The Legend and the Apostle: The Battle for Paul in Story and Canon

Dennis Ronald MacDonald's book is one of the earliest (1983) reviving an interest in Thecla of Iconium, an ascetic woman whose story inspired many women and some men to remain celebate and serve God. Another early book in this revival which mentions Thecla (2 pages) is Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza's _In Memory of Her_ (1983). Fiorenza's book piqued the interest of feminist theologians. In Fall 2000, Oxford University Press publishes _The Cult of Saint Thecla : A Tradition of Women's Piety in Late Antiquity_.Early Christianity's diverse communities developed and treasured different stories about Jesus and the Apostles, including Paul. MacDonald examines certain traditions of Paul, particularly in light of the patriarchal tradition which apparently "won" the battle for Paul and a tradition which he believes originated with women, the Acts of Paul and Thecla.MacDonald especially examines the two Pauline traditions that made the biblical canon, the deutero-Pauline (Colossians, Ephesians, and II Thessalonians) and pastoral epistles (I & II Timothy and Titus), in relation to the Acts of Paul, which was in some early Armenian and Syrian canons. The Acts were written down by an orthodox Christian in Asia Minor between 160-190 and circulated in several languages, including Greek, Coptic, Ethiopic, and Armenian. _The Legend_ is a "readable academic book." It illuminates some of the gender politics involved in the post-Pauline church and how they fit into the over all context of the Roman concept of the family structure and the role of women. Though the more woman-positive traditions about Paul revealed in the Acts of Thecla did not make the canon, both women and men followed in her tradition for centuries afterward. To this day, Thecla is the patron saint of Tarragona, Spain; Italy, Turkey, and Syria claim she is buried in their countries; Maalula, Syria has a convent established in her name; and that's just a beginning of a list-- not to mention that some advocate that she should be the patron saint of the Internet!