Before the conversion of Emperor Constantine to Christianity in 312, Roman authorities frequently persecuted Christians for rejecting the rites of worship owed to the pagan gods. During these persecutions, many Christians suffered martyrdom, that is, they died for their faith rather than sacrifice to false deities. One of the most remarkable documents of the early Christian period is a diary kept by a North African woman named Perpetua, who was imprisoned in Carthage in 203 for being a Christian and died in the Roman coliseum. In the days before her death, Perpetua recounted in her diary how the spirit of her brother Dinocrates, who had died a pagan, visited her in her dreams and how her prayers earned for him the refreshment and relief of a Christian afterlife.
A few days later, while we were all praying, suddenly in the midst of a prayer a voice came to me and I spoke the name Dinocrates. I was astonished because he had never before now entered into my mind, and the memory of his misfortune made me sad. And I knew at once that I was worthy and that I should pray for him. So I began to pray for him in earnest and to groan to the Lord. Then, that very night, this vision was shown to me. I saw Dinocrates coming out of a place of shadows, where many others dwelt with him. He was very hot and thirsty, covered in dirt and pale in color, and on his face was the wound that he had when he died. This boy Dinocrates had been my brother in the flesh, but at the age of seven he died horribly due to a cancer of the face and his death filled everyone with loathing. Thus, it was for this boy that I made my prayer. But between me and him there was a wide gulf with the result that neither of us could approach the other. But there was in that place where Dinocrates stood a basin full of water, the lip of which was higher than the height of the boy and Dinocrates was stretching himself toward it as if he were going to drink. I was saddened because that basin held water and yet because of the height of the rim he was not able to drink from it. Then I woke up and I knew that my brother was suffering, but I was sure that I could help him in his trouble and I prayed for him every day until we were transferred to the military prison. For we were to fight in the military games on the birthday of Geta Caesar [March 7, 203]. And I said a prayer for him, groaning and crying night and day, so that this favor might be granted to me.
On the day that we remained in chains, this vision was shown to me. I saw that place that I had seen before and Dinocrates was there, his body cleansed, well-dressed, and refreshed. And where his wound had been, there was a scar, and that basin, which I had seen before, now had its lip lowered to the height of the boy’s navel and he could draw water from it without any hindrance. And upon the lip of the basin there was a golden cup full of water and Dinocrates approached and began to drink from it and the cup did not empty. And once he was sated, he began to play in the water joyfully as children do. And then I woke up and I knew that he had been freed from his suffering.