The Acts of Paul and Thecla (Acta Pauli et Theclae) is an apocryphal story of St Paul's influence on the young virgin, Thecla. In Judeo-Christian theologies, apocrypha refers to religious Sacred text that have questionable authenticity or are otherwise disputed. ... A 19th century picture of Paul of Tarsus Paul of Tarsus (originally Saul of Tarsus) or Saint Paul the Apostle (fl. ...

It was probably written in the second century, and may well be part of a larger work known as the Acts of Paul. If so, it is attested as early as Tertullian (Bapt. 17:5), who states that the Acts were written in honor of St. Paul, by a presbyter of Asia, whose fraud was identified, and he was degraded from his office, at a date about A.D. 160. Many surviving versions in Greek, and some in Coptic, show that the work was widely disseminated. ( 1st century - 2nd century - 3rd century - other centuries) Events Roman Empire governed by the Five Good Emperors ( 96– 180) – Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius. ... Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullian (b. ... The word Greek has a number of meanings relating to Greece, including: Architecture of Ancient Greece Art in Ancient Greece Greek alphabet Greek colonies Cuisine of Greece Greek salad Ethnic Greek Greco-Turkish relations Greece The Greek People Greek-Americans History of Greece History of Mycenaean Greece History of Ancient... Coptic is an adjective referring to the original inhabitants of Egypt, the Copts. ...

The story of Thecla

The author sets his tale of Paul into the framework of the book of Acts, but this text is ideologically different from the New Testament portrayal of Paul. The Acts of the Apostles (Greek Praxeis Apostolon) is a book of the Bible, which now stands fifth in the New Testament. ... The New Testament, sometimes called the Greek Scriptures, is the name given to the part of the Christian Bible that was written after the birth of Jesus. ...

Here, Paul is travelling to Iconium, proclaiming ‘the word of God about abstinence and the resurrection’. Thecla, a young noble virgin, listens to his ‘discourse on virginity’. Her mother warns her fiancée, Thamyris, that Thecla is devoted to Paul, and his disruptive ‘teaching that one must fear only one God and live in chastity’. Thamyrus and a mob drag Paul to the governor, who imprisons the apostle. Konya (also Koniah, Konieh, Konia, and Qunia; historically known as Iconium) is a city in Turkey, on the central plateau of Anatolia. ... This article is about the religious meaning of the word Resurrection. For other meanings see Resurrection (disambiguation). ...

However, Thecla gains entrance to the prison and sits at Paul’s feet. When her family find her, both she and Paul are brought again to the governor. At her mother’s request, Paul is sentenced to scourging and expulsion, and Thecla to be burnt: that, ‘all the women who have been taught by this man may be afraid.’ Stripped naked, Thecla is put on the fire – but she is unharmed – for God sends hail, rain and an earthquake to put out the flames.

Reunited, Paul and Thecla then travel to Pisidian Antioch, where the nobleman Alexander, takes a romantic interest in Thecla. When she humiliatingly rejects him, he drags her before the governor and, despite the protests of the city’s women, she sentenced to be thrown to wild beasts. To ensure that her virtue is intact until her death, a Queen Tryphaena, takes her into protective custody.

Thecla is tied to a fierce lioness, and paraded through the city. She is then stripped and thrown to beasts, which have been helpfully provided by Alexander. The women of the city again protest against the injustice. But, Thecla is protected: first by the lioness, and then by a series of miracles, until the women of the city and Queen Tryphaena finally intervene. Thecla returns to Paul.

One other ending, has Thecla dwelling in a cave for the next 72 years, then, at age 90, some men come to corrupt her, but Thecla escapes for Rome and is buried with Paul. Location within Italy The Roman Colosseum Rome (Italian and Latin: Roma) is the capital city of Italy and of its Latium region. ...

Significance

Although probably consciously unhistorical, and certainly overstated, the tale reflects ascetic tendencies, and the experience of persecution in early Christianity. However, many have noted that it is also almost erotic, even mildly pornographic in places.

Feminist?

Tertullian (160-230) complains that some Christians were using the example of Thecla to legitimate women's roles of teaching and baptizing in the church (Bapt. 17). This in itself is interesting for reconstruction of early Christianity. Some modern scholars, particularly female scholars, even suggest the Acts of Paul and Thecla as a proto-feminist text. Thecla is abused by men and their world, and yet refuses to conform to its expectations, marriage patterns, and dress code. She boldly asserts her independence, receiving support from many women. However, many contemporary andocentric assumptions are also evident in the text. Women are portrayed as driven by lust (then a common stereotype), and Thecla’s mentor is a man - Paul. Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullian (b. ... Feminism is a social theory and political movement primarily informed and motivated by the experience of women. ...

The cult of St. Thecla of Iconium

In the Eastern Church, the wide circulation of the Acts of Paul and Thecla led to her veneration. She was called "Apostle and protomartyr among women" and even "equal to the apostles". She was widely cited as an ascetic role model. Her cult flourished particularly at Seleucia (where she was said to be buried), Iconium, and Nicomedia. The cult also appeared, at least as early as the fourth century, in Western Europe. In Bede's martyrology, she is celebrated on the 23 September, which is still her feast day in Roman Catholicism. The Orthodox commemorate her on 24th September. (3rd century - 4th century - 5th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ... Depiction of Bede from the Nuremberg Chronicle, 1493 Bede ( Latin Beda), also known as Saint Bede or, more commonly, the Venerable Bede (c. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ...

In Maalula, Syria, there is a monastery of St. Thecla, built near what is said to be her cave. Santa Tecla is the patron saint of Tarragona, Spain. The Syrian Arab Republic or Syria is a country in the Middle East, bordering (from south to north) on Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey. ... Tarragona is a city located in the south of Catalonia, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. ... The Kingdom of Spain or Spain (Spanish and Galician: Reino de España or España; Catalan: Regne dEspanya; Basque: Espainiako Erresuma) is a country located in the southwest of Europe. ...

Paul

Paul is also an ambiguous figure in this work. He is seen a preacher of asceticism, but with whom women are besotted. His teachings lead Thecla into trouble, and yet he is never there when the trouble comes.

The idea of Paul as ascetic preacher, discouraging marriage, stands in opposition to the portrait of Paul in the Pastoral Epistlesof the New Testament. Indeed 1st Timothy 4:1-3 expilicitly condemns forbidding marriage as heresy. However, it is possible to read 1st Corinthians as a Paul more akin to that of the Acts of Paul and Thecla. This text, therefore, is of significance in evaluating Paul's legacy. The three Pastoral Epistles are books of the canonic New Testament: the First Epistle to Timothy (1 Timothy) the Second Epistle to Timothy (2 Timothy), and the Epistle to Titus. ... The New Testament, sometimes called the Greek Scriptures, is the name given to the part of the Christian Bible that was written after the birth of Jesus. ... The three Pastoral Epistles are books of the canonic New Testament: the First Epistle to Timothy (1 Timothy) the Second Epistle to Timothy (2 Timothy), and the Epistle to Titus. ... See also: Second Epistle to the Corinthians and Third Epistle to the Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians is a book of the Bible in the New Testament. ...

The text also gives the earliest, supposed, description of Paul, ‘A man small in size, bald headed, bandy legged, of noble mien, with eye brows meeting, and a rather hooked nose. But full of grace, sometimes he seemed like a man, and sometimes he had the face of an angel.’

Further reading

Eliott, J.K. The Apocryphal New Testament: A Collection of Apocryphal Christian Literature in an English Translation 1993 Oxford: Oxford University Press MacDonald, D.R. 1983 The Legend and the Apostle: The Battle for Paul in Story and Canon Philadelphia: Westminster Press

External link

• Early Christian Writings: (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/actspaul.html) Acts of Paul: episode "The Acts of Paul and Thecla" (e-text) ed. M.R. James 1924