There is no indication that any church official suggested or supported the emperor's action against gay people. On the contrary, the only persons known by name to have been punished for homosexual acts were prominent bishops.

John Boswell
About This Quote

There is no indication that any church official suggested or supported the emperor's action against gay people. On the contrary, the only persons known by name to have been punished for homosexual acts were prominent bishops. Contextually, this is a quote from the emperor Commodus who became Roman Emperor in 180 AD. He was known to be a cruel and vindictive man who killed his own father for political reasons.

He also had no qualms about being cruel to the people around him, including his own family members. The quote refers to an incident where he ordered that all bishops be killed for their sexual orientation. While there were many bishops who were involved in this incident, it is not known which ones were specifically targeted.

This fact has led some to believe that this was not a case of anti-gay persecution but rather a political purge by Commodus' father, Emperor Marcus Aurelius, who believed his son had become too powerful and needed to be removed.

Source: Christianity, Social Tolerance, And Homosexuality: Gay People In Western Europe From The Beginning Of The Christian Era To The Fourteenth Century

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