It is ironic that just as the Presbyterian Church is voing on whether to prohibit clergy from participating in the blessing of same-sex unions, John Boswell's newest book, *Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe*, has been published, spreading more light.

In this thorough and scholarly text, Boswell traces the development of marriage -- the vocabulary used, the varieties of heterosexual and same-sex unions, their similarities and differences.

In the chapter on Christianity, the new religion, Boswell traces the development of the marriage rite and states, "As an institution, Christianity remained overwhelmingly ambivalent about most forms of heterosexual marriage during the first millennium of its existence" (p. 111). The use of marriage for procreative purposes was ". . . for controlling sexuality both inside and outside marriage." This was soon strengthened by the influences of Roman civil law and rabbinic teaching, which were to become integral to Christian thought through the ages. Boswell discusses other innovations of the Christian community, including celibacy, fraternalization, and examples of paired saints.

What is most amazing are the examples of ceremonies of same-sex unions in their original language that bear historical proof of the relationships. And also the evidence that such unions were performed in churches and under the leadership of clergy. Boswell says his task as an historian is to present these ceremonies, which he found in his research through the years.

As society became more negative toward homosexuality through time, prohibitions against same-sex unions became fact. "As a result . . ., same sex unions became suspect as in some way legitimizing the sin that could not be named" (p. 263). Amazingly, and gracefully, ceremonies continued to survive and be performed over the years.

People will no doubt ask whether these unions were the same as we consider modern unions? Boswell makes it clear that different periods in history have varied nuances for thinking of unions -- both same-sex and other-sex. What is most clear from the union ceremonies is that same-sex unions were based upon mutual love, while many of the heterosexual unions were based upon property rights, family alliances, doweries, etc. Hopefully they might lead to love later in the relationship. Boswell presents many questions and answers to popular lines of thought throughout his text.

Boswell concludes by making this point: "Recognizing that many -- probably most -- earlier Western societies institutionalized some form of romantic same-sex union gives us a much more accurate view of the immense variety of human romantic relationships and social responses to them than does the prudish pretense that such 'unmentionable' things never happened" (p. 282).

*Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe* is a good place to begin as people realize such unions have their roots in history and also within the church. -- Robert Brozina.

From another review: "He [Boswell] has reclaimed a portion of the gay community's patrimony, and that is a substantial achievement. His history also challenges contemporary church practice with an implicit question: If you blessed these unions for hundreds of years, why not re-institute the practice now?" -- Jerry Bartram, former editor of the British Columbia Catholic newspaper, in the Toronto Globe and Mail, Saturday, August 13, 1994.