Thecla of Iconium

About Thecla of Iconium

Thecla was a young woman converted by Paul's preaching in Iconium. According to the "Acts of Paul and Thecla" (2nd-century apocryphal text), Thecla broke off her engagement to follow Christ, embracing virginity. Her family and rejected fiancé persecuted her; she was condemned to burn but miraculously saved by rain. She found Paul and accompanied him, teaching and baptizing. Condemned again—to wild beasts in the arena—she baptized herself and was again miraculously preserved when beasts wouldn't attack her. Thecla lived as a hermit, evangelizing until old age. Though her story's historical details are uncertain, Thecla was widely venerated from early times as a model of consecrated virginity and female discipleship. She demonstrates women's role in early Christianity as teachers and evangelists.