Autonomy In Thecla

Authorship and Historical Attestation:

Now that Thecla’s tale has been told, one must ask why the story of Thecla was written in such detail. Is Thecla’s story meant to encourage the Late Antiquity female population to rise up and be leaders within their church and community? Or, is Thecla a virtuous example of how a woman should uphold her virginity and chastity if she is not going to be married? One must wonder if Thecla was written by female authors or by men with sympathies for female autonomy. Does this text have anything to do with Thecla, or does it have everything to do with Paul? These are questions I was left with while researching Thecla.

It should be first noted that scholars believe the Acts of Paul and Thecla exists alongside

of a long list of apocryphal works which include 3rd Corinthians, the Martyrdom of Paul, Acts of John, Acts of Peter, Acts of Andrew, and Acts of Thomas. These Pastoral Epistles detail accounts of their leader and explore their communities’ perspective. For this reason, it is assumed that the Acts of Paul and Thecla is more concerned with the life of the Apostle Paul than the actions of Thecla. Glenn Snyder goes so far to say that the Acts of Paul and Thecla is a hagiography of the Apostle Paul. However, it is also presumed that the Acts of Paul was written after the death of Paul and before the death of the Evangelist, John. Certain phrases prescribed within the later codices as noted by Tertullian do not match the earliest codex which is confirmed by Jerome. Peter Dunn, therefore, believes that if Thecla is a historical figure, she met Paul in roughly 40 C.E. and the initial Acts of Paul was completed between 69 to 98 C.E. However, the story of Thecla was not included within the Acts of Paul until the middle of the second century when it then became The Acts of Paul and Thecla. Before then, scholars widely believe Thecla’s tale relied solely on oral tradition. Who happens to be telling this story and why? To answer this question requires some backstory.
The first outside account of Thecla occurs by Tertullian in De Baptismo 17 around 196-206 C.E. De Baptismo states Tertullian belief that a male Presbyter has written the Acts of Paul and Thecla; also, Tertullian assumes that Thecla is a completely falsified individual. Ironically enough, although Tertuallians’s perspective on Thecla is taken at face value, Ross Kraemer wonders if Tertullian’s writing itself is a fabrication. Nevertheless, Tertullian writes:
But if certain Acts of Paul, which are falsely so named, claim the example of Thecla for allowing women to teach and to baptize, let men know that in Asia the presbyter who compiled that document, thinking to add of his own to Paul’s reputation, was found out, and though he professed he had done it for love of Paul, was deposed from his position. How could we believe that Paul should give a female power to teach and to baptize, when he did not allow a woman even to learn by her own right? Let them keep silence he says, and ask their husbands at home.
If this is the case, there is a maintaining of male hierarchy over and against Paul’s affirmation of Thecla to preach and teach in Iconium. Tertullian believes that the narrative of the Acts of Paul has been corrupted by a certain male Presbyter who has sympathy for female autonomy while trying be faithful to Paul’s ethos. Scholar, Stevan Davies, on the other hand, believes not only was The Acts of Paul and Thecla written for a female audience, it was actually written by a female(s). Davies believes this story is intended to counter the oppression women felt throughout Late Antiquity. But Davies is countered by Dennis R. MacDonald, who I agree with, who states that it is unlikely that The Acts of Paul and Thecla could have been written in this manner by a female author. The text relates too closely to other apocryphal works and flows into 3rd Corinthians as if they authored by the same male community. Additionally, MacDonald believes that although The Acts of Paul and Thecla was not added into the Acts of Paul until the second century, it was being spread orally by way of the female voice. Females, aware of the story of Thecla, offered a subversive narrative to Paul’s patriarchal language in the Pastoral Epistles. Thecla’s voice game them a voice. MacDonald goes so far to suggest that the stories of Thecla were rampant by the time 1st and 2nd Timothy and Titus were written; these epistles were formed to counter the story of Thecla. Moreover, in 1 Timothy 2:12-15, when Paul writes: I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she is to keep silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet she will be saved through childbearing, provided they continue in faith and love and holiness, with modesty, it is a counter to The Acts of Paul and Thecla when Paul says, Go forth (Thecla) and teach the word of God. The reality is that there are two separate communities who are offering different perspectives on female leadership and autonomy. Both communities were aware of the Gospel message, were well-versed in the Hebrew Bible, and knew the comings and goings of Paul. When The Acts of Paul and Thecla mentions Onesiphorus, Demas Hermogenes, and Alexander, it is a reference to historical figures from 2 Timothy 1:15, 2 Timothy 2:16-18, and 2 Timothy 4:10. It is evident that Demas and Hermogenes are also viewed with disfavor by the Apostle Paul in the Pastoral Epistles. Although Thecla is not mentioned in these Pastoral Epistles, this does not negate her historicity. Rather, the Pastoral Epistles are aiming to refute her without naming her. When 1 Timothy 4:10 instructs us to have nothing to do with profane myths and old wives’ tales, the community is telling us to have nothing to do with the tales of Thecla. In addition, Snyder believes both communities are relying on their current oral tradition while writing their differing epistles.
Simplistically, The Acts of Paul and Thecla defends a female perspective while the Pastoral Epistles maintain a patriarchal approach. Now that I have suggested a potential author for the Thecla tale, I will now address why it was written.
Thecla’s compelling popularity:
The reason Thecla is written is not necessarily the point of the question. All sorts of tales were written with female protagonists during Late Antiquity. Rather, the question ought to be: why is the tale of Thecla a popular story which spawned over fifty editions by the middle of the fourth century? Steven Davies notes that even certain male-dominated Arabic communities viewed Thecla as a saint because of her virtue. I believe that Thecla was incredibly popular for four different reasons: (1) her tale correlated with Hellenistic romance novels of Late Antiquity; (2) she embodied Biblical characters while espousing an ascetic virtue which appealed to both male and females; (3) her autonomy resisted Empire; and, finally, (4) Thecla promotes a revolution out of patriarchy and provided opportunity for female leadership within the Church and government.
Firstly, Thecla is a compelling character because her story reflects the popular Hellenistic romance novel trope and resonates well within that context. Jeremy Barrier is an excellent resource for determining the correlation between The Acts of Paul and Thecla and similar Hellenistic romance novels, including The Golden Ass, The Story of Pallene, and Callirhoe. The parallels of the novels include the male protagonist (in our case, Paul) being eluded to as immortal; this was noted in the introduction to Paul with his angelic face in APTh 3.3. Likewise, Paul is attempting to seduce Thecla away from her fiancé. According to Barrier, this trope parallels a story of two lovers who long for sexual union and gratification. Where APTh diverges from the traditional novel is in the case of marriage. Paul and Thecla are never married, and although sexual gratification is implied, it is not made explicit. However, I imagine the community of authors writing this novel understand that the oral tradition has already made Thecla a popular character and the structure of the novel has the readers willing to engage well before the ending of the tale. The final parallel, Barrier notes, is the strong heroine character (Thecla) finally meeting up with her partner and living happily ever after. We especially see this in the Book of Thekla though it appears that Paul and Thecla are separated at the end of The Acts of Paul and Thecla. I believe Thecla was written into novel form because it was accessible while raising awareness of Thecla’s mission to transform herself from domestication to autonomy.
The second reason Thecla is a compelling character is due to the connections made between her and Biblical characters.

From Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego— to—Abraham and Sarah—to—even Jesus Christ, Thecla relates to prophets, priests, and kings. Taking Glenn Snyder’s comparison of the Abraham and Sarah story as a parallel to Thecla, both dealt with an obscene ruler, both have references to the female’s beauty, both females are kidnapped, both are saved by God’s wrath and salvation, and both are restored. Likewise, there are numerous examples of Thecla raising her hands in the form of the cross or representing Jesus Christ post-crucifixion. She is innocent like Christ, she transforms into her role as a leader, she is anointed by God, she is baptized under conflict, she is prepared for death by those who adore her, she is crucified, and she is resurrected. I do not believe our novel relates the possibility of Thecla as a new Messiah, but rather to connect Thecla’s authority with key Biblical figures. Additionally, The Life and Miracles of Thekla, especially, emphasizes her ascetic lifestyle. Thecla gives up her wealth and status to follow Paul, she freely comes to the pyre and the colosseum for martyrdom, she shaves her head and discards her clothes, she lives as a hermit in Seleucia, and she heals all who are sick and weary. It is no surprise that she is noted as the very first female martyr and her hagiography has memorialized her healing

abilities.
Thirdly, Stephen Davis observes how Thecla’s radical dissociation with traditional gender norms alienates her from Roman imperialism.

Throughout the novel, a contextual reader will recognize how Thecla is benefiting from Roman rule while subverting it. Similar to Paul, she is an implied citizen of Rome who pays taxes, her mother holds court with the Proconsul, and Thecla takes advantage of the Roman Road. And yet, Thecla disregards her role as a female who maintains the family system by participating in dowry, consummation, and procreation. By Thecla avoiding marriage, she is preventing another Roman citizen from entering into society. Additionally, while fending off Alexander’s sexual assault, she knocks off his crown which bears the image of Caesar. A reader during that era would read this as the dethronement of Empire by of one of God’s servants. Then when the Empire attempts to end Thecla’s life in a Roman colosseum, God intervenes by enclosing her a cloud of fire in the same way that God protected the Israelites from the Egyptian empire. Regardless of who authored this text, it is believed that the author presented Thecla to be subversive to the Roman

Empire.
Fourth and most importantly, Thecla is popular because she represents a transformation from a domesticate housewife to an autonomous apostle who preaches and teaches God’s word. Regardless of the historicity of Thecla’s character, her popularity spurred countless individuals, both male and female, to follow in her footsteps. Thecla, compelled by God’s word, feels called to become a teacher and leader with utter disregard for traditional gender roles. Thecla willingly gives up her status as an educated, privileged member of Iconium society to follow the Apostle Paul and become an apostle of Christ, herself. Thecla initially espouses domestic virtues which Roman society would have upheld such as modesty and silence, but she disbands these for non-conventional virtues such as leadership and radicalness. Nevertheless, Susan Hylen observes how the conventional domestic virtues of chastity, piety, and widowed honor are upheld by Thecla. Thecla intends to reflect an honorable life by maintaining her chastity, which Hylen observes grants her the freedom of not being considered property of her husband or her matriarchal household. That all being said, it is because Thecla maintains certain virtues, such as chastity, which makes her a compelling figure for all other women. She is radical enough to follow, but not too radical so as to overthrow the entire social order. I have noticed throughout my research of Thecla that many sense the paradox between the Domesticated Thecla and the Apostle Thecla. Even while being an autonomous leader, Thecla follows Paul’s authority, shaves her head and takes on the appearance of a man, and submits to governmental rule. However, I do not believe this disregards her voice as an early feminist within the early Church. Rather, the story of Thecla details a person who works within the system to enact change without bringing it to utter ruin. Thecla’s transformation elicits a quiet revolution against gender norms.
Conclusion:
As my subtitle notes, I question whether Thecla is a domesticated follower or an autonomous leader. Is she a transvestite or submissive to misogynistic gender roles? Is her love for Paul inconsistent with virgin ethics? Although I cannot answer these directly, I believe the icon created for Thecla presents her as a pragmatic leader who is willing to follow her calling by all means necessary. She is willing to take on the form of a man if it means further protection and disguise, she is willing to be bared naked in front of crowds if it means not staying at home with Thamyris, she is willing to follow the potential misogynist Paul if it means she will be esteemed as a leader and teacher, she is willing to die if it means she is spreading the Gospel message she is so dearly convicted by. Our image of Thecla is muddled by the traditional gender-roles during Late Antiquity, but intrinsically, she is a natural leader who bravely forgoes all dangers for the potential of being her own person. For this reason, she is revered and imitated for the next millennium.