Fragment 4

1After the flight from Antioch, when he intended to go to Iconium.

2When Paul went up to Iconium after fleeing from Antioch, Demas and Hermogenes the coppersmith traveled with him. They were full of hypocrisy and flattered Paul as though they loved him. But Paul, looking only to the goodness of Christ, did them no harm and treated them with love. He tried to make sweet to them all the oracles of the Lord, the teaching and interpretation of the Gospel, and the birth and resurrection of the Beloved. He related to them, word by word, all the great works of Christ and how they had been revealed to him: how Christ was born of the virgin Mary and of the seed of David.

3A man named Onesiphorus, when he heard that Paul had come to Iconium, went out with his children, Simmias and Zeno, and his wife, Lectra, to meet him and receive him into his house. Titus had told him what Paul looked like, for he had not seen Paul in the flesh, but only in the spirit.

4Onesiphorus went along the king’s highway leading to Lystra and stood waiting for Paul, examining those who came according to Titus’s description. He saw Paul approaching: a man of short stature, with thinning hair on his head, crooked legs, a healthy body, eyebrows that met, and a somewhat hooked nose. He was full of grace, for sometimes he appeared like a man, and sometimes he had the face of an angel.

5When Paul saw Onesiphorus, he smiled. Onesiphorus said, “Greetings, servant of the blessed God.” Paul answered, “Grace be with you and with your household.” But Demas and Hermogenes were envious, and their hypocrisy grew even stronger. Demas said, “Are we not servants of the Blessed? Why did you not greet us in the same way?” Onesiphorus answered, “I do not see in you any fruit of righteousness. But if you are such servants, come into my house as well and refresh yourselves.”

6When Paul entered Onesiphorus’s house, there was great joy, bending of knees, breaking of bread, and the word of God concerning continence and the resurrection. Paul said:

7“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

8“Blessed are those who keep the flesh chaste, for they will become the temple of God.

9“Blessed are those who are continent, for God will speak to them.

10“Blessed are those who have renounced this world, for they will be pleasing to God.

11“Blessed are those who possess their wives as though they did not have them, for they will inherit God.

12“Blessed are those who fear God, for they will become angels of God.

13“Blessed are those who tremble at the oracles of God, for they will be comforted.

14“Blessed are those who receive the wisdom of Jesus Christ, for they will be called sons of the Most High.

15“Blessed are those who have kept their baptism pure, for they will rest with the Father and with the Son.

16“Blessed are those who have attained the understanding of Jesus Christ, for they will be in the light.

17“Blessed are those who, for love of God, have departed from the fashion of this world, for they will judge angels and will be blessed at the right hand of the Father.

18“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy and will not see the bitter day of judgment. Blessed are the bodies of virgins, for they will be pleasing to God and will not lose the reward of their chastity. The word of the Father will become for them a work of salvation on the day of his Son, and they will have rest forever and ever.”

19As Paul was saying these things in the midst of the assembly in Onesiphorus’s house, a certain virgin named Thecla, whose mother was Theocleia and who was betrothed to a man named Thamyris, sat at a nearby window. Night and day she listened to Paul’s message about chastity. She did not move from the window, but was pressed onward by faith, rejoicing greatly. Moreover, when she saw many women and virgins going in to Paul, she earnestly desired to be considered worthy to stand before Paul’s face and hear the word of Christ. She had not yet seen Paul’s appearance, but had only heard him speak.

20Because she would not leave the window, her mother sent for Thamyris. He came with great joy, as though he were already about to take her as his wife. Thamyris therefore asked Theocleia, “Where is my Thecla?” Theocleia answered, “I have something new to tell you, Thamyris. For three days and three nights Thecla has not risen from the window, either to eat or to drink. She gazes intently, as though at a joyful spectacle, and listens so closely to a stranger who teaches deceitful and varied words that I am amazed to see the maiden’s great modesty so severely besieged.

21“O Thamyris, this man is turning the entire city of the Iconians upside down, and your Thecla as well. All the women and young men go in to him and are taught by him. He says, ‘You must fear only one God and live chastely.’ My daughter, like a spider at the window, is bound by his words and held by a new desire and a fearful passion. She hangs on everything he says, and the maiden has been captured. But go to her and speak to her, for she is betrothed to you.”

22Thamyris went to her, both loving her and afraid because of her ecstatic state. He said, “Thecla, my betrothed, why are you sitting like this? What passion holds you in amazement? Turn toward your Thamyris and be ashamed.” Her mother said the same: “Thecla, why are you sitting like this, looking down and answering nothing, as though you had been struck?” They wept bitterly: Thamyris because he was losing a wife, Theocleia because she was losing a child, and the maidservants because they were losing a mistress. There was therefore great confusion and mourning in the house. While all this was happening, Thecla did not turn away but continued paying attention to Paul’s words.

23Thamyris jumped up, went out into the street, and watched those who went in to Paul and came out again. He saw two men arguing bitterly with one another and said to them, “Men, tell me who you are, and who is this man inside with you who leads the souls of young men and maidens astray, deceiving them so that there will be no marriages and they will remain as they are? I promise to give you a great deal of money if you tell me about him, for I am a leading man of the city.”

24Demas and Hermogenes answered him, “We do not know who this man is. But he deprives young men of wives and maidens of husbands, saying, ‘You have no resurrection unless you remain chaste, do not defile the flesh, and keep it pure.’”

25Thamyris said to them, “Come into my house, men, and refresh yourselves with me.” They went to an expensive banquet with much wine, great wealth, and a splendid table. Thamyris gave them drink because he loved Thecla and wished to take her as his wife. During the dinner Thamyris said, “Men, tell me what his teaching is, so that I may know it as well. I am deeply distressed about Thecla because she loves this stranger so much, and I am being deprived of my marriage.”

26Demas and Hermogenes said, “Bring him before Castelius the governor as someone who is persuading the crowds with the new doctrine of the Christians. Then the governor will destroy him, and you will have your wife Thecla. We will teach you about the resurrection he proclaims: it has already taken place in the children we have, and we rise again when we come to the knowledge of the true God.”

27When Thamyris heard this from them, he was filled with envy and anger. He rose early and went to Onesiphorus’s house with the rulers, officers, and a great crowd carrying staffs. He said to Paul, “You have ruined the city of the Iconians and the woman betrothed to me, so that she will not have me. Let us go to Castelius the governor.” The entire crowd said, “Away with the sorcerer, for he has corrupted all our wives!” The crowd rose together against him.

28Standing before the judgment seat, Thamyris cried aloud, “O proconsul, this is the man—we do not know where he comes from—who does not allow maidens to marry. Let him therefore declare before you why he teaches such things.” Demas and Hermogenes said to Thamyris, “Say that he is a Christian, and then you will destroy him.” But the governor kept his mind steady and summoned Paul, saying, “Who are you, and what do you teach? The accusation these men bring against you is no small matter.”

29Paul raised his voice and said, “If I am being examined today about what I teach, listen, O proconsul. The living God, the God of vengeance, the jealous God, the God who needs nothing but desires the salvation of humanity, has sent me to separate people from corruption, uncleanness, every pleasure, and death, so that they may sin no more. Therefore God has sent his own Child, whom I proclaim, and I teach that people should place their hope in him. He alone has had compassion on the world that was in error, so that people may no longer be under judgment but may have faith, the fear of God, the knowledge of sobriety, and the love of truth. If, then, I teach what God has revealed to me, what wrong am I doing, O proconsul?” After hearing this, the governor ordered Paul to be bound and taken to prison until he had time to hear him more carefully.

30During the night Thecla removed her bracelets and gave them to the doorkeeper. When he opened the door for her, she entered the prison. She gave the jailer a silver mirror and so gained access to Paul. She sat at his feet and heard about the wonderful works of God. Paul was not afraid at all but walked in confidence in God, and her faith also increased as she kissed his chains.

31When Thecla’s family and Thamyris looked for her, they searched through the streets as though she were lost. One of the doorkeeper’s fellow servants reported that she had gone out during the night. They questioned the doorkeeper, and he told them that she had gone to the stranger in prison. They went there as he had said and found her as though bound to Paul by affection. They left, gathered a crowd around them, and reported the matter to the governor.

32The governor ordered Paul to be brought to the judgment seat. But Thecla rolled herself onto the place where Paul had sat and taught in prison. The governor ordered that she also be brought before the judgment seat, and she went there exulting with joy. When Paul was brought in a second time, the people cried even more vehemently, “He is a sorcerer! Away with him!” But the governor gladly listened to Paul speak about the holy works of Christ. He took counsel, summoned Thecla, and asked, “Why will you not marry Thamyris according to the law of the Iconians?” She stood gazing intently at Paul. When she did not answer, her mother Theocleia cried out, “Burn the lawless woman! Burn the woman who refuses to be a bride, in the middle of the theater, so that all the women taught by this man may be terrified!”

33The governor was deeply moved. He had Paul scourged and sent him out of the city, but he condemned Thecla to be burned. The governor immediately rose and went to the theater, and the entire crowd went out to see the dreadful spectacle. But just as a lamb in the wilderness looks around for its shepherd, Thecla searched for Paul. She looked over the crowd and saw the Lord sitting there in Paul’s likeness. She said, “Because I might not be able to endure, Paul has come to look upon me.” She gazed intently at him, but he departed into the heavens.

34The boys and maidens brought wood and hay to burn Thecla. When she was brought in naked, the governor wept and marveled at the power within her. They arranged the wood, and the executioner ordered her to climb onto the pyre. Making the sign of the cross, she went up onto the wood. They set it alight, and although a great fire blazed up, the fire did not take hold of her. God had compassion on her and caused a sound beneath the earth. Above her, a cloud full of rain and hail overshadowed her, and its entire contents poured down. Many people were in danger of death, the fire was extinguished, and Thecla was preserved.

35Paul was fasting with Onesiphorus, his wife, and their children in an open tomb on the road from Iconium to Daphne. After many days had passed while they were fasting, the boys said to Paul, “We are hungry.” They had no money with which to buy bread, for Onesiphorus had abandoned the goods of this world and followed Paul with his entire household. Paul removed his outer garment and said, “Go, child, buy several loaves and bring them back.” While the boy was buying them, he saw his neighbor Thecla. Astonished, he said, “Thecla, where are you going?” She answered, “I am looking for Paul, for I was preserved from the fire.” The boy said, “Come, and I will take you to him. He is mourning for you, praying and fasting, and has now done so for six days.”

36She came to the tomb where Paul had bent his knees and was praying, “O Father of Christ, do not let the fire take hold of Thecla, but spare her, for she belongs to you.” Standing behind him, she cried out, “O Father who made heaven and earth, Father of your beloved Child Jesus Christ, I bless you because you have preserved me from the fire so that I might see Paul.” Paul rose, saw her, and said, “O God who knows hearts, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, I bless you because you have quickly accomplished what I asked of you and have listened to me.”

37There was much love within the tomb, for Paul, Onesiphorus, and all the others rejoiced. They had five loaves, herbs, water, and salt, and they rejoiced over the holy works of Christ. Thecla said to Paul, “I will cut my hair all around and follow you wherever you go.” But he answered, “The time is unfavorable, and you are beautiful. Be careful that another temptation, worse than the first, does not overtake you and that you do not fail to endure it but act like a coward.” Thecla said, “Only give me the seal in Christ, and temptation will not touch me.” Paul answered, “Be patient, Thecla, and you will receive the water.”

38Paul sent Onesiphorus and his entire household back to Iconium. Then he took Thecla and entered Antioch. As they entered, a certain Syriarch named Alexander saw Thecla and fell in love with her. He tried to win Paul over with money and gifts. But Paul said, “I do not know the woman you are speaking about, nor does she belong to me.” Because Alexander was very powerful, he himself embraced her on the highway. She would not endure it but searched for Paul and cried out bitterly, “Do not assault the stranger! Do not assault the handmaid of God! I am one of the foremost among the Iconians, and because I refused to marry Thamyris, I was cast out of the city.” She seized Alexander, tore his cloak, took the wreath from his head, and made him an object of ridicule.

39Alexander both loved her and was ashamed of what had happened to him, so he brought her before the governor. When she confessed that she had done these things, the governor condemned her to the beasts. But the women were greatly astonished and cried out at the judgment seat, “An evil judgment! An impious judgment!” Thecla asked the governor to allow her to remain a virgin until she fought the beasts. A certain wealthy queen named Tryphaena, whose daughter had died, took Thecla into her care and kept her as a consolation.

40When the beasts were led in procession, they bound Thecla to a fierce lioness, and Queen Tryphaena followed her. But when Thecla was placed upon the lioness, it licked her feet, and all the people marveled. The written title of her accusation was: “Guilty of sacrilege.” The women and their children cried out from above, “O God, an impious judgment is taking place in this city!” After the procession Tryphaena took her back. Tryphaena’s dead daughter, Falconilla, had said to her in a dream, “Mother, take in my place Thecla, the desolate stranger, so that she may pray for me and I may be transferred to the place of the righteous.”

41When Tryphaena received Thecla after the procession, she mourned because Thecla was to fight the beasts the next day. She also loved her tenderly as her own daughter Falconilla and said, “Thecla, my second child, come and pray for my child, so that she may live forever, for I have seen this in a dream.” Without delay Thecla raised her voice and said, “O my God, Son of the Most High who is in heaven, grant her what she desires, so that her daughter Faleonilla may live forever.” After she said this, Tryphaena mourned for her, reflecting that such great beauty was to be thrown to the beasts.

42At dawn Alexander came to take her, for he was the one presenting the games. He said, “The governor is seated, and the people are becoming restless. Give me the woman who is to fight the beasts, so that I may take her away.” But Tryphaena cried so loudly that he fled. She said, “A second mourning for my Falconilla is taking place in my house, and there is no one to help me: no child, for she is dead, and no kinsman, for I am a widow. O God of my child Thecla, help Thecla!”

43The governor sent soldiers to bring Thecla. Tryphaena would not leave her but took her by the hand and led her up herself, saying, “I brought my daughter Falconilla to the tomb, but you, Thecla, I am bringing to fight the beasts.” Thecla wept bitterly and groaned to the Lord, saying, “Lord God in whom I believe, with whom I have taken refuge, who saved me from the fire, reward Tryphaena, who has had pity on your handmaid and has kept me pure.”

44There was therefore a tumult, the roaring of the beasts, the shouting of the people, and the cries of the women who sat together. Some said, “Bring in the sacrilegious woman!” But the women said, “Away with the city for this unlawful deed! Away with us all, proconsul! It is a bitter spectacle, an evil judgment!”

45Thecla was taken from Tryphaena’s hand, stripped, fitted with a girdle, and thrown into the stadium. Lions and bears were set against her. A fierce lioness ran toward her and lay down at her feet, and the crowd of women cried aloud. A bear ran at her, but the lioness ran to meet it and tore the bear apart. Then a lion trained to attack people, which belonged to Alexander, ran at her. The lioness fought with it, and both were killed. The women mourned even more when they saw that the lioness that had helped her was also dead.

46Then they sent in many beasts while Thecla stood with her hands outstretched and prayed. When she had finished her prayer, she turned and saw a large tank full of water. She said, “Now it is time for me to wash myself.” She threw herself in, saying, “In the name of Jesus Christ, I baptize myself on the last day.” When all the women and all the people saw it, they wept and said, “Do not throw yourself into the water!” Even the governor wept at the thought that such great beauty would be devoured by seals. So she threw herself into the water in the name of Jesus Christ. When the seals saw the light from a flash of fire, they floated dead on the surface of the water. A cloud of fire surrounded her, so that the beasts did not touch her, nor could anyone see her nakedness.

47When other, more terrifying beasts were sent in, the women shrieked aloud. Some threw leaves, others nard, others cassia, and some balsam, so that there was a great abundance of fragrances. All the beasts affected by them were held as though asleep and did not touch her. Alexander therefore said to the governor, “I have some extremely terrifying bulls. Let us bind the criminal to them.” The governor frowned but permitted it, saying, “Do what you want.” They bound her by the feet between the bulls and placed hot irons beneath their bellies so that they would become even more enraged and kill her. The bulls leaped forward, but the flame burning around her burned through the ropes, and she was left as though she had never been bound.

48But Tryphaena, who was standing beside the arena, fainted at the entrance. Her handmaids said, “Queen Tryphaena is dead!” The governor stopped the games, and the entire city was terrified. Alexander fell at the governor’s feet and said, “Have mercy on me and on the city, and release the condemned woman, or the city may perish with her. If Caesar hears about this, perhaps he will destroy us and the city because his kinswoman, Queen Tryphaena, has died at the entrance.”

49The governor summoned Thecla from among the beasts and asked her, “Who are you? What do you have surrounding you, so that not one of the beasts has touched you?” She answered, “I am the handmaid of the living God. What I have surrounding me is this: I have believed in his Son, in whom God is well pleased. For his sake not one of the beasts has touched me. He alone is the way of salvation and the substance of immortal life. He is a refuge for those who are tossed about, relief for the oppressed, and shelter for the despairing. In a word, whoever does not believe in him will not live but will die forever.”

50When the governor heard this, he ordered garments to be brought and said, “Put on these garments.” She answered, “The one who clothed me when I was naked among the beasts will also clothe me with salvation on the day of judgment.” She took the garments and put them on. The governor immediately issued a decree, saying, “I release to you Thecla the godly, the servant of God.” All the women cried aloud and, as though with one voice, praised God, saying, “There is one God who has preserved Thecla!” Their voices made the entire city shake.

51When Tryphaena received the good news, she came to meet Thecla with a great crowd. She embraced her and said, “Now I believe that the dead are raised. Now I believe that my child lives. Come inside, and I will make you heir to all my property.” Thecla therefore went in with her and rested in her house for eight days, teaching her the word of God. As a result, most of the maidservants also believed, and there was great joy in the house.

52But Thecla longed for Paul and searched for him, sending people in every direction. She was told that he was at Myra. She took young men and maidens with her, girded herself, and sewed her mantle into a cloak in the style of a man. She left for Myra, found Paul speaking the word of God, and went to him. When he saw her and the people with her, he was amazed and thought to himself, “Has some other temptation overtaken her?” But she understood and said to him, “I have received the washing, O Paul. The one who worked with you in the Gospel also worked with me in my baptism.”

53Paul took her by the hand and brought her into the house of Hermias. He heard everything from her, so that he marveled greatly. Those who heard were strengthened, and they prayed for Tryphaena. Thecla rose and said to Paul, “I am going to Iconium.” Paul answered, “Go, and teach the word of God.” Tryphaena had sent her a great deal of clothing and gold, so Thecla left some of it with Paul for the ministry to the poor.

54Thecla herself departed for Iconium. She entered Onesiphorus’s house, fell onto the floor where Paul had sat and taught the oracles of God, and wept, saying, “O God of me and of this house, where the light shone upon me, Jesus Christ the Son of God, my helper in prison, my helper before the governors, my helper in the fire, and my helper among the beasts: you are God, and to you be glory forever. Amen.”

55She found Thamyris dead, but her mother was still alive. She saw her mother and said, “Theocleia, my mother, can you believe that the Lord lives in the heavens? If you desire money, the Lord will give it to you through me. Or if you desire your child, here I am before you.” After giving this testimony, she departed for Seleucia. After enlightening many with the word of God, she slept a good sleep.