Comparison Of Perpetua And Theodosius

The Role of Christianity: Perpetua vs Theodosius This essay will show analysis between The Martyrdom of Perpetua and St. Ambrose Humiliates Theodosius the Great. The two texts show how the rise of Christianity in Rome was dealt with in different times. Both exerts show different forms of conversion, a person’s loyalty to their God, and the social punishment that a Christian had to endure during these times.
In 202 CE, a young woman named Perpetua was arrested in Carthage for being a Christian. She was taken and imprisoned along with her young child and brother. In her own words she said there were, “crowed conditioned and rough treatment by the soldiers and the heat was unbearable”. They were seen as the enemy because they didn’t believe
Theodosius was in an anger filled rage and sought vengeance for the death of a Roman governor when he decided to take his sword and murder 7,000 people, these people were the described in a “slaying of innocent and guilty alike,” (Theodoret). Theodosius’ actions lead to the “unjustified catastrophe” (Theodoret). After the murders, Theodosius, a Christian, went to his church to pray. However, he was met by Saint Ambrose who refused to let him in. Ambrose faced Theodosius and said, “How could you lift up in prayer hands steeped in the blood of so unjust a massacre? Depart then, and do not by a second crime add to the guilt of the first” (Theodoret). Ambrose is saying that Theodosius has committed such a horrible crime and Theodosius should not show his face in the house of God after such a crime and asking for forgiveness for such a thing is a crime in itself. Because of this social humiliation, Theodosius flees back to his palace and cries. After thinking about what he had done, he returned to the church where he “now took courage to enter holy church where he prayed neither in a standing, nor in a kneeling posture, but throwing himself upon the ground” (Theodoret). This shows his guilt and personal need for forgiveness as he pleads in prayer. However, I think that if he was loyal to his faith he would never have murdered those people and therefore he was coward compared to Perpetua’s bravery to die for what she believed in, while he begged for forgiveness from the ultimate