Aya Tekla Church
Greek: Ἁγία Θέκλα | |
| Cave church of Aya Tekla in Silifke, Turkey | |
Aya Tekla Church is located in Turkey Aya Tekla Church Shown within Turkey | |
| Alternative name | Meryemlik |
|---|---|
| Location | Mersin Province, Turkey |
| Coordinates | 36°21′46′′N 33°55′51′′E / 36.36278°N 33.93083°E / 36.36278; 33.93083 |
| Type | Church |
Aya Tekla Church (Greek: Ἁγία Θέκλα, Hagia Thékla; Turkish: Aya Tekla Kilisesi), also known as Aya Thecla or Aya Thekla, is a ruined historic church of the Byzantine period in Turkey. It was a popular pilgrimage site, and still attracts visitors today.
Location
[edit ]Aya Tekla Church is located 4 km (2.5 mi) south of Silifke (ancient Seleucia in Isauria or Seleucia on the Calycadnus) and 85 km (53 mi) from the provincial capital, Mersin. It is situated 1 km (0.62 mi) north of the state highway D.400, which runs parallel to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.[1]
History
[edit ]Thecla (Ancient Greek: Θέκλα, Thékla) was a saint of the early Christian Church, and a reported follower of Paul the Apostle. She enjoyed great popularity in the Byzantine period. According to the main work about her, Acts of Paul and Thecla , she was originally from Ikonion, modern Konya, and after the episodes described in the book, she lived around Silifke and died there.[2]
The beginnings of the site are unclear. A site of Thecla's cult near Silifke was visited by Gregory of Nazianzus in 374. Egeria, a woman widely regarded to be the author of a detailed account of a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, visited the site in 384. She mentioned numerous monastic cells for men and women, and a central church with an enclosing wall.[3] The shrine of Thecla was relocated to a hill, now called Meryemlik, meaning "of Virgin Mary", into a cave, which was supposedly Thecla's home in her later years. The grave in the cave supposedly belongs to her.[2]
Up to 312, Thecla's cave was a secret pilgrimage site.[clarification needed ] At some date, a church was built into the cave. Aya Thekla, the more prominent church, was built on the hilltop in 460–470 by the Byzantine emperor Zeno the Isaurian (reigned 474–475).[4] The church and other related buildings, such as a bath, are now in ruins, the only standing element being a part of the apse.[2] The cave and cistern to the north of the cave are also partially standing.
References
[edit ]- ^ Silifke governor's page (in Turkish) Archived October 3, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c Hagia Thekla Archived 2019年01月10日 at the Wayback Machine in Monastic Matrix, Ohio State University
- ^ M. L. McClure, ed. (1919). The Pilgrimage of Egeria. Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. pp. 42–43.
- ^ Edwards, Robert W., "Ayatekla" (2016). The Eerdmans Encyclopedia of Early Christian Art and Archaeology, ed., Paul Corby Finney. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing. pp. 151–152. ISBN 978-0-8028-9016-0.
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Further reading
[edit ]- Stephen J. Davis (2008). The Cult of Saint Thecla: A Tradition of Women's Piety in Late Antiquity (Oxford Early Christian Studies). ISBN 9780191568350
