Temple of Priapus
The Temple of Priapus, also known as the St. Priapus Church (French: Église S. Priape), is a North American pagan[1] religion founded in the 1980s that centres on the worship of the phallus.
 Priapus, a divine personification of the penis | |
| Founder | |
|---|---|
| D.F. Cassidy | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Religions | |
| Paganism | |
| Scriptures | |
| Scripture of the Holy Seed | |
| Languages | |
| English, French |
Formation and tenets
The Temple of Priapus 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 group, which is named after the Greek god Priapus, teaches that the phallus is the source of life, beauty, joy, and pleasure.[2]
Ceremonial practices
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; the Temple of Priapus sees it as a commandment, 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 group teaches, are less likely to make war.)[4]
Membership
There are nine centres of the group in Canada and eight in the United States. The largest membership resides in San Francisco, California, and it has its headquarters in Montreal.[2]
Notes
- "Montreal's Penis Temple Dedicated To Every Member", Huffington Post, 30 March 2015.
- J. Gordon Melton. (1996). Encyclopedia of American Religions, 5th ed, p. 952. Detroit, MI: Gale, ISBN 0-8103-7714-4.
- Wayne Dynes [Ed.]. (1990). Encyclopedia of Homosexuality, p. 779. New York: Garland.
- 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. [ Actas del Segundo Coloquio Internacional de Erótica Hispana (1997), Málaga ], Analecta Malacitana. ISBN 8492217235.
References
- Andy Nyberg. (1983-09). St. Priapus Church: The Organized Religion. The Advocate, pp. 35–37.
Further reading
- Boisvert, Donald L. (2020). "The Temple of Priapus: Contemporary Phallus Worshippers in Montreal". In Palmer, Susan J.; Geoffroy, Martin; Gareau, Paul L. (eds.). The Mystical Geography of Quebec: Catholic Schisms and New Religious Movements. Palgrave Studies in New Religions and Alternative Spiritualities. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 151–166. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-33062-0_7. ISBN 978-3-030-33061-3.