Several weeks ago, I was preparg my Sunday bullet and was searchg on the ter for an in of the Sats memorated on that day – October 20 – the Holy Martyrs Sergi and Bacch of Syria. I was shocked to disver that some elements our society have proclaimed them Patron Sats of Same Sex Marriage and that ins of the holy martyrs have been distributed at Gay Pri events. Somethg I was told at Camp Nazareth last summer ma sense…. Durg one of the clergy discsns wh the teenagers, a young woman shared that someone her fay “had an in of two gay sats”. The Webse of Amerin Carpatho-Rsian Orthodox Dce of North Ameri
Contents:
- SERGI AND BACCH: THE GAY SOLDIERS WHO WERE MA SATS BY THE CHURCH
- WHEN I ME OUT AS A GAY CATHOLIC, SATS AUGTE AND MONI HELPED ME GROW CLOSER TO MY MOM — AND GOD
- ST. JOHN HENRY NEWMAN: THE FIRST OPENLY GAY CATHOLIC SAT?
- GAY SATS (AND BI-POSIVE ON)
- GAY SATS?
- AT THE SIGNG OF THE MARRIAGE ACT, THE TWO GAY CHRISTIAN MEN TOOK THE NEXT STEP
SERGI AND BACCH: THE GAY SOLDIERS WHO WERE MA SATS BY THE CHURCH
* two gay saints *
His wrgs nvced historians John Boswell and Brian Patrick McGuire that Aelred was a gay man, albe one who still disuraged any sexual activy outsi the bounds of marriage. Several relig anizatn, s cludg the Natnal Anglin Catholic Church and Integry the Epispal Church the Uned Stat have regnized Aelred as the patron sat of such gay-iendly groups as the Orr of St.
An abbot medieval France, Bernard of Clairvz mataed a lengthy personal relatnship wh the archbishop Malachy, acrdg to gay liberatn theologian Richard Cleaver.
Boris would go on to hold special signifince for gay Christians bee of his apparently romantic relatnship wh his servant, Gee the Hungarian.
WHEN I ME OUT AS A GAY CATHOLIC, SATS AUGTE AND MONI HELPED ME GROW CLOSER TO MY MOM — AND GOD
This 16th-century Spanish sat was prone to g homoerotic imagery poetry exprsg his love of Christ, most notably his poem "On a Dark Night.
By that terpretatn, such scripture as referenc to the disciple reclg upon the bosom of the Lord have spired homoerotic art pictg the relatnship between Christ and John as romantic. This is the view explored Martti Nissen and Kirsi Stjerna's Homoeroticism the Biblil World: A Historil Perspective. The 19th-century Brish subversive scholar was beatified 2010, spe speculatn that he may well have been gay.
Consired the ma patron sat of gays by many, Sebastian was martyred Rome the year 288 on the orrs of Emperor Dcletian. While no tal actually exist providg rmatn about Sebastian's love life or sexual orientatn, the fact so much Renaissance art picts him homoerotic pos monstrat a strong nnectn to LGBT people.
ST. JOHN HENRY NEWMAN: THE FIRST OPENLY GAY CATHOLIC SAT?
Y, the Good Kg Wencls, a sat and a de, also was likely gay. The wrgs ma reference to such classil gay figur as Adonis and Ganyme. Christiany’s history of discrimatn agast the gay muny is wily known, and the irratnal aversn on the part of Christians towards same-sex relatnships and marriage is unfortunate, to say the least.
They were origally scribed as erastai, meang lovers, ditg they were engaged an erotic homosexual relatnship. What is clear, however, is that the two sats were fact venerated for centuri startg the 5th century, and their close relatnship has spired many gay Christians, who’ve now taken them as the patron figur of homosexualy Christian non.
My nfsn to my mom raised a lot of qutns for both, voted as we both were to our fah and aware and fearful as we both were of that fah’s stance on homosexualy. Was I any ls of a Catholic or a person, any ls a son of God or of my mom bee I was gay? To be gay but not to “act” on my sexualy, to never seek a relatnship of mutual teem and fily—of love?
GAY SATS (AND BI-POSIVE ON)
Is he the Catholic Church’s first openly gay sat? The answer to that qutn pends on your fns of “openly, ” “gay, ” and “first. Many tradnalist Newman scholars refute the ia that this was a gay relatnship.
Ian Ker, one of the foremost Newman scholars, says that the relatnship was not homosexual bee, by all acunts, the two were celibate. Other scholars believe that to ll the uple gay is readg our own 21st century ias to 19th century phenomena.
I agree that is not right to terpret a past relatnship terms of today’s morn awarens of homosexualy. But that’s where we need to qutn what we might mean by “gay” and “openly.
GAY SATS?
John were not gay bee is apparent that they were celibate. Ker’s prumptn then is that “gay” means “sexually active. Of urse, the two men uld be gay and have had a strong affectnate and timate relatnship whout beg sexually active, jt as many gay men the prithood and relig life today mata their promis and vows of celibacy.
AT THE SIGNG OF THE MARRIAGE ACT, THE TWO GAY CHRISTIAN MEN TOOK THE NEXT STEP
Many gay lay also live their liv by choosg not to be sexually timate wh someone. That don’t make them ls gay. Defendg Newman’s non-homosexualy by sayg that the prit was affectnate relatnships wh both men and women tri to expla away Newman’s love for St.
While some people thk that homophobia agast gay men om a revulsn about male sex acts, I thk that for many people the more horrifyg and sndalo phenomenon is men beg emotnally sensive, tenr, and affectnate wh one another. Of urse, such gentle and timate rpons by men is only a problem if one suffers om tense homophobia or believ the enforcement of strict genr expectatns that men should not be emotnal and rg toward one another.
William Hart McNichols, a prent-day, openly gay prit.