Valentine of Rome

Holy Hieromartyr Valentine of Rome, a priest, is remembered in the story of the martyrs Marinus, Martha, Audifax, Habakkuk, Cyrinus, Asterius and many others. In the reign of the emperor Claudius II (268-270), Marinus with his wife Martha and sons Audifax and Habakkuk came from Persia to Rome to venerate the tombs of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul. At that time a fierce persecution had fallen on the Church of Rome. Marinus and his family began to serve the Christians shut in prison and to bury the bodies of the martyrs who were put to death. In one of the prisons they found a prisoner, Cyrinus, and cared for him lovingly as one who had endured many torments for Christ.

The persecution spread to more and more Christians. Then two hundred and sixty Christians, among them the tribune Blastus, sent by sentence to dig earth along the Via Salaria, were shot with arrows. Marinus and his family, learning of the cruel killing, began, together with the priest John, to carry away the bodies of the martyrs at night and bury them in the catacombs. Returning to the prison, they did not find Cyrinus, who had been killed the day before and thrown into the Tiber. The family drew the body from the river and buried it. They were received by the Christians who were secretly holding services, led by Bishop Callistus, and hid with them from their pursuers.

As a crown to their works of mercy, the holy family was found worthy also of the crown of martyrdom. The pagans beheaded the courageous confessor Valentine, the presbyter, and the imperial official Asterius, whom he had brought to Christianity, and with them were arrested and tortured the ascetics from Persia who lived with them. By order of the emperor, in 269 Marinus, Audifax and Habakkuk were beheaded, and Martha was drowned in the river. The relics of the martyrs are in Rome, in the church of Saint John the Hut-⁠Dweller, and those of Saint Valentine in the church of the Holy Martyr Paraskeva.

Saint Valentine is commemorated on 19 July, in the new style.