St. Priapus Church
![]() Priapus, a divine personification of the penis
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Founder | |
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D.F. Cassidy | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Religions | |
Paganism | |
Scriptures | |
Scripture of the Holy Seed | |
Languages | |
English, French |
St. Priapus Church (French: Église S. Priape), also known as Temple of Priapus, is a North American pagan[1] religion founded in the 1980s that centres on the worship of the phallus.
St. Priapus Church was founded in Montreal, Quebec, by D. F. Cassidy and has found a following mainly among homosexual men in Canada and the United States. The church, which is named after the Greek god Priapus, teaches that the phallus is the source of life, beauty, joy, and pleasure.[2] The phallus is to be worshipped, which can be accomplished by a variety of sexual acts, including group masturbation.[3] Semen is also treated with reverence and its consumption is an act of worship.[2] Similarly, fellatio is strongly encouraged; St. Priapus Church sees it as a mitzvah, a good deed which has positive effects not just for the recipient but for society in general, a practice facilitating world peace. (Well-fellated men, the church teaches, are less likely to make war.)[4] Images of the phallus are personified as deities, particularly Priapus, and Pan which are revered in religious practices. The religious practices are a mixture between pagan phallus worship as well as the structure of a Mass.[5] During the services, the congregation is naked with the exception of the priest. Phallic statues and candles are incorporated in the worship as well as phallic-centered prayers. Along with group masturbation, group sex also may take place.[6] The church also serves as a non-profit charity and food dispensary for people suffering from HIV and AIDS.[7]
Although the membership of the church is primarily gay, with some presence of non-gay men who have sex with men, it is not officially gay and does not exclude non-gays. Similarly, while members of the church are overwhelmingly male, there is no rejection or exclusion of women; any woman who wishes to worship the phallus and its semen is welcome, and there have been occasional female participants.[citation needed]
The Scripture of the Holy Seed, also informally called the Bible of Man Worship, is the official religious text of the church. It is written in a similar way to that of the Judeo-Christian scriptures, with passages about a savior and sacrifice, but with erotic and sexual meanings.[8]
There are nine centres of the church in Canada and eight in the United States. The largest membership of the church resides in San Francisco, California, and it has its headquarters in Montreal.[2]
See also
Notes
- ↑ "Montreal's Penis Temple Dedicated To Every Member", Huffington Post, 30 March 2015.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 J. Gordon Melton (1996, 5th ed.). Encyclopedia of American Religions (Detroit, Mich.: Gale) ISBN 0-8103-7714-4 p. 952.
- ↑ Wayne Dynes (ed., 1990). Encyclopedia of Homosexuality (New York: Garland) p. 779.
- ↑ Daniel Eisenberg, "Pasado, presente y perspectivas del teléfono erótico," El cortejo de Afrodita. Ensayos sobre literatura hispánica y erotismo [Actas del Segundo Coloquio Internacional de Erótica Hispana], Analecta Malacitana, anejo 11, Málaga, 1997, ISBN 8492217235, pp. 105–114.
- ↑ http://radicalfaeries.tribe.net/thread/1fa402f1-705f-45eb-b6a2-4c2c15d4d5b8
- ↑ http://www.timeout.com/newyork/sex-dating/get-naked-90
- ↑ http://www.paganspace.net/profiles/blogs/sin-of-onan-sexualized-abrahamism
- ↑ http://www.scribd.com/doc/73222726/Bible-of-Man-Worship-Volume-2-MS-Word
References
- Andy Nyberg, "St. Priapus Church: The Organized Religion", The Advocate, Sep. 1983, pp. 35–37
External links
- Articles containing French-language text
- Articles with unsourced statements from May 2015
- Gay culture in the United States
- Gay men's organizations
- International LGBT organizations
- LGBT religious organizations
- Male masturbation
- Masculism
- New religious movements
- Organizations based in Montreal
- Pagan religious organizations
- Penis
- Syncretism