At my primary blog, “Queering the Church”, and at my blogger site, “Queer Saints and Martyrs (and Others)“. one of the strands I have been exploring for some years now has been the place of LGBT/queer people in Christian history.…
Modern Heroes, Protestants
Rosa Bonheur: Cross-dressing painter honored “androgyne Christ”
by Terence • • 0 Comments
Rosa Bonheur, the most famous female painter of the 19th century, was a queer cross-dresser who honored what she called the “androgyne Christ.” She had two consecutive long-term relationships with women. She died on this date (May 25) in 1899.…
Jesus
“Ascension Day: Jesus Returns to God” (Jesus in Love Blog)
by Terence • • 0 Comments
“As they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.” — Acts 1:9 (RSV) A male couple seems to dance skyward in a vision of the Ascension from “The Passion of Christ:…
Medieval
All Will be Well, and All Shall Be Well: Julian of Norwich, 8th May
by Terence • • 0 Comments
There is no way that we should be thinking of Julian as gay or lesbian, but we should certainly think of her as queer (and as, she was undoubtedly female, in spite of her name). There are two reasons for…
Early Church
SS Benedicta, (6 May) and Galla (5 October), Roman nuns – and lovers?
by Terence • • 0 Comments
One of the curiosities of the Catholic tradition of honouring our saints and martyrs, is how hagiography seamlessly combines historical biography, myth with collective amnesia. The stories of Saints Patrick and Brigid of Ireland, for instance, are replete with well-known…
Early Church, Saints by Acclamation
St. George the Dragon Slayer
by Terence • • 0 Comments
I’ve always been somewhat amused by the idea that St George, with no discernible link to this country, known primarily for an obviously mythical reputation as a dragon slayer, should have been adopted as patron saint of England. It’s also…
