Saint Thecla of Iconium Medal Necklace - Protomartyr, Disciple of Paul

Saint Thecla of Iconium, Protomartyr Among Women

Thecla was a young noblewoman of Iconium, engaged to be married, until Paul the Apostle came to preach nearby and she sat listening for three days without food or sleep. By the end, she had decided the marriage would not happen. Her furious mother and fiance had her condemned to death by burning, and tradition holds a sudden storm extinguished the flames before they touched her. She sought out Paul again, and a second death sentence followed, this time by wild beasts in the arena. A lioness lay down at her feet and turned on the other animals to protect her. She survived that too, and lived for decades afterward as an ascetic near Seleucia, healing the sick and drawing pilgrims. The Greek Church calls her "Protomartyr among women and equal to the Apostles," a title given to almost no one else in Church history.

A Gift For...

• A woman who chose faith over the life her family expected of her
• Anyone discerning a religious vocation, or entering religious life
• A woman who needs a model of independence rooted in conviction, not defiance
• Someone marking a difficult decision or a moment of personal courage
• A confirmation gift for a young woman with a strong sense of her own path
• Anyone who needs "The lions could not touch her" close by

A Confirmation Gift for Thecla

A young woman who wants a saint known for choosing her own path finds Thecla quickly. Engrave a name and confirmation date, and the choice is made.

The Saint Thecla of Iconium Medal

This medal depicts Thecla facing forward in prayer, holding a small cross against her chest, flanked on either side by lions, a direct reference to her survival in the arena, where the beasts sent to kill her instead protected her. The lions are not decorative. They are the central symbol of her story, the moment her faith was tested most publicly and survived most visibly. The natural gold or silver of the metal forms the illustration itself. Black ink is applied to the pendant surface and the metal shows through as the image. A shatterproof liquid glass coating seals the surface.

Personalization and Engraving

The optional engraving on the reverse is rendered in Tangerine cursive. Two lines, up to 20 characters each. Two lines that fit: "The lions" and "could not touch her." For a woman entering religious life, most people engrave a name and the date of her vows or entrance.

Saint Thecla's feast day is September 23. She refused an arranged marriage, survived two attempts on her life, and spent the rest of her seventy years exactly where she chose to be.