Last words of the faithful
Perpetua of Carthage
Died AD 203 · killed in the arena
Perpetua was a young mother of noble birth martyred in the arena at Carthage in AD 203. The Passion of Perpetua preserves part of her own prison diary, and records that at the end, when the young gladiator's hand trembled, she guided the sword to her own throat.
The last words
The story behind them
Perpetua was about twenty-two, well-born, educated, and nursing an infant son when she was arrested for being a Christian. What makes her account extraordinary is that part of it is hers: the Passion preserves what it presents as her own prison diary, one of the earliest surviving pieces of writing by a Christian woman. In it she records her father begging her, again and again, to save herself for the baby's sake, and her quiet, aching refusal to deny the name she belonged to.
Her fellow prisoners were exhorted, the account says, to stand fast in the faith and love one another and not be scandalized by the sufferings ahead. In the arena, after the beasts, a young and frightened gladiator was sent to finish her with a sword. His hand shook. And the narrator records the detail that has stunned readers ever since: she took his trembling hand and guided the blade to her own throat. She was not overpowered by death. She met it, calm, on her feet, holding a courage that was plainly not her own.
When the executioner's hand trembled, she steadied it. Death did not take her; she went to meet it.
What they died for, you can meet
None of these people died for an idea. They died holding onto a Person, convinced that death was not the end because he had already walked out of a tomb. The Living Bread is a quiet place to meet that same Jesus, read the Gospels for yourself, and ask your honest questions.
Jesus Christ is Lord.
Frequently asked questions
- Who was Perpetua?
- Perpetua was a young mother and noblewoman martyred for her faith in the arena at Carthage in AD 203. The Passion of Perpetua preserves part of her own prison diary, making her one of the earliest Christian women whose words survive.
- How did Perpetua die?
- According to the Passion of Perpetua, she was killed in the arena, and when the young gladiator sent to finish her hesitated with a trembling hand, she guided his sword to her own throat, dying with remarkable composure.