The Passion Narratives of Saints Perpetua, Felicity, and Their Fellow Martyrs
Ebook
The Passion Narratives of Saints Perpetua, Felicity, and Their Fellow Martyrs presents a critical translation of three hagiographical masterpieces of late antiquity and a series of accompanying essays. The translation by Francis J. Hunter includes the two Acta Brevia narratives as companion texts and supplements to the Passio Sanctarum proper. The interdisciplinary essays feature input from scholars in the fields of literature, theology, psychology, and classics, who each illustrate the dynamic and rich nature of the text. Each chapter of the book is written to teach, rather than critique, the text for students or readers who wish to learn about Perpetua and Felicity, early Christianity, or the Roman empire and its relationship with the emergent Christian religion.
Introduction: Why Perpetua, Francis J. Hunter
Part I
Chapter 1: Translations: “The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity”, “The Acts of Saints Perpetua and Felicity I”, and “The Acts of Saints Perpetua and Felicity II”, Translated by Francis J Hunter
Part II
Chapter 2: Perpetua and the Identity of Women in the Early Church, Nancy Enright
Chapter 3: Function and Focus: The Perspectives and Purposes of the Acta Brevia, Francis J Hunter
Chapter 4: The Witness of Perpetua and Felicity: Fundamental Theological Perspectives, Joseph R. Laracy
Chapter 5: The Medieval ‘Turn’ in the Narrative of Sts. Perpetua and Felicitas: The Rhetoric of Spirituality in the Reframing of Martyrdom, June-Ann Greeley
Chapter 6: Civil Disobedience and the Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas, Todd J. Stockdale
Chapter 7: The Africanity of Saints Perpetua and Felicity, Ebere Bosco Amakwe
Chapter 8: The Roman Political Reality of Christian Persecution in the Second Century, Michael J.S. Bruno
Chapter 9: Perpetua’s Heroic Resiliency: A Psychological Analysis of the Source and Function of Perpetua’s Visions, Samantha Mattheiss
About the Contributors
This volume of essays throws open a window onto the ancient Roman world, where we see two brave women and their companions, armed with the light of Christ, break through walls of class and gender to disarm “principalities and powers” (Col 2:15). The authors root real spiritual insight in academic rigor.
This book brings a fresh new look to Perpetua’s texts. First, it offers accessible new translations of the accounts of the martyrdom. Second, it features seven essays that analyze the texts from various perspectives from philosophy to psychology and many other fields in between. These essays offer interdisciplinary views while also looking at the contemporary relevance of the texts. This book is a welcome addition to studies of Perpetua’s famous experience.
This volume of essays offers a satisfying range of fresh perspectives on a rich and fascinating text. By devoting particular attention to the Passion’s Greco-Roman context, its theological implications, and its relationship to current events, this welcome contribution advances our understanding of martyrdom’s significance in the early Church and beyond.
This volume offers a new translation of The Passion of Saint Perpetua and Saint Felicity and a number of impressive essays dealing with a variety of perspectives on this early African patristic text. It is an invaluable and readable resource for a number of audiences who seek new understandings of this martyrdom and the development of the early church. Future scholarship on this subject will be in its debt.
This volume offers not only fresh translations of the accounts of the martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicity. It also contains valuable essays which contextualize events around and after the martyrdom which illuminate its enduring significance.
- Title: The Passion Narratives of Saints Perpetua, Felicity, and Their Fellow Martyrs
- Authors: Nancy Enright, Francis J. Hunter, Ebere Bosco Amakwe, Michael J.S. Bruno, June-Ann Greeley, Joseph R. Laracy, Samantha Mattheiss, Todd Stockdale
- Publisher: Lexington Books
- Print Publication Date: 2024
- Logos Release Date: 2024
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781666957952, 9781666957945, 1666957941, 166695795X
- Resource ID: LLS:9781666957952
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-12-15T07:08:22Z
Nancy Enright is professor of English and Director of the University Core at Seton Hall University.
Francis J. Hunter is a Latin and Classics teacher for the Middle and Upper schools of the Academy of the Holy Angels.