Remember the enarei?
Today, Catholicism is a monolith of well-established dogma.
And while there are plenty of other denominations asking the same questions about what it means to be a Christian and coming to different conclusions, Catholicism is bigger than the rest of them put together.
It’s the the most popular flavour of Christianity, sort of the baseline of the faith, and other denominations tend to develop as a response to it.
But in the early days of the church, Catholicism hadn’t yet been established.
So there was just as much disagreement about what Christianity meant, but they didn’t have that Catholic baseline, so they interpreted the Bible in all sorts of ways that might seem surprising to modern ears.
Including some ways that don’t really conform with what we might call Roman gender norms.
Today, we’ll explore some interesting gender stuff in the early Christian church, along the way addressing some common questions, like:
- Whether or not some famously homophobic biblical passages actually condemn homosexuality or transgenderality (spoiler alert: they don’t)
- How qui oderunt – those who hate – have twisted the Bible for their own political agendas
- How literal interpretations of the Bible led early Christians down some…interesting paths, gender wise.
Works Cited
Ancient Sources:
►Aurelius Victor – De Caesaribus, trans H.W. Bird (1994)
►Cassius Dio – Roman History, Loeb Classical Library translation
►Eusebius – Historia Ecclesiastica, trans Rev. Arthur Cushman McGiffert, PhD (1890)
►The Holy Bible – King James Version
►St. Jerome – Letter 33 , trans Roger Pearse (2012)
►Justin Martyr – First Apology, trans Marcus Dods and George Reith (1885)
►Origen – Commentary On The Gospel Of Matthew, trans Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson (2006)
►Pausanias – Description of Greece, trans W.H.S Jones (1964)
►Tertullian – De Monogamia, trans William P Le Saint (1951)
Modern Sources:
►Caner, Daniel F – The Practice And Prohibition Of Self-Castration In Early Christianity (1997)
►Grant, Robert – Greek Apologists Of The Second Century (1988)
►Kane, June Kozak – Redefining Leviticus 20-13 (2011)
►Patterson, Stephen J – Biblical Views: Punch Thy Neighbor (2015)
►Rene – What Did Paul Mean When He Used The Greek Word Arsenokoitai? (2012)
►Sauter, Megan – Eunuchs in the Bible (2022)
►Scholz, Piotr O – Eunuchs and Castrati: A Cultural History, trans John A Broadwin and Shelley L Frisch (2001)
►Wagemakers, Bart – Incest, Infanticide, And Cannibalism (2011)
Credits
All voices by Sophie Edwards (yes, even that one)
This video was filmed in the territory of the Chippewa of the Thames, the Oneida of the Thames, & the Muncey Delaware nations. I am immensely grateful to the stewards of this land & hope to work toward healing wounds & creating a more equitable world.
Silent Film Footage Used:
►La Vie et la Passion de Jesus Christ (The Life And Passion Of Christ). Directed by Lucien Nonguet and Ferdinand Zecca, performances by Madame Moreau and Monsier Moreau. 1903
►L’Orgie Romaine (A Roman Orgy). Directed by Louis Feuillade, performances by Jean Ayme, Louise Lagrange, & Luitz-Morat. 1911.
►Quo Vadis. Directed by Enrico Guazzoni, performances by Amleto Novelli and Gustavo Serena. 1913
►Nerone, o la caduta di Roma (Nero, or The Fall Of Rome). Directed by Luigi Maggi & Arturo Ambrosio, performances by Alberto Capozzi, Lydia De Roberti, & Luigi Maggi. 1909
All assets are public domain or created by Sophie Edwards, except:
Music:
►Title theme: Overkill by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio
►Night Roads and Forest by | e s c p CC3.0
►Soon We’ll Fly by Ghostrifter Official CC3.0
►happy place by foxxy mulderr CC4.0
►Galaxy by Alex-Productions CC3.0
►Frolic by Purrple Cat
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Images:
►Map of Roman Gaul – by O H 237 CC4.0
►Major Kira image & quote are property of ViacomCBS & have been used without permission as allowed under Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976. No copyright infringement is intended
Licenses: https://creativecommons.org/