SAINT SERGIUS AND SAINT BACCHUS

OCTOBER 7th the Religion of Antinous honors St. Sergius and St. Bacchus, Christian patron saints of male-male love.

They were inseparable officers in the Roman army stationed in Syria during the reign of Emperor Maximian, who was fond of them and honored them repeatedly, which gave rise to jealousy in the court. 

A rival denounced Sergius and Bacchus, accusing them of not venerating the ancient gods of Rome, and of being Christians. When summoned to sacrifice to the genius of the Emperor, as was the Roman custom, Sergius and Bacchus refused.

They were imprisoned and subjected to a long series of tortures aimed at forcing them to sacrifice to the gods. They were stripped of their uniforms and made to walk through the streets wearing the clothing of women, a strange form of humiliation not usually inflicted on Christians, but a sign that their sexuality was being used to mock the saints.

Bacchus was beaten to death, but Sergius proved to be considerably  stronger than any torture that the Pagans could subject him to. When he was on the verge of surrender, and in despair, the spirit of Bacchus appeared to him and said: 

"Why do you grieve and mourn, brother? If I have been taken from you in body, I am still with you in the bond of union — Hurry then, yourself, through beautiful and perfect confession to pursue and obtain me."

Sergius was so strengthened that he could not be compelled to betray his faith, and the pagans chopped off his head.

For their strength and for the valor of their love for one another, and because for so many centuries they have remained the champions of homosexual love and devotion, we honor the Christian Saints Sergius and Bacchus as saints of the Religion of Antinous.

NOMINATIONS FOR SAINTHOOD 2026 NOW BEING ACCEPTED BY OUR PRIESTS

THE time has come to Nominate Gay Saints of Antinous for 2026.

Before making a nomination, please check the current LIST OF SAINTS to be sure that your suggestion is not listed already.

All nominations will be considered, but as a reminder, our traditional criteria is as follows:

I. A Nominee for Sainthood must be:

    1. A person who is no longer alive.

    2. A person who was known to be Gay or reasonably suspected to have been Gay or bisexual to a significant degree.

    3. A person who made a notable contribution to gay society or human society in general.

II. A Nominee for the category of Martyr Saint should be:

    1. Any gay person who committed suicide or was the victim of gay violence.

III. A Nominee for the category of Venerable Saint can be:

    1. Any person who was not gay, or whose homosexuality is uncertain, but who made a significant contribution to gay society or gay spirituality that we feel deserves to be recognized in an official capacity.

IV. Members of Ecclesia Antinoi, and those they love may be nominated for passage on the Barque of Millions of Years.

The deadline for nominations is October 25th, any nominations made after that date will have to be added to the nomination list for 2027.  Discussion is open to all considering the qualifications of any nomination.  The Priesthood of Antinous will make the final decision...an announcement will be made on October 30th, and a ceremony of consecration will proceed that evening.

May the Saints of Antinous be with us,

Watch over us,

And guide us to Antinous Consciousness.

Antonivs N. Svbia

Flamen Antinoalis

WE RAISE A TOAST TO ANTINOUS AT THE AURA PLACIDUS WINE FESTIVAL

OCTOBER 5th is Aura Placidus, the autumnal feast of Dionysus, deity of liberation and ecstatic transcendence over death as symbolized by divine intoxication. 

Aura Placidus means "gentle breeze" and today is a day to simply enjoy a day of rest. 

For Dionysus, it was a day of rest after the gathering of the grapes and preparing them for fermentation ... and maybe having a taste or two, just to see how it was getting on.

The Aura Placidus was celebrated with singing, dancing and games ... and with much feasting and drinking.

Antinous traditionally has been identified with Dionysus "Twice Born" of mortal woman and divine radiance. 

Antinous/Dionysus reminds you that you are HOMOTHEOSIS ... Gay Man Godliness Becoming the Same in Divine Radiance.

Today we take a break, sit back, and toast Antinous/Dionysus the divine liberator!

ON WORLD ARCHITECTURE DAY WE HONOUR HADRIAN'S PANTHEON

THE first Monday in October is World Architecture Day and Hadrian's Pantheon is one of the most magnificent examples of architecture the world has ever seen. 

Hadrian's Pantheon brings tears to your eyes. Imagine being with ANTONIUS SUBIA as he describes the monolithic columns each carved from a single stone from Egypt ... "as if he could snap his fingers and have such columns appear here" ... and the marble in the interior coming from every corner of Hadrian's vast empire.

Then you stand under the oculus ... the eye of the cosmos ... the most spiritual architectural element anywhere.

ANTINOUS LOVED ANIMALS

OCTOBER 4th is World Animal Day #WorldAnimalDay.

Here, we see how Antinous harvests grapes as a dog looks up at him adoringly, and who can blame it? 

This is the Lanuvium bas-relief. Its inscription describes a group loosely translated as the Companions of Antinous.

The inscription says Antinous was born on November 27th. That is how we know his birthday. 

Join Antinous in loving all creatures!

O Dia Mundial dos Animais: Antinous e cão no basuário Lanuvium. Junte-se a Antinous em amar todas as criaturas! ... El Día del Animal o Día Mundial de los Animales: Antinous y perro en el basrelief de Lanuvium. ¡Únete a Antinoos para amar a todas las criaturas! #worldanimalday  🐶🦊🦁🐵🐔🐥🐼🐷🐨🐸🐝🐞🐍🐌🦋🐙🐠🐁🐢🐯🦇🐫🐳🌍❤️

JASPER, JADE, PERIDOT TRANSMUTE ANGER By Our Crystal Therapy Adviser Martin Campbell

TONIGHT's Discordia Moon (Cancer Third Quarter Moon) confronts us with the challenges of anger suppressed or expressed (perhaps too vehemently in some cases!). My suggestions for crystals to mediate with, through this period, are:

Jasper - this crystal/stone gives you the courage to face and deal with problems which are causing stress or anger. So hopefully will help avoid the anger as it emerges. There are various colours/colors of Jasper so you may want to hold a few different colours to find the one that best helps you get in touch with the courage you are wanting to find.   

Rhodonite - this is a wonderful stone which helps to transmute anger and give the user the strength to heal the cause. It is one of my favourites/favorites!

Red Jade - this is good for releasing anger and letting off steam.

Peridot - this is a beautiful, translucent, green, semi-precious crystal usually found in volcanic areas. It is, perhaps, not surprising, therefore, that it helps you to relieve stress and anger. It is best worn in pendants or rings so the effect is continuous. 

The photo at the top of this entry shows a pendant composed of red jade "apples" and green peridot "leaves" on a wrought wire silver Tree of Life.

Love and Light,

MARTIN

MARTIN CAMPBELL is a priest of Antinous and an author living in Britain who is adept at Antinous Moon Magic in its special forms of pendulum, card reading and crystal magic. He is the author of THE LOVE GOD, a historical novel tracing the life of Antinous from the moment his tousle-haired head emerges from his mother's womb under auspicious stars in Asia Minor to the moment his head sinks beneath the swirling waters of the Nile on a starry evening in Egypt.

THE DISCORDIA MOON THE CANCER THIRD QUARTER MOON

DISCORDIA is the deity we honor during tonight's Cancer Third Quarter Moon, which occurs after the Autumnal Equinox and heralds the onset of Winter in the Northern Hemisphere. For our brothers in the Southern Hemisphere the Discordia Moon signals that hot days will soon be here.

In Antinous Moon Magic, each Lunar Phase represents a Divine Spirit or Archetype. The Spirit of the Discordia Moon is the Spirit of Rage and Fury. It is the embodiment of wrathfulness, exasperation, irritation, dudgeon, bile, gall, malice, combativeness and irascibility. It is as mad as can be and has no more patience.

The key words are: Rage. Wrath. Anger. Dispute. Fighting. Intense Annoyance. Aggravation. Aggression. Conflict. War.

This Lunar Phase takes in all "rage issues" from annoyance with a loud neighbor to all-out physical altercations.

In ages past, this was when the gypsy fortune-teller would do a reading for a young man, saying, "War is coming and you must fight!"

On a psychological level, meditations during this Lunar Phase show where your anger or aggression lies in a reading. On a gay spiritual level, it shows where you need to stand up and assert yourself.

Anger can be a powerful ally, since it is filled with energy that we can harness and use to create change in the world.

It is one of the most cathartic emotions, and it can also be a very effective cleanser of the emotional system.

However, when it becomes a habit, it actually loses its power to transform and becomes an obstacle to growth.

Meditations and rituals during the Discordia Moon can help you in identifying the role anger plays in your life and restoring it to its proper function so that it can bring new energy and expansiveness to your emotional life.