Historical Context

The Cyrenaic school was founded by Aristippus (c. 435-356 B.C.), a follower of Socrates and a rough contemporary of Plato. The name ‘Cyrenaic’ comes from Cyrene, Aristippus’ home town, a Greek colony in Northern Africa.

The Cyrenaics are unabashed sensual hedonists: the highest good is my own pleasure, with all else being valuable only as a means to securing my own pleasure, and bodily pleasures are better than mental pleasures. Their iconoclastic theory stands well outside the mainstream of Greek ethical thought, with the traditional virtues of moderation, justice, and friendship being disparaged by them.

–From the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Today

We claim the Cyrenaics as our philosophical ancestors. The Cyrenaian Hedonic Church is both a spiritual body and a living archive of heirophilic play. We hold these two truths in balance:

The Church

We are a community bound by covenant, rooted in the pursuit of ecstatic truth, consent as sacred law, and the reclamation of pleasure as holy. We create liturgy, ritual, and doctrine not to bind the spirit but to free it, offering those who join us a framework of belonging, reverence, and shared language.

A Resource for Heirophilic Play

Heirophilia is the sexual attraction or arousal from religious symbols, objects or related items. We also recognize the need for tools, knowledge, and guidance for those who approach kink through the lens of ritual, blasphemy, and devotion. Here you will find definitions, safety practices, writings, and creative frameworks that honor the body as altar and desire as offering.

These Two Facets…

…the Church and the Resource, are distinct, yet intertwined. The Church offers vision, covenant, and communal rites. The Resource offers practical knowledge, reference, and inspiration for play.

Some will walk with us as celebrants of the Church. Others will come simply for insight into heirophilic practice. Both are welcome.