Wishing you a very happy Valentine’s Day!

Kamogawa Church was founded on February 14, 2003, St. Valentines Day.  It is with great pleasure that we pay tribute to Saint Valentine, who was an early Christian wedding minister, by establishing our Church on this Day.

“The first representation of Saint Valentine appeared in the Nuremberg Chronicle, (1493); alongside the woodcut portrait of Valentine the text states that he was a Roman priest martyred during the reign of Claudius II, known as Claudius Gothicus. He was arrested and imprisoned upon being caught marrying Christian couples and otherwise aiding Christians who were at the time being persecuted by Claudius in Rome. Helping Christians at this time was considered a crime. Claudius took a liking to this prisoner — until Valentinus tried to convert the Emperor — whereupon this priest was condemned to death. He was beaten with clubs and stoned; when that didn’t finish him, he was beheaded outside the Flaminian Gate. Various dates are given for the martyrdom or martyrdoms: 269, 270, or 273.^[10]

Source: Saint Valentine (on Wikipedia)