Acts of Paul and Thecla. Women's stories and precedent?

Abstract

Whereas New Testament apocryphal writings were often neglected by scholars in the past, in recent years there is growing interest in them, as the line between canonical writings and extra-canonical writings becomes blurred in some circles.1 It has also been claimed with some justification that the apocryphal writings may shed light on the thinking of the early church.2 Foremost among such is the Acts of Paul (API) which includes as its section three the Acts of Paul and Thecla (APThl) or simply the Acts of Thecla (AThl),3 a story about the virgin Thecla who preserves her virginity against all odds after being converted by Paul, who baptizes herself in extremis, and is finally commissioned by Paul to go and preach the word of God. To a number of scholars, Paul plays an insignificant role and men are depicted in negative terms in the AThl, while the focus is all on Thecla and women are seen as sympathetic to her. In addition to this emphasis on women in the story, a statement by Tertullian has been generally taken to mean that the API was appealed to by women to support their right to teach and baptize. There is therefore a growing trend to attach great significance to the AThl as evidence of, and support for, women's important roles in the early church. Related to this is a growing trend that assumes the existence of oral legends underlying the AThl and other