Is Gay marriage a Christian tradition? cross post from LGBT forum

[intaglio]

I found this site Gay Christian 101 which seems to show evidence that until the 16th Century gay marriages were carried out by both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. Interesting elements of the web page follow.

St. Serge and St. Bacchus, two Roman soldiers who became Christian martyrs.
While the pairing of saints, particularly in the early church, was not unusual, the association of these two men was regarded as particularly close. Severus of Antioch in the sixth century explained that "we should not separate in speech [Serge and Bacchus] who were joined in life." More bluntly, in the definitive 10th century Greek account of their lives, St. Serge is openly described as the "sweet companion and lover" of St. Bacchus.

/snip

The ceremonies Boswell describes had all the contemporary symbols of a marriage.

A community gathered in a church
A blessing of the couple before the altar
Their right hands joined as at heterosexual marriages
The participation of a priest
The taking of the Eucharist
A wedding banquet afterwards

All of these are shown in contemporary drawings of the same sex union of Byzantine Emperor Basil I (867-886) and his companion John. Such homosexual unions also took place in Ireland in the late 12th to early 13th century, as the chronicler Gerald of Wales (Geraldus Cambrensis) has recorded.

/snip

At St. John Lateran in Rome (traditionally the Pope's parish church) in 1578, as many as 13 couples were "married" at Mass with the apparent cooperation of the local clergy, "taking communion together, using the same nuptial Scripture, after which they slept and ate together," according to a contemporary report.

Just some ammunition for the liberal Christians, Atheists and Agnostics to use

[tanyev]

1. Marking to read later.

[cbayer]

2. Very interesting. Thanks for posting this.

[darkstar3]

3. Well, after all, there were homosexual relationships in the bible,

and they were even touted as some of the most exemplar and foundational friendships around. David/Jonathan and Ruth/Naomi come to mind...

[dimbear]

4. Pope Julius III is down with it. n/t