Kittredge Cherry's Blog: Q Spirit, page 50

Cartoon: How do LGBT people know God loves us?

“Gays and Biblical Inspiration” by David Hayward

A new cartoon shows Jesus asking the question that I as a lesbian Christian would want him to ask: “So, Dad, how are gays in the 21st century going to know we love them?”



David Hayward, a Canadian artist who runs the blog “nakedpastor,” imagines the inner dialogue among the Holy Trinity back when the Bible was first being written in his cartoon “Gays and Biblical Inspiration.”



The Holy Spirit wraps ghostly arms around the Biblical writer, who is apparently Paul in prison. God appears as an old man who replies to his son’s desire to communicate love to future LGBT people by explaining: “When he uses words like ‘all,’ ‘world’ and ‘everything,’ wise and loving people will know.”



It’s a bittersweet answer. Yes, wise and loving people today can understand that LGBT people are included in scriptures such as “Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it but receive it with thanks.” (1 Timothy 4:4).



But sometimes it’s frustrating that the Bible’s anti-gay “clobber passages” seem so much more specific. Maybe the implication here is that God did not inspire those verses. Why not a clear message for the not-so-wise and less-than-loving people?  What about the LGBT people who believe the lie that God rejects them? 



Hayward uses the traditional image of God as an old man to critique the way that straight white men dominate Christianity. He started a blog called “nakedpastor” in 2006, offering a progressive look at religion through his art, cartoons and writings.



The artist behind “nakedpastor” literally was a church pastor. After growing up in various denominations, he was ordained a Presbyterian and pastured a Vineyard church. He has a master’s degree in theology from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a diploma in religious studies and ministry from McGill University in Montreal.



In 2010 Hayward quit the professional paid clergy because, as he puts it, “"the church and I were no longer compatible.” His art, cartoons, writings and book have found their way all around the world to entertain and challenge people. He and his wife Lisa live near Saint John, New Brunswick.



Hayward is the author of two books: “nakedpastor101: Cartoons by David Hayward” and “Without a Vision My People Prosper,” which calls the church back to the priority of fellowship over accomplishments.

___

Related links:



The Bible and Gays: Is it a sin to be gay? Did Jesus condemn homosexuality? by Durrell Watkins



nakedpastor on Facebook



Cartoon shows GLBT religious rights on the cross (Latuff)



Jesus and Freddie Mercury: Marriage Made in Heaven cartoon supports equality (Mr. Fish)



Cartoon shows Pope mad at nuns and Jesus for not condemning homosexuality



Cartoon: Jesus saves LGBT kids from jaws of clergy hat) (Mr. Fish)

___

This post is part of the Artists series by Kittredge Cherry at the Jesus in Love Blog. The series profiles artists who use lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and queer spiritual and religious imagery.



Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.

http://www.jesusinlove.blogspot.com/

Jesus in Love Blog on LGBT spirituality and the arts

Same-sex kisses in church: Exhibit censored and vandalized in Italy

Two men kiss at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome in “Si, Quiero” by Gonzalo Orquín

Two women kiss at San Carlo al Corso basilica in Rome in “Si, Quiero” by Gonzalo Orquín

An exhibit of photos showing same-sex kisses in churches faced censorship and vandalism in Italy recently.



Artist Gonzalo Orquin photographed gay and lesbian couples kissing in front of altars at some of the most important ancient basilicas in Rome.



The photo series is titled “Si, Quiero,” which means, “Yes, I want to.” But the Vatican said no.



The Vicariate, which assists the Pope in carrying out his functions as the Bishop of Rome, threatened legal action to stop an exhibition of the photos at Galleria L’Opera in Rome. Italian law protects people’s religious sentiments and use of church buildings.



For security reasons the gallery complied and covered up the set of 16 photos in the “Si, Quiero” series before the opening on Sept. 25. They were hidden behind black cardboard while black crosses stood beneath it as a silent protest. Orquin also placed a photo on Facebook showing the covered artwork with a statement against the censorship.



“Si, Quiero” by Gonzalo Orquín was concealed behind black cardboard at the gallery during the exhibit

The covered-up photos went on display as planned as part of a three-man “Trialogo” exhibit. But a group of hooded men broke in on Oct. 16 and vandalized three paintings with red spray paint. Apparently they were angry about the images of same-sex kisses in churches, but could not find them under the black cardboard. Instead they sprayed red blotches onto a painting of a woman priest and two other artworks.



Orquin is Spanish, but he has lived in Rome for eight years. “I am a Catholic. I believe in God deeply,” he said in the New York Daily News. “I think if you look closely at my pictures no one can find blasphemy or sacrilege. A kiss is a gesture of love, of tenderness between human beings.”



The artist said that gay, lesbian and straight people offered to pose for the photos. Locations include St. Peter’s Basilica, where the Pope presides over services throughout the year.



His choice of churches as the setting for same-sex kisses grows out of his own spiritual journey. “When I was child I learned that God is love, and I learned it in a church! What kind of love? Who decides what love is OK and why? Pope Francis has said recently that he is not one to judge anyone and he also said that the Roman Church belongs to every one,” he told HuffPost United Kingdom.



Here is a selection of other images from “Si, Quiero” by Gonzalo Orquín













Special thanks to Scott Sella for the news tip, and to Gonzalo Orquin for permission to use his photos.

___

Related links:



Italian thugs vandalize gallery featuring photos of gay couples kissing inside churches (New York Daily News)



Vatican Threatens Gonzalo Orquin's Gay Kisses In Church Exhibition With Legal Action (HuffPost UK)



Photos of Kisses Banned from Rome Gallery Due to Vatican Intervention (New Ways Ministry)



Other censorship and attacks on LGBT Christian art:



Protests end gay Jesus exhibit in Spain (Fernando Bayona Gonzalez)



Smithsonian censors gay artist when conservatives attack (David Wojnarowicz)



Our Lady and Queer Saints art attacked as blasphemy (Alma Lopez)



Gay Jesus art sparks violence… and hope (Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin)



Gay Nativity scene in Columbia sparks outrage



Hate crime targets gay and lesbian Nativity scene at Claremont church (California)



"Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, and More" by Kittredge Cherry profiles contemporary artists whose queer Christian artwork has been censored or destroyed.

___

This post is part of the Artists series by Kittredge Cherry at the Jesus in Love Blog. The series profiles artists who use lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and queer spiritual and religious imagery.



Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.

http://www.jesusinlove.blogspot.com/

Jesus in Love Blog on LGBT spirituality and the arts

Malachy of Armagh: Same-sex soulmate to Bernard of Clairvaux

“Malachy of Armagh” by Rowan Lewgalon

Malachy of Armagh is an 11th-century Irish saint who died in the arms of his more famous soulmate, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. Bernard showered Malachy with kisses during his lifetime and they are buried together, wearing each other’s clothes. Malachy’s feast day is today (Nov. 3).



Malachy is also the attributed author for the “Prophecy of the Popes,” which predicted that there would be 112 more popes before the Last Judgment. Most scholars dismiss the document as an elaborate 16th-century hoax. Still it’s sobering that the 112th and final pope in the prophecy is the current pontiff, Pope Francis. The prophecy remains popular with doomsday fanatics.



Malachy (1094 - Nov. 2, 1148) was born in Armagh in northern Ireland and rose to become archbishop.In Middle Irish his name is Máel Máedóc Ua Morgair. He became Ireland’s first native-born saint to be canonized.



He was primate of all Ireland when he first visited the French monastery at Clairvaux around 1139. The abbott in charge was Bernard (1090-1153), a mystical author, advisor to five Popes and a monastic reformer who built the Cistercian order of monks and nuns. Bernard is considered to be the last of the Church Fathers. They soon became devoted, passionate friends. Malachy even asked the Pope for permission to become a Cistercian, but the Pope refused.



Malachy traveled to see Bernard again in 1142. They were so close that Bernard covered him with kisses in a scene that is described well by Orthodox priest Richard Cleaver in “Know My Name: A Gay Liberation Theology”: “Bernard's account makes deeply romantic reading for a modern gay man. “Oscula rui,” Bernard says of their reunion: “I showered him with kisses.”



Their relationship had lasted almost a decade when Malachy reunited with Bernard for the third and final time. Malachy fell sick when he arrived in Clairvaux in 1148. He died in Bernard’s arms on All Soul’s Day, Nov. 2. Again Cleaver tells the details based on accounts by Geoffrey, Bernard’s secretary and traveling companion:

“Geoffrey of Auxerre tells us what happened later. Bernard put on the habit taken from Malachy's body as it was being prepared for burial at Clairvaux, and we wore it to celebrate the funeral mass. He chose to sing not a requiem mass but the mass of a confessor bishop: a personal canonization and, incidentally, an example of using liturgy to do theology. Bernard himself was later buried next to Malachy, in Malachy’s habit. For Bernard, as for us today, this kind of passionate love for another human being was an indispensable channel for experiencing the God of love.”

After Malachy’s death Bernard lived on for another five years. During this time he wrote “Life of Saint Malachy of Armagh,” which is his idealized tribute to the man he loved.



Bernard forbid sculptures and paintings at the monastery during his lifetime, but by the late 15th century the altarpiece at the Clairvaux Abbey had a painting of Christ’s baptism -- being jointly witnessed by Bernard and Malachy.



The Irish archbishop comes back to life in the striking contemporary portrait of Saint Malachy as a young man at the top of this post. It was created by Rowan Lewgalon, a spiritual artist based in Germany and a cleric in the Old Catholic Apostolic Church.



Malachy and Bernard were men of their time who supported church teachings on celibacy. People today might say that they had a homosexual orientation while abstaining from sexual contact. Medieval mystics created alternative forms of sexuality that defy contemporary categories, but might be encompassed by the term “queer.” They directed their sexuality toward God and experienced God’s love through deep friendship with another human being... such as the relationship between Malachy and Bernard.



A prayer written by Bernard’s secretary Geoffrey shows how the community at Clairvaux understood and celebrated the man-to-man love between Bernard and Malachy. He thanks God for these “two stars of such surpassing brightness” and “twofold treasure.”

___



Related links:

Saints Bernard of Clairvaux and Malachy: Honey-tongued abbot and the archbishop he loved



San Malaquías de Armagh: el alma gemela de Bernardo de Claraval (coming soon at Santos Queer)

____

This post is part of the GLBT Saints series by Kittredge Cherry at the Jesus in Love Blog. Saints, martyrs, mystics, prophets, witnesses, heroes, holy people, humanitarians, deities and religious figures of special interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) and queer people and our allies are covered on appropriate dates throughout the year.



Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.

http://www.jesusinlove.blogspot.com/

Jesus in Love Blog on LGBT spirituality and the arts

All Saints Day 2013: Queer and LGBT saints and martyrs honored

Altar Cross of LGBTQ Martyrs from Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco

All Saints Day is celebrated today by adding seven new profiles to the LGBTQ Saints page at JesusInLove.org.





“Saint Sebastian”

by Il Sodoma
The most popular new addition is Saint Sebastian, a third-century martyr who has been called history’s first gay icon and the patron saint of homosexuals.



Other newcomers on the list include traditional saints Bernard of Clairvaux and the Black Madonna of Czestochowa as well as modern figures such as the founders of PFLAG, the martyrs of the 1973 Upstairs Lounge fire and Vida Dutton Scudder, a lesbian teacher and Episcopal saint born in 1871.



Queer and LGBT saints are important because people are searching for alternative ways to lead loving lives. Churches have tried to control people by burying queer history. The LGBTQ saints show us not only their place in history, but also our own place -- because we are all saints who are meant to embody love. We can tap into the energy of our ancestors in faith. For some they become friends, helpers and miracle-workers. I created the LGBT Saints page to give people an easy way to find the spiritual resources that they seek. For more info, see my essay Why we need LGBT saints.



In addition five profiles of saints (or paired saints) received major rewrites, including some long-time favorites at the Jesus in Love Blog: martyrs Sergius and Bacchus and Biblical heroes David and Jonathan. Almost every profile on the page has been updated and expanded in minor ways this year.



Another breakthrough this year is bringing LGBT saints to Spanish readers. Profiles of traditional LGBT saints are translated into Spanish at the new Santos Queer Blog. Some even attracted more readers than the original English versions. Saint Sebastian was the most popular saint at Santos Queer.





LGBT Saints page
With these new saints, the LGBT Saints page has grown to 62 profiles. They include 34 traditional Christian and 28 alternative figures. Along with official saints, there are martyrs, mystics, prophets, witnesses, heroes, holy people, humanitarians, deities and religious figures of special interest to LGBTQ people and our allies.



Here is a list of new saints who are welcomed to the LGBT Saints page today.



Traditional Christian



“Bernard of Clairvaux”

by Rowan Lewgalon


New additions:



Saints Bernard of Clairvaux and Malachy: Honey-tongued abbot and the archbishop he loved



Saint Sebastian: History’s first gay icon



Black Madonna becomes lesbian defender: Erzuli Dantor and Our Lady of Czestochowa



Major rewrites:



David and Jonathan: Love between men in the Bible



Francis of Assisi’s queer side revealed by new historical evidence



John the Evangelist: Beloved Disciple of Jesus



Saints Sergius and Bacchus: Male couple martyred in ancient Rome



Saint Wilgefortis: Bearded woman





19th to 21st century



Vida Dutton Scudder


New additions:



Jeanne Manford: PFLAG founder loved her gay son



Vida Dutton Scudder: Lesbian saint, teacher and reformer



Adele Starr and others: Patron saints for straight allies of LGBT people



UpStairs Lounge fire remembered 40 years later: 32 died in deadliest attack on LGBT people

___

This article is illustrated with the Altar Cross of LGBTQ Martyrs. It was constructed by a congregant at Metropolitan Community Church of San Franscico for All Saints Day (All Hallows) worship services there. The cross features newspaper photos of Matthew Shepard and Harvey Milk. In the center of the cross is the fence where Shepard was tortured and murdered on 10/12/88 in Laramie, Wyoming.



Other LGBTQ martyr named on the cross are:

Brian Wilmes – Hate Crimes Slaying 09/08/99 in San Francisco

Lawrence King – Hate Crimes Murder 02/12/08 in Oxnard, Ca.

Roxanne Ellis and Michelle Abdill – Murdered 12-04-95 in Medford, Oregon

Harvey Milk – Assassinated - 11/27/78

Tyra Hunter – Medical Care Denied – 08/07/95 in Washington D.C.

Gwen Araujo – Hate Crimes Murder – 10/03/02 in Newark, Calif.

Thank you to Lynn Jordan for the photo and information about the Altar Cross of LGBTQ Martyrs.



Let us be inspired by the LGBT saints who surround us as a “great cloud of witnesses.”  May we commit ourselves to our own queer spiritual journeys.

___

Related links:



Why we need LGBT saints by Kittredge Cherry



An All Hallows' Eve Vigil to Begin Transgender Awareness Month by H. Adam Ackley (Huff Post)



A queer theology of sainthood emerges (99 Brattle blog of Episcopal Divinity School)



Feminism leads to a queer theology of sainthood (Feminism and Religion Blog)



Who are the "Queer Saints and Martyrs"? by Terence Weldon (Queering the Church)



LGBT-friendly memorial for All Saints, All Souls and Day of the Dead



Santos Queer (LGBT Saints by Kittredge Cherry in Spanish / en español)



TrinityStores.com (innovative icons, including some LGBT saints)



Sanctity And Male Desire: A Gay Reading Of Saints by Donald Boisvert



Passionate Holiness: Marginalized Christian Devotions for Distinctive People by Dennis O’Neill



Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.

http://www.jesusinlove.blogspot.com/

Jesus in Love Blog on LGBT spirituality and the arts

The Bible and Gays: Is it a sin to be gay? Did Jesus condemn homosexuality?

“Bible with Awareness (Beibl gydag ymwybyddiaeth)” by Andrew Craig Williams


When readers send me anti-LGBT hate mail, I often refer them to “The Bible and Gays” by Rev. Durrell Watkins, pastor of Sunshine Cathedral in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.



It is one of the all-time best articles on the Bible and homosexuality. Rev. Watkins goes well beyond debunking the anti-gay “clobber” passages to present Christ’s positive message about queer people in a clear, accessible way. I am pleased to share his article here today.




The Bible and Gays

By Rev. Durrell Watkins


There are four questions I am most often asked about spirituality in relation to LBGT people. My ministry is within a church that is rooted both within the Christian tradition and the Gay Rights movement. However, I am a spiritual humanist and a religious pluralist and while I speak from a primarily Christian viewpoint, the message that I try to offer is universal. Here are the questions and my answers.



Is it a sin to be gay?

“Sin” means to miss the mark (an archery metaphor). To “be” anything is a matter of ontology (of “is-ness”). So to discover that one is something and to be honest about it can never be missing the mark. Self-discovery and expressing one’s truth with integrity is hitting the bull’s eye!



Did Jesus condemn homosexuality?

Jesus condemned precious little. One of the few things that he did condemn was the tendency of religious people to participate in condemnation! Jesus seemed to have a great deal of patience with almost everything other than self-righteous people who tried to enforce religious rules in a way to oppress or control others.



Was Jesus ever sympathetic to homosexual persons?

The word “homosexual” would not have been part of Jesus’ vocabulary. However, in the 8th chapter of Matthew’s gospel (and the story is repeated in the 7th chapter of Luke’s gospel) Jesus is said to have healed a centurion’s servant. The original hearers of that story would have assumed that the servant was the centurion’s lover. From what we know of 1st century Roman culture, we know that such relationships were not uncommon. And for a person of such high rank to be so concerned about a servant that he would approach a faith healer of lower status in a desperate attempt to help his servant suggests an intimacy far greater than one would expect between a military officer and his “servant.” How did Jesus respond to the centurion? He praised his faith! His relationship was not condemned or even questioned.



Also, in Matthew 19, Jesus defines “eunuchs” in a much broader sense than we normally hear. He says that, there are those who are castrated, which is the usual definition. But he also says there are 2 other kinds of eunuchs. He says some “choose” to be eunuchs (living a life of celibacy) and that others are “born” eunuchs (people who by nature are sexually different). He also says that not everyone would accept his broad, inclusive, and non-judgmental definition of eunuchs, but he says, “whoever can accept this ought to accept it.”



Jesus was giving an example of sexual diversity -- some are different because they’ve been surgically altered. Others are different because of personal choices to not marry or to remain celibate (e.g. monks and nuns). And still others are different because they are born different, that is, they are innately different. Jesus did not suggest that anything was wrong with any of the eunuchs, and he certainly did not propose an “ex-eunuch” program. Some of us are “different” from the majority, and Jesus seemed to think that was OK and that everyone who can accept such diversity needs to accept it! His teaching reminds us of Isaiah 56 where the prophet places these words in the mouth of God, “The eunuch need not say, ‘I am a dry (barren) tree’…I will give them in my house a monument and name which will be even better than having children; an eternal, imperishable name…For my house shall be called a house of prayer for ALL peoples.” In any case, Jesus never condemned same-sex love or attraction.





But aren’t there bible verses that do condemn homosexuality?

It depends on how you read the bible. The people who wrote the documents that in time became our bible were products of their time and culture. They had specific agendas and were writing to particular communities, usually in response to definite events. None of them had any idea that 21st century Americans would be reading their work. In fact, none of them knew there was a North American continent or that the world wasn’t flat. And so, we do read statements in the bible that support slavery, that assume women are in some way inferior to men, that seem to suggest God takes sides in bloody military conflicts.



Today, we do NOT accept that women are in any way inferior to men.

Today, we believe slavery to be one of the greatest evils of human history.

Today, many of us believe that war is almost never the will of God.



Do we read the bible with an awareness of its historical, cultural, and linguistic contexts? Or do we cling to isolated verses that seem to support one prejudice or the other? How we choose to read the bible will determine if we believe the bible promotes homophobia. And how we choose to read it actually says more about the reader than the text.



Out of the entire bible written by many people covering a period of more than a thousand years, there are only about half a dozen sentences that are routinely used to shame, condemn, harass, or terrorize gay and lesbian people! Each of those rare, isolated passages, when taken in their cultural, historical, linguistic, and literary contexts can be deconstructed in ways that are actually quite liberating for same-gender loving people! Love and even mutual attraction are never condemned in scripture.



The bible is against rape, exploitation, and harming your neighbor (and rightly so!). It is not a collection of books meant to condemn love, mutuality, or any life-affirming situation.



Now, reflect on these passages from the bible that some of us believe accurately sum up the divine message for the human family: “God is love and WHOEVER lives in love lives in God and God lives in them!” – 1 John 4.16; “For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Eternal, plans for your welfare, not for woe! plans to give you a future full of hope.” – Jeremiah 29.11; “By the grace of God I am what I am.” – 1 Corinthians 15.10; “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” – Galatians 5.22-23.



There is no law against love and we are all one. This is the message of the bible. It doesn’t tell us who to hate; it tells us how to love. We can be sure that LBTG people are as capable of living love-filled lives as anyone else

___

Rev. Durrell Watkins has been the senior pastor of Sunshine Cathedral in Fort Lauderdale, Florida since 2007. The church is affiliated with Metropolitan Community Churches and the International New Thought Alliance. Watkins has a Doctor of Ministry degree from the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This article originally appeared at his blog Kweerspirit. A Spanish translation will be posted soon at the Santos Queer blog.

___

More resources on the Bible and homosexuality:



Metropolitan Community Churches theological resources



“What the Bible Really Says about Homosexuality” by Daniel Helminiak



“Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality” by Jack Rogers



Homosexuality and the Bible at ChristianGays.com



Homosexuality and the Bible at GayChurch.org



“From Sin to Amazing Grace: Discovering the Queer Christ” by Patrick S. Cheng

___

Spirit Day: Stand up to bullying of LGBT youth

LGBT youths driven to suicide appear as Jesus is laid in the tomb in Station 14 from “Stations of the Cross: The Struggle For LGBT Equality” by Mary Button
_________________________________________________



People are speaking out against bullying of LGBT and queer youth today for Spirit Day (Oct. 17, 2013).



Spirit Day was started in 2010 by Brittany McMillan, a 16-year-old Canadian girl, in response to high-profile suicides by young LGBT people such as Tyler Clementi.



The Jesus in Love Blog marks Spirit Day this year by posting Station 14 from “Stations of the Cross: The Struggle For LGBT Equality” by Mary Button, courtesy of Believe Out Loud. The painting matches Jesus being laid in his tomb with images of LGBT youths who took their own lives. Recognizable faces include Tyler Clementi, Jamey Rodemeyer, Raymond Chase, and Seth Walsh. They represent countless other young LGBT people who committed suicide because they couldn't bear life in a world that despises and discriminates against queer people.



Many people make a statement supporting LGBT young people on Spirit Day by wearing purple, which symbolizes spirit on the rainbow flag. They also “go purple” by making their profile pictures purple at Facebook and other social media websites.



Spirit Day is promoted by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). Visit Spirit Day for more info, including an interview with McMillan about why she founded Spirit Day.



“The purpose of the event was so that people who were being bullied at their schools could come to school on Spirit Day and look around at all the people wearing purple, all the people who they could trust, all the people who would support them….I honestly had a bit of a pessimistic view of it. I thought that I would only get a few hundred people wearing purple and then my school. I never thought it would get as big as it did,” she said.



McMillan noted that Spirit Day is also a day to mourn the youths already lost. “A lot of events are always doing things for the present or the future, but they don’t really look back on the past. Spirit Day is a day where you can presently support LGBTQ teens, promise to stand up to homophobic bullying and also remember teens from the past,” she said.



___

Related links:



Trevor Project national help line for LGBTQ teens

Visit thetrevorproject.org or call 866 4U TREVOR



glaad.org/spiritday



“Crisis: 40 Stories Revealing the Personal, Social, and Religious Pain and Trauma of Growing Up Gay in America” by Mitchell Gold and Mindy Drucker



“Queer: The Ultimate LGBT Guide for Teens” by Kathy Belge and Marke Bieschke



Mary Button: LGBT Stations of the Cross show struggle for equality (Jesus in Love)



Tyler Clementi: Gay martyr driven to suicide by bullies (Jesus in Love Blog)



Wear purple for Spirit Day to support LGBT youth (Jesus in Love - 2011)



____

This post is part of the LGBT Holidays series by Kittredge Cherry at the Jesus in Love Blog. The series celebrates religious and spiritual holidays, holy days, feast days, festivals, anniversaries, liturgical seasons and other occasions of special interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people of faith and our allies.



Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.

http://www.jesusinlove.blogspot.com/

Jesus in Love Blog on LGBT spirituality and the arts

Matthew Shepard: Modern gay martyr and hate-crime victim died 15 years ago

“Saint Sebastian and Matt Shepard Juxtaposed” by JR Leveroni


Matthew Shepard brought international attention to anti-gay hate crimes when he died 15 years ago today on Oct. 12, 1998. He was a 21-year-old gay student at the University of Wyoming at the time.



The new film “Matt Shepard was a Friend of Mine” and the new book “The Book of Matt: Hidden Truths About the Murder of Matthew Shepard” are being released for the 15th anniversary of his death.



The documentary film is directed by Michele Josue, who was a close friend of Shepard. She takes a personal approach, exploring his life and loss by visiting places that were important to him and interviewing his friends and family. View the trailer below or at this link.







Award-winning gay Journalist Stephen Jimenez does extensive research into the circumstances of the crime in “The Book of Matt.” He finds that Shepard was not killed for being gay, but for reasons far more complicated.



Shepard (1976-1998) 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.



Now the Matthew Shepard Foundation seeks to replace hate with understanding, compassion and acceptance. U.S. President Obama signed "The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act" into law on Oct. 28, 2009. It broadens the federal hate-crimes law to cover violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity.



Shepard’s murder has inspired paintings by a variety of artists. New this year at the Jesus in Love Blog is “Saint Sebastian and Matt Shepard Juxtaposed” by JR Leveroni, pictured at the top of this post. Leveroni is an emerging visual artist living in South Florida. Painting in a Cubist style, he matches Shepard’s death with the killing of another gay martyr, Saint Sebastian. The suffering is expressed in a subdued style with barely a trace of blood. A variety of male nudes and religious paintings can be seen on his website (warning: male nudity).




“The Passion of Matthew Shepard” by William Hart McNichols ©

www.fatherbill.org


The officer who found Shepard 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.



McNichols is a New Mexico artist and Catholic priest who has been rebuked by church leaders for making icons of saints not approved by the church, including this one of Matthew Shepard. 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. His Matthew Shepard icon appears in his book “Christ All Merciful,” which he co-authored with Megan McKenna.





“The Murder of Matthew Shepard” by Matthew Wettlaufer



The grim scene of Matthew’s death is vividly portrayed in “The Murder of Matthew Shepard,” above, by gay artist-philosopher Matthew Wettlaufer. He lived in El Salvador and South Africa before returning to California. For an interview with Wettlaufer and more of his art, see my previous post “New paintings honor gay martyrs.”





“The Last of Laramie” by Stephen Mead

Above is a lyrical painting dedicated to Matthew Shepard: “The Last of Laramie” by gay artist Stephen Mead.of New York. It appears in his book “Our Book of Common Faith.” For more about Mead and his art, see my previous post “Gay Artist Links Body and Spirit.”






"The Candlelight Vigil for Matthew Shepard (NYC Oct. 19, 1998)” by Sandow Birk


California artist Sandow Birk painted a candlelight vigil for Shepard. With a drummer and a rainbow flag, it seems to echo “The Spirit of 76,” a famous patriotic painting of Revolutionary War figures by Archibald MacNeal Willard. But it is based on “The Conscripts” by Pascal Adolphe Jean Dagnan-Bouveret, a painting that seems to take a hard look at the toll of war, especially the conscription of young people into the military during the Franco-Prussian War.






“The Conscripts” by Pascal Adolphe Jean Dagnan-Bouveret, 1889 (Wikimedia Commons)


For more about Sandow Birk’s art, see my previous post Stonewall's LGBT history painted: Interview with Sandow Birk.



Matthew’s story has also been dramatized in films such as “The Laramie Project” and the “The Matthew Shepard Story” with Sam Waterson and Stockard Channing as the grieving parents.





____

This post is part of the GLBT Saints series at the Jesus in Love Blog. Saints, martyrs, heroes and holy people of special interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and our allies are covered on appropriate dates throughout the year.



Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.

http://www.jesusinlove.blogspot.com/

Jesus in Love Blog on LGBT spirituality and the arts

Vida Dutton Scudder: Lesbian saint, reformer and teacher

Vida Dutton Scudder, c. 1890 (Wikipedia)


Vida Dutton Scudder is an American social reformer, professor, prominent lesbian author -- and an officially recognized saint in the Episcopal Church. Her feast day is today (Oct. 10.)



Her ideas on economic inequality are especially relevant amid the financial crises of our times. Born in India to missionary parents in 1861, Scudder studied at Oxford and became a professor at Wellesley College, where she taught English literature for 41 years. All her primary relationships were with women. For 35 years from 1919 until her death in 1954, Scudder lived with author Florence Converse in a lesbian relationship.



Scudder’s spirituality went hand in hand with her social conscience and love of learning. She was active in the Social Gospel movement, co-founding a Boston settlement house to reduce poverty, promoting Christian socialism and backing trade unions. Scudder wrote 16 books, including her autobiography “On Journey,” plus numerous articles on religious, political, and literary subjects.



Converse (1871-1967), a New Orelans native and Wellesley graduate, served on the editorial staff of the Atlantic Monthly and The Churchman magazine.  She wrote many novels with titles such as “The Story of Wellesley” and “The Holy Night.”



The couple'sr lesbian life is documented in the books “Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers, A History of Lesbian Life in Twentieth-Century America” by Lillian Faderman and “Passionate Commitments: The Lives of Anna Rochester and Grace Hutchins” by Julia M. Allen. Their long-term relationship lasted until Scudder died at age 91 on Oct. 9, 1954.



The two women are buried near each other at Newton Cemetery and Crematory in Newton, Massachusetts. The Internet makes it possible to visit to the graves of Scudder and Converse online.



The Episcopal Church added Scudder to its book of saints several years ago. She expressed her belief in the power of prayer when she wrote, “If prayer is the deep secret creative force that Jesus tells us it is, we should be very busy with it.” Here is the official prayer that the Episcopal Church offers in memory of this lesbian saint:

Most gracious God, you sent your beloved Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Raise up in your church witnesses who, after the example of your servant Vida Dutton Scudder, stand firm in proclaiming the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

___

Related links:



Vida Dutton Scudder, American Lesbian Saint for Our Times (Queering the Church)



Vida Dutton Scudder, Educator and Witness for Peace (Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music of the Episcopal Church)



Vida Dutton Scudder (Wikipedia)



____

This post is part of the GLBT Saints series by Kittredge Cherry at the Jesus in Love Blog. Saints, martyrs, mystics, prophets, witnesses, heroes, holy people, humanitarians, deities and religious figures of special interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) and queer people and our allies are covered on appropriate dates throughout the year.



Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.

http://www.jesusinlove.blogspot.com/

Jesus in Love Blog on LGBT spirituality and the arts

Saints Sergius and Bacchus: Male couple martyred in ancient Rome

“Saints Sergius and Bacchus” by Rick Herold (details below)





20th-century icon of Saints Sergius and Bacchus from the courtyard of the Monastery of Mar Sarkis and Bakhos in Maaloula, Syria (Wikimedia Commons)


Saints Sergius and Bacchus were third-century Roman soldiers, Christian martyrs and gay men who loved each other. Their story is told here in words and pictures for their feast day today (Oct. 7).



The close bond between Sergius and Bacchus has been emphasized since the earliest accounts, and recent scholarship has revealed their homosexuality. The oldest record of their martyrdom describes them as erastai (Greek for “lovers”). Scholars believe that they may have been united in the rite of adelphopoiesis (brother-making), a kind of early Christian same-sex marriage.



A classic example of paired saints, Sergius and Bacchus were high-ranking young officers. Sergius was primicerius (commander) and Bacchus was secundarius (subaltern officer). They were tortured to death around 303 in present-day Syria after they refused to attend sacrifices to Zeus, thus revealing their secret Christianity.



The men were arrested and paraded through the streets in women’s clothing in an unsuccessful effort to humiliate them. Early accounts say that they responded by chanting that they were dressed as brides of Christ. They told their captors that women’s dress never stopped women from worshiping Christ, so it wouldn’t stop them, either. Then Sergius and Bacchus were separated and beaten so severely that Bacchus died.



According to the early manuscripts, Bacchus appeared to Sergius that night with a face as radiant as an angel’s, dressed once again as a soldier. He urged Sergius not to give up because they would be reunited in heaven as lovers. His statement is unique in the history of martyrs. Usually the promised reward is union with God, not with a lover. Over the next days Sergius was tortured and eventually beheaded.



Sergius’ tomb became a famous shrine, and for nearly 1,000 years the couple was revered as the official patrons of the Byzantine army. Many early churches were named after Sergius, sometimes with Bacchus. They have been recognized as martyrs by the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches. The pair was venerated through the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Latin America and among the Slavs.



Yale history professor John Boswell names Sergius and Bacchus as one of the three primary pairs of same-sex lovers in the early church in his book “Same Sex Unions in Pre-Modern Europe”. (The others are Polyeuct and Nearchus and Felicity and Perpetua.)



The Roman Catholic Church stripped Sergius and Bacchus from its liturgical calendar in 1969 -- the same year that New York’s Stonewall riots launched the modern gay liberation movement. Supposedly they were “de-canonized” due to lack of historical evidence, but some see it as an anti-gay action since they clearly had churches dedicated to them long before medieval times. Sergius and Bacchus continue to be popular saints with Christian Arabs and now among LGBT Christians and their allies.



These “gay saints” have inspired some of the most beautiful art depicting the holiness of same-sex couples, sometimes in a homoerotic way. The painting at the top of this post is by California gay artist Rick Herold.  “I over the years as a painter have been interested in the idea of the spirit and the flesh as one -- began by Tantric art influences and then using my Catholic background,” he told the Jesus in Love Blog. He paints with enamel on the reverse side of clear plexiglas.



Herold has a bachelor of arts degree in art and theology from the Benedictine Monastic University of St. John in Minnesota and a master of fine arts degree from Otis Institute of Art in Los Angeles. His religious artwork included a Stations of the Cross commissioned by Bob Hope for a church in Ohio before a conflict over modern art with the Los Angeles cardinal led to disillusionment with the church. Herold came out as gay and turned to painting male nudes and homoerotica, which can be seen at RickHerold.com. (Warning: his home page has male nudity.)



One of the newest images of 3rd-century gay saints Sergius and Bacchus is a stained glass window donated in 2011 to an Illinois church by its LGBT parishioners. The new Sergius and Bacchus window (above) was dedicated in September 2011 at St. Martha’s Church in Morton Grove, Illinois, as a gift from its LGBT members. Rev. Dennis O’Neill, pastor, believes it is the first window dedicated to Sergius and Bacchus in any church in the United States. O’Neill is the author of Passionate Holiness: Marginalized Christian Devotions for Distinctive People. The book includes a chapter retelling the love story of Sergius and Bacchus with historical detail.






“Sts. Sergius and Bacchus” by Plamen Petrov, St. Martha Church, Morton Grove, IL


The Sergius and Bacchus window above is part of a project in which members of St. Martha’s diverse congregation were selecting and paying for a set of 20 windows of saints from their various homelands. LGBT members contributed the “friendship window” depicting Sergius and Bacchus. It is a companion to the “marriage window” which shows St. Elizabeth of Hungary and her husband, Blessed Ludwig of Thuringia.



Artist Plamen Petrov worked with Daprato Rigali Studios to design and create the stained glass windows. He was born in Sevlievo, Bulgaria in 1966 and currently lives in Chicago. He graduated from University St. Cyril and St Methodius University of Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria’s Faculty of Fine Art in 1995, with an M.F.A. in graphic art - printmaking and pedagogy of figurative arts. For the past 12 years he specialized mostly in stained glass, but his creativity takes many forms, since he also works in mosaics, murals, oil, acrylic, photography and graphic design. His artwork may be seen across Chicago and Illinois, and in many countries all over the world.






“St. Bacchus and St. Sergius: Patrons of Same-Sex Couples by Maria Cristina


A banner saying “patrons of same sex couples” hangs above Bacchus and Sergius in a colorful icon by Maria Cristina, an artist based in Las Cruces, New Mexico.






“Saints Sergius and Bacchus” by Ray Avito


On the day that California artist Ray Avito first heard the story of Sergius and Bacchus, he sketched the  delightfully unpretentious portrait of the pair (pictured above).  He said it was based on “the suspicion that they may have been more than just comrades in arms.”






“Saint Sergius and Saint Bacchus” by Tony de Carlo


Sergius and Bacchus are among the many saints painted by Georgia artist Tony de Carlo. Raised Catholic, he started painting saints to counteract the church’s demonization of LGBT people. For more info, see my article Tony De Carlo: Artist affirms gay love with saints, Adam and Steve, and marriage equality paintings.








“Saints Sergius and Bacchus” by Ryan Grant Long


Historical men who loved men, including Sergius and Bacchus, are painted by Wisconsin artist Ryan Grant Long in his “Fairy Tales” series. Sergius and Bacchus are usually portrayed as static icons, side by side staring straight at the viewer. But Long catches them gazing into each other’s eyes during a private moment in their prison cell. For more info, see my article Artist paints history’s gay couples: Interview with Ryan Grant Long.






“Bacchus” and “Sergius” from the series “Five Saints” (2008) by Anthony Gayton. © Anthony Gayton / www.anthonygayton.com


Noted British photographer Anthony Gayton does stylized homoerotic photos based on the history of gay culture. He shows Sergius and Bacchus stripped and bound as prisoners in two separate photos. The images are intended to be shown together, but by design they can also be separated.



Appropriate Bible quotes are on banners above them. For Bacchus: “But I will not take my love from him, nor will I ever betray my faithfulness.” (Psalm 89:33). For Sergius: “All thy commandments are faithful, they persecute me wrongly; help thou me.” (Psalm 119: 86)



His Sergius and Bacchus photos belong to the series “Five Saints.” In addition to exploring saints, Gayton’s work uses historical themes inspired by such diverse sources as mythology, Renaissance and Baroque painting and early photography. Gayton's work is published in his book Sinners and Saints.








Saints Sergius and Bacchus

By Brother Robert Lentz OFM, trinitystores.com


The Living Circle, an interfaith LGBT spirituality center founded by Dennis O’Neill, that commissioned the above icon of the loving same-sex pair. It was painted by Brother Robert Lentz, a Franciscan friar and world-class iconographer known for his innovative icons. “Saints Sergius and Bacchus” 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. They caused such a stir that in order to keep the peace between his Franciscan province and the Archbishop of Santa Fe, New Mexico, Lentz temporarily gave away the copyright for the 10 controversial images to his distributor, Trinity Stores. Lentz’ own moving spiritual journey and some of his icons are included in the book Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, and More by Kittredge Cherry.






Saints Sergius and Bacchus. 7th Century icon from St. Catherine's Monastery on Mt. Sinai in Israel. Now in an art museum in Kiev, Ukraine. (Wikimedia Commons)


___

Related links:



Many icons, statues, and churches dedicated to Sergius and Bacchus can be viewed at:

http://andrejkoymasky.com/liv/mar/mar01.html



Sergius and Bacchus at Queer Saints and Martyrs (and Others)



Honoring (and Learning from) the Passion of Saints Sergius and Bacchus -- at The Wild Reed



Santos Sergio y Baco: Una pareja masculina martirizada en la antigua Roma (Santos Queer)

____

This post is part of the GLBT Saints series by Kittredge Cherry at the Jesus in Love Blog. Saints, martyrs, mystics, prophets, witnesses, heroes, holy people, humanitarians, deities and religious figures of special interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) and queer people and our allies are covered on appropriate dates throughout the year.



Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.

http://www.jesusinlove.blogspot.com/

Jesus in Love Blog on LGBT spirituality and the arts





Icons of Sergius and Bacchus and many other saints are available on cards, plaques, T-shirts, mugs, candles, mugs, and more at Trinity Stores

New info on Francis of Assisi’s queer side revealed

Francis of Assisi and the man he loved in “They Shelter in a Cave” by José Benlliure y Gil, 1926 (Wikimedia Commons)


Historical records reveal a queer side to Saint Francis of Assisi as Pope Francis visits the birthplace of his namesake tomorrow for the saint’s Oct. 4 feast day.



“It will be interesting to hear Pope Francis’ message while he pilgrimages to Assisi. However, the gender-bending St. Francis has already clearly spoken through the ages to the LGBT community,” Franciscan scholar Kevin Elphick says.



Saint Francis is one of the most beloved religious figures of all time, but few know about his love for another man and his gender nonconformity. By taking the name of Francis, the pope was communicating his affinity with the 13th-century friar who is known for joining with the poor, loving animals, hugging lepers, and praying for peace.



Francis is “a uniquely gender-bending historic figure” according Elphick. He continued his research into the queer side of Saint Francis this spring with his own trip to Assisi, where he photographed artwork depicting the man he believes may have been the saint’s beloved soulmate: Brother Elias of Cortona.






Brother Elias (center) at the Baptismal font where St. Francis was christened in the Cathedral of San Rufino in Assisi, Italy. (Photo by Kevin Elphick)


When Francis (1181-1226) was a young man, he had an unnamed male companion whom he dearly loved -- and who was written out of history after the first biography. Other Franciscan friars referred to Francis as “Mother” during his lifetime. He encouraged his friars to be mothers to each other when in hermitage together, and used other gender-bending metaphors to describe the spiritual life. He experienced a vision of an all-female Trinity, who in turn saluted him as “Lady Poverty,” a title that he welcomed.



The earliest companion of Francis, a man whom Francis “loved more than any other because he was the same age” and because of “the great familiarity of their mutual affection” remains nameless. Elphick's newest research suggests that the unnamed soulmate of Saint Francis was Brother Elias of Cortona. Francis called Elias “Mother” and gave him a special blessing. Elias expressed much concern about Francis’ body and his health. Francis and Elias each describe the other in affectionate terms. However, very quickly after Francis died, Elias is written out of history and discredited. Elphick presents the scholarly evidence about their relationship in the detailed article posted today at the Jesus in Love Blog: “Brother Elias: Soulmate to Saint Francis of Assisi?”





Lady Jacoba

also known as

Brother Jacoba

(See full image below)


Francis allowed a widow to enter the male-only cloister, naming her “Brother Jacoba.” (Details about Jacoba are at the end of this article.) His partner in ministry was a woman, Clare of Assisi, and he cut her hair in a man’s tonsured style when she joined his male-only religious order.



Early evidence of these and ways that Francis crossed gender boundaries are gathered in the ground-breaking unpublished master’s thesis “Gender Liminality in the Franciscan Sources” by Elphick, who is both a Franciscan scholar and a supervisor on a suicide prevention hotline in New York. He wrote the thesis for a master’s degree in Franciscan studies from St. Bonaventure University in New York.



Francis’ love for another man is described in his earliest biography, The First Life of St Francis of Assisi by Thomas of Celano, a follower of Francis who knew him personally. The biography was completed by 1230, just four years after Francis died. Celano says that when Francis was in his 20s, before embracing a life of poverty, he dearly loved a special male friend:

“Now there was a man in the city of Assisi whom Francis loved more than any other, and since they were of the same age and their constant association and ties of affection emboldened Francis to share his secret with him, he would often take this friend off to secluded spots where they could discuss private matters and tell him that he had chanced upon a great and precious treasure. His friend was delighted and, intrigued by what he had heard, he gladly accompanied Francis wherever he asked. There was a cave near Assisi where the two friends often went to talk about this treasure.”

In his thesis, Elphick points out, “Because homosexuality and ‘gay’ identities are modern constructs, it is impossible and inaccurate to attempt to read these modern categories into the personalities of historical figures.” Instead he uses the word “homoaffectional” to describe the relationship of Francis and his beloved companion.

“The relationship is inescapably homoaffectional, describing a shared intimacy between two Medieval men. That this first companion disappears from the later tradition is cause for suspicion and further inquiry.... The tone in Celano’s earliest account captures the flavor and intimacy of this relationship, perhaps too much so for an increasingly homophobic church and society.”

Francis and his beloved friend are seldom depicted by artists, but they are shown together in the rare and hard-to-find image above: “They shelter in a cave” (Se cobijan en una cueva) by Spanish painter José Benlliure y Gil. It is the 8th in his series of 74 images from the life of Saint Francis. The series was published by Franciscans in Valencia, Spain, in 1926 in a book to mark the 700th anniversary of the saint’s death.  A commentary in Spanish about the picture is available online.



Elphick finds many more examples of what he calls “gender liminality” in historical documents on Francis. He defines liminality as “crossing the threshold of gender, either symbolically, or by actions within a person’s life that breach the social boundaries of gender.”



Francis was born to a wealthy Italian family in 1181 or 1182. As a young man he renounced his wealth, even stripping off his clothes, and devoted himself to a life of poverty in the service of Christ. He connected with nature, calling all animals “brother” and “sister” and celebrating them in his famous Canticle of the Sun.





“St. Francis ‘Neath the Bitter Tree”

By William Hart McNichols © fatherbill.org

He saw the face of Christ in lepers, the most reviled outcasts of his time, and nursed them with compassion.  William Hart McNichols puts Francis’ ministry into a contemporary context by showing him embracing a gay Jesus with AIDS in “St. Francis ‘Neath the Bitter Tree,” pictured here. Words on the cross proclaim that Christ is an “AIDS leper” as well as a “drug user” and “homosexual,” outcast groups at high risk for getting AIDS. The two men gaze intently at each other with unspeakable love as Francis hugs the wounded Christ. It was commissioned in 1991 by a New Jersey doctor who worked with AIDS patients, and is discussed in the book Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, and More by Kittredge Cherry.



McNichols created the icon in his own style based on a 1668 painting by Spanish painter Bartolome Esteban Murillo, which was surely inspired by the more passionate 1620 version of fellow Spaniard Francisco Ribalta. In Ribalta’s work (pictured below), Christ responds to St. Francis’ ecstatic kiss by giving the saint his crown of thorns, the symbol of suffering that leads to divine union.






“Saint Francis Embracing Christ” by Francisco Ribalta (Wikimedia Commons)




“St. Francis and the Sultan”
by Brother Robert Lentz, trinitstores.com

A famous peace prayer is attributed to St. Francis. It begins, “God, make me an instrument of your peace.” Late in his life Francis embodied this message through man-to-man Christian-Muslim dialogue in the Mideast, a region where people are still at war.



In 1219 Francis went to Damietta, Egypt, with the European armies during the Fifth Crusade. He hoped to discuss religion peacefully with the Muslims. He tried to prevent Crusaders from attacking Muslims at the Battle of Damietta, but he failed. Francis was captured and taken to the sultan Malek al-Kamil. At first they tried to convert each other, but each man soon recognized that the other already knew and loved God. They remained together, discussing spirituality, for about three weeks between Sept. 1 and Sept. 26. Robert Lentz celebrates their meeting as a model of interfaith dialogue in the icon “St. Francis and the Sultan,” pictured here.





“St Francis of Assisi Receiving the Stigmata”

by Kevin Raye Larson © 1991, krayel.com

In 1224, when Francis was in his 40s, he received the stigmata -- marks like the crucifixion wounds of Christ in his hands, feet and side. California artist Kevin Raye Larson emphasizes the sensuality of the ecstatic moment in “St Francis of Assisi Receiving the Stigmata,” pictured here. The painting has appeared on the cover of the spirituality issue of “Frontiers,” the Los Angeles gay lifestyle magazine.



Along with the stigmata came other health problems. When Francis sensed death approaching, he called for Jacoba de Settesoli, a Roman noblewoman devoted to him and his teachings. Francis stayed in her house when in Rome.  Celano’s 13th-century account in the “Treatise on the Miracles of Blessed Francis” reports that Francis greeted the news of her arrival at the male-only cloister with a decidedly queer statement that breaks gender rules::

“Blessed be God, who has guided the Lady Jacoba, our brother, to us. Open the door and bring her in, for our Brother Jacoba does not have to observe the decree against women.”

The widow called “Brother Jacoba” by Francis kneels near the dying Francis of Assisi in “48. Jacoba of Settesoli is associated with the mourning” (Jacoba de Settesoli se asocia al duelo) by José Benlliure y Gil, 1926 (Wikimedia Commons)


Francis died a few days later on Oct. 3, 1226. Two years after Francis’ death, Pope Gregory IX declared him a saint and commissioned Celano’s biography, the one that includes the love between Francis and his male companion.



Elphick adds an intriguing footnote about how the queer side of Francis has manifested outside official Christianity. Francis is venerated in the Yoruba religion of Africa as Orunmila, the orisha of wisdom, patron of animals and a transgendered deity who engages in same-sex eroticism.



At the end of his thesis, Elphick concludes that breaking gender rules is an extraordinary God-given power or “charism” that Franciscans offer to the church and the world.

“What are the lives of figures like Mother Francis, Brother Jacoba and Mother Juana de la Cruz revealing to us in our own day? I think that the Franciscan charism of gender liminality has much to teach our Church and fellow community of humans in our day. In a church divided over issues of ordination of women, inclusive language, and sexual orientation, I believe that the Franciscan tradition has important figures to hold up and from whom to learn. For issues which we have not even yet begun to explore theologically in authentic ways, issues such as hermaphroditism, transsexuality, genderedness and sexual orientation, I believe the Franciscan voice can be prophetic.”

“Saint Francis in Ecstasy” by Caravaggio (Wikimedia Commons)


___

Related links:

"The Message of St. Francis" by Kevin C. A. Elphick (The Empty Closet)



San Francisco de Asís: La evidencia histórica revela su lado gay (Santos Queer)



Animal blessing events are happening all over the world this month for the Feast of St. Francis, the patron saint of animals. Click here for my animal blessing prayer.



____

This profile is part of the GLBT Saints series by Kittredge Cherry at the Jesus in Love Blog. Saints, martyrs, mystics, prophets, witnesses, heroes, holy people, deities and religious figures of special interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) and queer people and our allies are covered on appropriate dates throughout the year.



Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.

http://www.jesusinlove.blogspot.com/

Jesus in Love Blog on LGBT spirituality and the arts





Innovative icons of St. Francis and many others are available on cards, plaques, T-shirts, mugs, candles, mugs, and more at Trinity Stores