 Saints Perpetua and Felicity
The details of their imprisonment are known because Perpetua kept a
journal, the first known written document by a woman in Christian
history. In fact, her "Passion of St. Perpetua, St. Felicitas, and
their Companions” was so revered in North Africa that St. Augustine
warned people not to treat it like the Bible. People loved the story of
the two women comforting each other in jail and giving each other the
kiss of peace as they met their end.
Perpetua was a 22-year-old noblewoman and a nursing mother. Felicity,
her slave, gave birth to a daughter while they were in prison. Although
she was married, Perpetua does not mention having a husband in the
narrative.
There were arrested for their Christian faith, imprisoned together, and
held onto each other in the amphitheater at Carthage shortly before
their execution on March 7, 203.
The above icon of Perpetua and Felicity was painted by Brother Robert
Lentz, a Franciscan friar and world-class iconographer known for his
progressive icons. It is one of my personal favorites among his icons
because it shows the love between two women in such a beautiful,
powerful way. It is rare to see an icon about the love between women,
especially two African women. The rich reds and heart-shaped
double-halo make it look like a holy Valentine.
Perpetua and Felicity are still revered both inside and outside the
church. For example, they are named together in the Roman Canon of the
Mass. They are often included in lists of gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgender saints because they demonstrate the power of love between
two women. Their lives are the subject of several recent historical
novels, including “Perpetua: A Bride, A Martyr, A Passion ” by Amy Peterson and “The Bronze Ladder ” by Malcolm Lyon.
Saints Polyeuct and Nearchus Saints Polyeuct and Nearchus were Roman soldiers in Armenia and
“brothers by affection.” They are considered a primary example of
same-sex lovers in the early church. Polyeuct’s feast day is Feb. 13.
The men had a strong desire to spend eternity together, so Polyeuct
converted from paganism to Christianity, the faith of his beloved
Nearchus. With a convert’s zeal he attacked a pagan procession and was
beheaded for his crime in the year 259. Shortly before he was executed,
he spoke his last words to Nearchus: “Remember our secret vow.” Thus
Polyeuct is known as a protector of vows and avenger of broken
promises,in addition to his role as a probable “gay saint.”
The love story of Polyeuct and Nearchus is told with wonderful historical detail in two books, “Same Sex Unions in Pre-Modern Europe ” by Yale history professor John Boswell and “Passionate Holiness ” by Dennis O’Neill.
O’Neill reports that French writer Robert Dartois recently took the
story of Polyeuct and Nearchus from “Passionate Holiness” and turned it
into a libretto, which was then set by the Swiss composer Thierry
Chatelain as the oratorio “Polyeucte et Nearchus.”
O’Neill is founder of the Living Circle, the interfaith LGBT
spirituality center that commissioned the icon above. It was painted by
Brother Robert Lentz, a Franciscan friar and world-class iconographer
known for his innovative icons. It is one of 10 Lentz icons that
sparked a major controversy in 2005. Critics accused Lentz of
glorifying sin and creating propaganda for a progressive sociopolitical
agenda, and he temporarily gave away the copyright for the
controversial images to his distributor, Trinity Stores. All 10 are now
displayed there as a collection titled “Images That Challenge.”
For those wanting to research the saints on the Internet, it helps to
know that there are many variations in the spellings of their names,
such as Polyeuctus and Nearchos.
St. Brigid and her soulmate St. Darlughdach St. Brigid and her soulmate St. Darlughdach were sixth-century Irish
nuns who brought art, education and spirituality to early medieval
Ireland. Brigid (c.451-525) shares her name and feast day (Feb. 1) with
a Celtic goddess -- and she may have been the last high priestess of
the goddess Brigid.
Raised by Druids, Brigid seems to have made a smooth transition from
being a pagan priestess to a Christian abbess. Today she is Ireland’s
most famous female saint. Legend says that when she made her final vows
as a nun, the bishop in charge was so overcome by the Holy Spirit that
he administered the rite for ordaining a (male) bishop instead.
A younger nun named Darlughdach served as Brigid’s ambassador and her
“anam cara” or soul friend. The two women were so close that they slept
in the same bed. Like many Celtic saints, Brigid believed that each
person needs a soul friend to discover together that God speaks most
powerfully in the seemingly mundane details of shared daily life. The
love between these two women speaks to today’s lesbians and their
allies. Some say that Brigid and Darlughdach are lesbian saints.
Brigid started convents all over Ireland and became the abbess of the
“double monastery” (housing both men and women) at Kildare. Built on
land that was previously sacred to her divine namesake, the monastery
included an art school for creating illuminated manuscripts.
Soon after turning 70, Brigid warned Darlughdach that she expected to
die soon. Her younger soulmate begged to die at the same time. Brigid
wanted her to live another year so she could succeed her as abbess.
Brigid died of natural causes on Feb. 1, 525. The bond between the
women was so close that Darlughdach followed her soulmate in death
exactly one year later on Feb. 1, 526.
Both Christians and pagans celebrate St. Brigid’s Day on Feb. 1. It is also known as Imbolc, a spring festival when the goddess Brigid returns as the bride of spring in a role similar to the Greek Persephone.
Brigid’s main symbol was fire, representing wisdom, poetry, healing and
metallurgy. The nuns at the Kildare monastery kept a perpetual fire
burning in Brigid’s memory for more than 1,000 years -- until 1540 when
it was extinguished in Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries.
The Order of St. Brigid was reestablished in 1807. Two Brigidine
sisters returned to Kildare and relit the fire in the market square for
the first time in more than 400 years on Feb. 1, 1993. The perpetual
flame is now kept at the Solas Bhride (Brigid’s Light) Celtic Spirituality Center that they founded there.
Brigid and Darlughdach are shown with their arms around each other in
the above icon by Brother Robert Lentz. He is a Franciscan friar and
world-class iconographer known for his progressive icons. The two women
are dressed in the white gowns worn by Druid priestesses and Celtic
nuns. Flames burn above them and on the mandala of Christ that they
carry.
The icon was commissioned by the Living Circle, a Chicago-based
interfaith spirituality center for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgender (GLBT) community and their friends. Four Living Circle
members took the original icon to Kildare with them in 2000 for the
flame-lighting ceremony at the recently excavated site of Brigid’s
ancient fire temple.
 Saint Aelred
Saint Aelred (1109-1167) is considered one of the most lovable saints,
the patron saint of friendship and also, some say, gay. His feast day
is Jan. 12.
Aelred was the abbott of the Cistercian abbey of Rievaulx in England.
His treatise “On Spiritual Friendship” is still one of the best
theological statements on the connection between human and spiritual
love. “God is friendship… He who abides in friendship abides in God,
and God in him,” he wrote, paraphrasing 1 John 4:16.
Aelred’s own deep friendships with men are described in “Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality ”
by Yale history professor John Boswell. “There can be little question
that Aelred was gay and that his erotic attraction to men was a
dominant force in his life,” Boswell wrote.
Boswell’s account inspired the members of the LGBT Episcopal group Integrity to name Aelred as their patron saint. Visit IntegrityUSA.org for the full story on how they won recognition for their gay saint.
Aelred certainly advocated chastity, but his passions are clear in his
writing. He describes friendship with eloquence in this often-quoted
passage:
“It is no small consolation in this life to have someone
you can unite with you in an intimate affection and the embrace of a
holy love, someone in whom your spirit can rest, to whom you can pour
out your soul, to whose pleasant exchanges, as to soothing songs, you
can fly in sorrow... with whose spiritual kisses, as with remedial
salves, you may draw out all the weariness of your restless anxieties.
A man who can shed tears with you in your worries, be happy with you
when things go well, search out with you the answers to your problems,
whom with the ties of charity you can lead into the depths of your
heart; . . . where the sweetness of the Spirit flows between you, where
you so join yourself and cleave to him that soul mingles with soul and
two become one.”
The icon of Saint Aelred was painted by Robert Lentz, a Franciscan
friar and world-class iconographer known for his innovative icons. It
includes a banner with Aelred’s words, “Friend cleaving to friend in
the spirit of Christ.”
 David and Jonathan
Intense love between men is celebrated in the Bible with the story of
David and Jonathan. They lived about 3,000 years ago, but they still
inspire GLBT people of faith. Today (Dec. 29) is the feast day of
David, the king of Israel who is credited with composing many of the
psalms.
The modern idea of a gay sexual orientation didn’t exist in Biblical
times, and it’s impossible to know whether David and Jonathan expressed
their love sexually. However, their powerful love story in 1 and 2
Samuel shows that gay relationships are affirmed and blessed by God.
Many people honor David and Jonathan as gay saints.
The account begins with the two men making covenant of love, which is
illustrated in the painting above by Atlanta artist Trudie Barreras.
She paints the scene in 1 Samuel 18:3-4: “Then Jonathan made a covenant
with David, because he loved him as his own soul. Jonathan stripped
himself of the robe that he was wearing, and gave it to David, and his
armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt.”
After Jonathan was killed in battle, David mourned for him with his famous lament from 2 Samuel 1:26:
I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother;
you were very dear to me.
Your love for me was wonderful,
more wonderful than that of women.
Gay-positive Bible scholars have written extensively about the
relationship between David and Jonathan. I recommend the classic book
on the subject, “Jonathan Loved David: Homosexuality in Biblical Times ” by Thomas Horner.
The icon above was painted by Brother Robert Lentz, a Franciscan friar
and world-class iconographer known for his innovative icons. It is one
of 10 Lentz icons that sparked a major controversy in 2005. Critics
accused Lentz of glorifying sin and creating propaganda for a
progressive sociopolitical agenda, and he temporarily gave away the
copyright for the controversial images to his distributor, Trinity
Stores. All 10 are now displayed there as a collection titled “Images That Challenge.”
The “David loved Jonathan” billboard below is part of the Would Jesus
Discriminate project sponsored by Metropolitan Community Churches. It
states boldly, “David loved Jonathan more than women. II Samuel 1:26.”
For more info on the billboards, see our previous post, “Billboards show gay-friendly Jesus.”
 St. Wenceslaus (Vaclav) and Podiven
There’s good reason to believe that Good King Wenceslas was gay. Yes, the king in the Christmas carol.
Saint Wenceslaus I (907–935) was duke of Bohemia (now the Czech
Republic). The carol is based on a legend about Wenceslaus and his
loyal page Podiven. According to the story, it was a bitterly cold
night when they went out to give alms to the poor on the Feast of St.
Stephen, Dec. 26. Podiven could not walk any farther on his bare,
frozen feet, so Wenceslas urged him to follow in his footsteps. His
footprints in the snow stayed miraculously warm, allowing the pair to
continue safely together.
Many details in the Christmas carol are pious fiction, but the king and
his page are both grounded in historical truth. Dennis O’Neill, author
of “Passionate Holiness ,” shared with this blog his unpublished research about the loving relationship between Wenceslaus and Podiven.
The earliest accounts of Wenceslaus’ life mention his page -- but not
the woman who supposedly gave birth to his son in more recent versions.
An account written in the late 10th or early 11th century describes the
young man who was a “worthy page” and “chamber valet” to Wenceslaus.
It says that Wenceslaus used to wake his page in the middle of the
night to join him in doing charitable works. The page is described as
“a youth from among his valets who, of all his servants, was the most
trustworthy in secret matters. The saint himself truly loved him during
his lifetime.”
Wenceslaus was murdered in a coup by his brother at the door of a
church on Sept. 28 in the year 935. The records say that Podiven “was
often overcome by grief, sorrowing for days on end.” The brother also
had Podiven killed to stop him from spreading stories of the saintly
Wenceslaus. Both Wenceslaus and his beloved Podiven are buried at St.
Vitus Cathedral in Prague.
The icon above was painted by New Mexico artist Lewis Williams of the
Secular Franciscan Order (SFO). It is dedicated to the memory of Father
Larry Craig, a Chicago priest known for service to the Latino community
and prison ministry. Before his death in 2006, Father Craig used to
stand outside the Cook County Jail at night, giving sandwiches and bus
passes to surprised inmates who had just been released. He served as
the model for Podiven’s face in this icon.
 Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk (1930-1978) is the first and most famous openly gay male
elected official in California, and perhaps the world. He became the
public face of the GLBT rights movement, and his reputation has
continued to grow since his assassination on Nov. 27, 1978 (31 years
ago today). He has been called a martyr for GLBT rights
“If a
bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door
in the country,” Milk said. Two bullets did enter his brain, and his
vision of GLBT people living openly is also coming true.
Milk
has received many honors for his visionary courage and commitment to
equality. In 2009 he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of
Freedom, and the state of California designated his birthday (May 22)
as Harvey Milk Day. He was included in the Time “100 Heroes and Icons of the 20th Century” for being “a symbol of what gays can accomplish and the dangers they face in doing so.”
He is the subject of two Oscar-winning movies, “Milk ” (2008) and “The Times of Harvey Milk ” (1984), as well as the book “The Mayor of Castro Street ” by Randy Shilts.
Milk
was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977 after
three unsuccessful efforts to run for office. He served only 11 months
before he was killed, but in that short time he was responsible for
passing a tough gay-rights law.
Haunted by the sense that he
would be killed for political reasons, Milk recorded tapes to be played
in the event of his assassination. His message, recorded nine days
before his death, included this powerful statement:
“I ask for
the movement to continue, for the movement to grow, because last week I
got a phone call from Altoona, Pennsylvania, and my election gave
somebody else, one more person, hope. And after all, that's what this
is all about. It's not about personal gain, not about ego, not about
power — it's about giving those young people out there in the Altoona,
Pennsylvanias, hope. You gotta give them hope.”
Shots fired by
conservative fellow supervisor Dan White cut Milk’s life short. More
than 30 years later, the hope and the movement for GLBT rights are more
alive than ever.
The Harvey Milk icon painted by Robert Lentz (pictured above) was hailed as a “national gay treasure” by gay author/activist Toby Johnson.
Milk holds a candle and wears an armband with a pink triangle, the Nazi
symbol for gay men, expressing solidarity with all who were tortured or
killed because of their sexuality.
It is one of 10 Lentz icons
that sparked a major controversy in 2005. Critics accused Lentz of
glorifying sin and creating propaganda for a progressive sociopolitical
agenda, and he temporarily gave away the copyright for the
controversial images to his distributor, Trinity Stores. All 10 are now
displayed there as a collection titled “Images That Challenge.”
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“SANT ROMERO D'AMÈRICA, PROFETA I MÀRTIR” |
 Aquests
dies amb motiu del trenté aniversari de la seva mort, monsenyor Òscar
Romero , gran profeta i màrtir del nostre temps, ha estat recordat
arreu del món. Aquestes lletres volen ser també un petit homenatge a
la seva memòria.
Vaig tenir la sort de conexèir-lo i de poder parlar amb ell en dues
ocasions, quan des de Guatemala viatjava al Salvador amb motiu d’alguna
trobada de la meva comunitat. Des del primer moment em va impressionar
la feblesa de la seva aparença física i la seva timidesa, que no tenien
res a veure amb la força de la seva paraula quan parlava des de la
catedral de San Salvador i es feia portaveu del seus pobres, de “los
sin voz”.
Recordo que la primera vegada que el vaig veure va ser l’any 1978,
poc després de l’assassinat del seu amic, el jesuïta Rutilio Grande
, que li va obrir els ulls a la realitat del seu país, fent-lo entrar
en contacte amb els pobres i iniciant aquell camí sense retorn que el
portaria, dos anys després, a la mateixa mort, conseqüència del seu
compromís. Quan li vaig comentar que a Espanya es parlava molt de la
seva conversió i de la seva actitud profètica em va contestar
lacònicament, “ojalá que no los defraude”. Havia estat ja amenaçat i
intuïa perfectament on el portaria l’opció que havia fet. L’altra
vegada, l’última, va ser tres mesos abans de la seva mort, al desembre
de 1979. Tenia molt bona relació amb la comunitat de Santa Tecla, El
Salvador, i va venir a celebrar l’Eucaristia i a compartir una estona
amb les germanes. Després de sopar,com que ja era negra nit, li varen
pregar que es quedés a dormir perqué era massa arriscat fer sol, només
amb la companyia d’un seminarista, els tretze quilòmetres que el
separaven de casa seva. “No tengan pena, hermanas. Mi vida ya está
entregada. Que sea cuando Dios quiera”, van ser les seves paraules. I
és que el cercle al voltant seu s’anava tancant i ell tenia molt clar
com seria el seu final.
Tres mesos després, al capvespre del 24 de març de 1980, a la capella
de l’hospital de la Divina Providència, les bales d’un “matón a
sueldo”, pagat pel govern i per l’oligarquia del Salvador segarien la
seva vida. El dia anterior, durant la missa a la catedral, havia
llegit la llista dels darrers morts per la violència i va pronunciar la
seva última denúncia profètica: «Germans, aquests són noms de gent del
nostre poble, camperols morts per altres germans. Quan un home dóna
l'ordre de matar ha de prevaler la llei de Déu que diu: no matar. Cap
soldat no està obligat a obeir una llei contrària a la llei de Déu, una
llei immoral que ningú no ha de complir... L'Església, defensora de la
llei de Déu, de la dignitat humana, de la persona, no pot callar davant
tanta ignomínia.» Amb aquestes paraules acabava de firma la seva
sentència.
Han passat trenta anys i l’Església oficial, no ha estat capaç de
reconèixer el seu testimoni. Més encara, quan al novembre de 1979,
quatre mesos abans del seu martiri, va viatjar a Roma amb motiu de la
beatificació del Pare Francesc Coll, va sortir plorant de la seva
entrevista amb Joan Pau II. Des d’un despatx de l’Estat Vaticà no es va
comprendre ni acceptar l’actitud valenta i decidida d’aquell bon pastor
que estava arriscant la vida per les seves ovelles. Van pesar més les
raons d’Estat que la causa dels pobres. I se’n va tornar trist cap a la
seva “pobrería”. Hauria d’enfrontar sol, sense el recolzament de Pere,
com fins aquell moment, l’últim tram del camí, que el portaria a la
mort violenta i testimonial. Com escriuria Casaldàliga, “¡Pobre
pastor glorioso, abandonado por tus propios hermanos de báculo y Mesa…!
(Las curias no podían entenderte: ninguna sinagoga bien montada puede
entender a Cristo)”
Però a casa l’esperava el seu poble. Ells sí que havien entès i valorat
el seu gest. Ells no li havien fallat mai. I ells sí que l’han
proclamat ja sant. En realitat tornava a experimentar el que ja havia
viscut Jesús: els secrets del Regne han estat amagats als qui es creuen
savis i intel.ligents i han estat revelats als més petits. ( Mt 11, 25). |
 Matthew Shepard
Matthew Shepard (1976-1998) brought international attention to anti-gay hate crimes when he died on Oct. 12, 1998.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Matthew Shepard Act
on Thursday (Oct. 8), broadening the federal hate-crimes law to cover
violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The Senate is
expected to vote on it within days.
Shepard was a 21-year-old
gay student at the University of Wyoming at the time of his death. He
was brutally attacked near Laramie, Wyoming, on Oct. 6-7, 1998 by two
men who later claimed that they were driven temporarily insane by “gay
panic” due to Shepard’s alleged sexual advances.
Shepard was
beaten and left to die. The officer who found him said that he was
covered with blood -- except for the white streaks left by his tears.
Father William Hart McNichols created a striking icon based on his
report.
McNichols dedicated his icon The Passion of Matthew Shepard
to the 1,470 gay and lesbian youth of commit suicide in the U.S. each
year, and to the countless others who are injured or murdered.
Now the Matthew Shepard Foundation seeks to replace hate with understanding, compassion and acceptance.
McNichols
is a renowned iconographer and Roman Catholic priest based in New
Mexico. After earning a Master of Fine Arts from the Pratt Institute in
New York, he studied icon painting with the Russian-American master
Robert Lentz. Like Lentz, he paints some icons with contemporary
subjects, as well as many with classical themes. McNichols’ own moving
spiritual journey and two of his icons are included in the book Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, and More by Kittredge Cherry.
P.S. President Obama signed "The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act" into law on Oct. 28, 2009.
  Love between women is honored in the lives of Ruth and Naomi.
Their feast day is observed today (Dec. 20).
Ruth’s famous vows to Naomi are often used in weddings -- heterosexual
as well as same-sex unions. Few people realize that these beautiful
words were originally spoken by one woman to another:
“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.” (Ruth 1:16-17)
Ruth is an ancestor of Jesus Christ, listed in his genealogy in the
gospel of Matthew. It reports mostly a male lineage, and Ruth is one of
only four women who are included.
Naomi was the mother-in-law of Ruth and Orpah. After their husbands
die, Naomi urges both of them to remarry. The painting by Trudie
Barreras shows Orpah leaving while Ruth stays with Naomi.
The painting “Whither Thou Goest” was commissioned in 2004 by Rev. Paul
Graetz, pastor of First Metropolitan Community Church of Atlanta, for a
sermon series that he was doing on the Book of Ruth.
The billboard featuring Ruth and Naomi is part of the Would Jesus
Discriminate project sponsored by Metropolitan Community Churches. It
states boldly, “Ruth loved Naomi as Adam loved Eve. Genesis 2:24. Ruth
1:14.” For more info on the billboards, see our previous post, “Billboards show gay-friendly Jesus.”
The following links to other resources on Ruth and Naomi were suggested by friends of this blog. Thanks, CWS and Yewtree!
“Song of Ruth” hymn by Fanny Crosby, 1875
Naomi and Ruth in art
Here’s a post from Queering the Church Blog about Ruth and Naomi,
exploring the issue of whether they were really lesbians, and whether
that matters now:
http://queeringthechurch.wordpress.com/2009/12/20/ruth-and-naomi-dec-20th/
If anyone has other suggestions, leave a comment. We can build a whole collection of Ruth and Naomi resources here.
_________
This post is part of the GLBT Saints series
at the Jesus in Love Blog. Saints and holy people of special interest
to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) people and our allies
are covered on appropriate dates throughout the year.
Источник: jesusinlove.blogspot.com
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Художник: Беки Джейн Харрельсон: We, Christians – Orthodox, Catholics, Protestants – participants of the
International Interdenominational Conference of lesbian, gay, bisexual,
and transgender people, listening to God’s Word and sharing in the
communion of the Holy Spirit, have adopted the following statement
addressed to:
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