Hi !
I like what you have written here. It sounds very similar to the claims made by John Boswell, which, unfortunately, have been questioned by many other historians. The one point that I really want to know about is this 'erastai' point. If the two were in fact known as 'erasti' then it does add a huge question over the Catholic position on homosexuality.
The Adelphopoiesis, however, was probably not a same-sex union, but rather a sort of adoption process. To 'make brothers' would most likely be the same sort of 'brother' that Jesus is reported to have had in the N.T. - not brothers as in sons of the same mother and/or father, but more like close companions, or cousins. The rite still exists today in some eastern churches. This is the point mainly contended by other historians, but none that I can find have addressed the 'Erastai' claim.
Is your source John Boswell, or did you find another? And do you know the name of the text which he refers to? It would be pretty easy to check his translation on it, especially the term erastai which is used in many other ancient Greek texts and has a pretty clear meaning.
Comment by LX Murdy
on Sergius and Bacchus: the Gay Catholic Saints
I like what you have written here. It sounds very similar to the claims made by John Boswell, which, unfortunately, have been questioned by many other historians. The one point that I really want to know about is this 'erastai' point. If the two were in fact known as 'erasti' then it does add a huge question over the Catholic position on homosexuality.
The Adelphopoiesis, however, was probably not a same-sex union, but rather a sort of adoption process. To 'make brothers' would most likely be the same sort of 'brother' that Jesus is reported to have had in the N.T. - not brothers as in sons of the same mother and/or father, but more like close companions, or cousins. The rite still exists today in some eastern churches. This is the point mainly contended by other historians, but none that I can find have addressed the 'Erastai' claim.
Is your source John Boswell, or did you find another? And do you know the name of the text which he refers to? It would be pretty easy to check his translation on it, especially the term erastai which is used in many other ancient Greek texts and has a pretty clear meaning.