The name Valery is widespread among the Russian people. It symbolizes the special courage of a man, from the Latin the name Valery is translated as "vigorous", "strong". Baptized Orthodox Christians have patron saints named in a similar way.
In the Orthodox tradition, name days are given more attention than birthdays. This is no coincidence, because even in the pre-revolutionary years, children were called according to church calendar, choosing the name of this or that saint. In the Orthodox calendar, you can see the memory of two Valeriy. Accordingly, name days are celebrated on November 20th and March 22nd.
Martyr Valery Melitinsky
On November 20, the Holy Church commemorates thirty-four Christians who endured persecution and torment during the reign of the Roman Empire by Vladyka Diocletian. It is believed that the emperor Diocletian was the most cruel persecutor of Christians. During his reign (IV century), thousands of believers in Christ were tortured and suffered a violent death.
The holy martyr Valery belongs to one of these. He was one of the military squad headed by Jeron. The soldiers served at the court of the emperor Diocletian. For refusing to offer sacrifices to the pagan gods, Hieron and his companions were tortured and then imprisoned. Seeing the steadfastness of the righteous, the emperor ordered the slaying of Christians. The Holy Martyr Valerius, among others, was killed through beheading with a sword.
Holy Martyrs of Sebastia
The second saint named Valery is one of the forty Sebastian martyrs. This saint was also a warrior. The Sebastian martyrs suffered in the 4th century in Armenia. The city of Sevastia became the last earthly refuge for the confessors of the Christian faith.
The holy martyrs served in the royal army, the commander of which was the pagan Agricolaus. Despite his good service, Agricolaus decided to punish his warriors for practicing Christianity. The saints were forced to renounce Christ, but after a decisive refusal, a decision was made to torture the righteous, so that the latter would be "brought to understanding" and depart from the path of "wickedness."
The martyrs were stripped and placed naked for the night in Lake Sevastia. In March, the weather was cool: the water in the lake was still covered with a thin crust of ice. To tempt and cause more suffering, a bathhouse was set up on the shore of the lake. However, the saints endured torment. Only one of the martyrs could not bear the cold: he ran to the bathhouse, but right in front of the entrance to it he fell down dead.
The Lord showed a miracle: at night 40 crowns descended from heaven on the holy martyrs. Seeing this phenomenon, one of the soldiers confessed himself to be a believer in Christ and jumped into the lake instead of the man who had died in front of the bath.
In the morning the saints were brought before the torturers and again forced to renounce their faith. After confessing Christianity, the saints were ordered to be killed. They smashed the legs of the Sebastian martyrs with a hammer, and then burned them, and threw their bones into the river. After that, the local bishop had a dreamy vision of the sufferers, who indicated the location of their relics. Thus, the holy relics of the great ascetics were obtained, the particles of which are in different places of the world.
The memory of the holy martyrs is celebrated on March 22.
