Thecla
Encyclopedia
Thecla was a saint
of the early Christian Church, and a reported follower of Paul the Apostle. The only known record of her comes from the apocrypha
l Acts of Paul and Thecla
, probably composed in the 2nd century.
. There a nobleman named Alexander desired Thecla and attempted to take her by force. Thecla fought him off, assaulting him in the process, and was put on trial for assaulting a nobleman. She was sentenced to be eaten by wild beasts
, but was again saved by a series of miracles when the female beasts protected her against her male aggressors. No other early account of Thecla exists.
, the wide circulation of the Acts of Paul and Thecla is evidence of 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 for women. Her society flourished particularly at Seleucia
(where she was said to be buried), Iconium (present day Konya
), and Nicomedia
. The society also appeared, at least as early as the fourth century, in Western Europe. In Bede
's martyrology, Thecla is celebrated on 23 September, which is still her feast day in the Roman Catholic Church
. The Eastern Orthodox Churches commemorate her on 24 September.
A local martyr
legend, of Tecla, may have inspired this episode, in which she was connected to Paul the Apostle. "It is otherwise difficult to account for the very great popularity of the cult of St. Thecla, which spread over East and West, and made her the most famous of virgin martyrs," wrote M.R. James, the editor of this Acta, (James 1924).
, there is a Greek Orthodox nunnery of St. Thecla, Deir Mar Takla, built near what is said to be her cave tomb, reached by stairs in the mountainside, a pilgrimage site with a holy well. The local legend is that the mountain opened miraculously to protect Thecla from her persecutors.
, Vatican
archaeologists of the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology, using laser technology to remove layers of clay and lime rind, discovered a frescoed portrait of St Paul the Apostle, "recognizable by his thin face and dark pointed beard...with small eyes and furrowed brow," which they believe is the oldest image in existence of St Paul, dating from the late fourth century.
of Tarragona
, Spain
, where her feast day is the major fiesta of the city and the cathedral is dedicated to her. In Spain, she is sometimes facetiously referred to as the patron saint of computers (tecla means "key" on a keyboard in Spanish and Catalan
).
The town of Santa Tecla
(Nuevo San Salvador) in La Libertad, El Salvador, and the village of Llandegla
in North Wales
are named after her. In the United States there are three Roman Catholic parishes named for Saint Thecla: in Clinton Township, Michigan
, in Pembroke, Massachusetts
, and in Chicago, Illinois.
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
of the early Christian Church, and a reported follower of Paul the Apostle. The only known record of her comes from the apocrypha
Apocrypha
The term apocrypha is used with various meanings, including "hidden", "esoteric", "spurious", "of questionable authenticity", ancient Chinese "revealed texts and objects" and "Christian texts that are not canonical"....
l Acts of Paul and Thecla
Acts of Paul and Thecla
The Acts of Paul and Thecla is an apocryphal story— Goodspeed called it a "religious romance"— of St Paul's influence on a young virgin named Thecla. It is one of the writings of the New Testament Apocrypha.- The text :...
, probably composed in the 2nd century.
Biography
According to the Acts of Paul and Thecla, Thecla was a young noble virgin who listened to Paul's "discourse on virginity" and became Paul's follower and a Disciple of Paul's teachings and Ministry. Thecla's mother, and her fiancé Thamyris, became concerned that Thecla would follow Paul's demand "that one must fear only one God and live in chastity", and punished both Paul and Thecla. She was miraculously saved from being burned at the stake by the onset of a storm, and traveled with Paul to Pisidian AntiochPisidia
Pisidia was a region of ancient Asia Minor located north of Lycia, and bordering Caria, Lydia, Phrygia and Pamphylia. It corresponds roughly to the modern-day province of Antalya in Turkey...
. There a nobleman named Alexander desired Thecla and attempted to take her by force. Thecla fought him off, assaulting him in the process, and was put on trial for assaulting a nobleman. She was sentenced to be eaten by wild beasts
Bestiarii
Among Ancient Romans, bestiarii were those who went into combat with beasts, or were exposed to them. It is conventional to distinguish two categories of bestiarii: the first were those condemned to death via the beasts and the second were those who faced them voluntarily, for pay or glory...
, but was again saved by a series of miracles when the female beasts protected her against her male aggressors. No other early account of Thecla exists.
Society of Saint Thecla of Iconium
In the Eastern ChurchEastern Christianity
Eastern Christianity comprises the Christian traditions and churches that developed in the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East, Northeastern Africa, India and parts of the Far East over several centuries of religious antiquity. The term is generally used in Western Christianity to...
, the wide circulation of the Acts of Paul and Thecla is evidence of her veneration. She was called "Apostle and protomartyr among women" and even "equal to the apostles
Equal-to-apostles
An equal-to-the-apostles is a special title given to some canonized saints in Eastern Orthodoxy. It is also used by Eastern Rite Catholic Churches that are in communion with Rome...
." She was widely cited as an ascetic
Asceticism
Asceticism describes a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from various sorts of worldly pleasures often with the aim of pursuing religious and spiritual goals...
role model for women. Her society flourished particularly at Seleucia
Seleucia
Seleucia was the first capital of the Seleucid Empire, and one of the great cities of antiquity standing in Mesopotamia, on the Tigris River.Seleucia may refer to:...
(where she was said to be buried), Iconium (present day Konya
Konya
Konya is a city in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. The metropolitan area in the entire Konya Province had a population of 1,036,027 as of 2010, making the city seventh most populous in Turkey.-Etymology:...
), and Nicomedia
Nicomedia
Nicomedia was an ancient city in what is now Turkey, founded in 712/11 BC as a Megarian colony and was originally known as Astacus . After being destroyed by Lysimachus, it was rebuilt by Nicomedes I of Bithynia in 264 BC under the name of Nicomedia, and has ever since been one of the most...
. The society also appeared, at least as early as the fourth century, in Western Europe. In Bede
Bede
Bede , also referred to as Saint Bede or the Venerable Bede , was a monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth, today part of Sunderland, England, and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul's, in modern Jarrow , both in the Kingdom of Northumbria...
's martyrology, Thecla is celebrated on 23 September, which is still her feast day in the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. The Eastern Orthodox Churches commemorate her on 24 September.
A local martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
legend, of Tecla, may have inspired this episode, in which she was connected to Paul the Apostle. "It is otherwise difficult to account for the very great popularity of the cult of St. Thecla, which spread over East and West, and made her the most famous of virgin martyrs," wrote M.R. James, the editor of this Acta, (James 1924).
Tomb of Thecla, Ma'loula
In Ma'loula, SyriaSyria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, there is a Greek Orthodox nunnery of St. Thecla, Deir Mar Takla, built near what is said to be her cave tomb, reached by stairs in the mountainside, a pilgrimage site with a holy well. The local legend is that the mountain opened miraculously to protect Thecla from her persecutors.
Catacomb of Saint Tecla, Rome
In June 2010, on a wall of the Catacomba di Santa Tecla in RomeRome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Vatican
Roman Curia
The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Catholic Church, together with the Pope...
archaeologists of the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology, using laser technology to remove layers of clay and lime rind, discovered a frescoed portrait of St Paul the Apostle, "recognizable by his thin face and dark pointed beard...with small eyes and furrowed brow," which they believe is the oldest image in existence of St Paul, dating from the late fourth century.
Patronage
Santa Tecla is the patron saintPatron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
of Tarragona
Tarragona
Tarragona is a city located in the south of Catalonia on the north-east of Spain, by the Mediterranean. It is the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and the capital of the Catalan comarca Tarragonès. In the medieval and modern times it was the capital of the Vegueria of Tarragona...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, where her feast day is the major fiesta of the city and the cathedral is dedicated to her. In Spain, she is sometimes facetiously referred to as the patron saint of computers (tecla means "key" on a keyboard in Spanish and Catalan
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
).
The town of Santa Tecla
Santa Tecla
Santa Tecla may mean:* A saint: see Thecla* Santa Tecla, El Salvador, formerly named Nueva San Salvador...
(Nuevo San Salvador) in La Libertad, El Salvador, and the village of Llandegla
Llandegla
Llandegla or Llandegla-yn-Iâl is a village and community in the county of Denbighshire in Wales. In the 2001 census, the community had a population of 494.- Name :...
in North Wales
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
are named after her. In the United States there are three Roman Catholic parishes named for Saint Thecla: in Clinton Township, Michigan
Clinton Township, Michigan
Clinton Township is the name of some places in the U.S. state of Michigan:*Clinton Charter Township, Michigan in Macomb County*Clinton Township, Lenawee County, Michigan*Clinton Township, Oscoda County, Michigan...
, in Pembroke, Massachusetts
Pembroke, Massachusetts
Pembroke is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 16,927 at the 2000 census.The southwestern section of Pembroke is also known as Bryantville...
, and in Chicago, Illinois.
See also
- Aya Tekla ChurchAya Tekla ChurchAya Tekla Church, also known as Aya Thecla or Aya Thekla, is a ruins site of an ancient church in Mersin Province, Turkey.- Geography :...
- Leucius CharinusLeucius CharinusLeucius, called Leucius Charinus by the Patriarch Photios I of Constantinople in the ninth century, is the name applied to a cycle of what M. R. James termed "Apostolic romances" that seem to have had wide currency long before a selection were read aloud at the Second Council of Nicaea and rejected...
- Santa Tecla, El SalvadorSanta Tecla, El SalvadorSanta Tecla is a municipality in the La Libertad department of El Salvador. It is the capital of the department of La Libertad.The city was named after Saint Thecla who was a saint of the early Christian Church, and a reported follower of Paul of Tarsus in the 1st century AD...
- Santa Tecla FestivalSanta Tecla FestivalThe Santa Tecla Festival is a festival held in Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain.Plunging into the festivities of Santa Tecla of Tarragona unavoidably involves becoming impregnated with fragrances that link the present times with history, with heritage legacy...
External links
- Acts of Paul and Thecla: translated probably by Jeremiah Jones, (1693–1724)
- Early Christian Writings:`Acts of Paul and Thecla (e-text) ed. M.R. James, 1924.
- Nancy A. Carter, "The Acts of Thecla: a Pauline tradition linked to women"
- Catholic Encyclopedia: Sts. Thecla
- Statue in St Peter's Square