Saint Thekla, what are they asking for? Biography of Saint Thecla

“Let your adornment be not the outward braiding of your hair, nor the golden ornaments or finery of clothing, but the innermost man of the heart in the imperishable beauty of a meek and quiet spirit, which is of great price in the sight of God.”

(1 Peter 3:3-4).

The Holy Fathers call virginity the most beautiful sacrifice to God, the greatest of feats. Saint Thekla is the first martyr, who throughout her life preserved the virtue of virginity and completely devoted herself to God.

Meeting with the Apostle Paul

It was 45-46 after the Nativity of Christ. Eighteen-year-old Thekla was sitting in her room. It was blowing through the open windowwarm pleasant sea wind... The girl was not just attractive: she was one of the first beauties in Iconium. Fekla was
shortand a beautifully built girl. As the daughter of noble and wealthy parents, she received a good education.

One can only guess what beautiful Thekla was thinking and dreaming about that warm evening. Perhaps about his imminent wedding with the handsome Famir, the best young man in the city... According to God's providence, the Apostle Paul stopped right at the open window of the lovely Thekla and began to speak to those gathered about virginity and chastity. After Paul’s sermon, the young girl believed in Christ: she firmly decided to renounce all the sweets of worldly life and serve God until her death in spiritual and bodily purity. Admired by Paul's speeches, she did not leave the window for three days and three nights, forgetting about bodily peace. Fekla stopped communicating with her fiancé Famir. Seeing that her daughter was separated from her, Theoklia, Thekla’s mother became furious and began to beat her.

The offended Famir arranged the arrest of Pavel. Having learned about this, Thekla gave all her precious jewelry to the prison guard and at night made her way into the dungeon to see her teacher. Paul blessed Thekla, praising her faith and maiden chastity. In the morning, Pavel was released, and Thekla, at the admonitions of her mother, was ordered to be burned at the stake. The brushwood burned from all sides, but not a single hair of Thekla, protected by the Spirit of God, was scorched. Suddenly the wind rose so strong and it started to rain so hard that everyone was seized with mortal horror. Thekla, remaining completely unharmed, left the fire and went to look for her spiritual father.

“And the lioness began to lick her feet...”

“I’ll cut my hair and go with you,” Thekla said to Pavel when she met him. When they arrived in Antioch, they met there the young chief Alexander, who passionately fell in love with the beautiful Thekla. One day, approaching the girl, he began to hug her, forgetting all shame. Thekla quickly escaped from his embrace. He became very angry and took her to court. Thekla, as a Christian, was condemned to be devoured by wild beasts. The animals were released twice. The First Martyr was led out like a lamb to the slaughter. A lot of people flocked to see the spectacle. On the first day, not a single animal touched the girl. On the second day, the rulers, thinking that Thekla’s clothes were enchanted, undressed the maiden and released the hungriest lions to her. The animals again did not touch Thekla, but only walked around her with their eyes downcast. And the lioness crawled up to her and began to lick her feet, as if giving praise to her exploits and expressing honor to her chaste life.

Then the ruler ordered Thekla to be dipped into a pond filled with evil, vile reptiles. The girl, having prayed and made the sign of the cross, plunged into the water. All the reptiles immediately surfaced dead, and a fiery cloud descended on the saint. Everyone was amazed at such a miracle, but the hard-hearted ruler did not want to back down and came up with a new execution for the girl. They tied Thekla by the legs between two bulls, and they began to stab the animals with hot rods so that they would scatter in different directions and tear the condemned woman to pieces. But the bulls did not budge, and the ropes with which Thekla was tied broke. Then all those gathered were afraid, and the ruler asked:

What God gives you such strength?

I am a servant of one God. “In it alone is the path to salvation and eternal life,” Fekla calmly answered.

The holy virgin was released, and many of those gathered believed in Jesus Christ. Thekla found Pavel. He, making sure that she was already ready for a spiritual feat, released her from him, saying:

Go, teach the peoples the word of Christ!

Thekla went to Iconium, where she preached the Gospel to the pagans. After her sermons, many people were baptized and saved. Then Thekla, led by a luminous cloud, came to Mount Kalamon and settled in a cave.

The life of a hermit

The rumor that an ascetic had settled in the cave quickly spread. And people from many countries reached out to Thekla: the saint healed people through prayer.th, cast out demons, gave wise instructions. Those who sought a chaste life also came to the cave, following the example of the First Martyr.They settled nearby, and together with the saint they spent their days in prayer and fasting.

Thekla converted a large number of languagesbelievers in the true faith.
The following fact from her life is interesting. The saint was collecting grass for food, and she was noticed by a pagan priest passing by. mo. He was fascinated by her beauty and approached her with unclean intentions. Thekla pushed him to the ground, and for three days the priest I can't sting move not a single member.

“I saw the goddess and suffered this from her,” said the priest, waking up.

Having reached the house with difficulty, he called the painter and told him to depict the goddess he had met. This is how the first icon of Saint Thekla was painted. The priest, having listened to the sermons of the First Martyr, believed in Christ, and began to carefully keep the icon in his home.

Monastery of Saint Thekla in Syria

at the site of her exploits

Conspiracy of sorcerers

Thekla performed many miracles during her lifetime. The healers and sorcerers, realizing that they were losing influence among the local population, began to envy the healer and wanted to get rid of her. They gave wine to the young men and ordered them to go to Thekla to dishonor her.

Saint Thekla, understanding their wicked intentions, began to run away from them. When the shameless people were already overtaking the First Martyr, the virgin prayed to the Lord. And the rock parted and a passage formed. As soon as Thekla ran into it, the rock immediately closed.

Miracles

Throughout her life she acquired chastity, which enlightened her spiritual eyes and attracted God’s blessing. Saint Thekla died at the age of 90. But after the end of earthly life, she does not leave those who turn to her in prayer for help. More than once, through her intercession before God, adults and children were healed, hunger and drought ended, people returned unharmed from dangerous journeys and battles.

In the photo on the left there is a rock,

filled with prayers

Saint Thekla

Holy First Martyr and Equal to the Apostles Thekla, pray to God for us!

Recently, the complete life of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Thekla, the First Martyr, was written: “The Vine of Christ.”

This life includes previously unpublished materials.

The Apostle Paul, going around countries preaching about Christ, reached Iconium. It so happened that among his listeners was a young girl named Thekla, the daughter of a rich pagan widow. Sitting at home by the window, she unexpectedly heard the Divine sermon of Paul, who at that time was with his neighbor Onesiphorus, a pious follower of the teachings of the apostles. And the more Thekla listened, the more she became eager to understand the meaning of words that were new to her, which suddenly illuminated her soul with a wonderful light. And from that hour, her entire former pagan life suddenly became alien to her. She even distanced herself from her fiancé, the noble and richest pagan in the city, Famir, to whom her mother betrothed.

But Thekla’s mother, Theoklia, was horrified when she found out what had influenced her daughter so much. Having misinterpreted her daughter’s attention to the stranger’s words, she hastened to report her fears to her fiancé. Alarmed Famir began to hotly persuade the bride not to pay attention to the unworthy stranger and not to listen to his words. Thekla continued to listen to Paul and became more and more immersed in thoughts about the one God - Christ.

Realizing that persuasion would not help the matter, Thamir hurried to the proconsul and declared that Paul was a blasphemer of pagan gods and a preacher of the hated Christian teaching. The Apostle was immediately thrown into prison until the final discussion and sentencing.

Having learned about this, Thekla set out to join Pavel in order to be able to listen to him. Leaving home secretly, she bribed the prison guard and joined the teacher. Here, forgetting about everything in the world, Thekla greedily listened to his every word and folded the “good news” in her heart.

Meanwhile, the proconsul, not finding sufficient grounds to condemn Paul to execution, limited himself to expelling him from the city.

Thekla, at the insistence of her embittered mother, was summoned to court. Here they tried to persuade the adamant girl not to heed the teachings of the Christian stranger and not to renounce her marriage. But Thekla didn’t even want to hear about it. And then the enraged Theoclinia shouted to the judge:

- Why are you delaying? Why don’t you punish this lawless girl, this rebellious daughter? Let them burn and destroy the one who refused to enter into a brilliant marriage and arbitrarily ran away to a deceiver and a foreigner, disgracing her family and me, who gave birth to this fiend of hell!

Touched by the mother’s grief, and also fearing the wrath of the rich man Famir, the embarrassed proconsul ordered Thekla to be burned. But when Thekla herself, making the sign of the cross, threw herself into the kindled fire, professing faith in Christ, God miraculously saved her: a sudden torrential rain extinguished the flame, and such a thunderstorm broke out over the city that all the people fled home in fear. Thekla ran away from the city and, finding Pavel, joined him. Having left Ionia, they went together to the cities and villages in which the Apostle Paul was to continue his gospel.

Upon arrival in Antioch, Thekla had the misfortune to attract the attention of the mayor Alexander, who was ready to achieve her favor by any means. Resisting the dishonest intentions of the official, the girl, in a fit of indignation, tore Alexander’s magnificent clothes and threw off the golden wreath from his head. This happened in the presence of witnesses. The proud man could not bear such an insult, and rage began to boil within him. Wanting revenge, Alexander brought Thekla to trial for professing Christianity, and she was condemned to be torn to pieces by wild animals. Imagine the surprise of the executioners when, when the lions and bears released from their cages, instead of pouncing on the victim, quietly approached Thekla and calmly lay down at her feet, and when the bear nevertheless rushed at her, the lioness rushed at him and, as if protecting the girl, she began to fight with him until both animals died in a fierce battle. Thekla remained unharmed. In the same miraculous way, she was saved from other executions that her tormentors tried to inflict. Fear fell upon all the witnesses of these miracles, but Alexander, horrified by what he saw, decided that Thekla was a witch, and the governor of the region began to expel her from the city.

The young foreigner was freed and released. Without staying in the city for a minute, she hastened to join her teacher, the Apostle Paul, whom she found in Lycia. Paul soon became convinced that she was ripe for high spiritual achievement, and released her from him, admonishing her:

- Go teach the Word, walk the pious path and be a participant in my work for Christ.

- Entrust me to Christ!- Thekla said goodbye to the apostle and first went to her hometown - Iconium. She no longer found Famir, her former fiancé, alive. Having started preaching, she tried to convert her mother to Christ, but soon realized that she was unable to dissuade the inveterate pagan of her errors. Having left the city, Thekla went to Seleucia. Here, having settled on the top of the mountain, she completely devoted herself to the gospel of the Word of Christ and successfully spread it, especially since her preaching was accompanied by numerous miracles, especially healings of all kinds of diseases. Thekla lived to a ripe old age and died peacefully in her cave.

The Holy First Martyr Equal to the Apostles Thekla was born in the city of Iconium. She was the daughter of noble and wealthy parents and was distinguished by her extraordinary beauty. At the age of 18 she was betrothed to a noble young man. Having heard the sermon of the Holy Apostle Paul about the Savior, Saint Thekla loved the Lord Jesus Christ with all her heart and firmly decided not to marry and to devote her life to the preaching of the Gospel. Saint Thekla's mother opposed her daughter's intentions and forced her to marry the groom betrothed to her. The betrothed of Saint Thekla complained to the ruler of the city against the Apostle Paul, accusing him of turning his bride away from him. The ruler imprisoned the holy apostle. Saint Thekla secretly ran away from home at night, bribed the prison guards by giving them all her gold jewelry, and entered the prisoner into the dungeon. For three days she sat at the feet of the apostle, listening to his fatherly instructions. Thekla's disappearance was discovered, and servants were sent everywhere to search for her. Finally she was found in prison and forcibly brought home.

The court sentenced the Apostle Paul to exile from the city. Saint Thekla was again persuaded for a long time to agree to the marriage, but she did not change her decision. Neither her mother's tears, nor her anger, nor the ruler's threats could separate Saint Thekla from her love for the Heavenly Bridegroom - the Lord Jesus Christ. Her mother, in a frenzy, demanded that the judge sentence her rebellious daughter to death, and Saint Thekla was sentenced to be burned. The holy martyr fearlessly ascended the fire and crossed herself. At that moment the Savior appeared to her, blessing her for the upcoming feat, and inexpressible joy filled her holy soul. The flames of the fire soared high, surrounded the martyr like a halo and did not touch her. Thunder struck, and heavy rain and hail extinguished the fire. The torturers fled in fear. Saint Thekla, protected by the Lord, left the city and, with the help of a Christian youth, found the Apostle Paul. The holy apostle and his companions, among whom was the holy apostle Barnabas, took refuge in a cave not far from the city, fervently praying that the Lord would strengthen Saint Thekla in her suffering. Together with them, Saint Thekla went preaching the Gospel to Antioch. In this city, she was persecuted by a certain dignitary Alexander, who was captivated by her beauty. Saint Thekla rejected his proposal to marry and, as a Christian, was condemned to death. Twice hungry animals were released on her, but they did not touch the holy virgin, obediently lay down at her feet and licked them. In all the tortures, the holy martyr was preserved unharmed by the Providence of God. Finally, they tied her to two bulls and began to drive them in different directions with hot rods, but the strong ropes tore apart like a spider’s web, and the bulls ran away, but Saint Thekla remained unharmed. The people cried out: “Great is the God of the Christians!” The ruler himself was afraid, finally realizing that the holy martyr was protected by the Almighty God, Whom she served. He ordered the release of Thekla, the servant of God, to freedom. With the blessing of the Apostle Paul, Saint Thekla settled in the desert surroundings of Seleucia of Isauria and lived there for many years, constantly preaching the Word of God, healing the sick with prayer. Saint Thekla converted many pagans to Christ; The Church worthily calls her Equal to the Apostles. She even punished the pagan priest who encroached on her purity for his insolence and brought him to holy Baptism. More than once the enemy of the human race tried to destroy Saint Thekla through people blinded by sin, but the power of God always preserved the faithful servant of Christ.

When Saint Thekla was already a 90-year-old old woman, the pagan magicians took up arms against her because she treated the sick without compensation. They could not comprehend that the saint healed illnesses with the power of the grace of Christ, and they believed that she was especially protected by the virgin goddess Artemis. Out of envy of Saint Thekla, they sent mercenaries to her to desecrate the saint. When the pursuers were already very close, Saint Thekla cried out for help to Christ the Savior, and the mountain parted and hid the holy virgin, the bride of Christ. Thus Saint Thekla gave up her soul to the Lord.

The Holy Church glorifies the “first-suffering” Thekla as “a woman of glory, a teacher of the sufferers, who opened the torment of the path for all.” Since ancient times, many churches were dedicated to her, one of which was built in Constantinople by Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine (May 21). The name of the holy First Martyr Equal-to-the-Apostles Thekla, the prayer book for all who strive, is remembered when women are tonsured into monasticism.

Holy First Martyr Equal to the Apostles Thekla born in the city of Iconium. She was the daughter of noble and wealthy parents and was distinguished by her extraordinary beauty. At the age of 18 she was betrothed to a noble young man. Having heard the sermon of the Holy Apostle Paul about the Savior, Saint Thekla loved the Lord Jesus Christ with all her heart and firmly decided not to marry and to devote her life to the preaching of the Gospel. Saint Thekla's mother opposed her daughter's intentions and forced her to marry the groom betrothed to her. The betrothed of Saint Thekla complained to the ruler of the city, accusing him of turning his bride away from him. The ruler imprisoned the holy apostle. Saint Thekla secretly ran away from home at night, bribed the prison guards by giving them all her gold jewelry, and entered the prisoner into the dungeon. For three days she sat at the feet of the apostle, listening to his fatherly instructions. Thekla's disappearance was discovered, and servants were sent everywhere to search for her. Finally she was found in prison and forcibly brought home.

The court sentenced the Apostle Paul to exile from the city. Saint Thekla was again persuaded for a long time to agree to the marriage, but she did not change her decision. Neither her mother's tears, nor her anger, nor the ruler's threats could separate Saint Thekla from her love for the Heavenly Bridegroom - the Lord Jesus Christ. Her mother, in a frenzy, demanded that the judge sentence her rebellious daughter to death, and Saint Thekla was sentenced to be burned. The holy martyr fearlessly ascended the fire and crossed herself. At that moment the Savior appeared to her, blessing her for the upcoming feat, and inexpressible joy filled her holy soul. The flames of the fire soared high, surrounded the martyr like a halo and did not touch her. Thunder struck, and heavy rain and hail extinguished the fire. The torturers fled in fear. Saint Thekla, protected by the Lord, left the city and, with the help of a Christian youth, found the Apostle Paul. The holy apostle and his companions, among whom was the holy apostle Barnabas, took refuge in a cave not far from the city, fervently praying that the Lord would strengthen Saint Thekla in her suffering. Together with them, Saint Thekla went preaching the Gospel to Antioch. In this city, she was persecuted by a certain dignitary Alexander, who was captivated by her beauty. Saint Thekla rejected his proposal to marry and, as a Christian, was condemned to death. Twice hungry animals were released on her, but they did not touch the holy virgin, obediently lay down at her feet and licked them. In all the tortures, the holy martyr was preserved unharmed by the Providence of God. Finally, they tied her to two bulls and began to drive them in different directions with hot rods, but the strong ropes tore apart like a spider’s web, and the bulls ran away, but Saint Thekla remained unharmed. The people cried out: “Great is the God of the Christians!” The ruler himself was afraid, finally realizing that the holy martyr was protected by the Almighty God, Whom she served. He ordered the release of Thekla, the servant of God, to freedom. With the blessing of the Apostle Paul, Saint Thekla settled in the desert surroundings of Seleucia of Isauria and lived there for many years, constantly preaching the Word of God, healing the sick with prayer. Saint Thekla converted many pagans to Christ; The Church worthily calls her Equal to the Apostles. She even punished the pagan priest who encroached on her purity for his insolence and brought him to holy Baptism. More than once the enemy of the human race tried to destroy Saint Thekla through people blinded by sin, but the power of God always preserved the faithful servant of Christ.

When Saint Thekla was already a 90-year-old old woman, the pagan magicians took up arms against her because she treated the sick without compensation. They could not comprehend that the saint healed illnesses with the power of the grace of Christ, and they believed that she was especially protected by the virgin goddess Artemis. Out of envy of Saint Thekla, they sent mercenaries to her to desecrate the saint. When the pursuers were already very close, Saint Thekla cried out for help to Christ the Savior, and the mountain parted and hid the holy virgin, the bride of Christ. Thus Saint Thekla gave up her soul to the Lord.

The Holy Church glorifies the “first-suffering” Thekla as “a woman of glory, a teacher of the sufferers, who opened the torment of the path for all.” Since ancient times, many churches were dedicated to her, one of which was built in Constantinople (May 21). The name of the holy First Martyr Equal-to-the-Apostles Thekla, the prayer book for all who strive, is remembered when women are tonsured into monasticism.

What have you learned, what have you accepted, heard and seen in me?— then do it.
Epistle of the Apostle Paul (Phil. 4.9)

Holy First Martyr Thekla was born in Iconium into a noble and wealthy family. Thekla was extraordinarily beautiful, and already at the age of 18 she was engaged to a noble young man. But one day, having heard the sermon of the Apostle Paul, this girl loved the Lord with all her heart and decided to devote herself to preaching the Gospel. For this reason, Thekla refused marriage. However, the saint’s mother did not accept her daughter’s intention and forced her into marriage. The saint's groom filed a complaint against her and the Apostle Paul to the ruler of the city. And the governor put Paul in prison. Then Thekla ran away from home at night, bribed the guards, giving them all her gold, and went into prison. For three days, sitting at the feet of the holy apostle, she listened to his gracious words. Soon she was discovered and forcibly returned to her parents' house, and the apostle was expelled from the city.

But neither her mother’s tears nor the threats of the city ruler could make the girl retreat from her love for Jesus Christ. Finally, distraught, the mother began to demand the death of her own daughter, and Thekla was sentenced to be burned. The saint fearlessly ascended to the place of her execution and, reverently crossing herself, suddenly saw the Lord Himself, who blessed her... The flame did not cause any harm to the saint; the rain poured down and the fire went out. The torturers and judges were seized with horror - they fled. Saint Thekla left her hometown and found the apostle, who, together with his disciples, prayed for her salvation.

Saint Thekla preached the gospel and walked all the way to Antioch. Here the ascetic rejected the advances of a certain noble man. And for this she was again condemned and thrown to be devoured by hungry animals. But the animals did not touch the maiden, but obediently lay down at her feet. None of the tortures harmed her. People who saw this undoubted miracle began to shout: “Great is the Christian God!” Even the ruler of Antioch was afraid and released the martyr.

The Apostle Paul blessed Saint Thekla to settle in the vicinity of Seleucia of Isauria, where she lived until a very old age, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven, helping the suffering and healing everyone who came to her. During her long life, she led many pagans to the true faith; listening to her words and seeing her holiness, they abandoned their delusions and became Christians.

But there were always those who wanted the death of the ascetic. Already in old age, pagan priests tried to kill Thekla. But when the mercenary killers sent approached, the martyr prayed to the Savior, and the nearest mountain parted and hid the bride of Christ within itself. So Saint Thekla, Equal to the Apostles, departed to the Lord, whom she loved more than life itself.