Legend has it that Claudius II hoped to keep young men of his day single because they would make better soldiers that way. Valentine was put to death when found performing secret marriages.
Read more: Valentine’s Day History
Reminds me of another story. Several years ago Chalice Christian Church resettled a man named Kambiz Golsham from Iran. Kambiz was Bahai. A part of the persecution he endured was that his marriage in the Bahai church was not recognized by the state. The totalitarian regime in Iran went so far as to arrest clergy who performed the ceremonies for facilitating prostitution, but it did not recognize the Bahai marriages.
Reminds me of something else. There are several gay couples who attend Chalice, which is located in the United States of America. The government here rejects their marriages, like the Iranian government rejected Kambiz’s and Claudius II rejected young Romans’. When I log their donations to Chalice, I must keep them separated because the couples can’t file joint returns. So, once a week I am reminded that my country continues senslessly discriminate against my friends and fellow Christians. I wonder how often they are reminded of that?
P.S. thanks to Jimmy Gawne for reminding me of the legend of St. Valentine in his FB Status.