Trials of Christian Martyrs. Case Study: De Perpetuae et Felicitatis Martyrio

Abstract

A person who dies for his religious faith is called a martyr or a martyr, but the term martyr also applies to those who give their  lives for another cause, considered noble, such as those who die for their country in wartime. Martyrdom is the suffering, torment,  torture, or death endured by someone for his ideas or beliefs. The term martyr is used by extension and in other forms, martyr of  the fatherland, martyr of work, to honor specially performed acts of heroism. The word “martyr” is of Greek origin and denotes 
someone who confessed Christ by his own death. In the first phase, the title of martyr was used with reference to the apostles while 
they were still alive, then it was extended to all those who demonstrated faith, and finally it was used for those who died as a result 
of persecution.