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Three Valleys Team Ministry
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where there is more information and ideas.
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St Valentine
The other day I was talking to someone about this rather unique celebration of romantic love when it occurred to me that you might like to know a bit more about St Valentine as well. Unfortunately the true history of St Valentine is difficult to find and not much is known about him but what I have managed to discover I'll tell you.
We do know that Valentine was belived by some to be the Bishop of Terni during the third century AD and that he was martyred in Rome with a small hand axe for refusing to adore an idol. He is venerated for steadfastness in faith. Valentine is credited with the miracle of curing the daughter of the judge who condemned him to prison of blindness and being instumental in the conversion of the Judge's whole family.
There is nothing known in the history of St Valentine to say why he should be associated particularly with the sending of Valentines or of choosing a partner except he was the patron saint of engaged couples and the saint to pray to for a happy marriage. Quite likely the Valentine tradition comes from the ancient belief that birds begin to pair up on February 14th and Geoffrey Chaucer introduced a connection to romantic love in his Canterbury tales.
He is the patron saint of beekeepers, engaged couples, travellers and young people. It was thought that prayers to him were effective particularly against epilepsy, fainting, plague and in ensuring a happy marriage. In pictures he was normally portrayed with a bird near him but I cannot find out why. His feast day is February the 14th - but you all know that. This is the day he was believed to have died.
It is funny how ideas and customs can grow up around a person or some event without there being any real basis in fact for them. The Church suffers from this probably more than most. Sometimes as in the case of Valentine these ideas are harmless or fun. Sometimes they are not. The Church spends a great deal of its time repairing the damage done through the lack of understanding of others and the distortion of its message. The God of Christianity is a God of love of strength and of fulfilment. It is surprising the number of people who have odd ideas about him. Don't be one of them.
Tony Gilbert
Team Rector
I hope that you will find plenty of useful
and interesting information in here.
The Reverend Tony Gilbert
and
Tony with his wife Nicola
