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Theology and Sexuality, Vol. 13, No. 1, 79-100 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/1355835806069786

Methodius and Methodologies: Ways of Reading Third-century Christian Sexual Symbolism

Ralph Norman

St Methodius of Olympus, Bishop of Patara and martyr of the Diocletian persecution, uses sexual language in an unusual way. In a treatise on celibacy, The Symposium, he describes the relationship of Christians to Jesus Christ using the language of male orgasm. The cross is described as the moment of Jesus Christ's own ecstatic orgasm, and St Paul is described as a figure inseminated by God. This language is investigated with reference to a variety of selected methodologies, including Christian Platonist perspectives, feminist perspectives, Foucaultian perspectives, and men's studies perspectives.

Key Words: celibacy • ecstasy • language • Methodius of Olympus • orgasm


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