In this episode I speak with Nik Jovčić-Sas (he/they). Nik is a musician, LGBTQ+ activist, drag queen, and Eastern Orthodox Theologian. Nik grew up in rural Somerset, England within a Serbian family and attended King’s College London to study theology, with a particular focus on the intersection of LGBTQ+ relationships and Orthodox Christian Theology and Identity. Nik has published work on this topic, which you can find links to in the show notes. In the show, you’ll hear Nik talk about doing his activism work as both a committed Christian theologian and someone who identifies as queer—some of Nik’s activism in Belgrade has led to them receiving financial lawsuits from the Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, as well as death threats.
I recorded this episode with Nik a couple of months ago, before the current upsurge of anti-LGBTQ+ protests across Canada—where I am currently as I record this intro and summary in September 2023. He and I obviously don’t talk about those specific protests, but as I showed up just days ago to counter the anti-LGBTQ protestors in my city, Ottawa, I was reminded of my thought-provoking conversation that Nik and I had. Doing activist work as someone who has committed theological roots within a Christian community is an interesting and important position to be in, and in this conversation Nik provides thought provoking but also reality checks about what it’s like for them to do that kind of work.
SHOW NOTES
Read Nik’s academic published work, entitled “The Tradition of Homophobia: Responses to Same-Sex Relationships in Serbian Orthodoxy from the Nineteenth Century to the Present Day.”
Watch Nik’s YouTube video about undergoing “an exoricsm to make him straight” when in Moldova.
Reach out to Nik and/or learn more about the drag night called WIG that he runs in Bath, UK.
CREDIT
The instrumental version of OK Naledi’s song, Bones, is used with permission. Check out the full song here.
LGBTQ+ Activism: Drag Queen and Eastern Orthodox Christian Theologian | Nik Jovčić-Sas.