Journal: Priscilla Papers
Volume: PP 39:2 (Spring 2025)
Article: The Martyrdom Of Perpetua And Felicitas
Author: Michaela Rollins

PP 39:2 (Spring 2025) p. 3

The Martyrdom Of Perpetua And Felicitas

Michaela Rollins

Michaela Rollins is a graduate student at the University of the Cumberlands in Kentucky, pursuing a Master of Arts in Teaching. She loves crafting and writing, and her academic interests include biblical languages, church history, and female leadership. You can often find her curled up with a good book, coffee in hand.

Scripture tells believers there will be persecution: “Indeed, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim 3:12 NRSVue). Jesus himself told his followers that there would be times of trouble (John 16:33). At times, persecution leads to martyrdom. Martyrdom is the act of willingly dying for one’s religious beliefs—a dramatic act and the pinnacle of a fully surrendered life. For Christians in every age, martyrdom is an act of faith. When a believer lays down their life for their hope in Christ, it forces the people around them to notice. Martyrdom is the greatest witness to the gospel of Christ and a calling in its own right.

Though Scripture mentions martyrs like Stephen and observes that women were among those persecuted (e.g., Acts 8:3), we are not told about any female Christian martyrs. The Bible may not feature their stories, but church history does. The present-day church would do well to learn from the women martyrs throughout history who were willing to use their lives and deaths as witnesses. Among these are the third-century martyrs Perpetua and Felicitas.

Ancient documents were rarely written from the female perspective. There are occasional letters—and also poetry—written by women, but a document regarding persecution and martyrdom from a woman would be a treasure amongst ancient prose. The Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas is one such treasure. Stephanie Cobb considers that it “is among the best known and most beloved early Christian martyr texts.”1 This story of faithfulness and courage in the face of persecution is an example to Christ-followers in every age.

Perpetua

It was the early third century in the major city of Carthage in North Africa. Septimius Severus, emperor of the Roman Empire (193–211 AD), decided that to create religious harmony among his people, all must acknowledge the deity Sol Invictus, the Unconquered Sun.2 Christians refused to follow this policy, causing Severus to make all conversions to Christianity illegal, hoping this would stop its rapid spread. Conversions could be punishable by death. But amidst the perse...