I really enjoyed reading the Acts of Thecla, because it gives us another side to the story of women’s roles in the community as well as women’s roles in ministry during the time period. Normally women have been left out of the narrative of ministry, because, as we see in history and even nowadays, women are supposed to play the role of the docile, obedient and faithful housewife who doesn’t speak unless spoken to. Men were the only followers of Jesus, Jesus himself was a man and, as Christianity gained momentum, later church leaders were also all men, as we noted in class last week with the diagram that Professor Reis had drawn on the board. Where does that leave the women that didn’t follow Thecla’s example? Sadly, they have been lost in the shadow of the men that have been placed at the forefront of Christianity.

The Acts of Thecla throw images of traditional women out the window and put women into a new and refreshing perspective. In the New Testament section of the Bible, the word of god had been spread around only by men. Thecla breaks this norm by abandoning her fiancé and joining the apostle Paul, even going so far as to not budging from window when she hears him speaking to a crowd about virginity, hanging on every word he says. Her faithfulness to Paul was definitely demonstrated by not leaving the window, even when her mother sent for Thamyris. (8)

The people of the city of the Iconians, in particular the men were growing more and more upset with the fact that Paul encouraged women not to get married to their perspective fiancés, but instead encouraged them to live in chastity and to spread the word of god. In 15, Thamyris and the other men, fed up and frustrated, finally went to Paul and told him, “You have deceived the city of the Iconians and especially my betrothed bride so that she will not have let me!” (15) The crowd gathered around Thamyris echoed his frustration, shouting, “away with the sorcerer for he has misled all our wives!” (15) Paul is taken to the governor and, in a sense put on trial, and it is while he is on trial that he leans on his unwavering faith the most. Instead of having Paul hauled away and killed, the governor has a moment of humanity and sends him to prison until Paul can properly plead his case. (17)

Thecla, in her undying faith and devotion to Paul, bribes the gatekeeper as well as the prison guard to let her in to see Paul. When it was discovered that Thecla had snuck away to see Paul, her family had her hauled before the governor, who demanded to know why she didn’t marry Thamyris like she was supposed to as a proper follower of the law. When she couldn’t come up with an answer, it was her mother who called for her to be burned at the stake. (20)  As a side note, I was surprised to see that it was Thecla’s mother who demanded she be burned for not following the law; as a faithful follower of the law herself, it was probably no question that she demands that her daughter be punished.

Thecla was condemned by the governor to be burned at the stake; which, as a terribly painful punishment, it turned into quite the spectacle, because young children brought the materials to, in a sense, chip in their efforts to see that Thecla be burned. But when it came time and the fire was started, she didn’t burn. She was saved by God, thanks to Paul’s prayers. (24) Paul sent her out in good faith to spread the word of God, but as she went from town to town, she was met by outrage and anger. In one town, she was charged with sacrilege and forced to fight in the arena to her death, only, yet again, she wasn’t killed. In fact, the wild animals that she was supposed to fight laid at her feet instead of attacked her. It was her unwavering faith that saved her from the animals and kept her safe.

I can only imagine that male missionaries at the time were less than thrilled to see that Thecla, a woman, had been sent out alongside them to spread the word of God. To rub salt in the wound so to speak, she was kept safe by God’s watchful eye when Thecla was met by persistent suitors as well as people that would have loved to see her killed for not following the duties of a woman. I can imagine that women who would have read the Acts of Thecla, had it been included in the Bible, would have found it frightening yet inspirational; frightening in the sense that they were going against the gender rules of a woman, yet inspiring because following Thecla’s example meant that even women could go out and share the word of God with others.

The people in charge of putting the Bible would have never included the Acts of Thecla, they would have tossed into the ancient recycle bin as soon as it was brought to them, only because it was against the “social norms” of the time. It really is a shame that this was tossed out, because it has a great message that women of any age or background could take to heart.