Morgan BellSergius and Bacchus: the Gay Catholic Saints
October 3rd 2008 16:58
Sergius and Bacchus were soldiers in the Roman army. They were secret Christians. But they were open lovers.
Sergius and Bacchus were third century Roman soldiers who are commemorated as martyrs by the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches. They were severely punished in 303, with Bacchus dying during torture, and Sergius eventually beheaded.
They were officers of troops on the frontier, Sergius being primicerius, and Bacchus secundarius. According to the legend, there were high in esteem of the Caesar Maximianus on account of their bravery, but this favour was turned into hate when they acknowledged their Christian faith.
When ordered to enter the Temple of Jupiter to participate in a sacrificial ceremony to the god, they refused. For this act of defiance, the lovers were stripped of their arms and badges of rank, and humiliated by being dressed in women's clothing and led through the public streets.
When examined under torture they were beaten so severely with thongs that Bacchus died under the blows. Sergius, endured further suffering due to torture. The legend tells of him having to run eighteen miles in shoes which were covered on the soles with sharp-pointed nails that pierced through the foot. He was finally beheaded.
Erastai means "lovers", and in the oldest text of the martyrology of Sergius and Bacchus they are described as "erastai", or lovers.
Agape means "love", divine, unconditional, self-sacrificing, active, volitional, and thoughtful love.
Adelphopoiesis was the name for the ceremony same-sex unions between men performed by Christian churches in pre-modern Europe. Literally translated it means "brother making" and it is considered by academics to be a marriage of likeness.
During the Middle Ages, the relationship of Sergius and Bacchus was considered an exemplar of compassionate union, and possibly even marriage, based on agape and mutual respect. They were joined in Adelphopoiesis and they were described as Erastai
Sergius and Bacchus were third century Roman soldiers who are commemorated as martyrs by the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches. They were severely punished in 303, with Bacchus dying during torture, and Sergius eventually beheaded.
They were officers of troops on the frontier, Sergius being primicerius, and Bacchus secundarius. According to the legend, there were high in esteem of the Caesar Maximianus on account of their bravery, but this favour was turned into hate when they acknowledged their Christian faith.
When ordered to enter the Temple of Jupiter to participate in a sacrificial ceremony to the god, they refused. For this act of defiance, the lovers were stripped of their arms and badges of rank, and humiliated by being dressed in women's clothing and led through the public streets.
When examined under torture they were beaten so severely with thongs that Bacchus died under the blows. Sergius, endured further suffering due to torture. The legend tells of him having to run eighteen miles in shoes which were covered on the soles with sharp-pointed nails that pierced through the foot. He was finally beheaded.
Erastai means "lovers", and in the oldest text of the martyrology of Sergius and Bacchus they are described as "erastai", or lovers.
Agape means "love", divine, unconditional, self-sacrificing, active, volitional, and thoughtful love.
Adelphopoiesis was the name for the ceremony same-sex unions between men performed by Christian churches in pre-modern Europe. Literally translated it means "brother making" and it is considered by academics to be a marriage of likeness.
During the Middle Ages, the relationship of Sergius and Bacchus was considered an exemplar of compassionate union, and possibly even marriage, based on agape and mutual respect. They were joined in Adelphopoiesis and they were described as Erastai
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Comment by Norm
Consumption Malfunction
Equal and Opposite
Arses and Elbows
Footy Power
Comment by Lola Tahlulah
Lola Tahlulah
Comment by RubySoho
Music Zone
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Comment by alt_ed
Alted Opinion
ArtCombat
The Inner Saintdom
Comment by Morgan Bell
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oh the joys of Orble!
hi Lola Tahlulah,
theres plenty more trivia where this came from!
i think this ones a really interesting story though!
hi Ruby,
i guess back in the day Christianity was viewed as a dangerous cult . . . homosexuality however was just love so it was encouraged!
hi Troy,
i reckon Roman soldiers would have been pretty fit!
thanks for the comments everyone!
Comment by Kleonaptra
Kalikapsychosis
Comment by Morgan Bell
Deep Pencil
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thanks for the enthusiasm!
i thought it was a great story too - well not all the torture of course, but the ancient traditions with regards to same-sex pairings!
Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Morgan Bell
Deep Pencil
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are you denying they were described as "Erastai"?
are are you claiming that word has a different meaning?
Comment by alt_ed
Alted Opinion
ArtCombat
The Inner Saintdom
Comment by RubySoho
Music Zone
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Comment by alt_ed
Alted Opinion
ArtCombat
The Inner Saintdom
I'm pretty sure Mary fucked him though- with her 10" strap-on! hahaha David Sings "I got fucked by a girl and I liked it. I hope the G-man don't mind it..."
Comment by KittKatt
Comment by LX Murdy
I like what you have written here. It sounds very similar to the claims made by John Boswell, which, unfortunately, have been questioned by many other historians. The one point that I really want to know about is this 'erastai' point. If the two were in fact known as 'erasti' then it does add a huge question over the Catholic position on homosexuality.
The Adelphopoiesis, however, was probably not a same-sex union, but rather a sort of adoption process. To 'make brothers' would most likely be the same sort of 'brother' that Jesus is reported to have had in the N.T. - not brothers as in sons of the same mother and/or father, but more like close companions, or cousins. The rite still exists today in some eastern churches. This is the point mainly contended by other historians, but none that I can find have addressed the 'Erastai' claim.
Is your source John Boswell, or did you find another? And do you know the name of the text which he refers to? It would be pretty easy to check his translation on it, especially the term erastai which is used in many other ancient Greek texts and has a pretty clear meaning.
Comment by Anonymous