From: <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 27 Jul 1994 11:39:16 -0400 (EDT)

Paul Halsall (c.) 
[email-masked]

[This is part of a work in progress - a Lesbian and Gay Catholic Handbook
- which is intended for print publication. Permission is given for
internet and other electronic forms of circulation, but not for print
publication.]

Calendar of Lesbian, Gay, 
Bisexual, and Transgender Saints

	This is a Calendar of  saints who were, or seem to 
have been, gay, lesbian, transgendered or "queer" in some 
way. 
	There are over 10,000 named saints, the vast 
majority being early Christian martyrs and ascetics about 
whom little if anything is known.  Popes only began 
canonizing in 988AD and canonization in the Roman 
Catholic Church was only reserved to Rome in 1170, 
although this was probably not made effective until the 
Decretals of  Gregory IX in 1234. The full canonization 
procedure only developed in the 17th century, although it 
has recently been modernized. About 400 people have been 
canonized by the popes. Other churches, the various 
Orthodox churches especially, also add saints. The 
Anglican Churches have no process of canonization, but do 
add certain notable figures - such as Martin Luther - to 
their liturgical calendars. 
	Every saint has a feast day. Originally this was their 
"dia natalis", the day they died as martyrs and hence were 
reborn into the Lord.  Not every saint is on the General 
Calendar of a particular church, or the general Roman 
Calendar, but each can be commemorated privately or by 
groups who wish to do so.
	Historically the most important role of saints has 
been as intercessors. You pray to a saint for a miracle, or 
for the saint to pray for you. Protestants have on the whole 
rejected this notion, but it is a powerful witness to the 
Catholic and Orthodox belief in the Church as a community 
of love that transcends life and death, time and space. In 
general the cult of saints became much more restricted, 
even in Catholic countries, after the Reformation, and 
religious practice became more Christocentric, more 
Mariocentric, and more focused on sacramental life. On a 
popular level, though, saints are still invoked by millions on 
a regular basis, especially St. Anthony as patron saint of 
lost things, and St. Jude as patron saint of lost causes!  
Saints are also important as exemplars of Christian virtue. 
This has probably become more important in recent years, 
hence Vatican searches for lay people to canonize (most 
new saints are still founders of religious orders, which 
spend much time and money on promoting the causes of 
their founders). 
	The saints here are from both the early Church - 
saints who gained a reputation for transgendered behavior 
and some same-sex paired martyrs - and, with better 
evidence of their "queerness", later saints whose writings or 
actions show some aspects of life that lesbian and gay 
people will recognize. Although the Roman Church no 
longer commemorates the saints of the Old Testament 
(Jewish Scriptures), I have also included some figures, with 
their old feast day, who play a role in lesbian and gay 
readings of the Bible.

DATES OF CELEBRATION TAKEN FROM 
NRC: 	  	New Roman Calendar [from The Divine 
		Office, London: Collins, 1974]
ORC: 		Old Roman Calendar [from Omar 
		Engelbert, The Lives of the Saints, London: 1951]
ECUSA: 		Episcopal Church USA [from the US Book 
		of Common Prayer]
COE: 		Church of England [from the Alternative 
		Service Book/1980]
ORTH		Orthodox Calendar
SYNAX: 		12th Century Synaxarium of Constantinople 
ARM		Armenian Calendar (ref. SSU)
ARAB		Arabic Calendar (Ref. SSU)
dia natalis	Date of birth, that is the day the person died 
		and was reborn in Heaven
 
Other Abbreviations
CSTH		John Boswell, Christianity, Social Tolerance 
		and Homosexuality, (Chicago: 1980)
OE		Omar Engelbert, The Lives of the Saints, 
		(London: 1951)
ORTH		translations from Dukakis, Megas 
		Synaxaristes, done in various volumes by 
		Holy Apostles Convent, Buena Vista, 
		Colorado
SSU		John Boswell, Same Sex Unions in 
		Premodern Europe, (New York: 1994)

January 5 	ORTH		*St. Apollinaria/Dorotheos
January 9 	ARM		SS. Polyeuctus and Nearchus, martyrs
January 12 	ORC/ECUSA	St. Aelred of Rievaulx, abbot
January 20 	NRC/ORC		St. Sebastian, martyr

February 11	ORC 		*St. Euphrosyne/Smaragdus (Sept 25 ORTH)
February 12 	ORTH		*St. Mary/Marinos of  Alexandria

March 7 	NRC/ORC/COE	*SS. Perpetua and *Felicity, martyrs
March 10 	ORC/ORTH	*St. Anastasia the Patrician 

April 20 	ORC		*St. Hildegonde of Neuss near Cologne
April 21 	NRC/ORC/COE	St. Anselm of Canterbury, bishop and doctor

May 8		ECUSA		*Julian of Norwich
May 20  	ECUSA		Alcuin of Tours
May 30 		ORC		*St. Joan of Arc

June 9 		ORC		*St. Pelagia/Pelagios (Oct 8 ORTH)
June 22	 	NRC/ORC		St. Paulinus of Nola, bishop
June 29		NRC		St. Paul the Apostle (June 30 ORC)

July 17 	ORTH 		*St. Marina/os of Antioch 
				(July 20 ORC as St. Margaret)
July 20    	ORTH		*St. Marina/Marinos of Sicily
July 21	 	ORC		Daniel the Prophet [0T] (Dec 17/18 ORTH)

August 11	dia natalis	Cardinal John Henry Newman
August 28 	NRC/ORC/COE	St. Augustine of Hippo, bishop and doctor

October 1st 	ARAB		St. Bacchus, martyr
October 7 	ORC  		SS. Sergius and Bacchus, martyrs

September 11	ORTH		*St. Theodora/Theodoros of Alexandria
September 23	ORC 		*St. Thekla of Iconium (Sept 24 ORTH)

October 9 	ORTH		*St. Athanasia/Athanasios of Antioch
October 29	ORTH		*St. Anna/Euphemianos of Constantinople

November 1	All West	All Saints
November 9 	ORTH		*St. Matrona/Babylas of Perge
November 14	 ORTH		St. Justinian [emperor], 

December 14 	ORC 		St. Venantius Fortunatus, bishop
December 14 	NRC/COE 	St. John of the Cross, 
				priest and doctor (Nov 24 ORC)
December 17 	ORTH 		The Three Young Men [OT] (also Dec 18)
December 24	ORTH		*St. Eugenia/Eugenios of Alexandria
December 24	ORTH		SS. Protus and Hyacinth, martyrs
December 27  	All West	St. John the Evangelist
December 29 	ORC		David the Prophet  [OT]

Saints - feast days as yet undetermined
Nehemiah [OT], 
*Ruth [OT],  
St. Peter Ordinski, 
*St. Uncumber [or Wilgefortis]

January 9th ARM
St. Polyeuctus and St. Nearchus, martyrs

Two early martyrs who were paired together by early 
Christians as a same-sex couple, and invoked as such in the 
"adelphopoiia" ceremonies, recently discussed by historian 
John Boswell as indicating a Christian tradition of exclusive 
and publicly recognized same-sex unions. St. Polyeuctus 
had a huge church, modeled after the Temple of Solomon, 
built in his name in 6th century Constantinople.

Select bibliography

Boswell,  John, SSU, 141-44

January 12 ORC/ECUSA
St. Aelred of Rievaulx, abbot
c.1110- 1167

OE: He  is one of the most lovable saints. Of noble birth, 
Aelred first lives at the court of David, Kind of Scotland. 
There they thought him happy. He wrote: 'nevertheless the 
wound in my heart caused me unspeakable torments and I 
could not bear the intolerable burden of my sins". Breaking 
the closest ties, he resolved to leave the world. "It was 
then, O my God," he went on, "that I began to taste the 
comfort, the joy, and the profound peace which is found 
after seeking you and serving you".
	In 1135, at the age of twenty-six, Aelred entered 
the Cistercian abbey of Rievaulx. Ten years later he became 
abbot, which he remained until his death in 1167. This 
monastery, where a great fervor and charity reigned, 
counted more than three hundred monks. Aelred who only 
sought "to love and to be loved", tasted pure happiness 
there whist making others happy.
	Among the writings of St. Aelred there is one in 
which the charms of spiritual friendship are extolled in an 
incomparable manner.

How Aelred Made it to the American Book of Common 
Prayer
by Louie Crew, founder of Integrity, [email: 
[email-masked]]

Aelred was not in ECUSA's calendar until a Roman 
Catholic head of history at Yale, John Boswell, wrote 
about him powerfully in his book Christianity, Social 
Tolerance and Homosexuality  Boswell dwelt at length 
with the lesbigay positive evidence.   That spurred Integrity 
member, the late Howard Galley, one of the major 
architects of the 1976 Prayer Book, to initiate the actions 
which finally led to Aelred's inclusion: using Aelred's own 
texts, Galley shaped the readings which appear in THE 
LESSER FEASTS AND FASTS, including this collect:

Pour into our hearts, O God, the Holy Spirit's gift 
of love, that we, clasping each the other's hand, 
may share the joy of friendship, human and divine, 
and with your servant Aelred, draw many to your 
community of love; through Jesus Christ the 
Righteous, who livers and reigns with you, in the 
unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. 
AMEN

Select Bibliography

Aelred of Rievaulx, Spiritual Friendship, trans. Mary 
Eugenia Laker, (Kalamazoo MI: Cistercian 
Publications 1977)

Boswell,  John, CSTH, 221-20

McGuire, Brian P, "Looking Back on Friendship: Medieval 
Experience and Modern Context", Cistercian 
Studies 21:2 (1986), pp. 123-142

McGuire, Brian P, Brother and Lover: Aelred of Rievaulx, 
(New York: Crossroad, 1994)

January 20th NRC/ORC
St. Sebastian, martyr
d. 288

The martyrdom of St. Sebastian, about whom little is 
known, has been a subject for countless artists to portray 
the male body. St. Sebastian was killed by multiple arrow 
shots, an image of suffering and redemption which 
provided the basis for his cult.

Office of Readings:
He suffered martyrdom in Rome at the beginning of the 
persecution of Diocletian. His tomb in the place named Ad 
Catacumbas on the Via Appia has been venerated by the 
faithful from the earliest times.

Select Bibliography

Jarman, Derek, director, Sebastian, Film, UK, 1977

Saslow, James M, "The Tenderest Lover: Saint Sebastian 
in Renaissance Painting: A proposed Iconology for 
North Italian Art, 1450-1550", Gai Saber 1:1 
(Spring 1977), 58-66

March 7th NRC/ORC/COE/ECUSA
*St. Perpetua and *St. Felicity, martyrs
d. 203

Office of Readings:
Died in the persecution of Septimus Severus in the year 
203 at Carthage. There is an impressive narrative of their 
martyrdom in existence, partly written by the saints 
themselves and partly by a contemporary writer.

CSTH: The popularity of the story of Saints Perpetua and 
Felicitas...was largely dues to the appeal of love between 
two women. Five Christians were martyred together at 
Carthage on March 7, 203, suffering death at the hands of 
wild animals and the sword, but only Perpetua and Felicitas 
captured the fancy of the Christian community, apparently 
because of the tale of the two women comforting each 
other in jail, suffering martyrdom together as friends, and 
bestowing upon each other the kiss of peace as they met 
their end, charmed the tastes of the age.

Select Bibliography

Boswell,  John, CSTH, 135

Boswell, John , SSU 139-141

April 21st NRC/ORC/COE/ECUSA
St. Anselm of Canterbury, bishop and doctor
1033?-1109

from Compton's Online Encyclopedia, (AOL, Downloaded 
7/22/94)
ANSELM OF CANTERBURY (1033?-1109). In the late 
Middle Ages the attempt to use philosophy to explain 
Christian faith was called scholasticism. The founder of 
scholasticism was St. Anselm, a man who combined the 
careers of philosopher, theologian, monk, and archbishop.

Anselm was born at Aosta, Italy, in about 1033. In his 
youth he resisted family pressure to enter politics and 
obtained a classical education instead. In 1057 he entered 
the Benedictine monastery at Bec, in northwestern France. 
In 1078 he became the abbot there. As Anselm's abilities 
and great learning became known, Bec became one of the 
leading schools of philosophy and theology.

While on inspection tours of monasteries in England, 
Anselm had been befriended by King William I. In 1093 
William I's son and successor, William II Rufus, appointed 
Anselm archbishop of Canterbury. His term of office was 
an unhappy one, for he immediately became involved in one 
of the major conflicts of the time--the investiture 
controversy. At issue was whether a king had the right to 
invest a bishop with the symbols of his office. On this issue 
Anselm resisted both William II and his successor, Henry I. 
The matter was finally resolved in Anselm's favor by the 
Westminster Agreement of 1107. He lived only two more 
years, dying on April 21, 1109.

Anselm is remembered principally as one of the great 
theologians in the history of the Roman Catholic church. 
His main works--the 'Monologium' (Monologue), the 
'Proslogium' (Addition), and the 'Cur Deus Homo?' (Why 
Did God Become Man?)--were outstanding attempts to use 
reason to explain belief. He was canonized a saint in 1163 
and declared a doctor of the church in 1720.

OE: He was canonized by Pope Alexander VI in 1492 and 
proclaimed a doctor of the Church by Pope Clement XI in 
1720.

Anselm as a Gay Saint?
Paul Halsall
I make no claims about Anselm's sexual practices, but I am 
sure he was what we would now call gay. I

Anselm had emotional relationships with Lanfranc and then 
a succession of his own pupils. He would address his letters 
to his "beloved lover" [dilecto dilitori]. Here is a sample:

"Wherever you go my love follows you, and wherever I 
remain my desire embraces you...How then could I forget 
you? He who is imprisoned on my heart like a seal on wax- 
how could he be removed from my memory? Without 
saying a word I know that you love [amor] me, and 
without my saying a word, you know that I love you. 
[Epistle 1.4; PL 158:1068-69]

Or again:

"Brother  Anselm to Dom Gilbert, brother, friend, beloved 
lover... Sweet to me, sweetest friend, are the gifts of your 
sweetness, but they cannot begin to console my desolate 
heart for its want of your Love."
[Ep. 1.75, PL 158:1144-45].
refs. from John Boswell's CSTH.

It is worth mentioning also, that St. Anselm was one of the 
first saints to address Jesus as mother, a practice and 
spirituality later taken up by Julian of Norwich.

Select Bibliography

Boswell,  John, CSTH, 218-20

Bynum, Caroline Walker, Jesus as Mother: Studies in the 
Spirituality of the High Middle Ages, (Berkeley: 
1982)

McGuire, B., "Love, Friendship and Sex in the 11th 
Century: The Experience of Anselm", Studia 
Theologia 28 (1974), pp. 111-155

McGuire, Brian P., "Monastic Friendship and Toleration in 
Twelfth Century Cistercian Life", in W. J. Shiels., 
ed., Monks, Hermits and the Ascetic Tradition, 
Studies in Church History 22, (London: 1985)

Olsen, Glenn, "St. Anselm and Homosexuality", Anselm 
Studies (1988)
	Article by a conservative Roman Catholic scholar.

May 8th ECUSA
Julian of Norwich
1342- c. 1417

Mother Julian qualifies as transgendered for her name, if 
nothing else. But that is not her main interest for lesbian 
and gay people. Mother Julian was one of the foremost 
English mystics of the middle ages. As a young women she 
had a series of intense visions, or "showings" as she said,  
of Jesus. She then lived as an anchoress, a sort of local 
hermit, for the rest of her life meditating and writing down 
he meditations on these visions. There is a pretty poor 
modern English version put out by Penguin, but the edition 
in the Classics of Western Spirituality Series is well worth 
the extra cost. Julian, although no feminist, experienced 
God directly as "our mother", and experienced God as pure 
love. She also saw Jesus as a loving mother, full of warm 
and care for her children. Julian's immensely attractive 
spirituality emphasize that God love's human beings, and 
that in the end "all will be well, and all shall be well, and all 
will be well". In her awareness of the motherhood of God, 
in her emphasis on God's love and manifest intention that 
"every kind of thing will be well", Julian's spirituality has 
the called many who have encountered it back to a joyful 
Faith. And a Faith that is not joyful hardly seems worth the 
effort.

Chapter 60 (from Long Text of "Showings")
"The Mother can lay her child tenderly to her breast, but 
our tender Mother Jesus can lead us easily into his blessed 
breast through his sweet open side, and show us there a 
part of the godhead and of the joys of heaven with inner 
certainty of endless bliss. And that he revealed in the 10th 
revelation, giving us the same under standing in these sweet 
words which he says: See how I love you, looking into his 
blessed side, rejoicing"

Chapter 31 (from Long Text of "Showings"), a passage 
Julian referred back to repeatedly,
"And so our good Lord answered to all questions and 
doubts which I could raise, saying most comfortably: I may 
make all things well, and I can make all things well, and I 
shall make all things well, and I will make all things well, 
and you will see yourself that every kind of thing will be 
well"

Chapter 11 (from Short text of "Showings")
"Thus I chose Jesus for my heaven, whom I saw only in 
pain at that time. No other heaven was pleasing to me than 
Jesus, who will be my bliss when I am there; and this has 
always been a comfort to me, that I chose Jesus as my 
heaven in all times of suffering and of sorrow."

Select Bibliography

Julian of Norwich, Showings, trans. Edmund Colledge and 
James Walsh, (New York: Paulist Press, 1978)

May 20th  ECUSA
St. Alcuin of Tours
C. 735- 804

Alcuin was a leading figure in the Carolingian renaissance 
of the late 7th and early 8th centuries. The poet, who was a 
teacher also, knew his students by pet names such as 
"Cuckoo". It is sometimes asserted that Alcuin's writings 
reflect classical models, and were exercises rather than 
representations of his own thought. What must be noted is 
that there were many possible classical models to imitate - 
it is why a writer chooses some and not others that is 
interesting.

CSTH: A distinctly erotic element...is notable in the circle 
of friends presided over by Alcuin at the court of 
Charlemagne. This group included some of the most 
brilliant scholars of the day (Theodule of Orleans, 
Anglibert, Einhard, et al,), but the erotic element subsisted 
principally between Alcuin and his pupils. Intimates of this 
circle of masculine friendship were known to each other by 
pet names, most of them derived from classical allusions, 
many from Vergil's eclogues... A particularly famous poem 
is addressed to a pupil whom Alcuin calls "Daphnis" and 
laments the departure of another young student, "Dodo", 
who is referred to in the poem as their "cuckoo"....The 
prominence of love in Alcuin's writings, all of which are 
addressed to other males, is striking...
	One expects hyperbole in poetry, but even in 
Alcuin's prose correspondence there is an element which 
can scarcely be called anything but passionate. He wrote to 
a friend (a bishop...):-
"I think of your love and friendship with such sweet 
memories, reverend bishop, that I long for that 
lovely time when I may be able to clutch the neck 
of your sweetness with the fingers of my desires. 
Alas, if only it were granted to me, as it was to 
Habakkuk [Dan. 14:32-38], to be transported to 
you, how I would sink into your embraces,...how 
much would I cover, with tightly pressed lips, not 
only your eyes, ears and mouth, but also your every 
finger and toe, not once but many a time."

"Lament for a Cuckoo"

O cuckoo that sang to us and art fled,
  Where'er thou wanderest, on whatever shore
Thou lingerest now, all men bewail thee dead,
  They say our cuckoo will return no more.
Ah, let him come again, he must not die,
  Let him return with the returning spring,
And waken all the songs he used to sing.
  but will he come again? I know not, I.

I fear the dark see breaks above his head,
  Caught in the whirlpool, dead beneath the waves,
Sorrow for me, if that ill god of wine
  Hath drowned him deep where young things find their 
graves.
But if he lives yet, surely he will come,
  Back to the kindly nest, from fierce crows.
Cuckoo, what took you from the nesting place?
  But will he come again? That no man knows.

If you love sings, cuckoo, then come again,
  Come again, come again, quick, pray you come.
Cuckoo, delay not, hasten thee home again,
  Daphnis who loveth thee longs for his own.
Now spring is here again, wake from thy sleeping.
  Alcuin the old man thinks long for thee.
Through the green meadows go the oxen grazing;
  Only the cuckoo is not. Where is her?

Wail for the cuckoo, every where bewail him,
  Joyous he left us: shall he grieving come?
let him come grieving, if he will but come again,
  Yea, we shall weep with him, moan for his moan.
Unless a rock begat thee, thou wilt weep with us.
  How canst thou not, thyself remembering?
Shall not the father weep the son he lost him,
  Brother for brother still be sorrowing?

Once were we three, with but one heart among us.
  Scare are we two, now that the third is fled.
Fled is he, fled is he, but the grief remaineth;
  Bitter the weeping, for so dear a head.
Send a song after him, send a song of sorrow,
  Songs bring the cuckoo home, or so they tell
Yet be thou happy, wheresoe'er thou wanderest 
  Sometimes remember us, Love, fare you well.

[trans. Helen Waddell, in Penguin Book of Homosexual 
Verse]

Select Bibliography

Coote, Stephen, ed., The Penguin Book of Homosexual 
Verse, (Harmondsworth: Allen Lane, Penguin, 
1983), 112-114 

Boswell,  John, CSTH, 188-191

May 30th ORC
*St. Joan of Arc
c.1412-1431
and *La Rousse
and *Catharine de La Rochelle

Joan, who was executed at the age of 19, lived, as Marina 
Warner notes, one of the most classically heroic lives of 
any woman in history. She is the national heroine of 
France. She also refused to wear women's clothes and had 
her hair cut in the typical male "basin" style of the day. 
Even during her trial she insisted on male attire, an 
insistence which angered her prosecutors.

from Compton's Online Encyclopedia, (AOL, Downloaded 
7/22/94)
JOAN OF ARC (1412?-31). One of the most romantic 
figures in European war history was Joan of Arc, a peasant 
girl who saved the kingdom of France from English 
domination. She has also been called the Maid of Orleans 
and the Maid of France. When she was only 17 years old, 
Joan inspired a French army to break the English siege of 
the French city of Orleans and to win other important 
victories.

Joan of Arc (in French Jeanne d'Arc) was born in the 
village of Domremy, in the Meuse River valley, probably in 
1412. She was the daughter of a wealthy tenant farmer. 
From her mother she learned how to spin, sew, and cook, 
and also to love and serve God. She spent much of her time 
praying in church. 

For almost 100 years France and much of Europe had been 
fighting in what became known as the Hundred Years' War. 
The English occupied much of northern France and the 
Duke of Burgundy was their ally. Because the 
impoverished French king, Charles VII, had not yet been 
crowned, he was still called the Dauphin (See Charles, 
Kings of France). Reims, where the coronation ceremonies 
for French kings had been held for 1,000 years, was in 
enemy hands (See Reims). The valley where Joan lived was 
constantly overrun by armies and guerrilla bands.

Joan was only about 13 when she first saw a heavenly 
vision. She later claimed that St. Michael had told her to be 
a good girl, to obey her mother, and to go to church often. 
For some time, however, she told no one of the visions. 
When St. Catherine and St. Margaret commanded her to 
journey to the Dauphin in order to inspire his armies to 
clear the way to Reims for the coronation, she told her 
parents and others. Her father refused to let her go.

Joan's visions continued to command her. Her friends, who 
believed that she was truly inspired, secured boy's clothing 
and a horse for her. Several rode with her on the long trip 
to the Dauphin's court at Chinon. Perhaps as a test, the 
Dauphin made one of his courtiers pretend to be the king. 
Joan, however, went directly to the true king and greeted 
him. The Dauphin and his councilors were not entirely 
convinced of her mission, however. Months of doubt and 
indecision followed while she was questioned.

Slowly an army was gathered. The Dauphin equipped Joan 
with armor, attendants, and horses. A special banner was 
made for Joan to carry into battle. On one side were the 
words "Jesus Maria" and a figure of God, seated on clouds 
and holding a glove. The other side had a figure of the 
Virgin and a shield, with two angels supporting the arms of 
France.

When the army at last moved toward Orleans, Joan was not 
its commander, but her presence inspired the soldiers with 
confidence. At Orleans, after Joan disapproved of the plans 
made for entering the besieged city, her own plan was 
adopted. From the city she led a series of sallies that so 
harassed and discouraged the English that they withdrew. 
In one of the skirmishes Joan was wounded.

On May 8, 1429, the victory was celebrated by the first 
festival of Orleans. The army entered Reims on July 16. 
The next day the Dauphin was crowned king as Joan stood 
by with her banner. (See also France, Hundred Years' War, 
Orleans.)

A decision was made to attack Paris, but the new 
monarch's hesitation and indecision prevented Joan's 
soldiers from concerted attack. Nevertheless, Compie`gne 
and other nearby towns were taken. A French attack on a 
Paris salient was driven back and Joan was again wounded. 
Charles VII disbanded his army for the winter and retired 
southward. Through the cold months Joan chafed at royal 
delay.

In the spring she returned to Compie`gne, now besieged by 
forces of the Duke of Burgundy. On May 23, 1430, Joan, 
on a sortie into the Burgundian lines, was separated from 
her soldiers and captured.  

Trial and Execution

As a prisoner at Beaurevoir, she attempted to escape, but 
was injured in the leap from the donjon tower. Later she 
was sold to the English, who vowed that she would be 
executed. They removed her to Rouen, where she was held 
in chains.

Although the English wanted Joan's death, they desired her 
to be sentenced by an ecclesiastical court. The Burgundian-
controlled University of Paris provided the charges of 
heresy and witchcraft. It also provided some of the 
members of the court. Other members came from areas 
under English occupation. Chief of the court was the 
bishop of Beauvais.

Joan was handed over to this bishop on Jan. 3, 1431. The 
sittings began on February 21 and continued intermittently 
for months. Joan's appeal to be sent before the pope for 
judgment was denied. On May 23 she was condemned to 
be burned unless she recanted. She had been held for many 
months in chains, threatened with torture, and harassed by 
thousands of questions. In spite of all this, she had 
maintained her shy innocence, often confounding her 
oppressors with simple, unaffected answers to tricky 
questions. Saint Catherine and Saint Margaret, she said, 
still counseled her.

Faced with death in the flames, she recanted, but many 
historians think she did not understand what was meant in 
the statement of recantation. As a result of her submission, 
her punishment was commuted from death to life 
imprisonment. This leniency enraged the English, however, 
and it was not long before she was accused of relapsing 
from her submission. On May 30, 1431, when she was only 
19 years old, Joan was turned over to civil authority and 
burned to death at the stake.

Charles VII had made no effort to save Joan. Some 25 
years later he did aid her family to appeal the case to the 
pope, and in 1456 a papal court annulled the judgment of 
1431. On May 16, 1920, Joan of Arc was canonized a saint 
by the Roman Catholic church. 

Select Bibliography

Marina Warner, St. Joan of Arc: The Image of Female 
Heroism, (London: 1981, pb. Penguin, 1985), esp. 
149-59

June 22nd NRC/ORC
St. Paulinus of Nola, bishop
353-431 
and Ausonius

Paulinus of Nola was an important figure in the Christian 
Roman Empire. He was passionately in love with his fellow 
Christian and writer, Ausonius. There is an element of 
copying classical homosexual poetry in these verses, but 
they clearly indicate a relationship distinct and more erotic 
than "friendship".

"To Ausonius"

I, through all chances that are given to mortals,
  And through all fates that be,
So long as this close prison shall contain me,
  Yea, though a world shall sunder me and thee,

Thee shall I hold, in every fibre woven,
  Not with dumb lips, nor with averted face
Shall I behold thee, in my mind embrace thee,
  Instant and present, thou, in every place.

Yea, when the prison of this flesh is broken,
  And from the earth I shall have gone my way,
Wheresoe'er in the wide universe I stay me,
  There shall I bear thee, as I do today.

Think not the end, that from my body frees me,
  Breaks and unshackles from my love to thee;
Triumphs the soul above its house in ruin,
  Deathless, begot of immortality.

Still must she keep her senses and affections,
  Hold them as dear as life itself to be,
Could she choose death, then might she choose forgetting:
  Living, remembering, to eternity.

[trans. Helen Waddell, in Penguin Book of Homosexual 
Verse]

An Epigram by Ausonius [c. 310-390]

No 62
Glad youth had come they sixteenth year to crown,
To soft encircle they dear cheeks with down
And part the mingled beauties of thy face,
When death too quickly comes to snatch your grace.
But thou'll not herd with ghostly common fools,
Nor piteous, waft the Stygian pools;
Rather with blithe Adonis shalt thou rove
And play Ganymede to highest Jove.

[in Penguin Book of Homosexual Verse]

Select Bibliography

Coote, Stephen, ed., The Penguin Book of Homosexual 
Verse, (Harmondsworth: Allen Lane, Penguin, 
1983), 110-112

Boswell,  John, CSTH, 133-134

Waddell, Helen, Medieval Latin Lyrics, (New York: 1948), 
289-94

June 29th NRC (June 30th ORC)
St. Paul the Apostle
d.67

At first glance, the argument that St. Paul was homosexual 
seems absurd, as it may be. After all was not he the one 
who condemned gay people in Romans, and elsewhere? 
There is considerable debate over those anti-gay "proof -
texts", but whatever the conclusions, there is much, as 
Anglican Bishop of Newark John Spong has pointed out 
which leads one to suspect Paul might have been "queer" in 
some way. The fact he was never married, unusual for a 
Jew of his time, his companionship with a series of younger 
men, especially St. Timothy, his mention of an unnamed 
"thorn in the flesh". and, possibly,  his disdain for some 
types of exploitative homosexual relationship in his period, 
all raise questions, questions which cannot be answered it 
must be admitted, about his sexuality. It should also be 
added that despite Paul's modern reputation for placing 
women lower than men, he also penned revolutionary 
words about the absolute equality of all believers in Christ, 
a complete destruction of prevailing social codes and 
norms that has only intermittently played out in full in 
Church history.

2 Cor 12:7-11
And lest I should be exalted above measure through the 
abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn 
in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I 
should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought 
the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said 
unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is 
made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I 
rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may 
rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in 
reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for 
Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. I am 
become a fool in glorying; ye have compelled me: for I 
ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing am I 
behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing.

Gal 3:26-28
For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 
For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have 
put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is 
neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for 
ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

Select Bibliography

Spong, John S. Rescuing the Bible for Fundamentalists, 
(San Francisco: HarperSanFranciso, 1991)

July 21st ORC (December 17th/18th ORTH)
Daniel the Prophet [0T]
c.650BCE 
[eunuch]

The prophet Daniel was understood by Byzantine 
commentators, including St. John Chrysostom, to have 
been taken to serve as a eunuch, the major defined sexual 
minority of the ancient world, at the King of Babylon's 
court. Note the emphasis on the physical beauty of the four 
young men. He is, nevertheless, along with David one of 
the heroes of the Jewish Scriptures. Kathryn Ringrose has 
written recently on this matter, and Fr. Helminiak reports 
suggestions that "eunuch" was just a general way of 
referring to "homosexuals" in the period, although remains 
merely a suggestion. More interesting has been discussion 
of the "favor and tender love" Daniel enjoyed with the chief 
eunuch. Nothing definite can be asserted, but Daniel is one 
of the most interesting biblical figures for gay people.

Dan 1:1-20  In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim 
king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto 
Jerusalem, and besieged it.  And the Lord gave Jehoiakim 
king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the 
house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to 
the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the 
treasure house of his god.  And the king spake unto 
Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring 
certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and 
of the princes;  Children in whom was no blemish, but well 
favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in 
knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had 
ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they 
might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.  
And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's 
meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them 
three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before 
the king. Now among these were of the children of Judah, 
Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:  Unto whom the 
prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel 
the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; 
and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego.  
But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile 
himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the 
wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince 
of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.  Now God 
had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the 
prince of the eunuchs.  And the prince of the eunuchs said 
unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed 
your meat and your drink: for why should he see your faces 
worse liking than the children which are of your sort? then 
shall ye make me endanger my head to the king. Then said 
Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set 
over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,  Prove thy 
servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us 
pulse to eat, and water to drink. Then let our countenances 
be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the 
children that eat of the portion of the king's meat: and as 
thou seest, deal with thy servants. So he consented to them 
in this matter, and proved them ten days. And at the end of 
ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in 
flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the 
king's meat. Thus Melzar took away the portion of their 
meat, and the wine that they should drink; and gave them 
pulse.  As for these four children, God gave them 
knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel 
had understanding in all visions and dreams. Now at the 
end of the days that the king had said he should bring them 
in, then the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before 
Nebuchadnezzar.  And the king communed with them; and 
among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, 
Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king. 
And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the 
king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than 
all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm.

Select Bibliography

Helminiak, Daniel, What the Bible Really Says about 
Homosexuality, (San Francisco: Alamo Square 
Press, 1994)

Ringrose, Kathryn, "Living in the Shadows: Eunuchs and 
Gender in Byzantium",  in Gilbert Herdt, ed., Third 
Sex, Third Gender, (New York: Zone, 1994), 85-
110

August 11th dia natalis
Cardinal John Henry Newman
1801-90
[Cause in process in Rome]

John Henry Newman, the most prominent 19th century 
convert to Anglicanism, is best known for his writings, 
especially his superb spiritual biography, Apologia Pr Vita 
Sua. It is certain that Newman was sexually abstinent, 
nevertheless he spent most of his life with his closest friend, 
Fr. Ambrose St. John. Some reports [see Hillard ref. below 
for rebuttal] state that he lay all night on Ambrose St. 
John's death after Ambrose's death, and, certainly,  
stipulated in his will that he wished to be buried in the same 
grace as Fr. St. John at Rednal in the English midlands.

from Compton's Online Encyclopedia, (AOL, Downloaded 
7/22/94)
NEWMAN, John Henry (1801-90). One of England's 19th-
century religious leaders, John Henry Newman attempted 
to reform the Church of England in the direction of early 
Catholicismthe church as it had existed in its first five 
centuries. Failing in this, he eventually joined the Roman 
Catholic church and rose in its ranks to become a cardinal. 
Newman was also an educator, a poet, and a master of 
English prose. His "Idea of a University" and "Apologia 
pro Vita Sua" (a defense of his life) are clear-cut, powerful 
essays on education and religion.  

Newman, the eldest of six children, was born on Feb. 21, 
1801, in London, England. His father was a banker. At 
Ealing Academy Newman mastered his lessons easily and 
spent much of his time editing the school paper. He was 16 
when he entered Trinity College, Oxford. Newman won a 
fellowship to Oriel College, Oxford, in 1822. In 1824 he 
was ordained a priest in the Church of England. 

Newman served as curate of an Oxford parish while a 
fellow of Oriel College. He became a leader of the Oxford 
Movement, which sought to bring about a renewal of 
catholic thought and practice within the Anglican 
Communion.  His zeal for a church with the power and 
grandeur of medieval times led him to join the Roman 
Catholic church in 1845. He was convinced that the 
Protestant element in the Church of England would never 
accept his traditionalist views. 

In 1847 Newman became a Roman Catholic priest in 
Rome. He joined the Oratorian order and founded 
congregations near Birmingham and London. Although at 
times his life was difficult, as he continued to write and 
preach, his views gradually won acceptance. He was made 
a cardinal in 1879. Cardinal Newman died near 
Birmingham on Aug. 11, 1890. 

Select Bibliography

Chadwick, Owen. Newman. Past masters. (Oxford; New 
York: Oxford University Press, 1983)

Faber, Geoffrey, The Oxford Apostles, (London: 1933)

Hillard, David, "UnEnglish and Unmanly: Anglo-
Catholicism and Homosexuality", Victorian Studies 
25 (Winter 1982),  esp. 183-186

Woodward, Kenneth, Making Saints, (New York: Simon  
& Schuster, 1990; pb. Touchstone, 1990), 355-73

August 28th NRC/ORC/COE/ECUSA
St. Augustine of Hippo, bishop and doctor
354-430

Augustine has often been held responsible for the 
aggressive anti-sex stance of much of western Christian 
history, chiefly because of his linking the transmission of 
original sin with sexual activity. In fact, compared to some 
of the anti-sex zealots of his time, he was rather moderate 
in seeing at least some good in sex within marriage. At 
times he spoke violently against "sodomy", but as the 
extracts from his Confessions show, he was for a time 
completely in love with another man, whose death threw 
him into turmoil. 

from Compton's Online Encyclopedia, (AOL, Downloaded 
7/22/94)
AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO (354-430). The bishop of Hippo 
in Roman Africa for 35 years, St. Augustine lived during 
the decline of Roman civilization on that continent. 
Considered the greatest of the Fathers of the Church in the 
West, he helped form Christian theology (See Fathers of 
the Church).

Augustine was born Aurelius Augustinus on Nov. 13, 354, 
at Tagaste in the Roman province of Numidia (now Souk-
Ahras in Algeria). Although his mother, St. Monica, was a 
devout Christian, he was not baptized in infancy. His 
father, Patricius, a wealthy landowner, was a pagan.

In his 'Confessions' Augustine wrote seven chapters about 
an incident in his early life--stealing pears from a neighbor's 
tree. This sin troubled him for the rest of his life. He also 
confessed to immoral behavior at the University of 
Carthage, where he was sent at the age of 16.

Augustine remained in Carthage, teaching rhetoric, until he 
was 29. Then he went to Rome, taking with him his 
mistress and his son, Adeodatus. His religion at this time 
was Manichaeism, which combined Christianity with 
Zoroastrian elements. 

By 386 Augustine was teaching in Milan, where his mother 
joined him. He came under the influence of the city's great 
bishop, St. Ambrose, who baptized Augustine and 
Adeodatus on the following Easter.

From this time Augustine lived as an ascetic. He returned 
to Africa and spent three years with friends on his family's 
estate. He was ordained a priest and five years later, in 396, 
was consecrated a bishop. He spent the remainder of his 
life in Hippo (now Annaba, Algeria) with his clergy, 
encouraging the formation of religious communities. 
Augustine, who was ill when the Vandals besieged Hippo, 
died on Aug. 28, 430, before the town was taken. 

Augustine's most widely read book is Confessions, a vivid 
account of his early life and religious development. The 
City of God was written after 410, when Rome fell to the 
barbarians. The aim of this book was to restore confidence 
in the Christian church, which Augustine said would take 
the place of the earthly city of Rome. During the Middle 
Ages the book gave strong support to the theory that the 
church was above the state. Augustine's writings on 
communal life form the 'Rule of St. Augustine', the basis of 
many religious orders. 

From Augustine, Confessions
[from electronic text archives at 
CCAT.SAS.UPENN.EDU]
Here describing his relationship with a man
Book 3: 1: For this cause my soul was sickly and full of 
sores, it miserably cast itself forth, desiring to be scraped 
by the touch of objects of sense. Yet if these had not a soul, 
they would not be objects of love. To love then, and to be 
beloved, was sweet to me; but more, when I obtained to 
enjoy the person I loved, I defiled, therefore, the spring of 
friendship with the filth of concupiscence, and I beclouded 
its brightness with the hell of lustfulness; and thus foul and 
unseemly, I would fan, through exceeding vanity, be fine 
and courtly. I fell headlong then into the love wherein I 
longed to be ensnared. My God, my Mercy, with how 
much gall didst Thou out of  Thy great goodness besprinkle 
for me that sweetness? For I was both beloved, and 
secretly arrived at the bond of enjoying; and was with joy 
fettered with sorrow-bringing bonds, that I might be 
scourged with the iron burning rods of jealousy, and 
suspicions, and fears, and angers, and quarrels.
Book 4: 6-8   In those years when I first began to teach 
rhetoric in my native town, I had made one my friend, but 
too dear to me, from a community of pursuits, of mine own 
age, and, as myself, in the first opening flower of youth. He 
had grown up as a child with me, and we had been both 
school-fellows and play-fellows. But he was not yet my 
friend as afterwards, nor even then, as true friendship is; for 
true it cannot be, unless in such as Thou cementest 
together, cleaving unto Thee, by that love which is shed 
abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given 
unto us. Yet was it but too sweet, ripened by the warmth of 
kindred studies: for, from the true faith (which he as a 
youth had not soundly and thoroughly imbibed), I had 
warped him also to those superstitious and pernicious 
fables, for which my mother bewailed me. With me he now 
erred in mind, nor could my soul be without him. But 
behold Thou wert close on the steps of Thy fugitives, at 
once God of vengeance, and Fountain of mercies, turning 
us to Thyself by wonderful means; Thou tookest that man 
out of this life, when he had scarce filled up one whole year 
of my friendship, sweet to me above all sweetness of that 
my life.
	Who can recount all Thy praises, which he hath felt 
in his one self? What diddest Thou then, my God, and how 
unsearchable is the abyss of Thy judgments? For long, sore 
sick of a fever, he lay senseless in a death-sweat; and his 
recovery being despaired of, he was baptized, unknowing; 
myself meanwhile little regarding, and presuming that his 
soul would retain rather what it had received of me, not 
what was wrought on his unconscious body. But it proved 
far otherwise: for he was refreshed, and restored. 
Forthwith, as soon as I could speak with him (and I could, 
so soon as he was able, for I never left him, and we hung 
but too much upon each other), I essayed to jest with him, 
as though he would jest with me at that baptism which he 
had received, when utterly absent in mind and feeling, but 
had now understood that he had received. But he so shrunk 
from me, as from an enemy; and with a wonderful and 
sudden freedom bade me, as I would continue his friend, 
forbear such language to him. I, all astonished and amazed, 
suppressed all my emotions till he should grow well, and 
his health were strong enough for me to deal with him as I 
would. But he was taken away from my frenzy, that with 
Thee he might be preserved for my comfort; a few days 
after in my absence, he was attacked again by the fever, 
and so departed.
	At this grief my heart was utterly darkened; and 
whatever I beheld was death. My native country was a 
torment to me, and my father's house a strange 
unhappiness; and whatever I had shared with him, wanting 
him, became a distracting torture. Mine eyes sought him 
every where, but he was not granted them; and I hated all 
places, for that they had not him; nor could they now tell 
me, "he is coming," as when he was alive and absent. I 
became a great riddle to myself, and I asked my soul, why 
she was so sad, and why she disquieted me sorely: but she 
knew not what to answer me. And if I said, Trust in God, 
she very rightly obeyed me not; because that most dear 
friend, whom she had lost, was, being man, both truer and 
better than that phantasm she was bid to trust in. Only tears 
were sweet to me, for they succeeded my friend, in the 
dearest of my affections.

Select Bibliography

Boswell,  John, CSTH, 135

Brown, Peter R. L., Augustine of Hippo: A Biography, 
(London: Faber; Berkeley: University of California 
Press, 1967)

November 1st
All Saints Day

The Church has never claimed to have recognized all the 
saints, and this ancient day had long been designated for All 
Saints. As lesbian, gay and bisexual people have realized in 
recent years, the AIDS epidemic has brought forth 
tremendous witnesses of courage and faith in the Lord and 
his promises. We have seen People with AIDS light up the 
world with their presence, before they departed for the 
light. The names here are a few of those who have 
illumined the Dignity Community in New York, but there 
are many others. I have given a special mention to Timothy 
McGinty, but he is representative rather than unique.

Timothy McGinty, dia natalis July 1992
Tim was the "golden boy". Raised in Ft. Lauderdale, he 
was successful at high school. college and law school. 
After beginning work he became ill, and supported by his 
friends, his parents, his lover and his colleagues embarked 
on a spiritual journey to Christ which he took care to make 
known to others who might need to know of it. Having 
everything material, he lost everything material, including 
at the end his eyesight. But through it all he lived life as a 
gift, a true living that inspired all. At his wake, people who 
came for ten minutes stayed hours. At his funeral, Kaddish, 
a prayer of life, was said by his lover, and the homilist 
called attention to the meaning Tim had given us. Referring 
to an incident during the 1992 Olympic Games when a 
runner had fallen, gotten up, and fallen again, then to be 
raised and carried across the line by his father, she told us 
what Tim, dead at 31,  had taught us; that what is 
important in finishing the race is not who wins, or how long 
it lasts, but who holds and supports you to the end.
2 Tim 4:5-8  
But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work 
of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. For I am 
now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at 
hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, 
I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a 
crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous 
judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but 
unto all them also that love his appearing.

Peter Seifert, dia natalis,
Fr. Declan Daly, dia natalis,
Alberto Arevelo, dia natalis, January 27 1989
Allan Royale, dia natalis, 
Peter Hamory, dia natalis, 
Gus Alexiou, dia natalis, 
Lou Sacco, dia natalis,  April 24 1990
Craig Huston, dia natalis, 
Steven Smurr, dia natalis, 
George Moran, dia natalis, Fall 1992
Michael Olivieri, dia natalis, June 1993
John Taktikos, dia natalis, October 1993
James Serafini, dia natalis, May 1994

October 7th ORC  (October 1st for Bacchus in Arabic 
Calendar)
St. Sergius and St. Bacchus, martyrs
d. circa. 297

Saints Sergius and Bacchus were two Roman soldiers and 
lovers. As John Boswell has shown recently they were 
invoked repeatedly in the middle ages in the blessing of 
ceremonies of union for couples of the same sex. They 
were arrested and humiliated for being Christians. Bacchus 
was killed first, and then a few days later, Sergius. Their 
cult was one of the most intense in the eastern 
Mediterranean, with a huge pilgrimage site at Sergiopolis. 
The passage following, translated from the earliest passion 
by John Boswell, recounts Sergius' laments after Bacchus' 
death, and Bacchus appearance to him, promising himself 
as the prize of martyrdom.

from The Passion of St. Sergius and Bacchus
Meanwhile the blessed Serge, deeply distressed and 
heartsick over the loss of Bacchus, wept and cried out, "No 
longer, brother and fellow soldier, will we chant together, 
'Behold, how good an pleasant it is for brethren to dwell 
together in unity!'  You have been unyoked from me and 
gone up to heaven, leaving me alone on earth, bereft, 
without comfort."  After he uttered these things, the same 
night the blessed Bacchus suddenly appeared to him with a 
face as radiant as an angel's, wearing an officer's uniform, 
and spoke to him.  "Why do you grieve and mourn, 
brother? If I have been taken up from you in body, I am 
still with you in the bond of union, chanting and reciting, "I 
will run the way of thy commandments, when thou hast 
enlarged my heart.' Hurry up then, yourself, brother, 
through beautiful and perfect confession to pursue and 
obtain me, when finishing the course. For the crown of 
justice for me is with you." 

SERGIUS AND BACCHUS
by Richard Oliver
[email: [email-masked]]

Last August when the rumors about Boswell's book on 
medieval "marriage" ceremonies began appearing on the 
Internet, out of curiosity I did a brief  investigation on the 
martyrs Sergius and Bacchus who were mentioned as an  
inspiration for the "rite." Perhaps now that the topic has 
resurfaced here some readers may be interested in what I 
found out about the martyrs:

Some information and sources for further investigation 
concerning the  martyred/married(?) pair, Sergius and 
Bacchus.  Feast day, formerly 7  October; "cults suppressed 
in 1969" (Ramsgate, 505).

"Sergius and Bacchus, MM.    
They were Roman soldiers, officers in the household of 
Emperor Maximian.  Sergius is said to have been
'primicerius gymnasii trionum' at Trieste, and Bacchus a 
subaltern officer.  For refusing to sacrifice to the gods, they 
were ignominiously dressed in women's clothing and 
conducted through the  streets of Arabissus (near Comana 
in Cappadocia).  Then they were scourged until Bacchus 
died, 1 Oct. 290.  Sergius was brought to  Resapha 
(Augusta Eupratasiae) in Syria, where, after various 
tortures, he was decapitated, 7 Oct. 290.

 "The tomb of S. Sergius at Resapha was a famous shrine.  
In 431, Bishop Alexander of Hierapolis built a magnificent 
church in his honor.  In 434, the town of Resapha was 
raised to the rank of an episcopal see and was named 
Sergiopolis.  Emperor Justinian I enlarged and fortified it.  
Sergius was venerated as patron of Syria. Parts of his relics 
were transferred to Venice, where these saints were 
patrons of the ancient cathedral.

In the seventh century a church was dedicated to them in 
Rome.  F. 7  Oct"  
Holweck, R.G., A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints 
(St.  Louis; London: Herder, 1924), 901

Variations/expansions on the above life:

 "...absenting themselves when Emperor Maximian was 
sacrificing to Jupiter...."  "Sergiopolis became one of the 
greatest pilgrimage centers of  the East.  Many churches 
bore the name of Sergius (sometimes with Bacchus),  and 
his cultus was extraordinarily widespread and popular; the 
nomads of  the desert looked on him as their special patron 
saint" (Attwater, 305-6).

"These martyrs were said to be officers of the Roman army 
on the Syrian  frontier, Sergius being described as 
commandant of the recruits' school and  Bacchus as his 
subaltern.  ...  On their refusal they were stripped of  their 
arms and badges of rank, dressed up in women's clothes, 
and so  paraded through the streets.  ... St. Bacchus died 
under the lash.  His  body was thrown out on to the 
highway, were vultures protected it from the  attacks of 
dogs, an incident recorded of several other martyrs.  St.  
Sergius was made to walk a long distance in shoes with 
nails thrust through  into his feet, and was beheaded.  ...the 
particulars of their passion are  far from trustworthy.  ... 
Sergius and Bacchus became the heavenly protectors of the 
Byzantine army, with the two Theodores, Demetrius,  
Procopius and George. ... Their "acts" are preserved in 
Latin, Greek and  Syriac" {Butler's Lives of the Saints, 
"Oct. 7"}.

Select Bibliography

Vita, Analecta Bollandiana, 14 (1895), 373-395.

Attwater, Donald.  The Avenel Dictionary of Saints.  New 
York : Avenel Books : distributed by Crown 
Publishers, [1981] c1965.

The Book of Saints : a dictionary of servants of God 
canonized by the Catholic Church /  comp. by the 
Benedictine Monks at St. Augustine's Abbey 
Ramsgate.  6th ed., rev. and re-set. London : Black, 
1989.

Boswell, John, Same-Sex Unions in Pre-Modern Europe, 
(New York: Villard, 1994), 153-66 [translates vita 
of Analecta Bollandiana 1895 375-390) 

The Catholic Encyclopedia.  New York, 1907-1914.

Delehaye, Hippolyte, S.J.  Les origines du culte des 
martyrs.  2. ed., rev. Bruxelles : Societe des 
bollandistes, 1933, 210-211.

Guerin, Paul.  Les petits Bollandistes: vies des saints, etc.  
17 v. Paris, 1865.

Le Bas, Philippe [and George Waddington?].  Voyage 
archeologique en Grece et en Asie.  Paris, 1870, t. 
3; n. 2124.

Lucius, Ernst.  Die Anfaenge des Heiligenkultus in der 
Christlichen Kirche. Herausg. G. Anrich.  
Tuebingen, 1908, 223.

Piolin, Paul.  Supplement aux vies des saints et 
specialement aux Petits bollandistes d'apres les 
documents hagiographiques les plus authentiques et 
les plus recents.  3 v.  Paris : Bloud et Barral  
[1885-86].

Stadler, J. E.  Vollstaendiges Heiligen-Lexikon : oder, 
Lebens-geschichten aller heiligen, seligen &c.&c.; 
hrsg. von Joh.Evang. Stadler, und Franz Joseph 
Heim in Augsburg. 5 v. Augsburg : B. Schmid, 
1858-.

Synaxarium Alexandrinum.  2 v. in 6. edidit [et 
interpretatus est] I. Forget.  Louvain : Secretariat 
du CorpusSCO, L Durbecq 1953-1963.(Corpus 
scriptorum Christianorum orientalium. v. 47-49, 67, 
78, 90. Scriptores Arabici; Series 3; t. 18-19).

Thurston, Herbert J, S.J., and Donald Attwater.  Butler's 
Lives of the Saints.  4 v.  Westminster : Christian 
Classics, 1988.

December 14th ORC 
St. Venantius Fortunatus, bishop
c.530-c.603

Venantius Fortunatus was a poet, born c. 530 in Treviso, 
near Ravenna in Italy. He spent his time as court poet to 
the Merovingians. After visiting the tomb of St. Martin of 
tours at St. Hilary at Poitiers, he decided to enter a 
monastery. He continued to write poetry, some of which 
have a permanent place in Catholic hymnody, for instance 
Vexilla Regis and  the Pange Lingua (Sing, O my tongue, 
of the battle) which is sung on Good Friday. Three of four 
years before he died he was made bishop of Poitiers. As 
this poem shows, he is also a spiritual ancestor of same-sex 
lovers.
 
"Written on an Island off the Breton Coast"

You at God's altar stand, His minister
  And Paris lies about you and the Seine:
Around this Breton isle the Ocean swells,
  Deep water and one love between us twain.

Wild is the wind, but still thy name is spoken;
  Rough is the sea: it sweeps not o'er they face.
Still runs my lover for shelter to its dwelling,
  Hither, O heart, to thine abiding place.

Swift as the waves beneath an east wind breaking
  Dark as beneath a winter sky the sea,
So to my heart crowd memories awaking,
  So dark, O love, my spirit without thee

[trans. Helen Waddell, in Penguin Book of Homosexual 
Verse]

Select Bibliography

Coote, Stephen, ed., The Penguin Book of Homosexual 
Verse, (Harmondsworth: Allen Lane, Penguin, 
1983), 112

December 14th NRC/COE (November 24th ORC)
St. John of the Cross, priest and doctor
1591

Office of Readings:
Born at Foniveros in Old Castile in Spain about the year 
1542. He was a Carmelite Friar and about the year 1568 he 
was persuaded by St. Theresa of Avila to be the first to go 
to undertake the reform of his order, which cost him much 
hard work and many trials. He dies at Ubeda in Andalusia 
in 1591. he was outstanding in holiness and knowledge as 
his many spiritual writings testify.

December 24 ORTH
St. Protus and St. Hyacinth, martyrs
eunuchs

Companions of St. Eugenia of Alexandria.

Select Bibliography

Dukakis, Megas Synaxaristes, translated in various 
volumes by Holy Apostles Convent, (Buena Vista, 
Colorado, various dates ), sub. Eugenia

December 27th  NRC/ORC/COE/ECUSA
St. John the Evangelist
1st Century CE
The Beloved Disciple.

Select Bibliography

Boswell,  John, SSU, 138-39

December 17th/18th ORTH (with Daniel)
The Three Young Men [OT] 
c. 650BCE 
[eunuchs]
Byzantine commentators were quite aware, as Kathryn 
Ringrose has recently shown,  that Daniel and the three 
young men would have been take to Babylon as court 
eunuchs. Eunuchs are by far the most discussed sexual 
minorities in both the Jewish Scriptures and the New 
Testament. It is interesting to note that while eunuchs were 
excluded from the community of Israel by Deuteronomy,  
Third Isaiah and Wisdom both specifically include them in 
God's blessing. The Bible talks to itself! The following 
passages affirms that the lord offers salvation to all, not just 
those in conventional heterosexual family life.

Isaiah 56:1-8
Thus saith the LORD, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: 
for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to 
be revealed. Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son 
of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from 
polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. 
Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself 
to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly 
separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, 
Behold, I am a dry tree. For thus saith the LORD unto the 
eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that 
please me, and take hold of my covenant; Even unto them 
will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a 
name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them 
an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. Also the sons 
of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve 
him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, 
every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and 
taketh hold of my covenant; Even them will I bring to my 
holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of 
prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be 
accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an 
house of prayer for all people. The Lord GOD which 
gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather 
others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him.

Wisdom 3:13-14
Blessed the barren women...Her fruitfulness will be seen at 
the scrutiny of souls. Blessed too the eunuch...For his 
loyalty special favour will be granted him, a most desirable 
portion in the temple of the Lord.

Select Bibliography

Helminiak, Daniel, What the Bible Really Says about 
Homosexuality, (San Francisco: Alamo Square 
Press, 1994)

Ringrose, Kathryn, "Living in the Shadows: Eunuchs and 
Gender in Byzantium",  in Gilbert Herdt, ed., Third 
Sex, Third Gender, (New York: Zone, 1994), 85-
110

Swidler,  Leonard, Biblical Affirmations of Women, 
(Philadelphia: Westminster, 1979), 121-123

December 29th ORC
David the Prophet  [OT]
1035?-960?BCE 
and Jonathan

The Love Story and Covenant Between David and 
Jonathan
1 Sam 17:57-18:9
And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, 
Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head 
of the Philistine in his hand.  And Saul said to him, Whose 
son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am 
the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite. And it came 
to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, 
that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, 
and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.  And Saul took 
him that day, and would let him go no more home to his 
father's house. Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, 
because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan 
stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it 
to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his 
bow, and to his girdle. And David went out whithersoever 
Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely: and Saul set him 
over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all 
the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants.  And it 
came to pass as they came, when David was returned from 
the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of 
all cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, 
with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of music.  And 
the women answered one another as they played, and said, 
Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. 
And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; 
and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, 
and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can 
he have more but the kingdom? And Saul eyed David from 
that day and forward.
[Saul's daughter also falls in love with David in chapter 
18]

I Sam 19: 1-6
1 Sam 19:1  And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all 
his servants, that they should kill David.  But Jonathan 
Saul's son delighted much in David: and Jonathan told 
David, saying, Saul my father seeketh to kill thee: now 
therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself until the 
morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide thyself:  And 
I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where 
thou art, and I will commune with my father of thee; and 
what I see, that I will tell thee.  And Jonathan spake good 
of David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, Let not 
the king sin against his servant, against David; because he 
hath not sinned against thee, and because his works have 
been to thee-ward very good:  For he did put his life in his 
hand, and slew the Philistine, and the LORD wrought a 
great salvation for all Israel: thou sawest it, and didst 
rejoice: wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent 
blood, to slay David without a cause?  And Saul hearkened 
unto the voice of Jonathan: and Saul sware, As the LORD 
liveth, he shall not be slain. And Jonathan called David, and 
Jonathan showed him all those things. And Jonathan 
brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence, as in 
times past.

I Sam 20:1-42
And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said 
before Jonathan, What have I done? what is mine iniquity? 
and what is my sin before thy father, that he seeketh my 
life?  And he said unto him, God forbid; thou shalt not die: 
behold, my father will do nothing either great or small, but 
that he will show it me: and why should my father hide this 
thing from me? it is not so.  And David sware moreover, 
and said, Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found 
grace in thine eyes; and he saith, Let not Jonathan know 
this, lest he be grieved: but truly as the LORD liveth, and 
as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death. 
Then said Jonathan unto David, Whatsoever thy soul 
desireth, I will even do it for thee. And David said unto 
Jonathan, Behold, to morrow is the new moon, and I 
should not fail to sit with the king at meat: but let me go, 
that I may hide myself in the field unto the third day at 
even.  If thy father at all miss me, then say, David earnestly 
asked leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem his city: 
for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family. If he 
say thus, It is well; thy servant shall have peace: but if he be 
very wroth, then be sure that evil is determined by him. 
Therefore thou shalt deal kindly with thy servant; for thou 
hast brought thy servant into a covenant of the LORD with 
thee: notwithstanding, if there be in me iniquity, slay me 
thyself; for why shouldest thou bring me to thy father? And 
Jonathan said, Far be it from thee: for if I knew certainly 
that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, 
then would not I tell it thee?  Then said David to Jonathan, 
Who shall tell me? or what if thy father answer thee 
roughly?  And Jonathan said unto David, Come, and let us 
go out into the field. And they went out both of them into 
the field.  And Jonathan said unto David, O LORD God of 
Israel, when I have sounded my father about to morrow 
any time, or the third day, and, behold, if there be good 
toward David, and I then send not unto thee, and show it 
thee;  The LORD do so and much more to Jonathan: but if 
it please my father to do thee evil, then I will show it thee, 
and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace: and the 
LORD be with thee, as he hath been with my father. And 
thou shalt not only while yet I live show me the kindness of 
the LORD, that I die not:  But also thou shalt not cut off 
thy kindness from my house for ever: no, not when the 
LORD hath cut off the enemies of David every one from 
the face of the earth.  So Jonathan made a covenant with 
the house of David, saying, Let the LORD even require it 
at the hand of David's enemies.  And Jonathan caused 
David to swear again, because he loved him: for he loved 
him as he loved his own soul.  Then Jonathan said to 
David, To morrow is the new moon: and thou shalt be 
missed, because thy seat will be empty. And when thou 
hast stayed three days, then thou shalt go down quickly, 
and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself when 
the business was in hand, and shalt remain by the stone 
Ezel. And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as 
though I shot at a mark.  And, behold, I will send a lad, 
saying, Go, find out the arrows. If I expressly say unto the 
lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee, take them; 
then come thou: for there is peace to thee, and no hurt; as 
the LORD liveth. But if I say thus unto the young man, 
Behold, the arrows are beyond thee; go thy way: for the 
LORD hath sent thee away. And as touching the matter 
which thou and I have spoken of, behold, the LORD be 
between thee and me for ever. So David hid himself in the 
field: and when the new moon was come, the king sat him 
down to eat meat.  And the king sat upon his seat, as at 
other times, even upon a seat by the wall: and Jonathan 
arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side, and David's place was 
empty. Nevertheless Saul spake not any thing that day: for 
he thought, Something hath befallen him, he is not clean; 
surely he is not clean. And it came to pass on the morrow, 
which was the second day of the month, that David's place 
was empty: and Saul said unto Jonathan his son, Wherefore 
cometh not the son of Jesse to meat, neither yesterday, nor 
to day? And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly 
asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem: And he said, Let me 
go, I pray thee; for our family hath a sacrifice in the city; 
and my brother, he hath commanded me to be there: and 
now, if I have found favour in thine eyes, let me get away, I 
pray thee, and see my brethren. Therefore he cometh not 
unto the king's table.  Then Saul's anger was kindled 
against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of the 
perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast 
chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto 
the confusion of thy mother's nakedness? For as long as the 
son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be 
established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and 
fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die. And Jonathan 
answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore 
shall he be slain? what hath he done? And Saul cast a 
javelin at him to smite him: whereby Jonathan knew that it 
was determined of his father to slay David. So Jonathan 
arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no meat the 
second day of the month: for he was grieved for David, 
because his father had done him shame.  And it came to 
pass in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the field at 
the time appointed with David, and a little lad with him.  
And he said unto his lad, Run, find out now the arrows 
which I shoot. And as the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond 
him.  And when the lad was come to the place of the arrow 
which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after the lad, and 
said, Is not the arrow beyond thee?  And Jonathan cried 
after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not. And Jonathan's 
lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master.  But 
the lad knew not any thing: only Jonathan and David knew 
the matter. And Jonathan gave his artillery unto his lad, and 
said unto him, Go, carry them to the city.  And as soon as 
the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the 
south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself 
three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one 
with another, until David exceeded. And Jonathan said to 
David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of 
us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be 
between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed 
for ever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went 
into the city.

I Sam 23:14-18
And David abode in the wilderness in strong holds, and 
remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul 
sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his 
hand.  And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his 
life: and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood. 
And Jonathan Saul's son arose, and went to David into the 
wood, and strengthened his hand in God.  And he said unto 
him, Fear not: for the hand of Saul my father shall not find 
thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next 
unto thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth.  And they 
two made a covenant before the LORD: and David abode 
in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house.

II Sam 1-27
2 Sam 1:1  Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, 
when David was returned from the slaughter of the 
Amalekites, and David had abode two days in Ziklag;  It 
came even to pass on the third day, that, behold, a man 
came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes rent, and 
earth upon his head: and so it was, when he came to David, 
that he fell to the earth, and did obeisance. And David said 
unto him, From whence comest thou? And he said unto 
him, Out of the camp of Israel am I escaped. And David 
said unto him, How went the matter? I pray thee, tell me. 
And he answered, That the people are fled from the battle, 
and many of the people also are fallen and dead; and Saul 
and Jonathan his son are dead also. And David said unto 
the young man that told him, How knowest thou that Saul 
and Jonathan his son be dead? And the young man that told 
him said, As I happened by chance upon mount Gilboa, 
behold, Saul leaned upon his spear; and, lo, the chariots 
and horsemen followed hard after him.  And when he 
looked behind him, he saw me, and called unto me. And I 
answered, Here am I.  And he said unto me, Who art thou? 
And I answered him, I am an Amalekite.  He said unto me 
again, Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay me: for 
anguish is come upon me, because my life is yet whole in 
me. So I stood upon him, and slew him, because I was sure 
that he could not live after that he was fallen: and I took 
the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was 
on his arm, and have brought them hither unto my lord.  
Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and 
likewise all the men that were with him:  And they 
mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for 
Jonathan his son, and for the people of the LORD, and for 
the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword. 
And David said unto the young man that told him, Whence 
art thou? And he answered, I am the son of a stranger, an 
Amalekite. And David said unto him, How wast thou not 
afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the LORD'S 
anointed? And David called one of the young men, and 
said, Go near, and fall upon him. And he smote him that he 
died. And David said unto him, Thy blood be upon thy 
head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I 
have slain the LORD'S anointed. And David lamented with 
this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son: (Also 
he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the 
bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.)
The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are 
the mighty fallen!
Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; 
lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, 
lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.
Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, 
neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings: 
for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, 
the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with 
oil.
From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty,
 the bow of Jonathan turned not back, 
and the sword of Saul returned not empty.
Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, 
and in their death they were not divided: 
they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than 
lions.
Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in 
scarlet, 
with other delights, who put on ornaments of gold upon 
your apparel.
How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! 
O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places.
 I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: 
very pleasant hast thou been unto me: 
thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.
How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war 
perished!

II Sam 9:1-13
And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of 
Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake? 
And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name 
was Ziba. And when they had called him unto David, the 
king said unto him, Art thou Ziba? And he said, Thy 
servant is he.  And the king said, Is there not yet any of the 
house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God unto 
him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, 
which is lame on his feet. And the king said unto him, 
Where is he? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he is in 
the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lodebar.  Then 
king David sent, and fetched him out of the house of 
Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lodebar. Now when 
Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was 
come unto David, he fell on his face, and did reverence. 
And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold 
thy servant!  And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will 
surely show thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake, 
and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and 
thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.  And he bowed 
himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest 
look upon such a dead dog as I am? Then the king called to 
Ziba, Saul's servant, and said unto him, I have given unto 
thy master's son all that pertained to Saul and to all his 
house.  Thou therefore, and thy sons, and thy servants, 
shall till the land for him, and thou shalt bring in the fruits, 
that thy master's son may have food to eat: but 
Mephibosheth thy master's son shall eat bread alway at my 
table. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.  
Then said Ziba unto the king, According to all that my lord 
the king hath commanded his servant, so shall thy servant 
do. As for Mephibosheth, said the king, he shall eat at my 
table, as one of the king's sons. And Mephibosheth had a 
young son, whose name was Micha. And all that dwelt in 
the house of Ziba were servants unto Mephibosheth.  So 
Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: for he did eat continually 
at the king's table; and was lame on both his feet.

Select Bibliography

Boswell, John, SSU 135-36

Comstock, David, Gay Theology Without Apology, 
(Cleveland, OH: The Pilgrim Press: 1993)

OTHER SAINTS (no dates)

Nehemiah the Cup bearer [OT]
Fifth century BCE
eunuch

According to Neh 1:11 Nehemiah was a cup bearer to the 
Persian king. Extrabiblical texts and artistic representations 
reveal the importance of this office. From a variety of 
argument, chiefly references in Ctesias, most scholars have 
concluded that Nehemiah was probably a eunuch. A critical 
examination of these arguments, however, reveals that 
many of them are untenable or less than convincing. 
Though Nehemiah may have been a eunuch, we cannot 
assert that this was more than a possibility.

Neh 1:11-2:6
 O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to 
the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, 
who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy 
servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this 
man. For I was the king's cup bearer.
	And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the 
twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before 
him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. 
Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence.  
Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance 
sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow 
of heart. Then I was very sore afraid, And said unto the 
king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my 
countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' 
sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed 
with fire? Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou 
make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I 
said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant 
have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me 
unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I 
may build it. And the king said unto me, (the queen also 
sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and 
when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; 
and I set him a time.

Select Bibliography

Yamauchi, Edwin M. "Was Nehemiah the Cup bearer a 
Eunuch?". Zeitschrift fuer die alttestamentliche 
Wissenschaft  92:1 (1980)  132-142

*Ruth and *Naomi [OT]
 c1100BCE 

Ruth was great-grandmother of King David, and hence a 
direct ancestor of Jesus. Although Deuteronomy 23:3 
specifically states that no Moabite is to be admitted to the 
assembly of the Lord (a position vigorously pursued later 
by such nationalists as Ezra and Nehemiah [Ezra:1,2,12; 
103,18,44,  Neh 13:23, 25, 27-28, 30]), Ruth was a 
Moabite women. This is a book of the inclusivity of God's 
call, and another Biblical illustration of the limits of the 
Law.. The focus of the story is on her loving relationship 
with Naomi. At Naomi's suggestion, Ruth marries a 
kinsman of Naomi, called Boaz, but this is the perpetuate 
her dead husband Mahlon's line (see Ruth 4:12-14, 17). Is 
this a story about Lesbianism, which was not forbidden at 
all in the Law? Whatever the answer, it is a story of love 
and loyalty between two women.

Ruth 1:16-18  And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave 
thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither 
thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: 
thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:  
Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the 
LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part 
thee and me.  When she saw that she was steadfastly 
minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her.

Select Bibliography

Boswell, John, SSU 1336

Swidler,  Leonard, Biblical Affirmations of Women, 
(Philadelphia: Westminster, 1979), 118-123

St. Peter Ordinski
1257-66

Select Bibliography

Boswell, John, SSU 252-53

TRANSVESTITE SAINTS

I have treated these saints as a group as their stories are 
often similar. These are the large number of saints who 
were famous for their holy cross-dressing. All of these 
were women, and the stories, largely but not exclusively 
fictional, generally have them escaping marriage or some 
other dreaded end by dressing as monks. This is no short 
term ploy, however. The women then live their lives as men 
(in direct contradiction to the Levitical Law which calls 
cross-dressing an "abomination"), some of them becoming 
abbots of monasteries. In such positions it is hard to 
imagine that they would not perform roles such as 
confessor. Their biological sex is only discovered after they 
die. There are no male saints, it seems, who dressed as 
women (with the possible exception of Sergius and 
Bacchus, who were paraded through the streets in women's 
clothes). At work here is an old notion that women are 
saved in so far as they have "male souls", a repeated term 
of praise in lives of female saints. These women's lives do 
show that the Levitical Law was not determinative in 
Christian estimations of holiness, and that modern rigid 
gender categories had much less role in earlier epochs of 
Christianity than nowadays. These saints found a place in 
both Orthodox and Roman calendars.

*St. Anastasia the Patrician (or "of  Constantinople")
March 10th ORC/ORTH

*St. Anna/Euphemianos of Constantinople
Oct 29 ORTH

*St. Apollinaria/Dorotheos
Jan 5, 6 ORTH

*St. Athanasia of Antioch
Oct 9 ORTH

*St. Eugenia/Eugenios of Alexandria
Dec 24th ORTH

*St. Euphrosyne/Smaragdus
Feb 11th ORC (Sept 25 ORTH)

*St. Marina of Sicily
July 20th ORTH

*St. Marina/Marinos of Antioch
July 17th ORTH (July 20th ORC - as St. Margaret)

*St. Mary/Marinos of  Alexandria
Feb 12th ORTH

*St. Matrona/Babylas of Perge
Nov 9 ORTH

*St. Pelagia/Pelagios
June 9 ORC (Oct 8 ORTH)

*St. Theodora/Theodorus of Alexandria
Sept 11 ORTH

*St. Thekla of Iconium
Sept 23 ORC (Sept 24 ORTH)

*St. Hildegonde of Neuss near Cologne
April 20th ORC
d. 1188
OE: A nun who lived under the name "Brother Joseph" in 
the Cistercian monastery of Schoenau near Heidelberg.

*St. Uncumber [or Wilgefortis]
A bearded woman saint, also known as St. Liverade 
(France), Liberata (Italy), Liberada (Spain), Debarras 
(Beauvais), Ohnkummer (Germany), and  Ontcommere 
(Flanders)

Select Bibliography

Anson, J., "The Female Transvestite in Early Monasticism: the 
Origin and Development of a Motif", Viator 5 (1974), 1-32

Bennasser, Khalifa Abubakr, Gender and Sanctity in Early 
Byzantine Monasticism: A Study of the Phenomenon of 
Female Ascetics in Male Monastic Habit with a Translation 
of the Life of St. Matrona, [Rutgers Ph.D Dissertation 
1984; UMI 8424085]

Delcourt, Marie, "Le complexe de Diane dans 
l'hagiographie chretienne", Revue de l'Histoire des 
Religions 153 (January-March  1958), 1-33

Patlagean, Evelyne, "L'histoire de la femme déguise en moine et 
l'evolution de la sainteté feminine à Byzance", Studi 
Medievali ser. 3 17 (1976), 597-625, repr. in Structures 
sociales, famille, chretienté à Byzance IVe-XIe siècle, 
(London: Variorum, 1981), XI

Marina Warner, St. Joan of Arc: The Image of Female 
Heroism, (London: 1981, pb. Penguin, 1985), esp 
149-63

Possibles
[more information needed on these figures]

Nov 14 ORTH
St. Justinian [emperor]