Description

Oil Dedicated to St Thecla (Virgin)

St Thecla 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 which forms part of the Acts of Paul but also circulated separately. According to the text, Thecla was a young noble virgin from Iconium who listened to Paul’s “discourse on virginity”. Espoused the teachings and became estranged to both her fiancé, Thamyris, and her mother. She sat by her window for three days, listening to St. Paul and his teachings. When they witnessed this, they became concerned that Thecla would follow Paul’s demand. One must fear only one God and live in chastity and turned to the authorities to punish both Paul and Thecla.

St Thecla was miraculously saved from burning at the stake by the onset of a storm. And traveled with Paul to Antioch of Pisidia. There, a nobleman named Alexander desired Thecla and attempted to rape her. Thecla fought him off, tearing his cloak and knocking his coronet off his head in the process. She was put on trial for assault. She was sentenced to be eaten by wild beasts but was again saved by a series of miracles. When the female beasts protected her against her male aggressors. While in the arena, she baptized herself by throwing herself into a nearby lake full of aggressive seals.