Homily on Saint Thecla the Martyr, by Severus of Antioch

Standard abbreviation: Hom. Thec.

Other titles: Homily 97

Clavis numbers: ECCA 476

Category: Apocryphal Acts

Related literature: Acts of Paul and Thecla, Life and Miracles of Thecla

Compiled by: Tony Burke, York University ([email protected])

Citing this resource (using Chicago Manual of Style): Burke, Tony. “Homily on Saint Thecla the Martyr, by Severus of Antioch.” e-Clavis: Christian Apocrypha. Accessed DAY MONTH YEAR. https://www.nasscal.com/e-clavis-christian-apocrypha/homily-on-saint-thecla-the-martyr-by-severus-of-antioch/.

Created December 2023.

1. SUMMARY

Severus of Antioch’s (r. 512–538) homily on Thecla was delivered on the saint’s feast day of September 24. The audience seems to be all women as he addresses them directly as “you virgins” who seek to imitate Thecla as well as married women who can honor Thecla by living honest, chaste lives. The setting for the homily is likely the saint’s feast day in a shrine dedicated to Thecla and Stephen (the first martyrs of men and women). Severus mentions being in the presence of her image, an icon with two sides, each associated with holy sites: Seleucia and “our city” (likely a reference to Antioch).

The homily begins with a quotation of Psalm and associates the queen with Thecla and the church is the assembly. The two are also connected in that she is a symbol of the church in becoming a follower of Paul and in being immaculate. After some exegesis of symbolism about the church, he pivots to the story of Thecla, starting with the arrival of Paul in Iconium, though without the description of Paul and mention of Demas and Hermogenes. As in Acts Thec., Thecla becomes enamoured with Paul and his teachings, refuses to marry Thamyris, and is sentenced to execution. But rain extinguishes the flames just as, Severus remarks, the gates of Sheol will nor prevail against the Church.

Thecla is reunited with Paul and cuts her hair and becomes a preacher along with him. Here Severus argues against Paul’s own words (1 Corinthians) about women, stating that the rules do not apply to everyone equally. Next, Thecla encounters Alexander in Antioch and is thrown to the wild beasts. No mention is made here of Paul’s role in the story; missing too is the lion who comes to Thecla’s defense and Trypheana. The beasts are tamed, Severus says, and Thecla walks through them unharmed. Free again, Thecla departs to Seleucia, and Severus says that her body is entrusted there to the earth, hidden in a holy and famous temple, and power comes from there to heal and perform wonders.

Named Historical Figures and Characters: Adam (patriarch), Alexander (of Antioch), Daniel (prophet), David (king), James (son of Zebedee), Jesus Christ, John (son of Zebedee), Mary (Virgin), Matthew (apostle), Orpheus, Paul (apostle), Peter (apostle), Stephen, Thamyris, Thecla.

Geographical Locations: Antioch, Athens, Isauria, Judea, Nazareth, Seleucia.

2. RESOURCES

3. BIBLIOGRAPHY

3.1 Manuscripts and Editions

3.1.1 Syriac

Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolic Vaticana, Vat. sir. 142, fols. 106^r–109^v(6th cent.) ~ DigiVatLib; Syri.ac

Brière, Maurice. Les homiliae cathedrales de Sévère d’Antioche. Homélies XCI à XCVIII. Patrologia Orientalis 25,1. Paris: Firmin-Didot et Cie, 1935 (Syriac text of revision by Jacob of Edessa with French translation, pp. 121–38).

3.2 Modern Translations

3.2.1 English

Pesthy, Monika. “Thecla among the Fathers of the Church.” Pages 164–78 in The Apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla. Edited by Jan N. Bremmer. Studies on the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles 2. Kampen: Kok Pharos, 1996 (partial English translation, pp. 173–75).

3.2.2 French

Brière, Maurice. Les homiliae cathedrales de Sévère d’Antioche. Homélies XCI à XCVIII. Patrologia Orientalis 25,1. Paris: Firmin-Didot et Cie, 1935 (Syriac text with French translation, pp. 121–38).

3.3 General Works

Albrecht, Ruth. “Thekla.” Page 298 in Der Neue Pauly Enzyklopädie der Antike. Edited by Hubert Cancik and Helmuth Schneider. Alterum Vol 12/1, Tam-Vel. Stuttgart and Weimar: J. B. Metzler, 2000.

Aubineau, Michel. “Compléments au dossier de sainte Thécle.” AnBoll 93 (1975): 356–62.

Burris, Catherine. “Imagining Thecla: Rhetorical Strategies in Severus of Antioch’s 97th Cathedral Homily.” Pages 83–87 in Studia Patristica 42: Papers Presented at the Fourteenth International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 2003. Edited by F. Young, M. Edwards, and P. Parvis. Leuven: Peeters, 2006.

Burris, Catherine, and Lucas Van Rompay. “Thecla in Syriac Christianity. Preliminary Observations.” Hugoye 5.2 (July 2002).

———. “Some Further Notes on Thecla in Syriac Christianity.” Hugoye 6.2 (2003).

Gwynn, J. “Thecla.” Pages 882–96 in vol. 4 of Dictionary of Christian Biography, Literature, Sects and Doctrines: being a continuation of “The dictionary of the Bible.” Edited by William George Smith and Henry Wace. London: J. Murray, 1877–1887.

Jensen, Anne. “Thekla, Vergessene Verkündingerin.” Pages 173–79 in Zwischen Ohnmacht und Befreiung: Biblische Frauengestalten. Edited by Karin Walter. Freiburg, Basel, and Wien: Herder, 1988.

———. Thekla – die Apostelin: Ein apokrypher Text neu entdeckt: Übersetzt und kommentiert. Freiburg, Basel, and Wien: Herder, 1995.

Johnson, Scott Fitzgerald. The Life and Miracles of Thekla, A Literary Study. Hellenic Studies 13. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2006 (see pp. 234–38).

Lavagnini, Bruno. “S. Tecla nella vasca della foche e gli spettacoli in acqua.” Byzantion 33 (1963): 185–90.

Rompay, Lucas Van. “Jacob of Edessa and the Sixth-Century Syriac Translator of Severus of Antioch’s Cathedral Homilies.” Pages 189–204 in Jacob of Edessa and the Syriac Culture of His Day. Edited by Bas Ter Haar Romeny. Leiden: Brill, 2002.

Rordorf, Willy. “Sainte Thècle dans la tradition hagiographique occidentale.” Pages 435–43 in Lex Orandi–Lex Credendi: Gesammelte Aufsätze zum 60. Geburtstag. Paradosis 36. Freiburg: Universitätsverlag Freiburg in der Schweiz, 1993.