Case file · Apparition / miracle
Saint Thecla's escape at Maaloula
Syrian Christian tradition says the mountain at Maaloula split open to let Saint Thecla escape her pursuers. Her story is first told in the Acts of Paul and Thecla (c. 160).
160 CE · 33.84, 36.55 · status: legend
The account
The gorge and the Convent of Saint Thecla are pilgrimage sites; Maaloula is one of the last places where Western Aramaic is spoken. The convent was damaged and its nuns taken hostage in 2013–14 during the civil war.
The sceptical view
The split is a natural gorge; the legend is attached to it in later tradition.