St. Priapus Church (french: Église S. Priape), also known as Temple of Priapus, is a

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

religion founded in the 1980s that centres on the worship of the

phallus A phallus is a penis (especially when erect), an object that resembles a penis, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. In art history a figure with an erect penis is described as ithyphallic. Any object that symbolically—or, more precisel ...

Formation and tenets

St. Priapus Church was founded in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, by D. F. Cassidy and has found a following mainly among

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

men in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The church, which is named after the Greek god

Priapus In Greek mythology, Priapus (; grc, Πρίαπος, ) is a minor rustic fertility god, protector of livestock, fruit plants, gardens and male genitalia. Priapus is marked by his oversized, permanent erection, which gave rise to the medical term ...

, teaches that the phallus is the source of life, beauty, joy, and pleasure.

J. Gordon Melton John Gordon Melton (born September 19, 1942) is an American religious scholar who was the founding director of the Institute for the Study of American Religion and is currently the Distinguished Professor of American Religious History with the Ins ...

. (1996). ''Encyclopedia of American Religions'', 5th ed, p. 952. Detroit, MI: Gale, .

Ceremonial practices

The phallus is to be worshipped, which can be accomplished by a variety of sexual acts, including group

masturbation Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combinatio ...

Semen Semen, also known as seminal fluid, is an organic bodily fluid created to contain spermatozoa. It is secreted by the gonads (sexual glands) and other sexual organs of male or hermaphroditic animals and can fertilize the female ovum. Semen i ...

is also treated with reverence and its consumption is an act of worship. Similarly, fellatio is strongly encouraged; St. Priapus Church sees it as a

commandment Commandment may refer to: * The Ten Commandments * One of the 613 mitzvot of Judaism * The Great Commandment * The New Commandment * ''Commandment'' (album), a 2007 album by Six Feet Under * ''Commandments'' (film), a 1997 film starring Aidan Qui ...

, 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.)Daniel Eisenberg. (1997). Pasado, presente y perspectivas del teléfono erótico. ''El cortejo de Afrodita. Ensayos sobre literatura hispánica y erotismo'', anejo 11, pp. 105–114. nbsp;''Actas del Segundo Coloquio Internacional de Erótica Hispana'' (1997), Málaga ], ''Analecta Malacitana''. .

Membership

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

Notes

{{Reflist

References

*Andy Nyberg. (1983-09). St. Priapus Church: The Organized Religion. ''

The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * ''The Advocate'' (LGBT magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States *''The Harvard Advocate'', a literary magazin ...

'', pp. 35–37. Gay culture in Canada Gay culture in the United States Gay men's organizations International LGBT organizations LGBT culture in Montreal LGBT religious organizations Male masturbation Masculism New religious movements Organizations based in Montreal Modern pagan organizations established in the 1980s Human penis Religious syncretism Modern paganism in Canada

Formation and tenets

Ceremonial practices

Membership

See also

Notes

References