Passio perpetuae et felicitatis
One of the most famous martyrdoms in the history of ancient Christianity took place on 7 March 203 AC, the dies natalis of Emperor Geta. A group of young catechumens were led into an amphitheater in Carthage and condemned ad bestias, to be torn to pieces by wild beasts. All that is left of Perpetua, Felicitas, Saturus, Revocatus and Saturninus is a written testimony, composed by a ghost writer, presumably only a few decades after the martyrdom: the Passio Perpetuae et Felicitatis, Two other texts, known as Acta, recount the same event and are probably drafted on the basis of the Passion. Although no other external source from that period recounts the martyrdom, Perpetua and Felicitas are considered true and proper heroines of Christianity, thanks to the Passion.
The Passion opens with an introduction (1-2), written by an anonymous “editor” who underscores the value of more recent testimonies compared to older ones. The figure of Perpetua is then presented to the reader, as well as the journal intime (3-10) the martyr held during the time she spent in prison, before she was brought to death. The diary is important for many reasons, the editor claims, two of which in particular are emphasized: the diary tells a unique martyr story in the first person; moreover, this martyr is a woman, and there are very few female Ancient writers. The diary is dense and complex because Perpetua not only recounts her experience of imprisonment and the conversations she has with her father (who tries to convince her to apostatize), but she also reports four visions which represent some sort of transfiguration of the martyrdom itself and, at the same time, demonstrates how the present and future events might be interpreted in a religious light. At the end of the journal, Perpetua bids farewell to the reader and invites others to complete the story of her martyrdom. After relating, also in the first person, a vision of Saturus (11), the editor resumes the story of Perpetua’s execution and that of her fellow martyrs. What happens to Felicitas is particularly dramatic: she has only just given birth when she is led into the amphitheatre to be devoured by the beasts (12-21).
The Passion is the most touching but also the most accomplished literary document in the entire corpus of the Acts of the Martyrs. All the same it remains an enigma; its veracity having been the subject of long debates. In spite of its brevity, the text contains various narrative levels. The extent of its narrative complexity and its sophisticated literary construction is considered a threat to its historical and testimonial value.
Translation from the Italian: Anneleen Spiessens
