Saints Sergius and Bacchus

Bio

Sergius and Bacchus were young Roman officers and secret Christians who were executed for refusing to sacrifice to Jupiter (allegedly at the Emperor's direct request, and after being given multiple opportunities to recant). If you interrogate their story at all, you realize that this would have been a deliberate act of civil disobedience. We don't know why they did this, and most of their personal details have been lost to history, including their conversion stories. Like many other things in early Christianity, their story was pressed into imperial service, and their "official" hagiography is layered with Byzantine propaganda. After Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, Sergius and Bacchus became patron saints of the army, even though they died as defectors and traitors to the imperial machine.

They were also probably a gay couple in real life, even though some people still insist that they were just "good buddies." Their names are invoked in ancient rites of same-sex union, and their hagiographical tradition often employs romantic and/or erotic tropes to emphasize the intimacy of their relationship. In modern times, they are venerated as patron saints by gay men (and friends).

In this icon, I have interpreted Sergius and Bacchus as the patron saints of queer community defense: guardians of public safety in a world without police. They will walk you home safely after dark and they'll always step in if they see someone being harassed. They know that their bearing commands respect, but their greatest strength is the trust their community places in them. We don't need cops at Pride--we just need Sts. Sergius and Bacchus.

Iconography

• The pink cloaks were first used in a 1994 Robert Lentz icon to indicate that they were a gay couple.
• "LEGIO LXIX" means "Legion 69," which is the funny sex number even if the joke doesn't work in Roman numerals.
• The fish is an ancient Christian symbol used to represent disciples of Jesus. The palm frond is also a traditional symbol for martyrs.
• Many Roman war banners had images of eagles on top, but to paraphrase Ben Franklin, the eagle is a bird of bad moral character. Instead, Sergius and Bacchus' banner has a swan on top, because swans are famously very gay animals who are also very protective of their nests.
• "PROTEGITE INFIRMOS" is Latin for "protect the weak." This is written on a sheet of papyrus, which was a common everyday writing material used by all classes of people in ancient Rome.

Further reading about Sergius and Bacchus

https://qspirit.net/sergius-bacchus-paired-male-saints/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergius_and_Bacchus