Abstract
The Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas provides evidence of popular North
African Christianity having more affinity with Jewish/ Christian apocalyptic
literature than with the teachings of the early church fathers. This paper
identifies the Passion of Perpetua as the earliest datable Christian text
describing immediate post-‐‑mortem ascent. Affinities between the visions
described in the Passion of Perpetua and in other Jewish/Christian apocalyptic
works, as well as points of difference, will be examined, particularly in
terms of understanding of the afterlife. This text therefore provides a better
understanding of the nature of Christianity at the beginning of the third
century. More specifically, this study highlights the key mechanisms by
which the Christian communities embraced the idea of immediate post-‐‑
mortem ascent of believers.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 63-86 |
Number of pages | 24 |
Journal | Journal of Asia Adventist Seminary |
Volume | 15 |
Issue number | 1 |
Publication status | Published - 2012 |
Keywords
- Passion of Perpetua
- ascent
- afterlife