Biography
Perhaps everyone knows that February 14 is Valentine's Day, but few people know the history of the life of this person. People used to think that he is a patron of lovers. But when it comes to the details of his life, often legends replace facts. Perhaps reliable data in biography are only his name and date of death.Historical data
In fact, in the Catholic Church, two saints with the name Valentin at once, and today it is impossible to determine if they were different people, or we are talking about one person.
Valentin Rimsky lived in the third century of our era, he worked as a priest in Rome. Presumably, the date of his birth is 176. A man possessed a gift of healing. He lived during the reign of the cruel emperor Claudia II. At that time, he led the bloody wars, so she forbade men to enter into marriages, since he believed that women distracted soldiers from the right service.
However, despite the ban, Valentine continued to make wedding rituals in secret. Of course, the emperor himself was heard about it soon. He ordered to grab the priest and lead to him. Not only was the priest dismissed the order of the ruler, so also refused to worship the pagan gods. Before the death of Valentin healed the blind daughter of the imperial official, after which he believed in Christ. Claudius tortured them both, and after executed. Valentina Rimsky cut off the head on February 14, 270 years.
Another holy was Valentin Interamsky. He was a bishop, preached Christianity, healed people. In 270 he asked him to come to Rome Philosopher Kraton. The man was hard at the son - he had the curvature of the spine, he did not even get out of bed. Valentina managed to raise the boy on his feet, it was a real miracle.
The philosopher was so grateful to the bishop that he and his disciples adopted Christianity. Made it and the son of the Grador. In turn, the garde took Valentine's detention and put in prison. Like Valentin Roman, in prison he healed the jailer's daughter from blindness. They executed a man on February 14, 273.
The followers were punished, Efeb and Apolloniy secretly delivered his remains in Terni (the modern name of the city of Intermanna) to get buried Valentine. For this, they also suffered a martyrdom. Subsequently as the Christian martyr who suffered for faith, the Catholic Church was canonized Valentina Interamnsky.
These two lives have a single foundation, so many believe that this is the same person. The reverence of both saints was distributed in Rome already in the IV century. So, for example, during this period two basilica were built: one built where, according to legends, Valentine Romanin was buried, another in the city of Terni, over the grave Valentina Interamnsky.
In the Middle Ages in Europe, Valentine's icon prayed for healing from the pardoch of the disease (epilepsy).
In connection with this confusion in the names and personalities in 1969, the Catholic Church completely excluded Valentine from the Roman calendar - the list of those saints whose name is required to be revered on the liturgy. True, left the opportunity to decide on his mention at the level of local churches.
In the Russian Orthodox Church, Valentina Interamnsky recalls on August 12, and the day of the memory of Valentina Roman - July 19.
Saint Valentin is a patron of town of Terni in Italy. Every year, the holiday of engagement is arranged this day. Hundreds of grooms and brides from all over Italy go to Valentine's Basilica to give each other an oath of mutual love.
Legends
Over time, Valentine's life overtook legends. Today to understand where the truth, and where the fiction is already impossible. According to one of them, a man joined the werser of the commander of the Roman Army Sabino and Christian Sangered. Lovers were mortally sick, that is why Valentin decided on such a risky step. After all, at that time and Christianity, and the marriages of the military were banned. In the city of Terni in the temple there is a stained glass window, which depicts the moment of the wedding of Sabino and the semicircles.But most likely it is nothing more than fiction. The facts indicate that there could be no secret weddings at that time, since the rite himself appeared much later.
On another legend, Valentine had a garden where he grown roses. Children from all over the districts played this garden, and in the evening, when they gathered home, the man handed each of the flower as a gift for the mother. But when Valentina was put in prison, he was saddened by the fact that now the kids will now have to play.
Once he saw that two doves are welded behind the prison lattice, and immediately recognized them. These were birds that nest in his garden. Valentine tied the key of the garden from the garden on the neck, and the other is a letter in which he left the message for the guys:
"All children, whom I love, from your Valentine."It was the first Valentine.
There is no less popular legend that when Valentine fell into prison, a blind daughter of the warden fell in love. And since he was a priest, who gave a vow of celibacy, he could not answer the girl's feelings. But on the night before the penalty, the man still decided and wrote her a love letter, which he wrapped the sprig of Saffran. And the girl, reading the message after the execution of the priest, was clear.
But, again, doubts about the truthfulness of this legend are granting, because, judging by his years of life, a man at that time was 95 years old.
Valentine's Day
In the XVII-XVIII centuries, French, and then English researchers suggested that Valentine's Day was introduced in order to replace the pagan festival of Luprekali. This festival fertility and eroticism was celebrated on February 15. He was associated with Romans with pleasure and free love. And even when Christianity has changed paganism, this holiday has been celebrated for a long time.
Most likely that he established Valentine's Day Pope Gelacy I. He forbade Luplekali, and in return to the people of the other - the Christian holiday, "inherited" the subject of the relationship between the floors. And Valentin became the patron saint of lovers, although he loved first of all Christ.
But there is another opinion on this. Allegedly a holiday that everyone knows today, invented the English poet Jeffrey Choseer. In the work of the Bird Parliament, written in 1375, the writer said that February 14, birds (and people) were going together to find a couple.
Popularity This day received only in the XIX century in the UK. There was such a custom - young people threw a note with the names of the girls in a special urn. Then each removed one. That girl whose name was written on a leaf, became for the guy for the coming year of the "lady of the heart", followed by which he worked.
The first postcard Valentine is the note that the young Duke of Orleans sent. In 1415, during the battle, a man was captured and kept in imprisonment in the London Tower. From there he wrote to his wife thousands of love letters, which later called "Valentines".
But the prison is the usual to give the beloved red roses to Louis XVI, who presented such a bouquet of Maria-Antoinette.
In America, the day of lovers began to celebrate since 1777. At the beginning of the XIX century, the Americans had a tradition - to give the favorite figurines from marzipan. And at that time it was an unprecedented luxury. So soon kommersants took the "promotion" of the holiday. Every year the idea of the gift of gifts, colors, postcards on this day is fixed, and for some it has become a profitable business.
True, a significant part of religious organizations relates negatively to the celebration of Valentine's Day. At the Orthodox on February 14, they honor the Holy Martyr Trifon, and Catholics are recalling Cyril and Methodius on this day, the main enlighteners of Slavs. In Russia, as an alternative to the Day of Lovers on July 8, the day of memory of Peter and Fevronia of Murom, patrons of marital couples was established.
Memory
- Valentine's relics in the church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Lviv region
- Valentine's relics in the Basilica of St. Valentina in Ternni.
- Valentine's Skull in Basilica Santa Maria-In-Sosmin in Rome
- Stained glass window in the city of Terni "Saint Valentin marks Saniard and Sabino"
- Stained glass window in the temple of the Virgin Mary in England "Saint Valentin and Holy Dorothea"
- Picture of Jacopo Bassano "St. Valentin Roman baptism of St. Lucillo
- Valentine's Church in Dublin
- Documentary film "Secrets of Love", in the role of Valentine - Vadim Demm
- Artistic film Marius Weisberg "Love in the Big City", in the role of St. Valentine - Philip Kirkorov