Equal-to-the-Apostles, Protomartyr Thecla of Iconium, Equal-to-the-Apostles Protomartyr

Equal-to-the-Apostles Protomartyr Thecla was born in the city of Iconium to noble and wealthy parents, and was distinguished by extraordinary beauty. At the age of eighteen she was betrothed to a noble young man. Upon hearing the preaching of the holy Apostle Paul about the Savior, St. Thecla loved Christ with all her heart and firmly resolved not to marry, but to devote her life to preaching the Gospel. For her refusal to marry and her firm confession of faith, she endured cruel persecution: she was condemned to burning and to being torn apart by beasts, but the Lord miraculously preserved her unharmed — when her mother in anger condemned her to the pyre, a sudden downpour of rain and hail broke out, and all the onlookers fled, while the saint descended from the pyre unharmed and left the city. After her release, St. Thecla, with the blessing of the Apostle Paul, settled near Seleucia, where for many years she preached the Gospel, healed the sick, and converted pagans to Christ. For her apostolic labor of preaching, and for being the first woman martyr to suffer for Christ, she is venerated as Equal-to-the-Apostles Protomartyr. She lived in the mid-1st century. Her memory is kept on September 24/October 7.