Perpetua and Felicitas

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Perpetua and Felicitas
The mother of God with the child and the hll. Perpetua (right) and Felicitas (left)
The mother of God with the child and the hll. Perpetua (right) and Felicitas (left)
Born around 181 AD
Deceased March 7, 203 AD (Carthage, Roman province of Africa)
Holiday Catholic, Protestant and Anglican: March 7th

Orthodox: February 1st, March 24th, Armenian: February 25th

Patron saint Mothers, pregnant women, farmers, butchers, Carthage and Catalonia

Perpetua and Felicitas (* around 181 ; † March 7, 203 in Carthage ) were among the first martyrs whose fate has been reliably passed down.

According to early Christian eyewitness accounts that have been preserved , the noble Perpetua and her slave Felicitas were arrested in the year 203 in Carthage , Rome , and sentenced to death because they were preparing for baptism and refused to renounce their faith. Perpetua came from a noble family and was married. At the time of her death, according to tradition, she was 22 years old and already had an infant son, while Felicitas, her slave and companion, was expecting a child. They were also accompanied by Revocatus, Saturninus, Seculdulus and Saturus, who voluntarily presented himself to the magistrate and professed Christianity. Perpetua and her companions were catechumens and were baptized shortly before their martyrdom . The execution in the amphitheater took place on the occasion of the birthday party of Getas , the younger son of Emperor Septimius Severus . Because of their history, Perpetua and Felicitas are mentioned as outstanding figures of early Christianity in the first Roman prayer and venerated as saints .

The Passio Sanctarum Perpetuae et Felicitatis is one of the oldest and most reliable Christian works. This was originally written in Latin, a Greek translation was subsequently written and circulated. The main part of the work are the records of the Perpetua, which describes, among other things, their stay in prison. It is believed that the entire work was written by three different authors.

Text and content

Summary of the Passio

The text is divided into a total of four different parts: in a foreword by the editor, in the notes of Perpetua himself, the description of a vision of Saturus, which could have come from him, and in the description of the martyrdom of Perpetua by the editor with one final afterword. In his foreword, the editor points out that it is extremely important to record recent stories of suffering and to commemorate them accordingly, in order to express the worship of God and at the same time to strengthen people's faith (I).

Perpetua came from an elegant family, was about 22 years old, classically educated, married and had a baby son. She was arrested along with her pregnant slave Felicitas and the Christians Revocatus, Saturninus and Secundulus. All were catechumens . (II)

Perpetua's remarks begin with a description of her father's visits to pre-trial detention. He tried again and again to dissuade her from her faith, but could not prevent the baptism that took place a few days later. (III) Perpetua and her companions were eventually brought from pre-trial detention to the dungeon. Perpetua described her fears and worries in detail, especially about her child. By bribing two deacons , Perpetua was allowed to see her child and keep her in prison for a few days. Eventually she handed it over to her mother and brother's care. (IV)

To find out whether she and her companions were about to be martyred or set free, Perpetua asked God for a vision . Then the following picture appeared: a narrow ladder that stretched up to the sky and hung with iron tools that were dangerous for the climber. A dragon lurked under the ladder. First, Saturus climbed the ladder. Saturus had led Perpetua and her companions to Christianity . At this point, Perpetua also mentions that Saturus volunteered and followed them into captivity. Perpetua followed him up the ladder. When she reached the top, she saw an old shepherd who was giving her something to eat from a sweet cheese. When she finally woke up, she realized that martyrdom was imminent. (V)

When it became known that the newly baptized were to be interrogated, Perpetua's father made another attempt to shake her convictions, but was again unsuccessful. (VI) During interrogation on the forum, all Companions confirmed their confession of Christianity. Here, too, Perpetua's father appeared, but could not prevent his daughter from her confession. The ruling stipulated that everyone would be accused of the wild animals with the others. They then returned to the dungeon. (VII)

While praying together, Perpetua remembered her brother Dinocrates, who had died of an ulcer when he was seven. The following night she dreamed of him: Despite his great thirst, the little boy did not manage to drink from the large well in front of him. Perpetua wanted to help him, but there was a great abyss between them. From that day on, she prayed for him daily until she was transferred to the military prison. From here they should be brought to their execution at the Geta games . In a second vision, Perpetua saw her brother again, who now looked neat and clean and whose wound had now closed. The water basin was lower and water flowed steadily from the well so that Dinocrates could finally quench his thirst. (VIII) In her last vision, Perpetua fought a gladiator, where she emerged victorious and realized that she should fight not against the animals but against the devil himself. (X)

The following is a description of the vision of Saturus: After the companions died, they were carried to paradise by four angels. As they went out, they saw Bishop Optatus and Presbyter Aspasius in front of the gate . They threw themselves sadly at their feet and reported that their people had been at odds since they had left. Perpetua comforted her, but the angels sent her away, saying that they should fix everything themselves. When the gates closed, they saw many brothers and martyrs within the city. He woke up happily. (XI – XIII) Later, Secondulus died of an injury in prison. (XIV)

The pregnant Felicitas was afraid that she and her companions would not be able to suffer martyrdom with the others, as it was not allowed to execute pregnant women. Her companions pray for her, and in the eighth month she gave birth to a girl who took in and raised one of her sisters. (XV) On the last day in the dungeon, Perpetua persuaded the guard to allow himself to freshen up in honor of Caesar's birthday in order to look better during the performance. (XVI) When the martyrs entered the amphitheater "with joy and without fear", the wild animals came into the arena. (XVIII) Since the martyrs were allowed to choose their way of death, Sarturninus and Revokatus were accused of the wild animals of the arena. (XIX) For Perpetua and Felicitas "the devil had a wild cow ready". Since the cow only injured the two, they were called back to the edge of the arena. (XX) The remaining martyrs gave each other the kiss of peace that completed the martyrdom and returned to the center of the arena to die. A young gladiator tried to stab Perpetua, but failed. She brought his sword to her throat, "for such a spiritual woman could not die otherwise than if she wanted to". (XXI) In the epilogue the editor reminds that one should read that story to honor and praise Perpetua and her companions and to build up the Ekklesia .

Perpetua is often depicted in the arena with an attacking heifer as an attribute . Some depictions also show her with her child in dungeon, others with the sword with which she was ultimately executed (see picture above).

Authors of the Passio Perpetuae

In the meantime, researchers have come to the conclusion that there were three authors of the Passio Perpetuae. Perpetua was the main author of the Passio Perpetuae. She wrote in her notes mostly from the time of her imprisonment. Her companion Saturus is considered to be the second author. It is also often reported that the third author, the editor, was Tertullian . This is easy to refute, however, as his writing style does not match that of the Passio Perpetuae . The editor and author who described Perpetua's death and completed the text is still unknown today, despite much research. The authenticity of this document cannot be questioned.

Remembrance day

See also

  • The poet Ernst Jünger referred to his wife Gretha von Jeinsen as Perpetua in his diaries .
  • The font Perpetua (1929–1930) by the British sculptor and typographer Eric Gill is named after Perpetua and was first used in a bibliophile edition of the Passion .

literature

Web links

Commons : St. Perpetua  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://ivv7srv15.uni-muenster.de/mnkg/pfnuer/martyrium-felicitas.html
  2. ↑ http://ivv7srv15.uni-muenster.de/mnkg/pfnuer/martyrium-felicitas.html
  3. ↑ http://ivv7srv15.uni-muenster.de/mnkg/pfnuer/martyrium-felicitas.html
  4. ↑ Habermehl, Peter: Perpetua and the Egyptians or Images of Evil in Early African Christianity. An attempt at the Passio Sanctarum Perpetuae et Felicitatis. 2nd revised edition. Berlin, New York 2004, p. 4
  5. ^ Rupprecht, Ernst: Comment on the Passio SS: Perpetuae et Felicitatis; in: Rhine. Mus. f. Philol. NF lXXXX, pp. 177–192, pp. 180–183 ( http://www.rhm.uni-koeln.de/090/Rupprecht.pdf )