SAINTS WHO NEVER WERE: THEKLA

This very detailed Russian icon depicts St. Thekla/Thecla:

It is identified by the long inscription at the top — so long that we must divide it here:

It begins:

ОБРАЗ ЖИТИЕ И СТРАДАНИЕ СВЯТЫЯ —
OBRAZ ZHITIE I STRADANIE SVYATUIYA —

“IMAGE [of the ] LIFE AND SUFFERING [of the] HOLY —

It continues:

— ПЕРВОМУЧЕНИЦЫ ФЕКЛЫ ПРЕХВАЛНЫЯ
— PERVOMUCHENITSUI FEKLUI PREKHVALNUIYA

— “FIRST MARTYRESS THEKLA [the] MOST-LAUDABLE”

That’s quite a title for someone whose very existence is based on an apocryphal text first attested about 190 c.e.  And that is not all of her titles.  She is sometimes called

Святая великомученица прехвалная и равноапостолная Фекла
Svyataya velikomuchenitsa prekhvalnaya i ravnoapostolnaya Fekla
“Holy Great-Martyress All-Laudable and Equal-to-the-Apostles Thekla.”

Thekla/Thecla used to be a prominent saint in both the Latin Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches, but in the 20th century Thekla was removed from the Catholic calendar of saints.  The reason given was very sensibly that Quia eius cultus non aliud habet fundamentum quam Acta apocrypha Pauli et Theclae — “Because her cult has no foundation other than the apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla.”  She marches on, however, in Eastern Orthodoxy, which continues to have many saints who never existed in its calendar, all venerated by great numbers of people who have no idea that they saints they pray to are no more real than characters in a novel.   As mentioned in previous postings here, Eastern Orthodox iconography has no strong boundary separating the canonical Old and New Testaments from extra-biblical apocrypha.  That is why icons of Thekla continue to be painted and venerated in Eastern Orthodoxy.

And if you are wondering why she is Thekla/Thecla in Greek and English, but Fekla in Russia, just remember that Russian has no “th” sound as in the English word “the”.  So words beginning with “Th” — the Greek letter theta (Θ) — begin instead with Ф (the “F” sound) in Russian.

Here is a recent Greek-inscribed icon of Thekla:

The title inscription beside her head reads
Ἡ ἉΓΙΑ ΘΕΚΛΑ ΠΡѠΤΟΜΑΡΤΥC ΚΑΙ ΙCΑΠΌCΤΟΛΟς
HE HAGIA THEKLA PROTOMARTYS KAI ISAPOSTOLOS
[The} HOLY THEKLA, PROTOMARTYR AND EQUAL-TO-THE-APOSTLES

The Acts of Paul is believed to have been written about 160 c.e.  It is included as canonical in the list found in the Codex Claromontanus, but Tertullian asserted that it was written by an Asian presbyter who was removed from his office for the forgery.  Whether true or not, Tertullian did not like the work because it encouraged females to preach and to baptize.  It has a very negative view of sex, encouraging complete chastity for both females and males.

The story of Paul and Thekla/Thecla is quite lengthy, and if you have a free evening and an unhealthy urge toward masochism, you will find it here:

Click to access The%20Acts%20of%20Paul%20and%20Thecla.pdf

SOME SAY MICHAEL, SOME SAY JESUS

It is common to hear contemporary Eastern Orthodox advocates quote a phrase of the 5th century (and thus pre-Schism) “French” monk Vincent of Lérins: Quod ubique, quod semper, quod ab omnibus creditum est — that “Which everywhere, which always, which by all is believed.” To them, that is a description of Orthodox belief — that which has always and everywhere and by all been believed.

Of course taken at face value it is patently untrue, which Vincent himself realized as he took refuge in what he felt to be the “majority” consensus of Christian belief — which in itself is a fragile shelter, for majorities have often been wrong. Christianity has never been historically unified in its beliefs since its beginnings, and as the German Luther once said, “… denn weder dem Papst noch den Konzilien allein glaube ich, da es feststeht, dass sie öfter geirrt und sich selbst widersprochen haben …. “For neither the popes nor the councils alone do I believe, since it is certain that they have often erred and contradicted themselves.” Even Celsus, the 2nd century Greek critic of the Christianity of his time, wrote, “Christians, needless to say, utterly detest one another; they slander each other constantly with the vilest forms of abuse, and cannot come to any sort of agreement in their teaching. Each sect brands its own, fills the head of its own with deceitful nonsense ….”

And of course students of art history know that even the making and veneration of icons is a later innovation in the history of Christianity.

The simple point to be drawn from this, as it relates to what I will discuss today, is that even in icons we find views expressed that others would dispute.

As an example, Let’s take a look at an icon type we have seen before. You may recall that it depicts a story recorded in Joshua 5:13-15, which is the large body of text written on this icon:

“‘And it happened when Joshua was in Jericho, that he looked up with his eyes and saw a man standing before him, and a drawn sword in his hand; and Joshua drew near and said to him, Are you for us or on the side of our enemies? And he said to him, I am now come, the chief captain of the army of the Lord. And Joshua fell on his face upon the earth, and said to him, Lord, what do you command your servant? And the captain of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, Loose your shoe off your feet, for the place whereon you now stand is holy.’ And Joshua did so.”

First, as you may recall, the name of Joshua in Slavic is Isus / Jesus — the same as the New Testament Jesus. The Old Testament Isus is distinguished by calling him Isus Navin (written on the icon as Navvin) — “Jesus son of Nun.” He is given the title Pravednuiy (“Righteous”), though on this icon it is simply “Holy” Isus Navvin.

And now, after all that long prelude, we come to the point of today’s posting: As you can see, the angel holding a sword in the icon is given the Slavic title Svyatuiy Arkhistratig Mikhail — “Holy Chief Commander Michael.” In Russian iconography, this appearance is considered one of several made by the Archangel Michael. However, that was not everywhere, always, and by all believed — not even by the early Christian Justin Martyr, who is considered a saint in Eastern Orthodoxy.

The second century apologist Justin Martyr held that the sword-bearing angel who appeared to Jesus Navin / Joshua son of Nun was the “Wisdom of God,” i.e. Jesus himself, not the Archangel Michael. Justin is considered to have held a subordinationist view of Jesus, meaning that Jesus was a distinct being “numerically distinct” from God the Father, who did not directly intervene in worldly affairs, but dealt with the material world via Jesus his son, a second divine being distinct from the Father, like the light of the sun is distinct from the sun. He placed Jesus in “second place” after the father, and though Justin considered Jesus to be divine (Greek theos), he did not consider him to be God in the same sense as the Father (Greek ho theos). This, of course, is not the later post-Nicene Trinitarian doctrine.

The thing for students of iconography to remember, however, is simply that when icons depict the angel who appeared to Joshua as being the Archangel Michael, that was not a view always held by earlier Christians, even some considered to be within the “Orthodox” fold.

WESTERNIZED “UNSLEEPING EYE” FOLK ICONS

First, as we near the holiday season, I would like to remind everyone that Ukraine is still struggling bravely against brutal odds to maintain its sovereignty and independence. I cannot find words to say how disgustingly careless and unhelpful I find the attitude of the current U.S. President in this matter. He certainly does not reflect American ideals.

Now on to icons.

Around the end of the 17th century, icons of the “Unsleeping Eye” in an unusual form began to appear in Ukrainian art, influenced by the religious art of western Europe. Here is an example from the village of Myzove, in Volyn Oblast in northwest Ukraine.

As you can see, it differs greatly from the traditional Russian form under this title. The Ukrainian version shows the infant Christ sleeping on a cross, with symbols of the Passion about him, and in this case a vase of roses adds a bright touch of color. The inscription on the cross is the usual Latin Catholic inscription INRI, instead of the Cyrillic form found on Russian icons.

There is also another “Trinitarian” form of the “Unsleeping Eye” found among Ukrainian folk icons. It is the “Unsleeping Eye with Lord Sabaoth.” Lord Sabaoth is God the Father. Here Jesus as the “Unsleeping Eye” on a cross with implements of the Passion is shown below the Holy Spirit as a dove, and above him Lord Sabaoth.

The Slavic inscriptions on the icon read:

“God the Father — God the Son — God the Holy Spirit”

Those at the edge of the triangular halo on Lord Sabaoth read:

“Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord Sabaoth, Full [are heaven and earth with your glory]”

Above the sleeping Jesus is the abbreviation for “Jesus Christ”, followed by “Savior of the World.”

Such icons were generally painted with oil paints on a board without a gesso base.