Valentine’s Day has become a commercial jamboree that all-too-easily encrusts human affections in money-making and mawkishness.
Valentine’s Day has become a commercial jamboree that all-too-easily encrusts human affections in money-making and mawkishness.
Similarly, the more fruitful traditions associated with the priest after whom the day is named have long been buried in sentimentality and mythology.
One of these fecund narratives has nevertheless surfaced a few times this year. Namely, that St Valentine was an early advocate and martyr for what, in his age and context, might be said to have amounted to ‘marriage equality’ – notably, between citizens and conscripts of the Empire.
David Felten, author of Living the Questions: The Wisdom of Progressive Christianity, takes up the matter in The Huffington Post (14 February 2013): “As the story goes, there was enough Imperial anxiety about the readiness of the Roman Legion that the Emperor implemented a new policy to increase the focus of his troops: new recruits and currently single soldiers were to remain single. Why? Because unmarried soldiers could concentrate on soldiering without the distraction of pining away for the wife and kids.
“Despite the decree that went out forbidding soldiers to marry, love-struck legionnaires appealed to Fr Valentine to defy the Imperial edict and marry them anyway. Moved by the obvious love between these men and women, Valentine defied the government and married the couples in secret. When Valentine’s defiance was discovered, he was summarily executed.” (http://tinyurl.com/b2v2f6o)
This little tale, which may or may not have very much historical substance, nevertheless tells us two things.
First, that from a truly Christian perspective the benefits of marriage and loving relationships should be developed and shared for those who need them, not restricted and denied for political or ideological reasons.
Second, that imperial and military operational interests frequently require a limiting and refusal of our humanity; something which always merits costly Christian resistance.
Happy anniversary to St Valentine!
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(c) Simon Barrow is co-director of Ekklesia.