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On Saint Thecla the Martyr

An encomium for the holy protomartyr and apostle Thecla.

50.745 The grace of the Spirit has set up for us beautiful images of the saints in their annual memorials, and it continually preserves as fresh their deeds which with time would come to be forgotten. For each person, encountering the memorial as if it were some icon, beholds in a mirror the beauty of their deeds, and sees their actions depicted in the icon of the memorial. And today I seem to behold that blessed maiden in a mirror, as if standing in the icon of her memorial, raising with one hand the crown of victory over pleasures, and with the other the crown of victory over dangers; and offering with one hand her virginity, and with the other her martyrdom to the Master of all. Now, she also possessed the qualities of virginity, which to those who examine carefully is a great martyrdom before martyrdom.

For pleasures are certain terrible executioners of the body; or rather, more terrible than executioners; for they bind with bonds not made by hands; they scrape the soul through the eyes; they bring through the ears to the unyielding will the torch of the love of pleasure, they scourge the mind with a sharp whip, they stir up battle-lines one after another against us. Whenever someone commands his eyes to be blind to beautiful things, pleasures force open what was closed, being let loose through the ears by licentious 50.746 songs; whenever they encounter ears closed to lewd songs, they trifle with the thoughts, adorned licentiously; whenever we, being vigilant, conquer them in all things, to speak concisely, they shadow-box with us while we sleep; and this cycle of their battle-line is eternal, not ceasing with the sun, nor resting at night. And if indeed they should get hold of youth, it becomes a grappling of fire with fire, a joining of a furnace to straw. For youth is easily set on fire by pleasures, being more oily for ignition, and too delicate for the labors of self-control.

All these things indeed made virginity a long martyrdom for the blessed virgin; as she boxed with pleasures, as the martyr with beasts; as she wrestled with her thoughts, as he with tortures; as she fought with concepts of pleasure-loving, as with the compulsions of executioners; yet conquering nevertheless this multifaceted and indwelling war; for the fire of her will was for her more fiery, and holier, than the fire of nature. But nature yielded to the maiden, and while it tyrannized others, and raged for union, in Thecla it practiced virginity; but her parents, not knowing the girl's commitments to virginity, nor that the Lord Christ from heaven had given Himself 50.747 for her betrothal, gave her many long admonitions concerning marriage; but Paul's incantation was already sobering the maiden's ears, The unmarried woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. A crown of virginity straightway; this very manner of anxiety is for her the first; for she is anxious with an anxiety full of blessing, she is anxious with a care freer than all lack of care, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. She has nothing in common with the earth, no kinship with the necessities of marriage, such as to put up with a fornicating bridegroom, to endure vain suspicions, to be deprived of the power of useful goings-forth, to be managed concerning food, to be an object of jealousy when adorned, to be scorned before she bears a child, as if not yet having become a wife, and having given birth to find accusations on account of her offspring.

Was a female born? Because it is not a male, the husband is sullen. Was a male also added? The one born was born, as not comely. Are both graceful in beauty? Then the care for the beautiful ones is more bitter. Have they been weaned from milk? The care of upbringing has again followed

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De sancta Thecla martyre

ΕΙΣ ΤΗΝ ΑΓΙΑΝ ΠΡΩΤΟΜΑΡΤΥΡΑ Καὶ ἀπόστολον Θέκλαν ἐγκώμιον.

50.745 Καλὰς ἡμῖν ἡ τοῦ Πνεύματος χάρις τῶν ἁγίων εἰκόνας τὰς ἐτησίους αὐτῶν ἀνεστήσατο μνήμας, καὶ χρόνῳ τὰς πράξεις ἐρχομένας εἰς λήθην νεαρὰς διηνεκῶς διασώζει. Ἕκαστος γὰρ ὥσπερ εἰκόνι τινὶ ἐντυγχάνων τῇ μνήμῃ, τὸ τῶν πράξεων κατοπτρίζεται κάλλος, καὶ θεωρεῖ τὰς πράξεις τῇ τῆς μνήμης ἐγκειμένας εἰκόνι. Καί μοι δοκῶ σήμερον τὴν μακαρίαν ἐκείνην κατοπτρίζεσθαι κόρην, καθάπερ ἐπ' εἰκόνος ἑστηκυῖαν τῆς μνήμης, καὶ τῇ μὲν τὸν καθ' ἡδονῶν, τῇ δὲ τὸν κατὰ κινδύνων ἀνατείνουσαν στέφανον· καὶ τῇ μὲν τὴν παρθενίαν, τῇ δὲ τὸ μαρτύριον τῷ τῶν ὅλων ∆εσπότῃ προσφέρουσαν. Ἦν μὲν οὖν αὐτῇ καὶ τὰ τῆς παρθενίας, ἃ τοῖς ἀκριβῶς σκοπουμένοις μέγα τι πρὸ μαρτυρίου μαρτύριον.

Αἱ γὰρ ἡδοναὶ δεινοί τινες τοῦ σώματος δήμιοι· μᾶλλον δὲ δημίων δεινότεροι· κατατείνουσι γὰρ ἀχειροποιήτοις δεσμοῖς· ξέουσι τὴν ψυχὴν δι' ὀμμάτων· προσφέρουσι δι' ἀκοῶν τῷ τῆς γνώμης ἀνενδότῳ φιληδονίας λαμπάδα, μαστιγοῦσι δριμείᾳ τὴν διάνοιαν μάστιγι, ἄλλας ἐπ' ἄλλαις κυκῶσι καθ' ἡμῶν παρατάξεις. Ὅταν τις τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς παραγγείλῃ τετυφλῶσθαι πρὸς κάλλη, παρανοίγουσι τὸ κλεισθὲν ἡδοναὶ δι' ὤτων ἀσελγέσιν 50.746 ἐκλυόμενον ᾠδαῖς· ὅταν ἐντύχωσιν ὠσὶ πρὸς ᾠδὰς πορνικὰς κεκλεισμένοις, προσπαίζουσι τοῖς λογισμοῖς ἀσελγῶς κοσμηθεῖσαι· ὅταν αὐτὰς διὰ πάντων, συντόμως εἰπεῖν, ἐγρηγορότες νικήσωμεν, κοιμωμένοις σκιαμαχοῦσι· καὶ τῆς παρατάξεως οὗτος αὐταῖς ὁ κύκλος ἀΐδιος, οὐχ ἡλίῳ συνεξιστάμενος, οὐ συνησυχάζων νυκτί. Ἂν δὲ δὴ καὶ νεότητος λάβωνται, πυρὸς γέγονε πρὸς πῦρ συμπλοκὴ, καμίνου πρὸς καλάμην συνάφεια. Εὐκατάπρηστος γὰρ ἡδοναῖς ἡ νεότης, ὡς ἐλαιωδεστέρα πρὸς ἔξαψιν, ὡς πρὸς πόνους σωφροσύνης τρυφερωτέρα.

Ἃ δὴ πάντα τῇ μακαρίᾳ παρθένῳ μακρόν τι μαρτύριον τὴν παρθενίαν εἰργάζετο· πυκτευούσῃ ταῖς ἡδοναῖς, ὡς ὁ μάρτυς θηρίοις· παλαιούσῃ τοῖς λογισμοῖς, ὡς ἐκεῖνος βασάνοις· συμβαλλούσῃ φιληδονίας ἐννοίαις, ὡς ἀνάγκαις δημίων· νικώσῃ δὲ ὅμως τὸν πολύτροπον οὕτω καὶ σύνοικον πόλεμον· τοῦ γὰρ τῆς φύσεως πυρὸς τὸ τῆς γνώμης αὐτῇ πυρωδέστερον, καὶ ἅγιον. Ἀλλ' ἡ μὲν φύσις παρεχώρει τῇ κόρῃ, καὶ τυραννοῦσα παρ' ἄλλοις, καὶ λυττῶσα πρὸς μίξιν, παρὰ Θέκλᾳ παρθενίαν ἐξήσκει· οἱ γονεῖς δὲ τὰς πρὸς τὴν παρθενίαν τῆς παιδὸς οὐκ εἰδότες συνθήκας, οὐδὲ τῆς πρὸς αὐτὴν νυμφαγωγίας 50.747 τὸν ∆εσπότην Χριστὸν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ δεδωκότα, πολλὰς αὐτῇ περὶ γάμων νουθεσίας ἐμακρολόγουν· ἡ Παύλου δὲ ἄρα ταῖς τῆς κόρης ἀκοαῖς ἐπῳδὴ προενήφει, Ἡ ἄγαμος μεριμνᾷ τὰ τοῦ Κυρίου, ἵνα ᾖ ἁγία καὶ σώματι, καὶ πνεύματι. Στέφανος τῆς παρθενίας εὐθύς· αὐτὸς αὐτῇ πρῶτος τῆς μερίμνης ὁ τρόπος· μεριμνᾷ γὰρ εὐλογίας ἀνάμεστον μέριμναν, μεριμνᾷ πάσης ἀμεριμνίας ἐλευθερωτέραν φροντίδα, ἵνα ᾖ ἁγία καὶ σώματι καὶ πνεύματι. Οὐδὲν αὐτῇ κοινὸν πρὸς τὴν γῆν, οὐδεμία πρὸς γαμικὰς ἀνάγκας συγγένεια, οἷον πορνεύοντος ἀνασχέσθαι νυμφίου, ὑποψίας ματαίας ὑπενεγκεῖν, ἐξουσίαν χρησίμων ἀφηρῆσθαι προόδων, περὶ τροφῆς διευθύνεσθαι, κοσμουμένην ζηλοτυπεῖσθαι, διαπτύεσθαι πρὶν τέκῃ, καθάπερ οὔπω γαμετὴν γενομένην, τεκοῦσαν ὑπὲρ τῶν τόκων εὑρίσκειν ἐγκλήματα.

Ἐτέχθη τις θήλεια; ὅτι μὴ ἄῤῥεν, ὁ ἀνὴρ σκυθρωπάζει. Προσετέθη καὶ ἄῤῥεν; ἐτέχθη τὸ τεχθὲν, ὡς οὐκ εὔμορφον. Χαρίεντα πρὸς κάλλος ἀμφότερα; ὡς ὑπὲρ καλῶν ἡ φροντὶς πικροτέρα. Ἀπηλλάγησαν γάλακτος; διεδέξατο πάλιν ἀνατροφῆς