Prepared for publication by Associate Professor of St. Petersburg State University A.D. Panteleev, the book, designed to fill the gap in the source base of domestic research on early Christianity, is a collection of authentic hagiographic texts that have come down to us, telling about the persecution of Christians from the middle. II before beginning IV century and about the exploits of the first Christian saints. All works are brought to the attention of the reader in new translations, and three of them - the stories about Carp, Perpetua and Peony - are translated into Russian for the first time. The main text of the sources is supplemented by appendices - studies devoted to the detention of martyrs in prison and their relationships with the guards, as well as the place of executions of Christians in the Roman system of mass spectacles. The translations are equipped with a full-fledged scientific apparatus - extensive accompanying articles and commentaries, made taking into account the latest domestic and foreign literature. Contents: Christian martyrdom: history of the phenomenon and genre ----- 5Martyrdom of Polycarp ...... ........................................................ ........ 33Martyrdom of Carpus, Papila and Agathonica ............................... 69Martyrdom of Ptolemy and Lucius. ............................................... 95Martyrdom of Justin and his comrades ................................... 111 Message about the Lyons and Vienne martyrs ......... ............. 131Acts of the Skilitanian martyrs .................................. ................... 171Martyrdom of Apollonius .................................. ................................ 191The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity .................. ..................... 209Martyrdom of Potamiena and Basilides .................................. .......... 249Martyrdom of Presbyter Pionius and his comrades ........... 265AppendicesMartyr in prison ............... ........................................................ ....... 317Christian martyrdom in the context of Roman spectacles 333List of abbreviations .................................. ........................................ 352 List of used literature ....... ................................... 357 Source: .org/forum/viewtopic.php?tu003d5721073