“Passio Perpetuae et Felicitatis” as a historical source on the history of early Christianity
https://doi.org/10.28995/2073-6339-2022-2-32-47
Abstract
“The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity” is in many ways a unique source on the history of early Christianity and the Roman Empire. Its uniqueness is evident not only in the structure of the text or its content but also in the complexity of issues related to its main characteristics as a historical source. The issues of dating, the interrelation of different versions of the text, original language, authorship and many others for a long time remain a matter of debate in foreign historiography. But in Russian historiography that martyrdom is still on the periphery of attention, and its scientific potential remains not fully disclosed. The paper provides an overview of the existing discussions about the nature of that early Christian text and solutions to the source issues associated with its study.
The author proves that the “The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity” has a quadripartite structure: authentic records of the martyrs Perpetua and Saturus, who died together with their comrades in Carthage at the beginning of the 3rd century, the eyewitness testimony of their execution, as well as a prologue and epilogue written by the unknown compiler. The paper also considers the perspectives for studying the text in the context of the relationship between the Christianity and the Roman Empire, in the course of the evolution of Christian thought, and through the prism of gender studies.
Supporting agencies: The reported study was funded by RFBR, project number 21-011-44147. The author expresses gratitude to the supervisors of the research seminar “Stories of early Christian martyrs” under research supervision of N.V. Braginskaya and A.I. Shmaina-Velikanova on the basis of the project “Laboratory of Unnecessary Things” at the Independent Moscow University – and to all members of the seminar: A.N. Greshnykh, S.N. Davidoglu, M.S. Kasian, T.A. Mikhailova, V.V. Stepanov, S.V. Fedorova, O.I. Iaroshevskaia. A significant part of the observation in the article is the result of years of collective work at the seminar.
About the Author
P. N. Lebedev
Russian State University for the Humanities
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Pavel N. Lebedev, Cand. of Sci. (History), associate professor
bld. 6, Miusskaya Square, Moscow, 125047
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Review
For citations:
Lebedev P.N. “Passio Perpetuae et Felicitatis” as a historical source on the history of early Christianity. RSUH/RGGU Bulletin Series "Political Science. History. International Relations". 2022;(2):32-47. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.28995/2073-6339-2022-2-32-47
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