03 — Baptism and Women’s Ministry

The most theologically charged material in the Thecla tradition: the scene in which she baptizes herself, and the early-church debate over women teaching and baptizing that the Acts fueled. This section is part of the methodological core of the collection, handled per METHODOLOGY §4 (even-handed treatment of disputed and sensitive topics).

Files

File	Description
the-self-baptism.md	FLAGSHIP (§4). The much-debated scene (Acts 34) where Thecla baptizes herself in the tank of seals; the early-church arguments over women baptizing; Tertullian’s use of the Acts in De baptismo 17 to forbid it; how the Orthodox tradition reads the episode.
women-apostles-and-the-debate.md	The commission “Go, and teach the word of God” (Acts 41); women in apostolic ministry; the Acts and the Pastoral Epistles; the MacDonald–Burrus–Hylen scholarly debate, presented even-handedly.

See Also

• The Source Problem — Tertullian’s De baptismo 17 in full
• The Narrative — sections 34 and 41 in their narrative context
• Orthodoxy Guide: Women in Orthodoxy — the broader treatment of women’s roles in the Church