Sergios and Bakchos

Bakchos and Sergios on an icon from the 7th century

Sergios and Bakchos , also Sergius and Bacchus (Greek Σέργιος και Βάκχος , † around 303 in Resafa , Syria ) were early Christian martyrs who are venerated as saints.

According to legend, they were officers of a Roman border force. Bakchos was whipped to death for his belief . Sergios survived the torture and is said to have been beheaded .

Adoration

Her feast day is October 7th.

Sergios in particular was greatly venerated in the Byzantine Empire . As early as the 4th century a church was built in Cairo in honor of the two saints , which was destroyed in the 8th century and rebuilt around 1000.

A large church was built over the grave of the martyrs in Resafa , which was the destination of pilgrimages . Therefore, the city was later called Sergiopolis or Sergiupolis (German: City of Sergios ). Only ruins remain from this church.

Plan of the round church in Constantinople.

Justinian I had a round church built for both saints in Constantinople in 527 , the Sergios and Bakchos Church , which was probably the model for the Church of San Vitale in Ravenna . The veneration of the two saints is also attested in Rome and Tours . In the Iranian capital Tehran , the Armenian Saint Sarkis Cathedral is named after Sergios.

The parish church of Kreuzebra in Eichsfeld , Thuringia , built around 1739–1740, has the two martyrs as patrons.

debate

The US historian and LGBT activist John Boswell (1947-1994) interpreted their relationship to one another in his controversially discussed second major work The Marriage of Likeness as evidence that the Catholic Church was not always hostile to same-sex relationships. The rite of Adelphopoiesis (Greek "making brothers"), with which the Orthodox Church blessed the love of two men and tied them together forever, is based on the model of male saints like Sergius and Bacchus. Boswell saw this institution as a kind of Christian forerunner of same-sex marriage , as it is rejected today by many Christian denominations . Other historians such as David Woods , Robin Darling Young , and Brent Shaw disagree with this view and question Boswell's methodology and conclusions.

literature

Ekkart Sauser : Sergios and Bacchos. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 21, Bautz, Nordhausen 2003, ISBN 3-88309-110-3 , Sp. 1434-1435. ( Article / beginning of article in Internet archive )

Web links

Commons : Bakchos and Sergios - collection of images, videos and audio files

Monastery of Saints Sergius and Bacchus (English)

Individual evidence

↑ Johann Wolf: The holy martyrs Sergius and Bacchus, church patrons for Kreuzeber on the Eichsfelde, together with historical news from the local church (reprint) . Ed .: Maik Pinkert on behalf of the Episcopal Commissariat Heiligenstadt. Heiligenstadt 2004, ISBN 3-935782-05-5 .
^ Hans P. Obermayer: Martial and the discourse on male "homosexuality" in the literature of the early imperial era . Gunter Narr Verlag, Tübingen 1998, ISBN 3-8233-4877-9 , p. 3 .
↑ John Boswell, The Marriage of Likeness. Same-Sex Union in Premodern Europe , Harper Collins, London, 1995.
^ Woods, David (2000). "The Origin of the Cult of SS. Sergius and Bacchus" . From The Military Martyrs , June 25, 2009.
^ Robin Darling Young: Gay Marriage: Reimagining Church History . In: First Things . 47, November 1994, pp. 43-48. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
↑ Brent Shaw: A Groom of One's Own? Archived from the original on May 7, 2006. In: The New Republic . July 1994, pp. 43-48. Retrieved June 25, 2009.

[1] Johann Wolf: The holy martyrs Sergius and Bacchus, church patrons for Kreuzeber on the Eichsfelde, together with historical news from the local church (reprint) . Ed .: Maik Pinkert on behalf of the Episcopal Commissariat Heiligenstadt. Heiligenstadt 2004, ISBN 3-935782-05-5 .

[2] Hans P. Obermayer: Martial and the discourse on male "homosexuality" in the literature of the early imperial era . Gunter Narr Verlag, Tübingen 1998, ISBN 3-8233-4877-9 , p. 3 .

[3] John Boswell, The Marriage of Likeness. Same-Sex Union in Premodern Europe , Harper Collins, London, 1995.

[Woods-4] Woods, David (2000). "The Origin of the Cult of SS. Sergius and Bacchus" . From The Military Martyrs , June 25, 2009.

[5] Robin Darling Young: Gay Marriage: Reimagining Church History . In: First Things . 47, November 1994, pp. 43-48. Retrieved June 25, 2009.

[Shaw-6] Brent Shaw: A Groom of One's Own? Archived from the original on May 7, 2006. In: The New Republic . July 1994, pp. 43-48. Retrieved June 25, 2009.