The Passion of Saint Perpetua, Saint Felicitas and Their Companions is one of the oldest and also one of the most important of the texts written by early Christian martyrs. At the time, speaking out in praise of Jesus, and refusing to denounce him, was still considered a crime by the Roman Empire.
It is believed to be an authentic prison diary penned by the martyr Vibia Perpetua, a married noblewoman of the third century A.D. At the time of her death she was a mere twenty-two years old, and whilst imprisoned she was still nursing her infant child. Seven women and eight men were executed on that day, and were later commemorated with a basilica that was erected over their tomb.
Theologians consider the text to be an example of Montanism, which was an early Christian movement at its most popular during the second century. It was founded by Montanus, after whom it was named. Although it shared the basic tenets of Christianity with more accepted Christian movements, it was considered heresy because of its belief in charismatic spirits and prophesy. Both Perpetua and Felicitas have "visions" in which they receive prophecies from a divine spirit They had also recently left their husbands, who were non-Montanistic Christians, something that was recommended so that rather than devoting oneself to one's spouse, one instead embraced a celibate life devoted to teaching the Gospel and spreading the word of Christ. There is disagreement amongst scholars about this; many contend that because nothing about the text is inherently Montanistic, it is more likely that individual translators of the text re-worded it to shape it in the image of their choosing.
The text is written in both Latin and Greek. As well as the words of Perpetua, it also contains the visions of Satarus, another Christian martyr who was killed at the same time as Perpetua and Felicitas. There is also an account of the actual deaths of the martyrs, penned by someone claiming to be an eye-witness to the events.
