St. Simeon Bachos the Ethiopian Eunuch

A queer black man was welcomed as an early Christian convert in Biblical times.

Aug. 27th, 2022 was the first time the Episcopal church celebrated the official feast day of Simeon Bachos the Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8:26-40).

Simeon was a triple outsider. A gender-queer foreigner from a racial minority. His story highlights how the early Christians welcomed all kinds of folks considered outcasts in society.

In contemporary usage a “eunuch” is a castrated man, but it had a broader definition in ancient times. Biblical eunuchs can stand for all sexual minorities. Literally meaning “the keepers of the bed,” the eunuchs served and guarded the women in royal palaces and wealthy households.

Many, but not all, were both castrated and homosexual. Eunuchs were trusted officials who often rose to senior posts in government.

In the Bible the Ethiopian eunuch is nameless, but he goes by various names in different traditions.  Second-century saint Irenaeus wrote about him as Simeon Bachos the Eunuch and said that he was sent to Ethiopia to preach.  In African tradition his name is known as Qinaqis.  Greek and Russian Orthodox calendars refer to him as Aetius.  He is also named Djan Darada in some Russian sources.  In Eastern Orthodox tradition he is considered to be the same “Simeon the Black” or “Simeon who was called Niger” in Acts 13:1. The Ethiopian Orthodox
Tewahedo tradition refers to him as Bachos.