Phallic saints are representations of

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

s or local

deities A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

who are invoked for

fertility Fertility in colloquial terms refers the ability to have offspring. In demographic contexts, fertility refers to the actual production of offspring, rather than the physical capability to reproduce, which is termed fecundity. The fertility rate ...

. The representations of the phallus are benevolent symbols of prolificacy and reproductive fruitfulness, and objects of reverence and worship especially among barren women and young girls.

Description

Phallic saints are representations of actual

s or local

who are invoked for

. More than vulgar representations of the phallus, phallic saints are benevolent symbols of prolificacy and reproductive fruitfulness, and objects of reverence and especial worship among barren women and young girls.The Minor Themes
ourcivilisation.com The phallic Deities of the Slavic godhood include Yarilo (Yarila, Western Slav. Yarovit, Gerovit, Serbian-Croatian Јarilo) - God awakening nature. His name comes from the root yar - "ardent, frantic, strong" and is associated with ideas about spring fertility. Wed: rus. ardent, spring, ukr. yarny "spring", yarny "spring, young, full of energy, passionate." The Slavic verb yariti has the meaning "to have sexual intercourse." One of the hymns, written on behalf of Yaril himself, says: "I covered the plains with grass and trees with foliage. I bring crops to the fields and offspring to livestock".

Association

Many are legitimate saints who acquired their priapic attributes through the process of

folk etymology Folk etymology – also known as (generative) popular etymology, analogical reformation, (morphological) reanalysis and etymological reinterpretation – is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a mo ...

. Sir William Hamilton (1730–1803) reported that, among the wax representations of body parts then presented as offerings to Cosmas and Damian at Isernia, near

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, on their feast day, those of the

penis A penis (; : penises or penes) is a sex organ through which male and hermaphrodite animals expel semen during copulation (zoology), copulation, and through which male placental mammals and marsupials also Urination, urinate. The term ''pen ...

are the most common. Hamiliton's observations led Richard Payne Knight to write his ''Account of the Remains of the Worship of Priapus'', in which he reproduced examples of the effigies.

List of phallic saints

* Ters, or St. Ters, of

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, whose cult was reported on by Johannes Goropius Becanus. He was also named Semini or God Jumenas. * Saints Cosmas and Damian, twin physicians, one of whose cult-centers was Isernia, in Italy. * Saint Guignolé (Winwaloe), first Abbot of Landévennec, who acquired his priapic status by confusion of his name with ''gignere'' (Fr. ''engendrer'', "to beget"). His shrine was not destroyed until 1793.Worship of the Generative Powers: Priapus Worship
sacred-texts.com * Saint Foutin, by assimilation of the name of Pothin (Pothinus), first

bishop of Lyon The Archdiocese of Lyon (; ), formerly the Archdiocese of Lyon–Vienne–Embrun, is a Latin Church metropolis (religious jurisdiction), metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The archbishops of Lyon are also called Primate o ...

, to the verb ''foutre'' (“to

fuck ''Fuck'' () is profanity in the English language that often refers to the act of sexual intercourse, but is also commonly used as an intensifier or to convey disdain. While its origin is obscure, it is usually considered to be first attested ...

”). People worshipped the phallus of St. Foutin by pouring wine on it. * Saint Guerlichon (Greluchon) at Bourg-Dieu. * Saint Giles (Aegidius) at Cotentin. * Saint Rene in Anjou (by confusion with ''reins'', "

kidney In humans, the kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped blood-filtering organ (anatomy), organs that are a multilobar, multipapillary form of mammalian kidneys, usually without signs of external lobulation. They are located on the left and rig ...

s" - once believed to be the seat of sexual power).

References

{{Reflist Folk saints Fertility gods Love and lust gods Phallic symbols Sexuality in Catholicism Types of saints

Description

Association

List of phallic saints

See also

References