Search this site

Image of Thecla on a Coptic eulogy ampulla (6th/7th c.), Paris, Musée du Louvre, Département des Arts de Byzance et des Chrétientés en Orient, MNC 1926, https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010280955 According to ancient writings that refer to her end, Saint Thecla (September 24) did not die but miraculously disappeared into the rock or underground. The event would have taken place near Seleucia (present-day Silifke, Turkey) in the ancient province of Isauria. In reality, it is unknown whether Thecla existed or what her end would have been. The legend of her disappearance was probably promoted by a religious community established in Meriamlik, near Seleucia, as early as the 4th century. To attract pilgrims, it claimed to have settled where the miracle supposedly occurred.  [1] Due to the fame that Thecla enjoyed in ancient and medieval times, Meriamlik’s example was copied elsewhere. The most unusual case was reported in Rome. Thecla is said to have arrived there after an underground journey searching for the apostle Paul.   Thecla in Rome The acts and miracles of Thecla are recorded in a document originally written in the 2nd century ( CANT  211.3),  [2] later completed by various authors. One version of this text ( BHG  1712+1714) mentions the miraculous journey and the new place of pilgrimage: By the providence of God, she [Thecla] entered alive into the rock and went underground. She went to Rome to see Paul, but she found him dead. She remained there a short time and fell into a pure sleep. She is buried about two or three stades from the tomb of her master, Paul.  [3] The legend of Thecla’s underground journey has been preserved only in Greek (and it is unlikely that it influenced Jules Verne when he wrote his famous science fiction story). However, the existence of a place of pilgrimage dedicated to Thecla in Rome, near the tomb of the apostle Paul (the church of San Paolo fuori le mura), is confirmed by Latin sources from the 7th century. One of them ( Notitia ecclesiarum urbis Romae ) mentions that Thecla was buried in an underground cavity (in spelunca) two or three stades (0.3-0.5 km) from the church of Saint Paul, precisely as in the Greek text.  [4] Another source ( De locis sanctis martyrum ) confirms this location and places it near the monastery of Saint Anastasios the Persian, founded by Eastern monks before the middle of the 7th century.  [5] In ancient times, near the tomb of Paul, there were several underground cemeteries (catacombs), some of which were preserved or used in later periods. Today, a cemetery that could correspond to the one indicated in the two Latin documents is called the catacomb of Saint Thecla (via Silvio d’Amico). However, no archaeological data provides clear evidence of a connection between this cemetery and the saint of Eastern origin.  [6]   A profitable miracle and a new pilgrimage centre The existence of a place of worship in Rome in the 7th century, associated with Thecla, leads to the idea that an unknown author introduced the miracle of the underground journey into the Acts of Thecla, intending to increase the popularity of the new church. Since this modification is attested only in Greek, it probably comes from the circle of Eastern migrants who settled in Rome in large numbers, especially from the middle of the 6th century, when the Byzantines reconquered Italy. Two examples illustrate how Eastern emigrants attempted to integrate into local religious life. In 601, Pope Gregory I of Rome (590–604) mentioned in a letter a monk from the East named Andrew, who lived in isolation ( inclausus ) near the church of St. Paul. Gregory considered Andrew a forger, as he had written sermons in Greek that he had put under the pope’s name (although Gregory had little knowledge of Greek) and had altered a letter from Bishop Eusebius of Thessalonica to accuse him of doctrinal errors.  [7] On the other hand, in the 7th century, the monastery of Saint Anastasios the Persian, already mentioned, claimed that it was located on the site of the execution of Paul, even though the Roman tradition of that time was much more reserved for this aspect. To give credit to this legend, a Latin text entitled Acts of Peter and Paul, attributed to Marcellus ( BHL  6657–6659, BHG  1491, CANT  193.1), was modified in its more extended Greek version ( BHG  1490, CANT  193.2) in the paragraph which narrates the martyrdom of Paul. Via Ostiensis,  [8] the traditional place of death, thus became Aquae Salviae,  [9] the domain on which the monastery stood. These two cases of Eastern interference in Roman tradition bear a striking resemblance to the legend of Thecla. It seems that the monks of Saint Anastasios the Persian, originally from the region of Cilicia, neighbouring Isauria, considered a cemetery located between San Paolo fuori le mura and their monastery as a suitable place to dedicate it to the disciple of the apostle. To acquire greater notoriety and attract pilgrims, they favoured the creation of an artificial cult dedicated to Thecla. Cilicia and Isauria, represented by Paul and Thecla, thus remained symbolically united for those living now in old Rome.  [10]   [1] For the cult of Thecla, see U.M. Fasola, Tecla di Iconio, in Bibliotheca Sanctorum , 12, Roma, 1969, col. 176–177; Thekla, follower of the Apostle Paul, The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity , http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=S00092 (S00092). [2] J. Whalley, Acts of Paul and Thecla, e-Clavis: Christian Apocrypha , https://www.nasscal.com/e-clavis-christian-apocrypha/acts-of-paul-and-thecla . CANT  refers to Clavis Apocryphorum Novi Testamenti . [3] J.-D. Kaestli – W. Rordorf, La fin de la vie de Thècle dans les Actes de Paul et Thècle. Édition des textes additionnels, in Apocrypha , 25 (2014), p. 9–101, here 90–91. See also R.A. Lipsius – M. Bonnet, Acta apostolorum apocrypha , 1, Leipzig, 1891, p. 270; A.-J. Festugière, Les énigmes de sainte Thècle, in Comptes rendus des séances de l’Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres , 112.1 (1968), p. 52–63, https://www.persee.fr/doc/crai_0065-0536_1968_num_112_1_12209 . BHG  refers to Bibliotheca Hagiographica Graeca . [4] R. Valentini – G. Zucchetti (ed.), Codice topografico della città di Roma , 2 (Fonti per la storia d’Italia, 88), Rome, 1942, p. 89–90. [5] Ibidem , p. 110. [6] See D. Nuzzo, S. Teclae ecclesia, in Lexicon Topographicum Urbis Romae – Suburbium , 5, Rome, 2008, p. 130–133; A. Vella, Il cimitero di S. Tecla sulla Via Ostiense, in B. Mazzei (ed.), Il cubicolo degli apostoli nelle catacombe romane di Santa Tecla. Cronaca di una scoperta , Vatican, 2010, p. 17–32 . [7] D. Norberg (ed.), S. Gregorii Magni Registrum Epistularum  (Corpus Christianorum Series Latina, 140A), Turnhout, 1982, p. 959–960 (§11.55) . [8] Lipsius – Bonnet, Acta apostolorum apocrypha , 1, p. 170–171 (§59) . BHL  refers to Bibliotheca Hagiographica Latina . [9] Ibidem , p. 214 (§80) . [10] See also G. Dagron (ed. and trad.), Vie et miracles de Sainte Thècle  (Subsidia Hagiographica, 62), Bruxelles, 1978, p. 49–50 ; K. Cooper, A Saint in Exile: The Early Medieval Thecla at Rome and Meriamlik, in Hagiographica , 2 (1995), p. 1–23, here 13–20; A. Amore – A. Bonfiglio, I martiri di Roma , Todi, 2013, p. 215–217; D. Oltean, Le monastère de Saint-Anastase-le-Perse à Rome à travers les légendes hagiographiques du haut Moyen Âge, in Byzantinische Zeitschrift , 117.3 (2024), p. 783–816 .

Emperor Theophilos and his court, as depicted in the manuscript Madrid, Gr. Vitr. 26-2, 12th c. (Chronicle of Skylitzes), f. 42v, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Emperor_Theophilos_and_his_court,_Skylitzes_Chronicle.jpg# In the Byzantine tradition, the first Sunday of Lent is called the Sunday of Orthodoxy. It evokes a historical moment known as the Triumph of Orthodoxy, i.e., the definitive recognition of the cult of images in the Byzantine Empire. The event occurred in 843, shortly after the death of Emperor Theophilos (829–842), the last ruler who opposed the veneration of icons (iconoclast). The transition from an iconoclastic regime to an iconodule one (in favour of the cult of images) is a fascinating page in the history of the Byzantine Church. It was coordinated by Empress Theodora, the wife of Theophilos, who accepted the change but on one condition: the emperor had to be publicly absolved of his errors posthumously. Although this contradicted ecclesiastical practice, Patriarch Methodios I (843–847) successfully accomplished the mission. He restored the image of the former iconoclast and facilitated his establishment among the good and just rulers.   Theophilos the iconoclast The oldest historical and hagiographical texts about Theophilos present him as a persecutor of those who venerated icons. The sufferings endured by Bishop Euthymius of Sardis (present-day Sart, western Turkey) and by the brothers Theodore and Theophanes Graptos were direct consequences of the religious policy of Theophilos’s time. However, upon his death, Empress Theodora, who would later be canonized (February 11), did not want Theophilos’s name to remain linked to the iconoclastic movement. Imperial propaganda thus circulated two texts in favour of the deceased emperor, entitled The Meritorious Deeds of Emperor Theophilos  ( BHG 1735) [1] and The Absolution (of Sins) of Emperor Theophilos  ( BHG  1732–1734). [2] The first text praises the spirit of justice shown by Theophilos and emphasizes his concern for the construction and restoration of public and religious buildings. The second, a narrative in which historical and supernatural events mix without contradiction, presents the practical way the emperor would have been forgiven for his errors. In response to the empress’s request, Methodios asked everyone to pray for Theophilos during the first week of Lent. At the Church of Hagia Sophia, services and prayers did not stop. Toward the end of the week, an angel appeared to the patriarch in a vision, assuring him that the prayers had been heard and Theophilos had thus been forgiven: After that, while he [Methodios] was in prayer and petition with all others, he also dreamt that a luminescent and divine angel came to him and said thus: Behold, O Bishop, your plea was heard, and Emperor Theophilos has been granted pardon; so do not bother the Divine concerning him anymore. Furthermore, to obtain material proof of this miracle, Methodios wrote a list of all the heretics from history, which contained the name of the emperor, and placed it under the altar. Upon checking the list at the end of the prayer, the patriarch no longer found Theophilos’s name written there. Although not unanimously accepted, promoting these miracles led Empress Theodora to restore the cult of images. Paradoxically, the absolution of a heretical emperor thus allowed the condemnation of all heretics before him. The anathemas, written in a document entitled Synodicon of Orthodoxy, are solemnly read on the first Sunday of Lent to this day.  [3] Over time, the process of publicly rehabilitating the emperor had unexpected results. A 12th-century pamphlet entitled Timarion  considered Theophilos not only the most just of emperors but also the most just of Christians. In the afterlife, he replaced Rhadamanthus, one of Greek mythology’s three supreme judges of the dead. Ironically, the author depicts Theophilos wearing simple, black clothing. An angel always accompanied him, as he would have done in life. [4]   The legend of Emperor Trajan reused in Constantinople The public absolution of a confirmed unfaithful is a unique event in Byzantine history. The act contradicts traditional calls for life-changing and offers an easy way to obtain salvation, regardless of one’s actions. The unusual way in which Theophilos received forgiveness, however, was skillfully prepared by Methodios. He used the example of Trajan, the Roman emperor (98–117), who, according to legend, was also saved posthumously thanks to the prayers of Pope Gregory I of Rome (590–604). The already cited fragment of the Absolution of Emperor Theophilos is an almost identical copy of a text in the Life  of Pope Gregory written in Rome. Methodios himself probably copied this text in his youth while he was in the papal city: As he [Gregory] continued his fervent prayer, he heard this voice from heaven: I have listened to your supplication and delivered the soul of Trajan from torment, but do not you again begin to supplicate me for unbelievers! After this, the holy angel also appeared to him and said: Behold, the Lord has heard your supplication, but do not again begin to supplicate the Lord in this way for the impious and idolaters. [5] Furthermore, the possibility of obtaining forgiveness after death was set forth in a treatise entitled On Those Who Have Fallen Asleep in the Faith  ( BHG  2103t). The text has been put under the name of John Damascene but is generally attributed to Michael Synkellos, a close collaborator of Patriarch Methodios and hegumenos of the monastery of Chora in Constantinople. Among the hagiographical arguments raised, one uses the same Life  of Pope Gregory: [Gregory] addressed a fervent prayer to the Lord who loves souls for the forgiveness of Trajan’s sins; a voice from God immediately spoke to him, and he heard it said: I have heard your prayer and granted my pardon to Trajan, but do not address prayers for the impious anymore. [6] The comparison between these texts leaves no room for doubt. Based on an example provided by a hagiographic composition found in Rome and transmitted to Constantinople, Patriarch Methodios created a new legend. Trajan, saved by the prayers of Pope Gregory, thus became Theophilos, delivered from sins by the prayer of the Patriarch of Constantinople! The parallel between the two emperors became established, and later generations often mentioned them together. In a marginal note, probably from the 11th/12th century, in a manuscript containing Michael Synkellos’s treatise, an anonymous author wrote: After Trajan, many emperors succeeded one another until we learn that the iconomach Theophilos was similarly judged worthy of [divine] mercy; as Trajan had this privilege, so did the iconomach Theophilos.  [7] From the 13th/14th century onwards, the Trajan–Theophilos parallel entered liturgical use, a commentary by Nikephoros Callistos Xanthopoulos being included in the Byzantine Triodion  to the present day: Gregory the Dialogue also, by prayer, saved the Emperor Trajan; [but] he was instructed by God to pray no more for the pagans. Moreover, it is said that by the [prayers of] holy men and confessors, Empress Theodora freed from torments and saved Theophilos, the hater of God.  [8] A miracle ordered by an empress to safeguard her family’s reputation seems to have changed the course of history. But her contemporaries gave it little credit and limited the spread of the new legend as much as possible. A shadow of doubt remains today about this miraculous salvation of Emperor Theophilos. [9]     [1] The text was published by W. Regel, Analecta Byzantino–Russica , Sankt Petersburg, 1891, p. 40–43. BHG  refers to Bibliotheca Hagiographica Graeca . [2] The different versions of this text have been published by Regel, Analecta Byzantino–Russica , p. 19–39 ( BHG 1732–1733) and D. Afinogenov, The Story of the Emperor Theophilos’ Pardon, in Travaux et mémoires , 24.2 (2020), p. 239–2756 ( BHG  1734). [3] See J. Guillard, Le synodikon de l’Orthodoxie : édition et commentaire, in Travaux et mémoires , 2 (1967), p. 1–316, here 119–129. [4] R.-Cl. Bondoux – J.-P. Grélois (ed. and trans.), Timarion ou Ses infortunes , §29–33, Paris, 2022, p. 116–123. [5] B. Martin-Hisard, L’ange et le pape : le témoin géorgien d’une Vie grecque perdue de Grégoire le Grand, in O. Delouis et al. (éd.), Le saint, le moine et le paysan. Mélanges d’histoire byzantine offerts à Michel Kaplan  (Byzantina Sorbonensia, 29), Paris, 2016, p. 457–502, here 468, https://books.openedition.org/psorbonne/37705 . For the stay in Rome of the future Patriarch Methodios, see P. Canart, Le patriarche Méthode de Constantinople, copiste à Rome, in Palaeographica, Diplomatica et Archivistica. Studi in onore di Giulio Battelli  (Storia e Letteratura, 139), Roma, 1979, p. 343–353. [6] The text is published in Patrologia Graeca , 95, col. 247–278, here 261D–264A. For the attribution of this treatise to Michael Synkellos, see J.-M. Hoeck, Stand und Aufgaben der Damaskenos-Forschung, in Orientalia Christiana Periodica ,   17 (1951), p. 5–60, here 39–40 (no. 94) and n. 3. [7] Londra, British Library Add. 19390 (9th/10th c.), f. 9r, https://pinakes.irht.cnrs.fr/notices/cote/38966/ (no. diktyon 38966); cf. C. Mango (ed. and trans.), Nikephoros Patriarch of Constantinople, Short History  (Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae, 13), Washington (DC), 1990, p. [23]. [8] Τριῴδιον , Athens, 1960, p. 22. [9] See also A. Markopoulos, The Rehabilitation of the Emperor Theophilos, in L. Brubaker (ed.), Byzantium in the Ninth Century: Dead or Alive? , Aldershot, 1998, p. 37–49; Ó. Prieto Domínguez, The Iconoclast Saint: Emperor Theophilos in Byzantine Hagiography, in S. Tougher (ed.), The Emperor in the Byzantine World , Londres, 2019, p. 216–234; D. Oltean, Le pape Grégoire Ier, l’absolution de l’empereur Théophile et la liturgie byzantine des présanctifiés, in Ostkirchliche Studien , 72.2 (2023), p. 311–338.