Closets, Mothballs and Panic Attacks In Church Pews.
Survival of the queerest.
Sterile, sanitized, disinfected, aseptic.
That’s what I wanted to be when I grew up, untouched by the ‘filth’ I kept hearing about that resided in my soul.
God makes no mistakes, and somehow there was a mistake in my body. The fault lying nowhere else but with me.
I was passing by one of my favorite churches in the capital city of Cyprus, ‘Panagias Faneromenis’ Dedicated to Mother Mary.
Whenever I pass a temple I feel drawn to, I like to light a candle and say prayers of protection over my family members and loved ones followed by a few moments of quiet reflection and gratitude.
As I lit my candle and passed by the desk with information pamphlets about upcoming church services, my eye caught on the magazine pictured above, ‘FREE!’ for anyone to take and read.
I flicked to the first page and was greeted with the title ‘We say YES! To the Greek Orthodox Family.’
‘Unfortunately dear readers, the developments on the holy matters of our faith, like the eternal union of the family are negative…Recently the Greek Government passed ‘marriage’ and even 'adoption of children for homosexual ‘couples’. This blew a deep wound into the eternal and traditional marriage as well as the family. This fact will be written with dark colors in the history of our nation…politicians who claim to be Christian voted for the caricature of so called ‘marriage’, against the law of God and the law of nature! We will continue our struggle for the Greek Orthodox family with the help of God!’
I picked up this pamphlet on a sunny day in Cyprus of 2025 as an adult who through years of pain and suffering finally knows who she is, both in the eyes of God and within herself. Complete, loved and whole.
This pamphlet is accessible to all, the right wing extremist who would love nothing more than to see my annihilation, the sweet grandma who hangs on to every word the church teaches so she can raise her grandchildren in the right path, the lost, hurting soul who has entered the sanctuary to find comfort, the queer kid who has been kicked out of their house.
The pamphlet is clearly stating homosexual people who love each other are not only against the laws of nature (freaks) but also the law of God (condemned). And they need to be fought against with the help of God, almost like a crusade in the name of 'The holy family of God.’
The church historically has raised similar crusades towards various people groups through the centuries. Women, people of color, mixed race couples. It just so happens the scapegoats of the last few decades are LGBTQ people.
A handful of men, interpreting ancient texts through their distorted lens, picking a scapegoat to target ‘In the name of God’, convincing the voting masses all their problems will be solved once this sub human, freak, population is ‘fought against with the power of God.’ The witch hunts, the crusades, the owning of human slaves, the KKK, the anti-lgbt far right…
According to ILGA-Europe’s Executive Director, Evelyne Paradis: “At ILGA-Europe, we have been saying for years now that hate speech in all its forms translates into actual physical violence. This year, we have seen that violence become increasingly planned and deadly, leaving LGBTI people feeling unsafe in countries across Europe. We have seen proof that anti-LGBTI hate speech is not just the words of marginal leaders or would-be autocrats, but a real problem with dire consequences for people and communities. This phenomenon is not only in countries where hate speech is rife, but also in countries where it is widely believed that LGBTI people are progressively accepted.” - https://www.ilga-europe.org/press-release/deadliest-rise-anti-lgbti-violence-decade/
This is happening in the Europe of supposed human rights, we have not even touched on the regions of the world where LGBT folk have no legal recognition let alone legal protection.
When you convince the masses ‘In the name of God’ that some humans are in fact ‘sub-human’ the notion of equal human rights does not even enter the conversation.
With privilege comes responsibility, if you do not take the responsibility, you may lose your privilege.
‘Love is love’ rainbow stickers won't cut it.
The lives of LGBTQ people are in actual danger globally. If there is no push-back from every single moral, ethical person who values human rights, tomorrow, another people group will be added to the scapegoat list.
Contrary to what they'd love for you to believe, your every day acts of kindness can and will, actually, change the world.