Several Republican-led states have restricted transgender rights. Earlier in the year, several White House executive orders pushed to deny trans identity. But not all Christians are anti-trans. And there is strong evidence of a long history in Christianity of what today could be called “transgender” saints.
There are at least 34 documented stories of transgender saints’ lives from the early centuries of Christianity. Some scholars argue that there were times when Christians not only did not fear transness but saw it as holy. Literature scholar Rhonda McDaniel explains that in 10th-century England, adopting the Christian values of shunning wealth, militarism, and sex made it easier for people to go beyond strict ideas about male and female gender.
Instead of defining gender by separate male and female values, all individuals could be defined by the same Christian values. In the late 12th century, Joseph, born female, joined a monastery in Germany. During his deathbed confession, Joseph told his life story, including his pilgrimage to Jerusalem as a child and his difficult journey back to Europe after the death of his father.
When he finally returned to his birthplace of Cologne, he entered a monastery as a man in gratitude to God for returning him home safely. The person to whom he confessed thereafter continued to refer to him using male pronouns and suggested Joseph’s life was worth emulating. There were no caveats added.
