The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity

Accounts of the persecution and execution of early Christians living in the Roman Empire helped to strengthen the faith of fellow Christians and inspire those considering possible conversion. Christianity spread from Jerusalem to Asia Minor, Greece, and beyond during the first century after its creation, becoming more structured over time. The authors of this document lived in the city of Carthage in northern Africa in the early third century CE, a time of repression of Christianity by the local authorities. Perpetua, a young woman from an upper- class background, shares her experiences as a convert who came to be arrested and imprisoned. She relates the visions of heavenly encounters she has while in prison, which serve to strengthen her resolve to go to her execution with composure and bravery. A slave and fellow Christian, Saturus, provides a similar account of a vision he experiences during his captivity and the message he receives from God that provides him with reassurance that his salvation is assured. The unidentified editor of the document, who complied Perpetua and Saturus’s reports, concludes the document with a description of how they and other Christians, having refused to recant their beliefs, faced a variety of wild animals and gladiators in an amphitheater before dying with unshakeable dignity.