By Bill Federer There were ten major persecutions of Christians
in the first three centuries in which many historical records
were destroyed, but the legend passed down in Legenda Sanctorum
by Jacobus de Voragine, 1260, was that Saint Valentine was a
priest or bishop in Italy. When the Emperor demanded the Church
violate its conscience and worship pagan idols, Bishop Valentine
refused to comply. Valentine risked the Emperor’s wrath by
standing up for traditional marriage and secretly marrying young
men and women. Saint Valentine was arrested, dragged before the
Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with
clubs and then have his head cut off on FEBRUARY 14, 269AD.
While awaiting execution, the story is he prayed for the
jailers’ sick daughter, who miraculously recovered. He wrote her
a note and signed it, “from your Valentine.” In 496 AD, Pope
Gelasius designated FEBRUARY 14th as “Saint Valentine’s Day.”
The Greek name for Christ, Χριστός begins with the letter “Chi”
written as an “X,” and be