Castration cult

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A number of religious cults have included castration as a central theme of their practice. These include:

• The cult of Cybele, in which devotes castrated themselves in ecstatic emulation of Attis: see Gallus.
• Hijra (India)
• Some followers of early Christianity such as Origen considered castration as an acceptable way to counter sinful desires of the flesh. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians, addressed to churches in the heart of Cybele's territory, warns against the practice (Galatians 5:12). Bishop Melito of Sardis (d. ca 180) was a eunuch, according to the church history of Eusebius of Caesarea, though, significantly the word "virgin" was substituted in Rufino's Latin translation of Eusebius.
• Skoptzy
• Heaven's Gate (cult)

External link

• Susan Elliott, Cutting Too Close for Comfort: Paul's Letter to the Galatians in Its Anatolian Cultic Context Review, in Catholic Biblical Quarterly, October 2004
• Susan Elliott, Cutting Too Close for Comfort: Paul's Letter to the Galatians in Its Anatolian Cultic Context Reviews in Review of Biblical Literature [1]