Holy Homosexuals and Saints

The first day of November each year is set aside by many churches to honor and celebrate those who have died in the faith as role models for the rest of us. Often called "All Saints Day" different churches celebrate the day in different ways, some remember those who have died within their own community of faith. Others use the day as feast day for all the saints that may not have a specific day set aside to remember them in the church calendar. Most Americans recognize the day because of the night before which we celebrate as "Halloween" or "All Hallows Eve."

While the concept of homosexuality is a relatively new concept and many of the saints through history wouldn’t have defined themselves in this way, there are many saints and role models who can be identified as other than heterosexual and at least supportive of same-sex relationships.

One of the earliest is Prince Jonathan of Israel who committed acts of treason in support of his beloved David to the point of perhaps forfeiting his own throne in deference to David. The Bible tells us that their love was greater than that of a man and woman. The proclamation of love made by Ruth to Naomi is still used as a model for wedding ceremonies to this day. Jesus healed the Centurion’s "pais" or lover. Saint John was certainly not afraid to show same-sex affection and boldly described himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. The Ethiopian Eunuch was welcomed into the church by Phillip the Evangelist in spite of the fact that he would not have been welcomed into the Temple in Jerusalem due to his being considered less than a man.

Early martyrs to Christianity included Saints Sergius and Bacchus, two lovers and Roman soldiers who were tortured and killed because they would not recant their faith in Christ. Perpetua and Felecity were two women who were lovers also martyred for refusal to deny Jesus. Saint Sebastian is portrayed in the earliest of Icons in a homoerotic manner, and this is believed to support the idea that he was affectionate with men. Saint Anslem, a Bishop of Canterbury had intimate relations with a man named Lanfranc writing to him as his beloved lover. Saint Aelred, Saint George, Saint Bridgett, Saint Julian, and a host of others have been held up as saints and role models by the church and yet they were in some kind of same-sex relationship. It wasn’t until the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries that the idea that homosexual relations were sinful crept into the church.

Prior to the Episcopal Church’s decision to confirm Gene Robinson as a Bishop of New Hampshire last summer, and the subsequent gay bashing by the conclave of Primates at the Archbishop of Canterbury’s castle in October, a deacon spoke to a group of convention delegates. She said; "There have always been gay and lesbian deacons, priests, and bishops in the church, we have simply always made them lie about it before." True followers of Jesus must take the Gospel seriously enough to recognize the full dignity of every person, heterosexual, homosexual, or anything else, and stand with respect to all of the saints of old to proclaim that the love of God is fully and equally for everyone. Is it not time for people to stop being forced to lie about who they are?