Blasphemy charges filed for Greek gay Jesus play "Corpus Christi"

“Corpus Christi” photo by EJ Camp, courtesy of 108 Productions

Blasphemy charges were filed against the actors, producer and director of the gay Jesus play “Corpus Christi” in Greece this month after violent protests forced cancellation of the show.

Greek Orthodox priests and members of the ultra-nationalist Golden Dawn party protested outside the Hytirio theater in downtown Athens almost daily for weeks, according to news reports by Reuters and others. Protestors blocked the theater entrance and clashed with police, forcing the premiere of “Corpus Christi” to be cancelled twice before the whole production was shut down.

Blasphemy laws are rarely enforced in Greece, but director Laertis Vasilio and the cast could face several months in jail if convicted of “malicious blasphemy” and “insulting religion.”

Corpus Christi has been causing controversy since 1998, when bomb threats from religious conservatives almost prevented its Off-Broadway opening. Written by American playwright Terrence McNally, the updated Passion play retells the gospel with Jesus as a gay man in 1950s Corpus Christi, Texas.

“Corpus Christi” continues to be produced around the world, including an international revival tour by 108 Productions that has continued to sell-out audience since 2006.

“We are not involved with the Greek production but have stayed acutely aware of its progress and certainly keep them all in our prayers and thoughts,” said James Brandon, producer, director and actor at 108 Productions, which is based in America. “Although we may get thousands of protest emails daily we are blessed and lucky not to be able to be charged!”

Controversy over the play is explored on film in “Corpus Christi: Playing with Redemption,” a new documentary from 108 Productions (trailer below). The film follows the troupe, playwright and audiences across the United States and around the world on a five-year journey as protestors and supporters clash over a central issue facing the LGBT community: religion-based bias.




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Related links:

Blasphemy charges filed over gay Jesus play in Greece (Reuters)

Greece Prosecutes Corpus Christi for Blasphemy (Greek Reporter)

Rehearsal photos from the Greek production of “Corpus Christi” (Facebook)

Gay Jesus kiss: "Corpus Christi" play behind the scenes (Jesus in Love)

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This post is part of the Queer Christ series series by Kittredge Cherry at the Jesus in Love Blog. The series gathers together visions of the queer Christ as presented by artists, writers, theologians and others.

Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.
http://www.jesusinlove.blogspot.com/
Jesus in Love Blog on LGBT spirituality and the arts

Gay Jesus kiss: "Corpus Christi" play behind the scenes

Jesus kisses a man behind the scenes at “Corpus Christi,” a play about a gay Jesus by Terrence McNally, in a new photo.

A traditional Christ seems to reach across 2,000 years of history to share a kiss with a 21st-century man in a tie-dyed shirt. Jesus is still carrying his cross, but that can’t stop him from expressing man-to-man love with a gay kiss.

The photo was taken in August 2011 at Burning Man in the Nevada desert. It shows Jesus kissing Benjamin Rexroad, who directed a production of “Corpus Christi.”

The play and surrounding controversy are examined in the new documentary film “Corpus Christi: Playing with Redemption.” It will be released in April after five years of filming and two years of edits. The sneak-preview national tour starts in San Francisco with the first official screening on April 28. Watch the new trailer below or at this link.

“Corpus Christi” retells the gospel with Jesus as a gay man in 1950s Corpus Christi, Texas. Bomb threats from religious conservatives almost prevented its Off-Broadway opening in 1998. The acclaimed play has continued to face censorship, protests, bomb threats, blasphemy charges and religious condemnation since an international revival tour by 108 Productions began in 2006.

In the new documentary, anti-gay religious groups meet “the gay Jesus play.” The film follows the troupe, playwright and audiences across the U.S. and around the world on a five-year journey where voices of protest and support collide on one of the central issues facing the LGBT community: religion-based bias.

Related links:
Official website: www.corpuschristi-themovie.com

Doc About “Gay Jesus” Play Corpus Christi Attacked By Christian Groups (Queerty, April 14, 2012)

(Photo courtesy of Benjamin Rexroad)
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This post is part of the Queer Christ series series by Kittredge Cherry at the Jesus in Love Blog. The series gathers together visions of the queer Christ as presented by artists, writers, theologians and others.

Houston Chron interviews lesbian Christian author

“7 questions for lesbian Christian author Kittredge Cherry on Corpus Christi” is posted today at Houston Chronicle. (A shorter version with 6 questions was published in the print newspaper, pictured above.)

They interviewed me about gay Jesus themes and the play “Corpus Christi,” which is sparking controversy now in Texas. News reports say that a Fort Worth production was scheduled, then cancelled, then rescheduled yesterday at another local theater.  Here is a highlight from the interview:

Houston Chronicle: Why do you think representations of a gay Jesus in art are so controversial?

Kittredge Cherry: ANY type of sexual Jesus causes controversy, not just gay Jesus. Remember the fuss over his sexual relationship with Mary Magdalene in "The Da Vinci Code"? Mainstream Christianity has become a rather sex-negative religion, due to Western influences in the first few centuries after Jesus died. Jesus himself was part of a Hebrew culture that viewed the body and the spirit as one sacred whole. The homophobia of today's society makes people especially upset by the possibility that Jesus was gay. They may believe that homosexuality is a sin, but a growing number of Bible scholars now recognize that scripture does not condemn loving, responsible gay or lesbian relationships....

Click here for the whole interview at the Houston Chronicle. You can leave a comment there to encourage more coverage of LGBT spiritual subjects.

The interviewer was artist and art critic Menachem Wecker. His blog, Iconia, is a timely and insightful mix that explores “wherever faith meets art.”
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P.S. on April 14, 2010:

I heard today that my interview is scheduled to run in the Houston Chronicle’s print newspaper this Friday, April 16, in the religion section.

There are now 20 comments pro and con at Chron.com about my interview, including quite a debate over this ignorant statement: “The son of God would not be imperfect, therefore the Jesus could not be a homosexual.”

I agree with the person who replied, “The Jesus I know could be gay, and perfect.”
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P.S. on April 28, 2010:

Special thanks to Edmund in Houston for mailing a copy of the print newspaper to me.