Thecla was a legendary heroine who supposedly wrote Acts of Paul and Thecla, an apocryphal document from the 2nd Cent AD.
The document tells of a beautiful young woman called Thecla who, having heard Paul preach in Iconium, converts to the Christian faith, and after having proved herself faithful through a long series of fantastic trials that she survived with miraculous help, was ordained by Paul to teach and to baptize in the churches.
Tertullian certainly knew of Thecla and her claims, but he dismissed them, for he spoke of:
writings which are wrongly inscribed with Paul's name—I mean the example of Thecla—in support of women's freedom to teach and baptize, let them know that a presbyter in Asia, who put together that book, heaping up a narrative as it were from his own materials under Paul's name, when after conviction he confessed that he had done it from love of Paul, resigned his position.
Some scholars today like to entertain the idea that what the document says represented orthodox Christianity of the day. There is little evidence of this. Tertullian certainly did not think so, and surely Tertullian is a more competent guide to what was orthodox in his time (even if he may be mistaken about other things) than any scholar making claims today. There is little of relevance in the work except for purposes of historical interest.
©ALBERITH