In honor of gay pride month I am going to start out this Saint Sunday with an Eastern Orthodox Saint; it is St Sergius and Bacchus.
Sergius and Bacchus were soldiers under the Emperor Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximus Augustus; and were held in high favor of the Emperor. Being Early Christendom, they tried to convert their fellow soldiers to the word of the one true God. Emperor Maximus became aware of their transgressions and brought them to the Temple of Jove. At the Temple, Emperor Maximus ordered them to pay sacrifice to Jove, but Sergius and Bacchus refused to pay tribute to a false God. Emperor Maximus became enraged and had Sergius and Bacchus stripped of their uniform, had their golden torcs removed and then were dressed in womens clothing and beaten and dragged through the streets. They were then brought before Emperor Maximus again and were told to refute their God and offer sacrifice to Jove, yet again Bacchus and Sergius refused. Emperor Maximus then had them put in the stocks for public humiliation and beaten for the public to see. Sergius and Bacchus, being lovers and messmates sang and prayed to God for peace and comfort. The third time they brought Sergius and Bacchus to Emperor Maximus, Bacchus was so badly beaten that he was dripping with blood, he had finally sucumb to his wounds. A voice was heard from the heavens denouncing the gods of Jove as just fables, and God opened his arms to Bacchus. The body of Bacchus was ordered not to be buried with proper funerary rites, but to be thrown into the wilderness to be picked apart by animals. When Bacchus’s Body laid in the wilderness the birds of the sky hovered around his mutilated body and did not allow animals or thieves to even get close. Sergius was so terribly distraught by the loss of his beloved Bacchus that he wept; and like an Angel of the Lord he appeared in full army vestments. He told Sergius to not weep for him that he was made whole and a soldier in the lord’s army. Sergius with renewed faith was sent before Emperor Maximus, who was hoping after the loss of Bacchus he would be a broken man. Emperor Maximus ordered him once again to make sacrifice to Jove and he refused again. The Emperor was so enraged, that he ordered that Sergius be placed in boots with nails piercing them and forced to march to the fort of Tetrapyrgia, while being pulled by a chariot. Once he reached the fort it appeared that Sergius was unfazed by the boots and the long journey. He was ordered to run nine miles to Resapha. When he arrived, Emperor Maximus asked him again if he had seen the folly of his ways and once again ordered him to sacrifice a beast in the temple of Jove. He once again refused to sacrifice to Jove and was then ordered to be tried in a tribunal. The tribunal found him guilty and he was sentenced to death by decapitation. When he was brought to be publicly executed a huge crowd gathered man and woman, bird and beast came and gathered in a peaceful union as holy Sergius was led to the platform. He asked the guards for a moment of prayer where upon he made the sign of the cross and said “ I intrust my soul to you. . .” After that he was beheaded in a crowd of silence, no animal was heard and no one wept. Emperor Maximus ordered his body to be burned so no one would take his corpse and martyr him. That night they lit the fires to burn Sergius’ body, and the flames were huge and rose like a pillar to the heavens; where he was reunited with his beloved Bacchus and God.
St Sergius and Bacchus are patrons of: Athletes, Soldiers, Nomads, Same-Sex Union, Homosexual Love, and Brotherhood.
Saints Feast Day are October 7 and 8th.
When doing Prayers to St. Sergius and Bacchus use a white and red candle connected together with a gold cord.
Prayer to St. Sergius and Bacchus for Same Sex Love
Blessed are you St Sergius and Bacchus
Who were tortured in their beliefs
Blessed are you St Sergius who wept for the loss of his love
Blessed are you Holy Bacchus who dried St Sergius’ tears and renewed his faith
Praises to the God on High who reunited Holy Bacchus and St Sergius in the celestial Heavens
Blessed are you St Sergius and Bacchus for guiding my love as your love was guided.
Grant me the truest love like you have found St Sergius and Bacchus
That I too may be connected with my love on earth and in the celestial kingdom amen
Golden Torc Bread
1 package of Yeast
1 cup of warm water (not hot)
¼ cup sugar
⅓ cup oil
3 large eggs
2 tablespoon sea salt
5 ½ cups bread flour
2 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons honey
Take your mixing bowl add your yeast and dissolve it in the warm water add a pinch of sugar to feed the yeast and allow it to stand for 10 minutes. Yeast is alive so you do not want your water too hot.
Mix the oil and two of the three eggs into the yeast mixture mixing them in slowly adding in the sugar, still keep mixing this slowly, we are not at a race. Slowly add the flour till you get a nice doughy consistency. The kind of dough you just want to knead your worries away
Take dough out of the bowl and flour it till it is smooth and knead for 15 minutes. Clean out your mixing bowl and then grease the bowl, you can use some Extra Virgin Olive Oil on a paper towel. Then cover and let rise till it has doubled in size it will take about an hour (do not refrigerate it)
After an hour knead it again in the bowl and then recover and let it set for 45 minutes
Take floured loaf and place it on a floured board, divide the dough into three equal parts and then roll it into three large ropes. Braid these pieces together and let stand for 30 minutes
Line a baking sheet with wax paper and place on the sheet in a circular formation like a golden collar or a torc. preheat your oven to 375
Mix the egg and the melted butter (make sure the butter is not to hot that it scorches the egg) and the honey and brush onto the top of the braid
Cook for 35-40 minutes until golden brown
St Sergius and Bacchus incense
4 Bay leaves also known as laurels
2 ounces of Santo Palo Dust
4 ounces of crushed lavender flowers
2 ounces white copal
crush the four bay leaves til they are not recognisable as the bay leaves, Shave down the Santo Palo, then add the lavender for peace, and the copal for clarity. Burn over a charcoal
It seems very difficult to find a love that can last the ages, but when you do, your heart will ring true. St Sergius and Bacchus found that love and faith and were persecuted for their beliefs. They held to their love and faith with a steadfast passion. During your life, look for that same passion, play hard and love even harder. Your soul longs for celestial companionship, open your eyes and your heart and you will find it. Ase Papa O
Lovely.
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