Vibia Perpetua
It’s 7 March 203 AD and a small group of Christians are led into the Amphitheatre in Carthage, in the Roman Province of Africa (modern day Tunisia). They look unusually composed for people about to meet their death. It is the 14th birthday of Geta, the younger son of the Emperor Septimius Severus and these Christians will be part of the entertainment for the 35,000 strong crowd. This macabre spectacle will see this small group of men and women being left at the mercy of wild animals. None will survive this gruesome execution.
Who are these Christians? Among them are two slaves, Revocatus and Felicitas (who will give birth in prison), a possible third slave called Secundulus, Saturninus, Saturus and Vibia Perpetua. They are catechumens, recent coverts, being discipled by the church and prepared for baptism, which makes their faith and courage in the face of certain death all the more amazing. Their crime was to refuse to burn incense as a sacrifice for the welfare of the Emperors because it violated their first allegiance to Jesus Christ.
These details come from a short, extraordinarily moving account which was preserved by the church at Carthage, probably by the hand of Tertullian (we’ll meet him next) who likely provided the introduction (sections 1 and 2) and the eye witness account of their martyrdom (sections 14-21). Saturus writes an account of his experience in prison (sections 11-13). However, the most well-known part of this account is the prison letter of Vibia Perpetua (sections 3-10). Not only does her letter give us an intimate account of the experience of trials and persecution from the perspective of an ordinary Christian, but significantly, from a woman, which is highly unusual for the time.
What relevance does Vibia Perpetua’s experience have for us?
Vibia Perpetua experienced many trials and temptations between her arrest and martyrdom. Though we may not experience the same pressures, it is not hard for us to identify with her situation. Perpetua is particularly vulnerable, she is just twenty-two years old and heavily reliant on the support of her father in the patriarchal culture of the ancient world. To add to this vulnerability, she is taken away from her one year old son, whom she is still nursing. Perhaps this experience is something only a mother can fully appreciate or understand. It reminds us of the trust that Perpetua had in God to provide for her boy, despite the bleak circumstances. In her interactions with her father it is evident that she is unmarried, with her son likely conceived before her conversion. Perhaps her recent conversion is the source of her singleness and strained relationships with her family. Perpetua is a young woman who has sacrificed much to follow Christ.
All these factors make the interactions Perpetua has with her father all the more tense and distressing. Her initial imprisonment is in a private house, which was common at the time. There her father visits her, clearly distressed at seeing his daughter imprisoned and ultimately facing the death penalty. We can sympathise with his desire to get Perpetua to change her mind. No parent wants to see their child executed publicly as a criminal and Perpetua’s crime which would be seen as political treason could have negative implications for her family. But Perpetua, strengthened by the Holy Spirit, resolves to be faithful to the end saying, ‘Well, so too I cannot be called anything other than what I am, a Christian.’ In a strongly patriarchal culture, Perpetua’s response to her father is exceptionally bold. We can see how God uses this experience to strengthen her as she will go before powerful Roman authorities.
Perpetua is then interrogated at the Forum of Carthage by the Roman Procurator Hilarianus. He heaps more pressure on Perpetua to recant, saying, ‘have pity on your father’s grey head; have pity on your infant son. Offer to sacrifice for the welfare of the emperors.’ Perpetua boldly responds, ‘I will not’ and when asked if she is a Christian says, ‘Yes I am’. Perpetua’s father, standing nearby tries to intervene but Hilarianus orders him to be thrown to the ground and beaten with a rod. Perpetua is vividly shown that her father’s future will be bleak because of her actions, yet by God’s grace she does not waver in her testimony.
Back in her prison cell Perpetua speaks of dreams and visions which she believes are from God as a means to strengthen her. Perhaps these dreams and visions are the result of a hallucination due to the tremendous pressure Perpetua is under, continually engaging in spiritual warfare. Whatever the cause, we can see God’s comforting hand, strengthening this young Christian in her faith.
On the day of Perpetua’s execution with her fellow martyrs, we see how by faith in Jesus Christ they face death differently. They are confident, knowing that death is not the end but their entry into the presence of God where they will hear the words ‘Well done good and faithful servant’ (Matthew 25:21). Their witness has a profound effect on the church at Carthage and serves to prove ‘that the one Holy Spirit is always at work even now, together with God the omnipotent father and his son Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom is splendour and limitless power for ever and ever Amen.’
