Valentine’s Day - neopaganism dimmed-out in Christian Tradition

Once the Soviet Union broke apart in the former communist countries imported some feasts from West, without knowing their real significance.

In Ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honor Juno, Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses, the same day that had been devoted to love lotteries. During these times boys and girls were segregated. The girl’s names were written on pieces of paper and inserted into jars. Each boy then drew a girl’s name from the jar and they were partners throughout the Festival. On the Feast of Lupercalia was celebrated, also the feast of Pan, a pagan deity (who instills panic) some riotous celebrations, also associated with Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty (simply, a deity of petty desires) - worshiping them with a cult. It is proved that the feasts were celebrated with orgies and often culminating with sacrifices humans, attested in Latin and Greek writings. 

In 496 A.D. (or 496) Pope Gelasius set aside February 14 to honor St. Valentine and prohibited celebration of Feast of Lupercalia. For about 15 centuries this day did not represent a feast anymore. But, still Valentine Day greetings became popular during the middles ages. Paper and written Valentines became popular at the end of the 15th Century.

Martyrdom of Christians, while being persecuted, was seen, often, as a sacrifice to pagan deities. On this day the Orthodox Church celebrates martyrs that died in Carthage, 203 AD, Vibia Perpetua, a noble matron, and Felicitas, her slave, arrested and put to death for their Christian Faith. They were thrown to the wild beasts in the arena, and then slain by the sword. The Church consigns one of the most beautiful and moving martyrdom acts. It is supposed that the description of martyrdom was given by Tertulian, who translated it in Greek and are dated from 202-203 AD.

The history of Perpetua and Felicitas, through their visualization and their spiritual fret and unrest, is instructive about the meaning of living for the youth of nowadays.

That’s way the “architects” of the movement New Age want to substitute the Christian Holy Days with some pagan feasts as to be Halloween, It was under Gregory IV that designated November 1 as All Saints' Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs the Halloween (All Hallows Eve), to replace a Celtic festival of the dead with a related but church-sanctioned holiday. The pagan custom substituting the Liturgy on this day is an insult to Saints.

Another day is 8th of March, celebrating the Finding of the Head of Prophet St. John the Forerunner. From the Gospels we learn that John dared to rebuke the tetrarch for his evil deeds, especially his public adultery. John was beheaded because of Herodias whom he had reproved the sin for having as husbanad the brother of the man she married. 

From 1869, the 1st of April is celebrated April Fool's Day or All Fools' Day, on the same day of celebrating Easter and when the Roman guards were payd by Sinedrion to deny the Resurection of Jesus Christ.

The First of May is the “Day of the International Solidarity of Workers” and celebration often consisted of large military parades and demonstrations (“demon” – devil, “stratsios” – meeting). This coincide, according to legend, with the "Walpurgisnacht," and the Witches Sabbath on the night leading into May 1st . The most famous sacred spot for witches was in the Harz* mountain region of Germany the Blocksberg(Brocken). On that day, bonfires, the Maifeuer (May fires) were burnt by the ancient Druids in the country, to drive away the witches and the horned god, the devil. All these custom long for enforcing into our lives and we become accomplices by own will to a pagan cult estranged from true Orthodox faith of our ancestors.

Saint Valentine celebrated on 14 of February actually began to be celebrated from 1926 in the memory of Rudolf Valentino considered as an “idol of love” and an ideal of people in love. The feast became in time a commercial thing; a fact proved from year to year by the issued flyers, promotional symbols, advertising and organized feasts.

The legend that became very popular among young people does not have any historical basis related to Church. At least three different Saint Valentines, all of them martyrs, are mentioned in the early martyrologies (Church calendar mentions six martyrs Valentine celebrated on different day than February 14) these three were martyrs for Christianity under the rule of Emperor Aurelius.

Two of these men lived in the third century A.D., one being the bishop of Interamna – Valentine the Italian (Holy Martyr Valentine at Terni, Italy) – 30 July 273 and the other a priest of Rome (St. Valentine the Roman) – 6 July 269.  One have died in a Roman province of Africa along with other martyrs (St. Valentine of Dorostopol)  - 24 April 228.

Beside these ones, other Valentines had martyr death while pursued by communist regime in soviet times. They are – priest Valentine Cornienco – November 19, 1937 and priest Valentin Nikolskii – 21 September 1937. Very few know that besides the days they are celebrated sepatately by Church, they are also celebrated altogether on February 13, on the day of Saint Martyrs of Russia newly praised.

The lives of these martyrs are unknown to large public that are celebrating with feast and joy on 14th of February “Saint Valentine”. They struggled face to face against the ones that forced people to praise the devil of licentiousness, of lye, violence and lot of other sinfully indulgencies and passions and luxuries, by celebrating the pagan feasts above described.

Tolerant attitude toward these represent an insult to the ones that suffered for us in antic times and now. Nowadays the celebration of Saint Valentine on February 14th represents a sacrifice to idols of licentiousness.

According to monk-priest Seraphim Rose these actions create the precedence of instituting a unique future religion that shall be fit into the process of economical, social and political globalization.

The best think to be done now is to remove from our lives these sinful indulgencies and do not forget the tragic end of cities Pompey and Herculaneum or of Sodom and Gomorrah that have been punished by God because of too many committed wrongdoings.

http://w.mdn.mdw.mdn.md/en/index.php?view=viewarticle&articleid=814