Thecla

alternative Theckla · alternative Thekla

1. A female given name from Ancient Greek.
2. An early Christian saint, whose life is recorded in the apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla.

   1990, Karen Armstrong, 8: Karen Armstrong: The Acts of Paul and Thecla, Ann Loades, Feminist Theology: A Reader, page 83, One of the first of the virgin saints to act as an important role model for women was Thecla, the legendary disciple of St Paul.

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   In the context of impending martyrdom, the beauty of Thecla’s virgin body connotes dynamis owing less to the eros she evokes and more to the chastity, piety, and resistance she promotes.⁶⁹ That Thecla is also an object of erotic desire, however, is evidenced in men's reactions to her.

   2002, Mary F. Foskett, A Virgin Conceived: Mary and Classical Representations of Virginity, page 106

   Thecla, a saint of the Catholic church and whose feast day is celebrated on September 23, traveled with Paul on occasion and was even called “female apostle” and “equal to the apostles.”

   2008, R. John Kinkel, Cinderella Church: The Story of Early Christianity, page 40