Perpetua was a wealthy young mother, who lived in the city of carthage in 203. carthage is in the northern part of Africa, and was sort of a mini version of Rome, with its amphitheater, temples and roman culture. Perpetua was a recent convert to Christianity, and her faith was tested when she refused to worship the roman emperor, septimius severus. every citizen of the roman empire was required to worship the emperor through prayers, incense or offerings on a regular basis and the Christians refused. most found a way around the rule by paying someone to do it for them, or not thinking it was a big deal, but Perpetua refused and was thrown onto the death row of her time.
she was imprisoned with a few other Christians from her church. one of the unique things about Perpetua's martyrdom is that she kept a diary of everything that happened to her, and before she died, she gave that diary to an unknown narrator who filled in the events after her death. in her diary, Perpetua talked of how her father begged her to renounce her Christian faith. he told her to think of him in his old age, and of her baby that she had been separated from. but Perpetua replied with a statement that she is remembered for: "I am a Christian and cannot be called anything other than what I am." even when she was on trial, the prosecutor only asked her one question, "are you a Christian?" and she only answered, "yes. I am a Christian." that was all that was needed to condemn her to death.
Perpetua also had visions from God when she was in prison, and she recorded them in her diary. some of them were pretty bizarre, but they mostly showed her going into the area to battle, and winning in the end. she saw herself entering heaven as a victor. the other prisoners with her had similar dreams.
on the day that Perpetua was to be executed, she was excited. she considered it an honor to die for Christ. the other prisoners went first. they were tied up, beaten, and then one at a time sent into the area to face the wild beasts in front of a blood thirsty crowd. none of them died from the beatings or the beasts, and it was custom that after they faced the beasts they would go through a door away from the crowd to have their necks slit. Perpetua was beaten and then put into the arena to face a wild cow. the cow trampled her and she was taken with the others through the door to be killed by an executioner. on this particular day, the crowd was so blood thirsty that they demanded that the prisoners be executed in front of them. the martyrs all bravely exposed their necks to the executioners.
through the story, there are many tales that point to Perpetua's character and others-centeredness, but this one seems to be the most telling, and the most famous. the narrator who took over Perpetua's dairy noted that Perpetua's executioner was a rookie and actually missed her throat when he went to strike her neck. he seemed to stab her in her collarbone. the narrator then noted that Perpetua screamed in pain, but then she "took the trembling hand of the young gladiator and guided it to her throat." from what I can tell, she felt for the young man, and actually helped him to martyr her. the narrator writes, "it was though so great a woman, feared as she was by the unclean spirit, could not be dispatched unless she herself were willing."
there is not much left of ancient carthage, but a chapel and a placard has been placed in the ruins of the arena to remember Perpetua and her bravery.
the book is pretty fascinating. if you're into ancient history, or church history, the book is very well researched and thought through. if I'm ever in north Africa, I would definitely enjoy visiting this sacred space.
there is much more to say about Perpetua, her boldness, and even the boldness of thousand of Christians across the globe who are facing even more terrible tortures- but that's for another time- please keep those brave brothers and sisters in your prayers, and learn how to help them.
until then,
God is love.
-rev-rob
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