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'{{short description|Early saints}} {{Redirect|Saint Sergius}} {{Infobox saint |honorific_prefix= Saints |name= Sergius and Bacchus |image= Sergebac7thcentury.jpg |imagesize= 250px |caption= Detail of a 7th-century [[icon]] of Saints Sergius and Bacchus |titles= Martyrs |birth_date= |birth_place= |death_date=4th century |death_place=Bacchus in [[Syria]]; Sergius at [[Resafa]], Syria |feast_day= 7 October |venerated_in=[[Assyrian Church of the East]]<br>[[Coptic Orthodox Church]]<br> [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]<br> [[Catholic Church]]<br>[[Oriental Orthodox Church]] |beatified_date= |beatified_place= |beatified_by= |canonized_date= |canonized_place= |canonized_by= |major_shrine= Basilica of St. Sergius, [[Rasafa]] |attributes=Depicted as two young soldiers, |patronage=[[Arab Christians]],<ref name="أول">[http://new.alepposuryoye.com/topic/428 الشهيدان سركيس وباخوس]، مطرانية حلب للسريان الأرثوذكس، 30 نوفمبر 2011.</ref> [[Syria]], [[army]], [[soldiers]] |issues= |suppressed_date= }} '''Sergius''' (or '''Serge''') '''and Bacchus''' were fourth-century [[Roman Empire|Roman]] [[Christians|Christian]] soldiers revered as [[martyr]]s and [[military saint]]s by the [[Catholic Church|Catholic]], [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Eastern Orthodox]] and [[Oriental Orthodoxy|Oriental Orthodox]] Churches. Their [[feast day]] is 7 October. According to their [[hagiography]], Sergius and Bacchus were officers in [[Galerius]]' army, and were held high in his favor until they were exposed as secret Christians. They were then severely punished, with Bacchus dying during torture, and Sergius eventually beheaded. However, due to its historical anachronisms, the hagiography is considered ahistorical. Sergius and Bacchus were very popular throughout [[Late Antiquity]], and churches in their honor were built in several cities, including [[Constantinople]] and [[Rome]]. The close friendship between the two is strongly emphasized in their hagiographies and traditions, making them one of the most famous examples of paired saints. ==Legend== [[File:Sergius and Bacchus (Menologion of Basil II).jpg|thumb|left|Martyrs Saints Sergius and Bacchus]] The story of Sergius and Bacchus is told in the [[Greek language|Greek]] text known as ''The Passion of Sergius and Bacchus''. The story is ostensibly set during the reign of [[Roman emperor]] [[Galerius]] (305 to 311), though it contains a number of contradictions and anachronisms that make dating difficult. The work itself may date to the mid-5th century.<ref name="Woods"/> According to the text, Sergius and Bacchus were Roman citizens and high-ranking officers of the [[Roman army]], but their conversion to [[Christianity]] was discovered when they attempted to avoid accompanying a Roman official into a [[Roman temple|pagan temple]] with the rest of his bodyguard. After they persisted in refusing to sacrifice to [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]] in Galerius' presence, they were publicly humiliated by being chained, dressed in female attire and paraded around town. Galerius then sent them to [[Barbalissos]] in [[Roman Mesopotamia|Mesopotamia]] to be tried by Antiochus, the military commander there and an old friend of Sergius. Antiochus could not convince them to give up their faith, however, and Bacchus was beaten to death. The next day Bacchus' spirit appeared to Sergius and encouraged him to remain strong so they could be together forever. Over the next days, Sergius was also brutally tortured and finally executed at [[Resafa]], where his death was marked by miraculous happenings.<ref name="Woods"/> ==Historicity== The ''Passion'', replete with supernatural occurrences and historical anachronisms, has been dismissed as an unreliable historical source. The work has been dated to mid-5th century, and there is no other evidence for the cult of Sergius and Bacchus before about 425, over a century after they are said to have died. As such, there is considerable doubt about their historicity.<ref name="Woods"/> There is no firm evidence for Sergius and Bacchus' ''[[Scholae Palatinae#Origins|schola gentilium]]'' having been used by Galerius or any other emperor before [[Constantine I]], and given that persecution of Christians had begun in the army considerably before the overall persecutions of the early 4th century, it is very unlikely that even secret Christians could have risen through the ranks of the imperial bodyguard. Finally, there is no evidence to support the existence of monks, such as the ones said in the ''Passion'' to have recovered Bacchus' body, living near the [[Euphrates]] during the 4th century.<ref name="Woods"/> Instead, the Italian scholar Pio Franchi de Cavalieri has argued that ''The Passion of Sergius and Bacchus'' was based on an earlier lost passion of [[Juventinus and Maximinus]], two saints martyred under Emperor [[Julian the Apostate]] in 363. He noted especially that the punishment of being paraded around in women's clothes reflected the treatment of Christian soldiers by Julian.<ref>Pio Franchi de' Cavalieri, ''Scritti agiografici'', Volume I (1893-1900)</ref> Historian David Woods further notes that [[Zosimus (historian)|Zosimus]]' ''Historia Nova'' includes a description of Julian punishing cavalry deserters in just such a manner, further strengthening the argument that the author of ''The Passion of Sergius and Bacchus'' took material from the stories of martyrs of Julian's time rather than that of Galerius.<ref name="Woods"/> Woods argues that the tradition of the saints' martyrdom is a later development that became attached to otherwise obscure relics in the 5th century and that the ''Passion'' is a fiction composed after their cult had become popular. He concludes that "the martyrs Sergius and Bacchus did not exist as such".<ref name="Woods">Woods, David (2000). [http://www.ucc.ie/milmart/sergorig.html "The Origin of the Cult of SS. Sergius and Bacchus"]. From [http://www.ucc.ie/milmart/index.html The Military Martyrs]. Retrieved June 25, 2009.</ref> Christopher Walter considers Sergius analogous to [[Saint George]], "whose historicity is accepted, even if nothing genuine about his life is known." He suggests that Woods maybe "almost as inventive as the hagiographers themselves" in proposing lost sources for which there is no evidence. He accepts that at least some of the information in the ''Passion'' is accurate.<ref>Christopher Walter, ''The Warrior Saints in Byzantine Art and Tradition'' (Routledge, 2003), pp. 149–150.</ref> ==Popularity and veneration== [[File:Resafa,BasilikaA1.jpg|thumb|Basilica of Saint Sergius, [[Rasafa]], [[Syria]]]] Veneration of the two saints dates to the fifth century. A shrine to Sergius was built in [[Resafa]] (renamed Sergiopolis around 425), but there is no certain evidence for his or Bacchus' cult much older than that. Their cult grew rapidly during the early fifth century, in accordance with the growth of the cult of martyrs, especially military martyrs, during the period. The Resafa shrine was constructed of [[mudbrick]], evidently at the behest of bishop [[Alexander of Hierapolis (Syria)|Alexander of Hierapolis]]. The ''Passion'' has been dated to the mid-5th century on the grounds that it describes the construction of such a shrine as if it were a relatively recent occurrence. The original shrine was replaced with a sturdier stone structure in 518; this new site was patronized by important political figures including Roman emperor [[Justinian I]], emperor [[Khosrow II]] of the [[Sassanid Empire]], and [[al-Mundhir III ibn al-Harith]], ruler of the [[Ghassanids]].<ref name="Woods"/> Traditionally, the [[feast day]] of Sergius and Bacchus has been celebrated on 7 October in the West.<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13728a.htm "Sergius and Bacchus"]. From the ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]''. Retrieved June 16, 2014.</ref><ref>Boswell, p. 155</ref> In the [[Tridentine Calendar]] they shared the day with [[Pope Mark]] and the martyred pair [[Marcellus and Apuleius]]. In 1716, this day became the feast of [[Our Lady of the Rosary]], and the commemoration of Sergius, Bacchus and the other saints was moved to 8 October. They were restored to 7 October in 1969.<ref>''[[Martyrologium Romanum]]'', Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2001, p. 528.</ref> [[File:Sergius and Bacchus Church February 2011.JPG|thumb|[[Little Hagia Sophia]] (Church of the Saints Sergius and Bacchus), [[Istanbul]], [[Turkey]]]] In the [[Byzantine Empire]], they were venerated as protectors of the army. A large monastery church, the [[Little Hagia Sophia]], was dedicated to them in Constantinople by Justinian I, probably in 527. According to legend, during the reign of [[Justin I]], his nephew [[Justinian I|Justinian]] had been accused of plotting against the throne and was sentenced to death, which was reversed after Saints Sergius and Bacchus appeared before Justin and vouched for Justinian's innocence. He was freed and restored to his title of [[Caesar (title)|Caesar]], and in gratitude vowed that he would dedicate a church to the saints once he became emperor. The construction of this [[Little Hagia Sophia|Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus]], between 527 and 536 AD (only a short time before the erection of the [[Hagia Sophia]] between 532 and 537), was one of the first acts of the reign of Justinian I.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Blue Guide Istanbul|last=Freely|first=John|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|year=2000|isbn=0-393-32014-6|pages=137}}</ref> [[File:Ss. Sergio e Bacco exterior.JPG|thumb|left|[[Santi Sergio e Bacco|Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus]], [[Rome]], [[Italy]]]] Sergius was a very popular saint in Syria and Christian [[Arabia]]. The city of Resafa, which became a bishop's see, took the name Sergiopolis and preserved his relics in a fortified [[basilica]]. Resafa was improved by Emperor Justinian and became one of the greatest pilgrimage centers in the East. Many other churches were built dedicated in the name of Sergius, sometimes with Bacchus. A church dedicated to [[Santi Sergio e Bacco]] was built in [[Rome]] in the 9th century. Christian art represents the two saints as soldiers in military garb with branches of palm in their hands. Their feast is observed on 7 October, and a Mass is assigned to them in the "[[Gelasian Sacramentary|Sacramentarium]]" of [[Pope Gelasius I|Pope Gelasius]]. The nomads of the desert looked upon Sergius as their special [[patron saint]]. In the [[Armenian Church]] traditions Sergius, or Sarkis, was venerated as a Christian general in the Roman army. He was martyred with his son, Martyros, for witnessing to their faith in Christ. The feast is preceded by three-day fasting. [[File:SerBac.jpg|thumb|[[Robert Lentz]]'s 1994 [[icon]] of Saints Sergius and Bacchus]] The close friendship between the two is strongly emphasized in their hagiographies and traditions, making them one of the most famous examples of paired saints; the scholar [[John Boswell]] considers them to be the most influential set of such an archetype, more so than even [[Feast of Saints Peter and Paul|Saints Peter and Paul]].<ref>Boswell, p. 146. "By far the most influential set of paired saints was Serge and Bacchus."</ref><ref>Boswell, p. 195. "The archetypes invoked, like Peter and Paul or Serge and Bacchus, were not in fact brothers, either biologically or through legal arrangement. It may be doubted whether Peter and Paul were in any sense a couple, but Serge and Bacchus, the most commonly cited archetypes, certainly were, and under the influence of the same cultural predilection that created a pair from the single [[Theodore of Amasea|St. Theodore]], it is easy to imagine that Peter and Paul were coupled in the popular imagination."</ref> In his ''[[Same-Sex Unions in Pre-Modern Europe|Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe]]'', Boswell further argues that Sergius and Bacchus's relationship can be understood as having a romantic dimension, noting that the oldest text of their martyrology describes them as ''erastai'', which can be translated as "lovers".<ref name="Boswell">Boswell, p. 154.</ref> He suggested that the two were even united in a rite known as ''[[adelphopoiesis]]'' or "brother-making", which he argued was a type of early Christian [[same-sex union]] or blessing, reinforcing his view of tolerant [[History of Christianity and homosexuality|early Christian attitudes toward homosexuality]].<ref name="Boswell"/> Boswell's methodology and conclusions have been disputed by many historians.<ref name="Woods"/><ref>{{cite journal |last= Young|first= Robin Darling|date=November 1994|title= Gay Marriage: Reimagining Church History|journal= [[First Things]]|volume= 47|pages= 43–48|url= http://www.leaderu.com/ftissues/ft9411/articles/darling.html |access-date= June 25, 2009}}</ref><ref name="Shaw">{{cite journal |last= Shaw|first= Brent|author-link=Brent Shaw|date=July 1994|title= A Groom of One's Own?|journal= [[The New Republic]]|pages= 43–48|url= http://www.learnedhand.com/shaw_boswell.htm |access-date= June 25, 2009|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060507014622/http://www.learnedhand.com/shaw_boswell.htm |archive-date = May 7, 2006}}</ref><ref>Christopher Walter, review of Elizabeth Key-Fowden, ''The Barbarian Plain: Saint Sergius between Rome and Iran'' in ''Revue des études byzantines'', '''59-60''':[http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/rebyz_0766-5598_2001_num_59_1_2249_t1_0279_0000_2 p. 279]</ref><ref>Albrecht Classet, Marilyn Sandidge, ''Friendship in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Age'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=GFPqCLrXET0C&pg=PA209 p. 209]</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Barbarian Plain: Saint Sergius Between Rome and Iran |last= Fowden |first= Elizabeth Key |year= 1999 |publisher= University of California Press |isbn= 0520216857 |page= 9 and note| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=UC5v4mgERxwC&pg=PA9}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title= Blessing Same-Sex Unions: The Perils of Queer Romance and the Confusions of Christian Marriage |last= Jordan |first= Mark D. |year= 2005 |publisher= University of Chicago Press |isbn= 0-226-41033-1|pages= 134 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=qeWZAAAAQBAJ}}</ref> Regardless, in the wake of Boswell's work, Sergius and Bacchus have become popularly venerated in the gay Christian community.<ref>{{cite book |title= Blessing Same-Sex Unions: The Perils of Queer Romance and the Confusions of Christian Marriage |last= Jordan |first= Mark D. |year= 2005 |publisher= University of Chicago Press |isbn= 0-226-41033-1|pages= [https://archive.org/details/blessingsame_jord_2005_000_7860512/page/n148 135]–136 |url= https://archive.org/details/blessingsame_jord_2005_000_7860512|url-access= registration }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title= Holy People of the World: A Cross-Cultural Encyclopedia, Volume 3 |last= Jestice |first= Phyllis G. |year= 2004 |publisher= ABC-CLIO |isbn= 1-57607-355-6 |page= 781 | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=1rdZAAAAYAAJ&dq=Sergius+and+Bacchus+patron+homosexual&q=Sergius+and+Bacchus+homosexual}}</ref> A 1994 [[icon]] of Sergius and Bacchus by the gay [[Franciscan]] iconographer [[Robert Lentz]], first displayed at Chicago's Gay Pride Parade, has become a popular gay symbol.<ref>{{cite book |title= Passionate Holiness: Marginalized Christian Devotions for Distinctive Peoples |last= O'Neill |first= Dennis |year= 2010 |publisher= Trafford Publishing |isbn= 978-1426925054|page= 82''f'' | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=qjl1H9GcetMC&pg=PA82 }}</ref> ==References== {{reflist|2}} == Bibliography == *Attwater, Donald and Catherine Rachel John. ''The Penguin Dictionary of Saints''. 3rd edition. New York: Penguin Books, 1993. {{ISBN|0-14-051312-4}}. *E. Key Fowden, ''The Barbarian Plain: Saint Sergius between Rome and Iran'', The Transformation of the Classical Heritage 28 (Berkeley, 1999). *D. Woods, 'The Emperor Julian and the Passion of Sergius and Bacchus', ''Journal of Early Christian Studies'' 5 (1997), 335&ndash;67. * [[John Boswell|Boswell, John]]. ''Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe'' New York: Villard Books, 1994. {{ISBN|0-679-43228-0}}. ==External links== {{commons category|Saints Sergius and Bacchus}} *[http://www.ucc.ie/milmart/sergorig.html David Woods: The Origin of the Cult of SS. Sergius and Bacchus] *[http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?FSM=10&FSD=7 The Lives of Sts. Sergius and Bacchus from the official Website of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA)] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070526004408/http://www.skt.org.uk/CJdeM1314/The_Church_of_St_Sergius_and_St_Bacchus_TR.html Photographs of the Church of St. Sergius and St. Bacchus, Istanbul] *[https://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/user/scotts/ftp/wpaf2mc/serge.html The Passion of SS. Serge and Bacchus] {{authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Sergius And Bacchus}} [[Category:3rd-century births]] [[Category:303 deaths]] [[Category:4th-century Romans]] [[Category:4th-century Christian martyrs]] [[Category:Saints duos]] [[Category:Groups of Roman Catholic saints]] [[Category:Syrian Christian saints]] [[Category:Military saints]]'