Much research now suggests that in 4th-century Byzantine, in the Eastern Roman empire, they chose court eunuchs as their models. Many eunuchs became priests, as they were often seen as in some way more ‘holy’ than others. It was also very common for them to become palace officials and they were highly valued for their loyalty to the emperor, as they had no ties to family and offspring. In many ways it made sense to see angels as eunuch-like because they had a very similar relationship to God as eunuchs had with the emperor. As ‘angel’ means ‘messenger’, angels were seen as God’s messengers, gatekeepers, personal attendants and guardians of holy and royal spaces. Dr David Bennett looks at life in the Byzantine Court by looking at religious painting, paying close attention to the Annunciation scene.

David is an author, speaker, and theologian scholar at the University of Oxford who speaks and writes on a wide range of topics including theology, desire, beauty, gender, theodicy, suffering, ethics, and sexuality. He is frequently asked to appear and speak internationally in a variety of settings including churches, academic conferences, national radio and TV including VICE Australia, and on BBC platforms such as the BBC One Documentary, 'Young, Gay, Christian'. As a gay celibate Christian, he seeks to be a fresh voice on the topics of love, holiness, desire and sexuality in order to show how people can live and flourish through Christ’s cross-shaped teaching. He is passionate about equipping the Church to better love the LGBTQI+ and other minority communities, and the art of showing solidarity to those who are different or other to us. His other interests include French, Latin, church history, writing, travel, cooking, reading books, and living in Christian community.

As a member of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s College of Evangelists, David has spoken for Westminster Abbey, Oriel College, St Aldates Church, New Wine Network, HTB, Kings Cross Church London, the Synod of the Church of England, Church of the City NYC, St Edwards School and Magdalen School, Oxford, and much further afield. He offers corporate consulting on diversity and inclusion, as well as work in the academy and with the Church as a theologian scholar and speaker.