. . . she took the trembling hand of the young gladiator and guided it to her throat. It was as though so great a woman, feared as she was by the unclean spirit, could not be dispatched unless she herself were willing.” // The Passion of St. Perpetua, St. Felicitas, and their Companions
Ladies of the Lord
The feast of Saints Perpetua and Felicity celebrates the martyrdom of two holy women from the early days of the Church. They lived under the persecutive reign of Emperor Severus, a time when becoming a Christian meant certain death. While much remains speculative about their lives, we do have one record from Perpetua herself, which was completed by her teacher, Saturus.
A striking feature of this account is the number of times clothing is mentioned. Why is there such emphasis on the way these martyrs dressed? What can it teach us about being women of God?
The Story
Perpetua was a noblewoman who converted to Christianity despite the danger. She had plenty of reasons not to. She was only twenty-two years old and nursing a baby son. Since her husband is not mentioned in the account, it is speculated that she was a widow. When Perpetua was baptized, she was promptly removed from her child and family and imprisoned. While her baby was eventually returned to her, the pleading of her pagan family was not enough for Perpetua to change her mind. She and her companions were condemned to die at the hands of wild animals in the arena.
Felicity was a slave, imprisoned alongside Perpetua. Eight months pregnant at the time, she endured excruciating conditions. Because it was illegal for pregnant women to be executed—as the child was considered innocent of their mother’s crimes—Felicity was concerned she would not face the arena with Perpetua and the others. However, in a strange kind of mercy, she went into labor before her execution, a month before her due date, and gave birth to a healthy baby girl. When the soldiers serving as guards mocked her labor pains, suggesting the worst was to come in the arena, Felicity responded calmly: “Now I'm the one who is suffering, but in the arena, another will be in me suffering for me because I will be suffering for him.”
Put on the Armor of God
The account of Saints Felicity and Perpetua mentions clothing at several key moments. The first is when the condemned were supposed to dress in the robes of pagan priests and priestesses. Perpetua resisted, saying, “We came to this of our own free will, that our freedom should not be violated. We agreed to pledge our lives provided that we would do no such thing. You agreed with us to do this.”
While briefly granted the right to wear their own clothes, it was soon taken away from them, and the women were brought into the arena naked.
The second mention of their appearance occurs because of their nakedness, which was soon covered, for “[e]ven the crowd was horrified when they saw that one was a delicate young girl and the other was a woman fresh from childbirth with the milk still dripping from her breasts. And so they were brought back again and dressed in unbelted tunics.”
Then, as the beasts mauled Pepetua, the account reports: “Then sitting up she pulled down the tunic that was ripped along the side so that it covered her thighs, thinking more of her modesty than of her pain. Next she asked for a pin to fasten her untidy hair: for it was not right that a martyr should die with her hair in disorder, lest she might seem to be mourning in her hour of triumph.”
Why this attention to detail in the ancient text? Why did Perpetua care so much about her clothing? This was not mere feminine frivolity; rather, it pointed to a deep ethos on how to suffer and suffer well.
Suffer Well
There are many passages in the Bible on how to suffer well, but perhaps the most famous is Christ’s instruction to turn the other cheek:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile” (Matthew 5:38-42).
Rather than a passive submission to suffering, this passage preaches an active, nonviolent resistance to the humiliation of suffering. We do not always choose the suffering that comes to us; however, we can choose our response to it. For Saints Perpetua and Felicity, their response to suffering included intentionality in how they were dressed. Perpetua and her companions wanted to meet their fate with dignity, showing that for a Christian, it is an honor, not a disgrace, to die for Christ.
The Feminine Genius
Women especially, for whom suffering is often a biological and routine part of their lives, can learn a lot from the inherently feminine story of Perpetua and Felicity. Both were young mothers who suffered with a dignity and a poise that revealed an inner strength and willingness to suffer.
The ancient account of Perpetua notes this about her final moments: “She screamed as she was struck on the bone; then she took the trembling hand of the young gladiator and guided it to her throat. It was as though so great a woman, feared as she was by the unclean spirit, could not be dispatched unless she herself were willing.”
Their suffering was not a passive submission, but a receptivity and willingness to suffer that transformed it into something beautiful. By guarding their modesty and image as best they could, Perpetua and Felicity were not being vain, but rather putting on the armor of God, remembering their dignity as daughters of the living God, as they fought their final battle.
My dear sisters in Christ, suffering will come to us in this life. However, in the spirit of Saints Perpetua and Felicity, let us meet it with clean faces and modest dignity. Often the armor God asks you to wear into battle with Him is a sundress and a smile.
Rosie Hall is a freelance writer and lover of well-steeped tea. She spent three years after high school discerning a vocation. Since leaving, she has tried a bit of everything: attending Ave Maria University, traveling, bartending, journalism, producing podcasts, knitting; always seeking to follow the Lamb wherever He goes! Rosie's next adventure takes her across the pond to study literature at Oxford University.
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