and centuries ago, the blood of the martyrs establishes and confirms the Church of Christ." "Patriarch Alexy, accepting the gift, noted that “with great excitement he accepted a particle of the relics of the Hieromartyr Valentine, the saint of the Undivided Church.” “I perceive this act of transferring a particle of the relics of the holy martyr Valentin 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 Valentin, but to pray in front of 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 on by priest Kirill Gorbunov, director of the information service of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Our Lady in Moscow :
“Many people think that Valentine's Day is some kind of incredible celebration for everyone Catholic Church. In fact, he is a locally revered saint; in the calendar of the Catholic Church in Russia, his memory is optional, and main holiday For Catholics, February 14 is the memory of Saints Cyril and Methodius, patrons of Europe and educators of the Slavs, which I speak about with full responsibility, since I bear the names of both of these saints.
On the other hand, even if Saint Valentine himself did not expect that he would be entrusted with the “duty” of being the patron saint of all lovers, I think he gladly accepted it, because this is actually a very important and responsible matter. 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.”
Based on materials from http://www.pravmir.ru
Bishop of St. martyr Valentin Interamsky
Little is known about the life of Valentin Interamsky. The icon of Valentin of Interam symbolizes the faith of the Christian people.
Valentin Interamsky lived in the 3rd century in Rome. He was a bishop in the city of Interam, 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 illness, and he could not straighten up; it was most likely chondrosis. Valentin began to pray over the sick man and, most likely, Herimon was cured not by the art of medicine, but by prayer. After recovery, Herimon and his father Carton, 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 became angry and ordered Saint Valentine to be imprisoned. In prison, he continued to heal and convert prisoners to the Christian faith. The angry mayor ordered the saint to be tortured and then killed. His disciples carried 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 Valentin of Interam are kept.
Christians venerate the saint and celebrate his honor by praying before the image depicted by the icon of the holy martyr Valentine of Interam.
St. martyr Valentine
The martyrs of Christ Pasikrates and Valentinus came from Rhodostos, a Mysian city, and, being warriors, served under the hegemon of that country, Avsolan. There were many idolaters in the country who made sacrifices to demons, for the rulers of the country, with the threat of torture, forced people to idolatry. The Christians of that country, fearing torture, fled and hid. These same two holy men openly and boldly declared themselves Christians and, glorifying the one true God, destroyed soulless idols. For this they were seized by idolaters and brought to the judgment seat, where they were forced to burn incense in front of the idols. There was an idol of Apollo here. Saint Pasikrates, approaching the idol, spat in its face and said: “Such honor befits this god!” Pasikrates was immediately tied up with heavy chains and thrown into prison. The warrior of Christ, adorned with these chains, as if decorated with golden royal attire, rejoiced that he was honored to wear these chains for Christ. Valentina was imprisoned with him. Soon they were again demanded for trial before the hegemon. When they appeared at the court, Pasikrates' brother Papian also came there. He was a Christian, but for fear of torment he sacrificed to idols. Papian began with tears to beg his brother to, following the example of himself, 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 family because he departed from the faith of Christ. He himself, approaching the altar and placing his hand on the fire, said to the hegemon: “The body is mortal and, as you yourself see, burns in the fire, but the soul, being immortal, despises these visible torments.” Saint Valentine, interrogated by the same hegemons, said the same thing and showed his complete readiness to endure all torment for Christ. They were both sentenced to be beheaded with the sword. When the tormentor's servants led them outside the city to their death, Pasikrates' mother followed them, who admonished him to go to his death without fear, fearing for him, so that he would not be afraid, for he was very young. The heads of the holy martyrs were beheaded. Saint Pasicrates was twenty-two years old, and Valentine was thirty. The mother received their bodies with joy and joy, and buried them with honor, glorifying Christ God.