Library/New Testament apocrypha
Acts of Paul and Thecla
Thecla hears Paul, breaks an engagement, survives fire and beasts, baptizes herself in a ditch of seals, and becomes an apostle-shaped preacher. Tertullian hated it. The East made her a saint.
- Status
- New Testament apocryphon
- Date
- late 2nd century CE
- Languages
- Greek · many versions
- Setting
- Iconium, Antioch of Pisidia, the arena
What it contains
- The window sermon
- The first trial
- The arena
- Thecla’s mission
Why it sits outside most canons
Unauthorized Paul, and a woman who baptizes herself. Popular devotion outran the lists.
Themes
- Continence
- Martyrdom
- Women’s authority
- Baptism
Passages
Acts of Thecla 34
Thecla said, ‘In the name of Jesus Christ I baptize myself on the last day.’ And she threw herself in, and the seals were stunned and floated dead.