Today, March 7, is the commemoration of two early Christian martyrs: Perpetua and Felicity. They were residents of Carthage in North Africa and died in 202 A.D. In that same year, the emperor Septimius Severus forbade conversions to Christianity. Perpetua, a noblewoman, Felicity an enslaved woman, and other companions were all catechumens (preparing for baptism in the Christian faith). They were imprisoned and sentenced to death. In prison they were baptized. Perpetua’s father, who was not a Christian, visited her in prison and begged her to lay aside her Christian convictions in order to spare her life and spare the family from scorn. Perpetua responded and told her father, “We know that we are not placed in our power but in that of God.”
For over 16 years I taught a college course called “Introduction to Christianity.” One of the readings I assigned to the class was The Martyrdom of Perpetua. This document was compiled by an unknown editor and part of the reading comes from Perpetua’s own prison diary. The Martyrdom of Perpetua is important in helping us understand how early Christians view the martyr’s death and the reward that would be theirs in the afterlife.
It certainly was not a pretty death. The event takes place in what was called “public games.” This was part of the community entertainment. We mostly know of these games by way of the gladiators, but it was more than that. There were also public executions in the form of “games.”
The editor, an eyewitness, writes, “The day of their victory dawned, and with joyful countenances they marched from the prison to the arena as thought on their way to heaven. If there was any trembling it was from joy, not fear. Perpetua followed with a quick step as a true spouse of Christ, the darling of God, her brightly flashing eyes quelling the gaze of the crowd. Felicitas too, joyful because she had safely survived childbirth and was now able to participate in the contest with the wild animals.”
Their deaths were vicious and brutal. If they didn’t die by the animals, the soldiers finished the job. Frankly martyrdom was embraced and celebrated. “O brave and fortunate martyrs, truly called and chose to give honor to our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Needless to say, the times have changed. For us, martyrdom is far removed from our experience and happily so. It is Lent, and while we are asked to make changes during these 40 days, to reflect deeply on our lives, our faith and our faithfulness, the truth is, we go on as we always do.
The challenge for us is to make this season significant. The call to repentance prepares us for the greatest event in history, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Perpetua, Felicity, and the other martyrs stand before us and remind us of the seriousness of the life of faith and its sacrifices, including our lives. As Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer so eloquently writes, “When God calls a man, he calls him to die.” The early Christian martyrs understood this.
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