The Passion Of Saints Perpetua And Felicity

512 Words2 Pages

The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity

The document, “The Passion of Saints Perpetua and

Felicity,” shows just how mighty and fearless the faith of

the martyrs were in Rome around 203 A.D. in which our story

takes place. During the rule of Diocletian, Christianity was

not the religion of popular belief. Many of Romans

practiced polytheism. As a result, numerous Christian

believers were persecuted for their divine faith in God.

Surprisingly, the Christian martyrs did not care that they

were sentenced to death. They believed that by dying for

what they believe, it would only bring them closer to God

and the Gates of Heaven. The document states, “For this

cause have we devoted our lives, that we might do no such

thing as this; this we agreed with you” (para. 18). To the

martyrs, nothing was more important than fulfilling God’s

duties.

The martyrs in the document take on the role of

mediator between God and man, spreading the Word of God to

the masses of people and the relaying to them his holy

message, in a sense taking on the role of Jesus Christ, the

Son of God. Perpetua, one of the martyrs when confronted

about her faith by her father retorts, “I am Christian”

(para.6). Another martyr, Felicity, confidently defends

her faith and proclaims it openly by stating, “Stand fast in

the faith, and love you all one another; and be not offended

because of our passion” (para.20). This statement portrays

to the reader the ...

Show More
Related

  • Sidonius Letters Summary

    1480 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sidonius’s Letters are a series of letters written by Sidonius various times during the 5th century. He wrote to plenty of bishops and wrote about Christianity and political figures. Through his letters we can learn about how early Christianity was organized, the feeling of superiority in Christians, the qualities of Christians due to his discussion of Christian codes to follow, and we learn about Christian’s belief in miracles showing us how faithful Christians in 5th century Rome could be. Although there is a bias due to Sidonius being a bishop, we gain a different perspective of 5th century Rome.

    Read More

  • Sister Helen Prejean Death Penalty Summary

    1339 Words  | 3 Pages

    She tries to debate her subject and brings a sense to help her credibility as an authority by saying Jesus is not support death punishment. As times has indeed changed, “The “wicked” might be “coerced by the sword” to “protect the innocent,”…even punishment by death” states by

    Read More

  • The lost Letters

    1307 Words  | 3 Pages

    In conclusion, this book was intriguing. It gives historical context and shows what the Roman Empire was like. It also demonstrates Christianity in a new way. The transformation of Antipas is, however, the most intriguing part of the book: a noble man of Rome who became a Christian and gave his life to save another. This book offers an intriguing story to a man mentioned once in John’s Revelation.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Religion In The Lamentation With Saints And A Donot

    1578 Words  | 4 Pages

    In conclusion, through the exploration with Malraux’s lens, as one of the painting themes made in Northern Renaissance, Italian in specific, around fifteenth century, The Lamentation with Saints and a Donor portrays a common subject of art caused by Christian influence, which narrates popular biblical stories, and made intentionally as either a story of the Christ or the patron him/herself through his/her fictionalized depiction with the Christ, while, contrasting to Malraux’s excerpt, the aesthetic values are equal as one of the aims in art with the realistic development throughout

    Read More

  • The Passion Of Perpetua And Felicitas Analysis

    1856 Words  | 4 Pages

    For the author, the fact that Perpetua is a woman strengthens her sacrifice for her faith. This is due to the societal norms and customs she disobeys and overcomes to become a martyr. In ancient Rome, they lived in a patriarchal society. This will make her disobedience of her father more noteworthy as it violates the cultural custom. In her writing, Perpetua talks of her father coming to her in the prison. She says “He came up to me to cast down my faith saying: Have pity, daughter, on my grey hairs; have pity on your father, if I am worthy to be called father by you” (The Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas 5). Multiple times, her father comes to her in prison, begging that she say she is not a Christian so she may live. Through this interaction with her father, we can see his fatherly love as he tries to prevent her death. We also see a sort of disgrace that comes from a daughter’s disobedience, she writes that her father says “give me not over to the reproach of men” (The Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas 5). This show of direct disobedience of her father portrays Perpetua as a stronger martyr. She is not only giving her life for her faith, but going against society and customs, saying her beliefs are more important than both. This is a strong example to encourage conversion to Christianity. When Perpetua is in prison, her father tells her to “look upon your son, who will not endure to live after you” (The Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas 5). This leads to another point concerning Perpetua as a woman. If she dies for her faith, she will abandon her child and give up being a mother. In ancient times, much of a women’s identity was in her ability to be a good mother. With her martyrdom, Perpetua will choose faith over this key part of her life and legacy. This, yet again, shows why, by being a woman, Perpetua is a strong example in the author’s purpose to convert

    Read More

  • Justin Martyr And Tertullian Views On Religion And Christianity

    951 Words  | 2 Pages

    Justin Martyr explains that the people are demons, while Tertullian proclaims that is not the individual who is evil; it is the soul of the individual. Therefore when the martyrs are prosecuted it is not because they believe in Christianity it is because deep down inside they are channeling their evilness to those who are trying to an explanation or philosophic view on God. Justin focuses more on persuading the readers, giving them facts, and other situations to refer to. Tertullian, whom believes in divine revelation, does not even refer to the bible; he feels as if what better evidence than God himself is.

    Read More

  • The Rise And Fall Of Christianity And Afro-Eurasia

    751 Words  | 2 Pages

    The rise of Christianity in Rome did not come easily. It came with much destruction and death. The spark of Christianity in Rome came from an appearance of Martyrs in Rome. Martyrs were people that were executed for going against the common beliefs of pagan (polytheistic) ways. (Tignor, 2011, p. 286) Because of these awful executions, Christianity is said to be based off of “the blood of martyrs.” One of their main ways of spreading Christianity was through the sharing of their writings and by 300 CE there was an exceptional amount of book production throughout Rome. (Tignor, 2011, p. 289) “Christianity operated as one among many minority religions in the Roman Empire, and on several occasions experienced widespread persecution, especially under the emperors Nero (r. 54–68), Decius (r. 249–251), and Diocletian (r. 284–305). However, the situation changed radically under the emperor Constantine (r. 306–337), who in 313 issued the Edict of Milan that made Christianity a legitimate religion in the empire.” (Melton, 2010, p. 634)

    Read More

  • The Cat In The Hat, Charles Perrault's Little Red Riding Hood, The Story Of Childhood

    3418 Words  | 7 Pages

    According to the Oxford Student’s Dictionary, adulthood is associated with being “grown to full size or strength, mature” (Seuss.14). Then why is it presented in underlying ways, in works that are considered to be children’s texts? The assumption is that children’s texts are supposedly “childish” which means “ unsuitable for a grown person, silly and immature” (pg.172). However, while studying Dr. Seuss’ The Cat In The Hat, Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, “The Story of Grandmother”, Charles Perrault’s “Little Red Riding Hood” and Brothers Grimm “Little Red Cap” and “Snow White”, it was evident that adulthood was both reinforced and subverted through the use of literary and narrative techniques.

    Read More

  • A Tale Of Two Cities

    2254 Words  | 5 Pages

    Archetypal Characters: Characters are presented from the start of the novel as good or evil. There are no characters that the reader see as good and turn out to be evil at the end or vica versa. Their goodness or evilness is clearly shown from the beginning. 	

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Perpetua's Passion

    1157 Words  | 3 Pages

    What makes Perpetua’s story captivating and memorable besides being a Christian martyr during the Roman empire, she was the only one to keep a diary during her imprisonment. Her experiences as an elite noblewoman reflected her leadership skills and education to shape her and the others’ memory. Perhaps one of the most extraordinary aspects of Perpetua’s story was her dreams. Her identity of a prophet helped her cause of martyrdom. The spread of prophecies among the Christian community was not uncommon. Throughout the ancient world prophecies were a sign of the divine among the living. For example, the most acclaimed prophet was the Pythian priestess at the Oracle of Delphi for

    Read More

  • Justin Martyr: A Philosopher’s Journey to Christianity

    1349 Words  | 3 Pages

    While in prison awaiting her death she wrote down a series of dreams she had which became known as the passio. Perpetua describes how she was baptized while in prison, at which point the Holy Spirit told her not to request anything from her baptism other than the ability to endure physical suffering. Her brother, who is also in prison, asks her to ask God for a vision revealing her whether she would be released or not (25).She then has a dream where she ascends a ladder covered in weapons. Reaching the top she meets a grey haired man dressed as a shepherd surrounded by people dressed in white. This man gives her cheese which she eats before awakening. Following this dream she realizes she and her brother will be martyred. Her father, however, is not a Christian and continues to beg her to renounce her faith (26). Perpetua next has another dream, this time of her brother Dinocrates who died in childhood. He is thirsty but cannot reach the water. Perpetua realizes he is in trouble and so prays for him. She then has another dream where he is capable of reaching the water and drinking (27). In her third and final dream she is lead to the arena she is to die in by the deacon Pomponius. When she arrives there she turns into a man. She then fights with a defeats an Egyptian and is given a branch as a sign of victory. She takes the meaning of this dream to be that she will contend with Satan in the arena (28). To me this entire document seems very strange. All of her dreams seem very disjointed and highly reminiscent of the seemingly random patters the normal way that the mind dreams. While Perpetua may be a saint and a martyr, it seems odd to point to the events of this documents as evidence of spiritual gifts. There is nothing in account of her dreams that seems remotely supernatural or even remarkable. The only theologically interesting part is her relating of the dream concerning her brother he died in childhood as there

    Read More

  • The Summer Of The Falcon

    815 Words  | 2 Pages

    begins, June is just a little child, and she hates to do any housework. For

    Read More

  • Analysis of The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan

    1129 Words  | 3 Pages

    Faithful and Jesus Chris are comparable in the actions and events in their life. They both had to deal with many obstacles, and eventually paid the ultimate price, death, before entering into heaven. Their faith is an example for all Christians in the world to follow. Do not be afraid to share religion no matter what consequences will come. The small prices that one must pay before reaching their end is small compared to the benefits one receive when he reaches his destination. Both Jesus and Faithful ascend into heaven and receive eternal life after their deaths; the final destination for all Christians.

    Read More

  • A Tale Of Two Cities

    1040 Words  | 3 Pages

    On reading ‘A Tale Of Two Cities’, my general impression is that the French chapters are a lot more interesting to read. I prefer the chapters set in France because they are much more exciting and I am carried away by the novel whereas I found, that in the English chapters, they were all about Lucie and her undying love for her father and husband. This was, quite frankly, tedious and a waste of Dickens’ effort to put some sentiment into these chapters which are set in London, a long way from the action in Paris. However, Dickens does need to put some sentiment into his book(perhaps he showed a little too much)to give reasons for the characters’ actions. I much prefer Dickens when he manages to move you by the sad death of somebody such as Nancy in ‘Oliver Twist’ or indeed Sydney Carton in ‘A Tale of Two Cities.’ This particular sentence illustrates my point very well.

    Read More

  • Joan Of Arc: The Death Of Saint Joan Of Arc

    549 Words  | 2 Pages

    Joan of Arc is a very important saint for many reasons, her life was beautiful so here is a little recap of it. Joan of Arcs real name is Jeanne d'Arc, but she was also known as the mad of Orleans. She was born into a peasant family in medieval France. She never learned to read or write, but she helped her father on the farm while also playing with friends. Born in 1412, in Dormremy-la-picelle, France (north east of France). She is famous because when she was only 17 years old with no military experience, Joan convinced Prince Charles of Valois to allow her to lead a French army to the city of Orleans. She did this by Convincing Charles here mission was legit when she revealed secrets only he and god knew. To make sure of this she was sent to university Poitiers to be examined and see if Joan was sane

    Read More

More about The Passion Of Saints Perpetua And Felicity

Open Document