When she finds him in Myra, he commissions her as a teacher. Thecla converts many people through her testimony and then, dressed as a man, goes in search of Paul once more. A third attempt is made to kill her, via bulls, but she is once again saved by supernatural fire.Īt this point, the locals give up trying to kill her.

According to this story, seals are man-eaters, but Thecla is covered by heavenly fire that kills the animals. A lioness protects her, and Thecla jumps into a pool full of seals, as a self-baptism. This time, she is thrown nearly naked into an arena full of wild animals. She escapes to find Paul again, and they travel to Antioch.Īfter Paul tells her to wait for baptism, Thecla is nearly raped by a nobleman in Antioch, arrested for fighting off her attacker, and again sentenced to death. According to the story, Thecla is saved from the fire by a miraculous downpour of rain. She is then sentenced to death by burning at the stake. She breaks off her engagement, and she follows Paul to jail where she bribes the jailers and spends a night listening to him describe Christian doctrine. The message that attracts her to Paul is his teaching on chastity and celibacy.

In this work, a young woman named Thecla hears Paul preaching in Iconium and becomes a zealous convert. The Acts of Paul and Thecla is an alternate name for a second-century apocryphal writing also known as The Acts of Thecla.

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