Saint Thecla

Thecla (Ancient Greek: Θέκλα, Thékla) was a saint of the early Christian Church, and a reported follower of Paul the Apostle. The earliest record of her life comes from the ancient apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla. The Acts of Paul and Thecla is a 2nd-century text (c. AD 180) which forms part of the Acts of Paul, but was also circulated separately. According to the text, Thecla was a young noble virgin from Iconium who chose to leave her fiancé so she could convert to Christianity and follow Paul. In the text, it is said that Thecla spent three days sitting by her window, listening to Paul speak about the Christian God and the importance of living in chastity. Thecla's mother, Theoclia, and fiancé, Thamyris, became concerned that Thecla was going to follow Paul's teachings. They turned to local authorities to punish Paul for being a Christian and "mak[ing] virgins averse to marriage". Paul was sent to prison, where Thecla visited him, kissed his bonds, and refused to leave him and return to her mother and fiancé. Paul was made to leave the city and Thecla was condemned to be burned. However, Thecla was miraculously saved from burning at the stake by the onset of a storm. She then encountered Paul outside of Iconium, where she told him, "I will cut my hair off and I shall follow you wherever you go". She then traveled with Paul to Antioch of Pisidia. There, a nobleman named Alexander desired Thecla and attempted to rape her. Thecla fought him off, tore his cloak, and knocked his coronet off his head, which caused her to be put on trial for assault. She was sentenced to be eaten by wild beasts, but was again saved by a series of miracles. In one scene, female beasts, particularly lionesses, protected her against her male aggressors. While in the arena, she baptized herself by throwing herself into a nearby lake full of aggressive seals, who were all killed by lightning before they could devour her.