The Cult of Saint Thecla

The Cult of Saint Thecla
Author: Stephen J. Davis
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2008-10-02
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0199548714

Thecla, a disciple of the apostle Paul, became perhaps the most celebrated female saint and 'martyr' in the early church. Bringing together literary, artistic, and archaeological evidence, the author shows how the cult of Saint Thecla was especially popular among early Christian women.

The Apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla

The Apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla
Author: Jan N. Bremmer
Publisher: Peeters Publishers
Total Pages: 228
Release: 1996
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9789039001523

This is the first modern book, which studies the most important aspects of this early Christian treatise, of which especially the Acts of Thecla and the Martyrdom of Paul were immensely popular in the Christian Church from Armenia to Anglo-Saxon England. The volume studies (1) the readership of the Acts, (2) important themes such as the resurrection, possible gnostic elements, the role of women (with a detailed study of the Acts of Thecla), Paul's encounter with the lion, his physiognomy, the events after Paul's martyrdom, the relationship with the canonical Acts and the text of the famous Codex Bezae, parallels with the Old and New Testament, and (3) the popularity of Thecla in later times. The wealth of episodes and details in these Acts makes the book of great interest to church historians, ancient historians, students of the New Testament, early Christianity, the ancient novel and of Women's Studies.

The Life of Thecla

The Life of Thecla
Author: Andrew S. Jacobs
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 99
Release: 2024-05-31
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1666746428

Thecla was one of the most venerated saints in late antiquity. One of her followers created the Life of Thecla as an act of devotion in the fifth century, rewriting the popular Acts of Thecla and transforming it into the heroic saga of a saint. Replete with long speeches, dramatic flourishes, and literary flamboyance, the Life of Thecla gives modern readers insight into the ways a gender-bending apostolic saint could be reframed and reimagined for later audiences. This first modern English translation of the Life explores its relationship with the earlier Acts as well as its place in fifth-century concerns about miracles, healing, sainthood, and sexuality.

Thecla and Medieval Sainthood

Thecla and Medieval Sainthood
Author: Ghazzal Dabiri
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2023-12-21
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781009005050

Saint Thecla was one of the most prominent figures of early Christianity who provided a model of virginity and a role-model for women in the early Church. She was the object of cult and of pilgrimage and her tale in the Acts of Paul and Thecla made a tremendous impact on later hagiographies of both female and male saints. This volume explores this impact on medieval hagiographical texts composed in Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopic, Greek, Irish, Latin, Persian, and Syriac. It investigates how they evoked and/or invoked Thecla and her tale in constructing the lives and story worlds of their chosen saints and offers detailed original readings of the lives of various heroines and heroes. The book adds further depth and nuance to our understanding of Thecla's popularity and the spread of her legend and cult.

The Cult of Saint Thecla

The Cult of Saint Thecla
Author: Stephen J. Davis
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2001
Genre: History
ISBN: 0198270194

"Thecla, a disciple of the apostle Paul, became perhaps the most celebrated female saint and 'martyr' among Christians in late antiquity. In the early church, Thecla's example was associated with the piety of women - in particular, with women's ministry and travel. Devotion to Saint Thecla quickly spread throughout the Mediterranean world: her image was painted on walls of tombs, stamped on clay flasks and oil lamps, engraved on bronze crosses and wooden combs, and even woven into textile curtains. Bringing together literary, artistic, and archaeological evidence, often for the first time, Stephen Davis here reconstructs the cult of Saint Thecla in Asia Minor and Egypt - the social practices, institutions, and artefacts that marked the lives of actual devotees. From this evidence the author shows how the cult of this female saint remained closely linked with communities of women as a source of empowerment and a cause of controversy."--Jacket.

Thecla's Devotion

Thecla's Devotion
Author: J.D. McLarty
Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand
Total Pages: 268
Release: 2018-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 022717657X

Thecla's Devotion studies plot and character within the Thekla episode of the Acts of Paul, reading the text against contemporary pagan romance in order to explore Christian identity formation.

Out of the Shadows, the Acts of Paul and Thecla

Out of the Shadows, the Acts of Paul and Thecla
Author: Bernard Brandon Scott
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 87
Release: 2024-08-27
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

Thecla is one of the strangest characters from Christianity's past. She falls in love with the apostle Paul's teaching on continence, twice faces martyrdom, fights with beasts in the arena, cuts her hair, cross-dresses, baptizes herself, and becomes a preacher. Tertullian tried to silence her story and the Pastoral Epistles warned about women like her. The Acts of Paul and Thecla was widespread and popular but then was hidden away in the Apocrypha. In recent years, Thecla has come out of the shadows. Her story reframes conventional views of second-century Jesus communities. Out of the Shadows offers a vibrant and accessible modern translation and commentary.

The Acts of Paul and Thecla

The Acts of Paul and Thecla
Author: Jeremy W. Barrier
Publisher: Mohr Siebeck
Total Pages: 268
Release: 2009
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9783161499982

Sometime in the second century, an early Christian text began to circulate called the Acts of Paul and Thecla . Since then, the tale of the apostle Paul, along with his strong heroine co-worker named Thecla, has received much attention as an independent source of information about earliest Christianity for what it might tell us about the role of women in ministry and the relationship women may have had to Paul in his missionary activities. In this volume, Jeremy W. Barrier provides a critical introduction and commentary on the Acts of Paul and Thecla, to serve as a user-friendly starting point for anyone interested in entering into the many discussions and academic writings surrounding the Acts of Paul and Thecla . Apart from a critical text with English translation, followed by textual notes and general comments, the author also offers an extensive introduction to the text.

The Passion of Thecla

The Passion of Thecla
Author: Edward N. Brown
Publisher: Crystal Sea Books
Total Pages: 142
Release: 2020-08-02
Genre:
ISBN: 9781733827188

Fresh and exciting insights into: The First Female Christian MartyrThe First Female Christian Missionary and EvangelistThe First Christian FeministThe First Christian Hermitess and AsceticThe Teenager who became a Saint"The Passion of Thecla: Faith and Fortitude", by Edward N Brown, is Christian Historical Fiction at its best - easy reading and entertaining, but informative and inspiring!This book is a story that revolves around two characters: a great man who became a legend and a saint, and a great woman who has long lingered in obscurity. The great man is Saint Paul, the Apostle. The setting is his First Missionary Voyage to spread the Gospel to the Gentiles. The year is 47 AD. What happened there stunned the world forever!This is the faith journey of a young girl.A story of passion, courage, and fortitude.Her lifestyle choices would become legendary.Her exploits would become renowned.And she would become a saint in Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Episcopal, and Coptic religious traditions.But her name would fade from history.So who was she? And what happened?So, is it fact or fiction? According to the author, "The story is speculative, but soundly based on the Bible and credible historical records. It may have all happened just like this!"

Desiring Conversion

Desiring Conversion
Author: B. Diane Lipsett
Publisher: OUP USA
Total Pages: 201
Release: 2011-01-27
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0199754519

Lipsett's approach is theoretically versatile, drawing on the writings of Foucault, psychoanalytic theorists, and the ancient literary critic Longinus. Lipsett offers close readings of each story, while advancing discussions of ancient views of desire, masculinity, virginity, and the self. --Book Jacket.