On June 7, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church honors the memory of the Holy Martyr Valeria. On St. Martyr Valeria, the names Valeria, Valeria, Valya, Valery are celebrated. The name Valerie comes from Latin and means healthy.
Saint Valeria was born in the city of Caesarea, Palestine, when sacrifices were still performed. The saint, together with her friends Maria and Kyriakia, decide to renounce false idols and fight against pagan rituals.
The young women flee the city and devote themselves to strict fasting and prayer to God to confirm the principles of Christianity. The governor of the city found out about their refusal to worship the idols, who wanted to force them to deny Christ.
Valeria, Maria and Cyriakia hid in a small house, slept and regularly prayed for the destruction of the idols so that the pagan rituals of sacrifice would no longer be performed.
But they were discovered and taken to the governor of Caesarea. He promised to spare their lives if they agreed to publicly renounce the Christian faith. However, they refused and were executed as punishment.
Catholicism also has a canonized saint named Valeria, and Catholics also honor her memory today. She is known as Saint Valeria of Milan.
Catholic Saint Valeria was born in Milan and was killed by soldiers for helping with Christian burials after converting to Christianity. She was the child of a rich family and was married by her parents to St. Vitaly. She bore him sons named Protosius and Gevrasius.
She was captured by Roman soldiers while helping with another Christian burial and was beheaded in front of the Coliseum. Her body was discovered years after her murder and buried according to Christian custom in St. Sebastian's Cathedral.