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 1979 that centers on the worship of the phallus.[2]
 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, believes that the phallus is the source of life, beauty, joy, and pleasure.[3]
Cassidy took inspiration for the Montreal temple from a shortly defunct group of the same name he encountered in San Francisco in 1979, which was itself founded in 1973 after another one in Calgary, Alberta in 1972.[4] Cassidy said in 2014 of the San Francisco temple, "They were doing important community outreach, like helping homeless gay youth".[2]
Ceremonial practices
The phallus is to be worshipped, which can be accomplished by a variety of sexual acts, including group masturbation.[5] Semen is also treated with reverence and its consumption is an act of worship.[3] 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.)[6]
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.[3]
Notes
- "Montreal's Penis Temple Dedicated To Every Member", Huffington Post, 30 March 2015.
- Hays, Matthew (2018-03-07). "Inside the Montreal Temple That Worships the Dick". Vice. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
- J. Gordon Melton. (1996). Encyclopedia of American Religions, 5th ed, p. 952. Detroit, MI: Gale, ISBN 0-8103-7714-4.
- Boisvert, Donald L. (2020), Palmer, Susan J.; Geoffroy, Martin; Gareau, Paul L. (eds.), "The Temple of Priapus: Contemporary Phallus Worshippers in Montreal", The Mystical Geography of Quebec: Catholic Schisms and New Religious Movements, Palgrave Studies in New Religions and Alternative Spiritualities, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 151–166, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-33062-0_7, ISBN 978-3-030-33062-0, S2CID 216444489, retrieved 2023-08-22
- 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. S2CID 216444489.