Honoring the Passion of Sergius and Bacchus

To mark yesterday’s feast of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, I share today an excerpt from Kittredge Cherry’s informative piece entitled “Sergius and Bacchus: Paired Male Saints Loved Each Other in Ancient Roman Army.”

I also share the portrait of Sergius at right and the portrait of Bacchus below, both of which are by artist Nicolo’ Mazzucato.

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Saints Sergius and Bacchus were third-century Roman soldiers, Christian martyrs and men who loved each other. . . . They are by far the best documented, most widely worshiped and most influential male paired saints in Christian history. They are some of the earliest Christian martyrs. 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. Their names were often included in these rites of same-sex union, along with other saintly male pairs. Some see them as patron saints of same-sex couples. But their devotion to each other has inspired people of every sexual orientation over the centuries.

From ancient times until today these “gay saints” have inspired some of the most beautiful art depicting the holiness of same-sex couples, sometimes in a homoerotic way. A classic example of paired saints, Sergius and Bacchus were high-ranking young officers in the Roman army. 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.

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 1995 book Same Sex Unions in Pre-Modern Europe. (The others are Polyeuct and Nearchus and Felicity and Perpetua.) Paired military saints were popular in the Middle Ages [and] Sergius and Bacchus were the most famous and one of the earliest couples. . . . An appendix in the book includes Boswell’s translation of “The Passion of Sts. Serge and Bacchus” from the original Greek text dated 373-395. It was the first time that an ancient hagiography of Sergius and Bacchus was ever translated into English.

Today LGBTQ Christians in the west can get status from their religion but may hide their sexual orientation to avoid condemnation. However Sergius and Bacchus faced the opposite dilemma. In the Roman army homosexuality was accepted and perhaps even encouraged, but Christianity was taboo.

To read Kittredge Cherry's article in its entirety (and view a number or artistic depictions of Sergius and Baccchus), click here.


For more of Sergius and Bacchus at The Wild Reed, see:
• Sergius and Bacchus: Martyrs, Saints, Lovers
• Honoring (and Learning from) the Passion of Saints Sergius and Bacchus
• Sergius and Bacchus: Martyred Lovers
• Photo of the Day – October 7, 2013
• On the Feast of Sts. Sergius and Bacchus, Thoughts on Marriage Equality in the U.S. and the Vatican’s Synod on the Family

Images: Nicolo’ Mazzucato