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Women as Heroines in Apocryphal Acts

Explore the portrayal of women in Apocryphal Acts as literary heroines. Discover common themes, such as Thecla's example, and the impact on feminist interpretation and historical views.

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Women as Heroines in Apocryphal Acts

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  1. Women as Heroines: The Apocryphal Acts I. Apocryphal Acts as a Literary Genre

  2. Women as Heroines: The Apocryphal Acts I. Apocryphal Acts as a Literary Genre A. Common Themes & Purposes

  3. Women as Heroines: The Apocryphal Acts I. Apocryphal Acts as a Literary Genre A. Common Themes & Purposes II. Interpreting Acts of [Paul and] Thecla: The Example of Thecla

  4. II. Interpreting Acts of [Paul and] Thecla: The Example of Thecla Coptic Icon of St. Thecla

  5. Women as Heroines: The Apocryphal Acts I. Apocryphal Acts as a Literary Genre A. Common Themes & Purposes II. Interpreting Acts of [Paul and] Thecla: The Example of Thecla A. Patristic Views

  6. “As for those (women) who <appeal to> the falsely written Acts of Paul [example of Thecla]<in order to> defend the right of women to teach and to baptize, let them know that the presbyter in Asia who produced this document, as if he could add something of his own to the prestige of Paul, was removed from his office after he had been convicted and had confessed that he had done it out of love for Paul.” -Tertullian, De Baptismo 17 “…The journeys of Paul & Thecla & the entire tale about the baptized lion we reckon among the apocryphal scriptures… Tertullian too, close to those times, reports that a certain presbyter in Asia, a fan of the apostle Paul, convicted by John to be the author of the book & confessed that he did it for the love of Paul, left his position.” -Jerome, De viris illustribus 7

  7. Byzantine Miniature of St. Thecla, 11th Century

  8. St. Thecla, the proto-martyr for women

  9. Women as Heroines: The Apocryphal Acts I. Apocryphal Acts as a Literary Genre A. Common Themes & Purposes II. Interpreting Acts of [Paul and] Thecla: The Example of Thecla A. Patristic Views B. Modern Scholarship 1. A proto-feminist text?

  10. Women as Heroines: The Apocryphal Acts I. Apocryphal Acts as a Literary Genre A. Common Themes & Purposes II. Interpreting Acts of [Paul and] Thecla: The Example of Thecla A. Patristic Views B. Modern Scholarship 1. A proto-feminist text? 2. Different streams of interpretation of Paul

  11. “In later times some will renounce the faith by paying attention to deceitful spirits & teachings of demons, through the pretensions of liars whose consciences are seared with a hot iron. They forbid marriage & demand abstinence from foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe & know the truth.” -1 Tim. 4:13

  12. “In later times some will renounce the faith by paying attention to deceitful spirits & teachings of demons, through the pretensions of liars whose consciences are seared with a hot iron. They forbid marriage & demand abstinence from foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe & know the truth.” -1 Tim. 4:13 “For among them are those who make their way into households & captivate silly women overwhelmed by their sins & swayed by all kinds of desires, who are always being instructed & can never arrive at a knowledge of the truth.” -2 Tim. 3:6

  13. Women as Heroines: The Apocryphal Acts I. Apocryphal Acts as a Literary Genre A. Common Themes & Purposes II. Interpreting Acts of [Paul and] Thecla: The Example of Thecla A. Patristic Views B. Modern Scholarship 1. A proto-feminist text? 2. Different streams of interpretation of Paul - Pastoral Epistles vs. Apocryphal Acts

  14. St. Paul with St. Thecla and St. Timothy Psalter and New Testament Manuscript,Constantinople, ca 1084

  15. Women as Heroines: The Apocryphal Acts I. Apocryphal Acts as a Literary Genre A. Common Themes & Purposes II. Interpreting Acts of [Paul and] Thecla: The Example of Thecla A. Patristic Views B. Modern Scholarship 1. A proto-feminist text? 2. Different streams of interpretation of Paul - Pastoral Epistles vs. Apocryphal Acts 3. Insight into Real Women?

  16. “The challenge by the apostle to the householder is the urgent message of these narratives, & it is essentially a conflict between men. The challenge posed here by Christianity is not really about women or even about sexual continence, but about authority & the social order. In this way, tales of continence use the narrative momentum of romance, & the enticement of the romantic heroine, to mask a contest for authority, encoded in the contest between two pretenders to the heroine’s allegiance.” -Kate Cooper, The Virgin & The Bride

  17. Women as Heroines: The Apocryphal Acts I. Apocryphal Acts as a Literary Genre A. Common Themes & Purposes II. Interpreting Acts of [Paul and] Thecla: The Example of Thecla A. Patristic Views B. Modern Scholarship 1. A proto-feminist text? 2. Different streams of interpretation of Paul - Pastoral Epistles vs. Apocryphal Acts 3. Insight into Real Women? III. Women as Agents of Christian Expansion: Evidence from Thecla

  18. Women as Heroines: The Apocryphal Acts I. Apocryphal Acts as a Literary Genre A. Common Themes & Purposes II. Interpreting Acts of [Paul and] Thecla: The Example of Thecla A. Patristic Views B. Modern Scholarship 1. A proto-feminist text? 2. Different streams of interpretation of Paul - Pastoral Epistles vs. Apocryphal Acts 3. Insight into Real Women? III. Women as Agents of Christian Expansion: Evidence from Thecla A. Points of Contact with other Contemporary Texts

  19. “In private houses we see wool-workers, cobblers, laundry workers, & the most illiterate & bucolic yokels, who would not dare to say anything at all in front of their elders and more intelligent masters. But whenever they get hold of children in private & some stupid women with them, they let out some astounding statements as, for example, that they must not pay any attention to their father & school teachers, but must obey them; they say that these talk nonsense & have no understanding, and that in reality they neither know nor are able to do anything good, but are taken up with mere empty chatter. But they alone they say, know the right way to live, and if the children would believe them, they would become happy & make their home happy as well…They whisper to them that in the presence of their father and their schoolmasters they do not feel able to explain anything to the children. But, if they like, they should leave father & their schoolmasters, and go along with the women and little children who are playfellows to the wooldresser’s shop, or the cobbler’s or the washerwoman’s shop, and they may learn perfection. And by saying this they persuade them.” -Against Celsus, 3.55

  20. Women as Heroines: The Apocryphal Acts I. Apocryphal Acts as a Literary Genre A. Common Themes & Purposes II. Interpreting Acts of [Paul and] Thecla: The Example of Thecla A. Patristic Views B. Modern Scholarship 1. A proto-feminist text? 2. Different streams of interpretation of Paul - Pastoral Epistles vs. Apocryphal Acts 3. Insight into Real Women? III. Women as Agents of Christian Expansion: Evidence from Thecla A. Points of Contact with other Contemporary Texts B. What do we learn about Christian Women’s Activities?

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