Perpetua of Carthage

We don’t know much about Perpetua.

We do know she lived around the turn of the 3rd century AD.

That she lived in Carthage – modern day Tunis, in Tunisia.

We know that she was married and had a young child.

We know that she was a Christian - a follower of Jesus.

And we know that she died a martyr’s death on 6th March AD203.

Today is 6th March, 2024.

Today is also International Women’s Day.

Two reasons why it seems right to remember Perpetua.

I was recently introduced to Perpetua by a friend (thanks Viv).

She was a fearless, faithful, courageous woman who died for her faith.

The year was AD203, and Perpetua was nearing the end of a discipleship programme, preparing her, and others, for baptism. But her training was cut short when they were arrested by the Roman authorities for refusing to worship the Roman deities.

At her trial she was given the opportunity to offer a sacrifice for the welfare of the emperor.

“I will not” Perpetua said.

The governor asked: “Are you a Christian then?”

“Yes!” she replied.

Perpetua and her friends were condemned to death – sentenced to be thrown into an arena of wild animals.

Perpetua’s father would visit her in prison urging her to recant her faith.

But she refused.

On one occasion she responded to her father’s urgings by pointing to some pottery in her cell.

“Do you see this jug lying here? Is it a jug or something else?” she asked him.

“It’s a jug” he replied.

She went on: “Can it be called by any other name other than what it is?”

“No,” he replied.

Perpetua’s response: “Neither can I call myself anything else that what I am – a Christian.”

As Perpetua and her Christian friends, awaited execution, they prayed and worshipped, they exhorted each other to stay strong in their faith, and they shared their faith with others.

On the day of their execution, after having been mauled by animals, they gave each other a final kiss of peace, before their final slaying at the hands of a gladiator’s sword.

Perpetua’s story has grabbed me.

Her courage.

Her vibrant faith.

Her steadfast endurance in the face of the imminent death.

It would have been so easy to compromise…to cave in…to surrender.

But she didn’t.

She endured.

She ran her race.

Perhaps she knew Hebrews 12:1-2? “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of God.”

So today, let us remember Perpetua.