Research Article


DOI :10.26650/di.2025.36.1.155101   IUP :10.26650/di.2025.36.1.155101    Full Text (PDF)

Evaluations on the Diary of Vibia Perpetua, One of the First Female Martyrs of Christianity

Ufuk ArslanMurat Öntuğ

This article focuses on the diary of Vibia Perpetua, one of the first female martyrs of Christianity and also the first female auto-biographer in history. Perpetua was martyred with her friends in the Carthage amphitheatre on March 7, 203, because she did not renounce Christianity and refused to sacrifice to the pagan gods for the sake of the well-being of the Roman emperor Septimus Severus. Perpetua kept a diary during her imprisonment and recorded all her experiences and dreams from the time she was detained until her martyrdom. We can access basic information about Perpetua and her experiences through the editor who published the diary. Many researchers from Antiquity to the present have examined this diary and made various comments. The inspiration for Perpetua’s dreams has particularly caused controversy among researchers. Additionally, theories have been produced about why Perpetua never mentioned her friend and slave Felicitas and her husband in her diary. In our study, ancient and modern sources were analysed and it was concluded that Felicitas was included in the story by the editor and Perpetua’s husband was removed from the diary as a result of the editor’s intervention. Accordingly, we tried to bring a new and different perspective to the field.

DOI :10.26650/di.2025.36.1.155101   IUP :10.26650/di.2025.36.1.155101    Full Text (PDF)

Hıristiyanlığın İlk Kadın Şehitlerinden Vibia Perpetua’nın Günlüğü Üzerine Değerlendirmeler

Ufuk ArslanMurat Öntuğ

Bu makale, Hıristiyanlığın ilk kadın şehitlerinden ve aynı zamanda tarihteki ilk kadın otobiyografi yazarı olan Vibia Perpetua’nın günlüğüne odaklanmaktadır. Perpetua Hıristiyanlıktan vazgeçmediği ve Roma imparatoru Septimus Severus’un esenliği adına pagan tanrılarına kurban sunmayı reddettiği için arkadaşları ile 7 Mart 203 tarihinde Kartaca amfi tiyatrosunda şehit edilmiştir. Perpetua mahkûmiyet günlerinde bir günlük tutmuş ve göz altına alınmasından şehit edilişine kadar geçen sürede tüm yaşadıklarını ve gördüğü rüyaları bu günlüğe kaydetmiştir. Perpetua ile ilgili temel bilgilere ve onun yaşadıklarına, günlüğü yayımlayan editör aracılığıyla erişebiliyoruz. Antikçağdan günümüze birçok araştırmacı bu günlüğü incelemiş ve muhtelif yorumlarda bulunmuştur. Araştırmacılar arasında özellikle Perpetua’nın gördüğü rüyaların esin kaynağı tartışmalara neden olmuştur. İlaveten Perpetua’nın günlüğünde arkadaşı ve kölesi olan Felicitas’tan ve kocasından neden hiç bahsetmediği ile ilgili de teoriler üretilmiştir. Çalışmamızda antik ve modern kaynaklar tahlil edilmiş, neticesinde de Felicitas’ın hikâyeye editör tarafından dahil edildiği ve Perpetua’nın kocasının da editörün müdahalesi sonucu günlükten çıkarıldığı sonucuna varılmıştır. Buna bağlı olarak da alana yeni ve farklı bir bakış açısı kazandırmaya çalışılmıştır.


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APA

Arslan, U., & Öntuğ, M. (2025). Evaluations on the Diary of Vibia Perpetua, One of the First Female Martyrs of Christianity. darulfunun ilahiyat, 36(1), 191-211. https://doi.org/10.26650/di.2025.36.1.155101


AMA

Arslan U, Öntuğ M. Evaluations on the Diary of Vibia Perpetua, One of the First Female Martyrs of Christianity. darulfunun ilahiyat. 2025;36(1):191-211. https://doi.org/10.26650/di.2025.36.1.155101


ABNT

Arslan, U.; Öntuğ, M. Evaluations on the Diary of Vibia Perpetua, One of the First Female Martyrs of Christianity. darulfunun ilahiyat, [Publisher Location], v. 36, n. 1, p. 191-211, 2025.


Chicago: Author-Date Style

Arslan, Ufuk, and Murat Öntuğ. 2025. “Evaluations on the Diary of Vibia Perpetua, One of the First Female Martyrs of Christianity.” darulfunun ilahiyat 36, no. 1: 191-211. https://doi.org/10.26650/di.2025.36.1.155101


Chicago: Humanities Style

Arslan, Ufuk, and Murat Öntuğ. Evaluations on the Diary of Vibia Perpetua, One of the First Female Martyrs of Christianity.” darulfunun ilahiyat 36, no. 1 (Jun. 2025): 191-211. https://doi.org/10.26650/di.2025.36.1.155101


Harvard: Australian Style

Arslan, U & Öntuğ, M 2025, 'Evaluations on the Diary of Vibia Perpetua, One of the First Female Martyrs of Christianity', darulfunun ilahiyat, vol. 36, no. 1, pp. 191-211, viewed 26 Jun. 2025, https://doi.org/10.26650/di.2025.36.1.155101


Harvard: Author-Date Style

Arslan, U. and Öntuğ, M. (2025) ‘Evaluations on the Diary of Vibia Perpetua, One of the First Female Martyrs of Christianity’, darulfunun ilahiyat, 36(1), pp. 191-211. https://doi.org/10.26650/di.2025.36.1.155101 (26 Jun. 2025).


MLA

Arslan, Ufuk, and Murat Öntuğ. Evaluations on the Diary of Vibia Perpetua, One of the First Female Martyrs of Christianity.” darulfunun ilahiyat, vol. 36, no. 1, 2025, pp. 191-211. [Database Container], https://doi.org/10.26650/di.2025.36.1.155101


Vancouver

Arslan U, Öntuğ M. Evaluations on the Diary of Vibia Perpetua, One of the First Female Martyrs of Christianity. darulfunun ilahiyat [Internet]. 26 Jun. 2025 [cited 26 Jun. 2025];36(1):191-211. Available from: https://doi.org/10.26650/di.2025.36.1.155101 doi: 10.26650/di.2025.36.1.155101


ISNAD

Arslan, Ufuk - Öntuğ, Murat. Evaluations on the Diary of Vibia Perpetua, One of the First Female Martyrs of Christianity”. darulfunun ilahiyat 36/1 (Jun. 2025): 191-211. https://doi.org/10.26650/di.2025.36.1.155101



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Submitted24.09.2024
Accepted29.11.2024
Published Online11.09.2024

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