A.D. 203: The Martyrdoms of Perpetua, Felicity and Companions

Today is the day in the Western Church that we celebrate one of the most well known martyrdoms in all of early Christian history. Here is the reading from my Church Year calendar produced by the Fellowship of St. James:

March 7: The eyewitness accounts of the martyrdoms of Perpetua, Felicity, and Companions were so popular in North Africa that Augustine had to protest against their being read publicly along with Scripture in church. While certainly not Scripture, they serve a purpose stated in the opening apologia: “If ancient examples of faith kept, both testifying the grace of God and working the edification of man, have to this end been set in writing, that by their reading as though by the showing of the deeds again, God may be glorified and man strengthened; why should not new witnesses also be set forth which likewise serve either end?

In other words, let us always remember those well-known faithful who gave their lives in service of the truth, but let’s also make room for the new faithful who give themselves up for the Gospel, setting to paper their witness as well and remembering them in the congregation. For further reading on the topic I encourage everyone to visit this site, which gives much more information about their lives and martyrdom.

In Christ and In Defense of the Faith,