Feast of St. Agnes was beheaded at 13 when she refused to marry (having consecrated her virginity to her true spouse, Jesus) or sacrifice to the gods. The story of Agnes (and other so-called Virgin Martyrs) is not really a conflict between sex and virginity, but about...
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the power of a young woman in Christ to define her own identity vs. a patriarchal culture's claim to identify her in terms of her sexuality. The God she worshiped set a different value on her body, identity, human worth. "Virgin" in this case is a way of saying Free Woman.

Jan 21, 2020 · 6:02 PM UTC

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Replying to @RobertEllsberg
Reading this earlier today meant everything to me, I felt a weight lift. The power of this shift in perspective is truly important. Thank you.
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So glad to hear that. Lots more where that came from here👇
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Replying to @RobertEllsberg
thank you for this beautiful feminist reading.
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Replying to @RobertEllsberg
Have you read father Michael Fuller's book on the Virgin Martyrs? I think you'd like it.