A Journey to the Centre of the Earth
- Daniel Oltean
- Mar 21
- 5 min read
Updated: Mar 25
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]
Thanks 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 here 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). 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 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] See also Acts of Paul and Thecla, https://www.nasscal.com/e-clavis-christian-apocrypha/acts-of-paul-and-thecla/ (ECCA 787). CANT refers to Clavis Apocryphorum Novi Testamenti, and ECCA to e-Clavis: Christian Apocrypha.
[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), Roma, 1942, p. 89–90.
[5] Ibidem, p. 110.
[6] See D. Nuzzo, S. Teclae ecclesia, in Lexicon Topographicum Urbis Romae – Suburbium, 5, Roma, 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.