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    Acts of Paul and Thecla
    Acts of Paul and Thecla
    Acts of Paul and Thecla
    Ebook60 pages47 minutes

    Acts of Paul and Thecla

    By Jeremiah Taylor

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    Tertullian says that this piece was forged by a Presbyter of Asia, who being convicted, “confessed that he did it out of respect of Paul,” and Pope Gelasius, in his Decree against apocryphal books, inserted it among them. Notwithstanding this, a large part of the history was credited, and looked upon as genuine among the primitive Christians. Cyprian, Eusebius, Epiphanius, Austin [Augustine], Gregory Nazianzen, Chrysostom, and Severus Sulpitius, who all lived within the fourth century, mention Thecla, or refer to her history. Basil of Seleucia wrote her acts, sufferings, and victories, in verse; and Euagrius Scholasticus, an ecclesiastical historian, about 590, relates that “after the Emperor Zeno had abdicated his empire, and Basilik had taken possession of it, he had a vision of the holy and excellent martyr Thecla, who promised him the restoration of his empire; for which, when it was brought about, he erected and dedicated a most noble and sumptuous temple to this famous martyr Thecla, at Seleucia, a city of Isauria, and bestowed upon it very noble endowments, which (says the author) are preserved even to this day.” (Hist. Eccl., IIb. 3, cap. 8)


    Cardinal Baronius, Locrinus, Archbishop Wake, and others, and also the learned Grabe, who edited the Septuagint, and revived the Acts of Paul and Thecla, consider them as having been written in the Apostolic age; as containing nothing superstitious, or disagreeing from the opinions and belief of those times; and, in short, as genuine and authentic history. Again, it is said, that this is not the original book of the early Christians; but however that may be, it is published from the Greek MS. in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, which Dr. Mills copied and transmitted to Dr. Grabe.


    CrossReach Publications 

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCrossReach Publications
    Release dateMay 4, 2019
    Acts of Paul and Thecla

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      Book preview

      Acts of Paul and Thecla - Jeremiah Taylor

      NOTE IN THE 1820 EDITION

      EDITED BY WILLIAM HONE

      Tertullian says that this piece was forged by a Presbyter of Asia, who being convicted, confessed that he did it out of respect of Paul, and Pope Gelasius, in his Decree against apocryphal books, inserted it among them. Notwithstanding this, a large part of the history was credited, and looked upon as genuine among the primitive Christians. Cyprian, Eusebius, Epiphanius, Austin [Augustine], Gregory Nazianzen, Chrysostom, and Severus Sulpitius, who all lived within the fourth century, mention Thecla, or refer to her history. Basil of Seleucia wrote her acts, sufferings, and victories, in verse; and Euagrius Scholasticus, an ecclesiastical historian, about 590, relates that after the Emperor Zeno had abdicated his empire, and Basilik had taken possession of it, he had a vision of the holy and excellent martyr Thecla, who promised him the restoration of his empire; for which, when it was brought about, he erected and dedicated a most noble and sumptuous temple to this famous martyr Thecla, at Seleucia, a city of Isauria, and bestowed upon it very noble endowments, which (says the author) are preserved even to this day. (Hist. Eccl., IIb. 3, cap. 8)

      Cardinal Baronius, Locrinus, Archbishop Wake, and others, and also the learned Grabe, who edited the Septuagint, and revived the Acts of Paul and Thecla, consider them as having been written in the Apostolic age; as containing nothing superstitious, or disagreeing from the opinions and belief of those times; and, in short, as genuine and authentic history. Again, it is said, that this is not the original book of the early Christians; but however that may be, it is published from the Greek MS. in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, which Dr. Mills copied and transmitted to Dr. Grabe.

      NOTE FOR THE

      ST. PACHOMIUS LIBRARY EDITION

      The skepticism mentioned in the previous sentence has been partly occasioned by the rather extreme praise of celibacy found in The Acts of Paul and Thecla, language often associated with certain Gnostic groups. It is certainly possible that the present form of the text reflects the preferences or even the insertions of Gnostic editors; it is also possible that Orthodox editors toned down a text which was even more extreme. The only passages which explicitly condemn marriage (the Encratite heresy) are 2:16 and 4:2, and it will be noted that the speaker is not Paul himself but his accuser attributing this view to the Apostle.

      In any case, the tradition of the Church is that the life of St. Thecla followed the course described in her acts, whether or not every word attributed to St. Paul was accurately recorded. The physical description of Paul in 1:7 is very famous, and in agreement with iconographic tradition.

      N. Redington

      THE ACTS OF

      PAUL AND THECLA

      CHAPTER I

      1:1 When Paul went up to Iconium, after his flight from Antioch, Demas and Hermogenes became his companions, who were then full of hypocrisy.

      1:2 But Paul looking only at the goodness of God, did them no harm, but loved them greatly.

      1:3 Accordingly he endeavoured to make agreeable to them all the oracles and doctrines of Christ, and the design of

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