Monastic Desires
Homoeroticism, Homophobia, and the Love of God in Medieval Constantinople
Book •
Derek Krueger's Monastic Desires examines the writings and influence of Symeon the New Theologian (949–1022), arguing that his ecstatic language often uses homoerotic imagery while operating within a broader monastic culture deeply hostile to same-sex desire.
The book situates Symeon within Byzantine theology of theosis and incarnation to show how devotion could be embodied and eroticized, and it analyzes legal, hagiographic, and penitential sources to trace the formation and policing of homophobic norms.
Krueger treats confession, liturgy, saints' lives, and icon veneration to reveal how desire was redirected, disciplined, and ritualized in monastic contexts.
By combining close readings with social-historical archaeology of opprobrium, the work advances the history of sexuality and of medieval Eastern Christianity.
The book situates Symeon within Byzantine theology of theosis and incarnation to show how devotion could be embodied and eroticized, and it analyzes legal, hagiographic, and penitential sources to trace the formation and policing of homophobic norms.
Krueger treats confession, liturgy, saints' lives, and icon veneration to reveal how desire was redirected, disciplined, and ritualized in monastic contexts.
By combining close readings with social-historical archaeology of opprobrium, the work advances the history of sexuality and of medieval Eastern Christianity.
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Michael O. Johnston
Derek Krueger "Monastic Desires: Homoeroticism, Homophobia, and the Love of God in Medieval Constantinople" (Cambridge UP, 2026)
