Saint Justin, Martyr, is celebrated as a pivotal early Christian apologist who eloquently defended the rationality of the faith and offered profound insights into early Christian practices before his martyrdom.
Saint Justin, Martyr, born around 100 AD in Flavia Neapolis (modern Nablus), was a prominent philosopher who, after exploring various philosophical traditions, converted to Christianity and became one of its most significant early apologists. He is primarily known for his written works, particularly the First Apology, Second Apology, and Dialogue with Trypho, which defended Christian beliefs against pagan and Jewish criticisms and provided invaluable accounts of early Christian worship and doctrine, including the Eucharist and Baptism. His intellectual contributions helped articulate Christian theology in terms understandable to the Greco-Roman world, establishing him as a crucial bridge between classical thought and Christian revelation, a testimony he ultimately sealed with his martyrdom in Rome around 165 AD under Emperor Marcus Aurelius.
Born in Flavia Neapolis, ancient Shechem, in Samaria, around 100 AD, Saint Justin, later known as Justin Martyr, embarked on a profound intellectual journey from a young age. Hailing from a pagan Greek family, he was educated in the philosophical traditions of his time, seeking truth and meaning through various schools of thought. He immersed himself in Stoicism, which offered a path to virtue through reason and self-control, but found it ultimately unsatisfying due to its lack of a transcendent purpose. He then explored the Peripatetic school, finding their emphasis on practical knowledge too superficial, and the Pythagoreans, whose prerequisite study of music and astronomy seemed too protracted. His quest led him finally to Platonism, a philosophy that deeply resonated with his soul, promising a vision of God as the ultimate Good and the source of all truth, and for a time, he believed he had found the summit of philosophical inquiry. This early intellectual rigor and earnest search for truth would define his life's trajectory, even before his conversion to Christianity.
In the vibrant intellectual landscape of the 2nd century, before he became the renowned Saint Justin, Martyr, there was a philosopher named Justin, earnest in his relentless pursuit of truth. He had journeyed through the schools of Stoics, Peripatetics, and Pythagoreans, each promising a glimpse of ultimate reality, yet leaving his soul yearning for more. It was in the profound depths of Platonism that he believed he had found his true calling, convinced that through contemplation and pure reason, he was on the very brink of apprehending God Himself. His custom was to seek solitude, often walking by the sea, lost in the intricate pathways of his thoughts, believing that such quiet reflection would lead him to the divine.
One day, as he walked along the shore, absorbed in his meditations, an old man of venerable appearance, with a gentle and thoughtful countenance, approached him. The old man engaged him in conversation, questioning the very foundations of his philosophical quest. He respectfully challenged Justin’s conviction that human reason alone could grasp God, pointing out the limitations of philosophical inquiry and the inherent pride in believing one could ascend to such knowledge without divine aid. Justin, accustomed to intellectual sparring, debated passionately, defending his cherished Platonism.
Yet, the old man’s words began to pierce through Justin’s intellectual armor. With profound wisdom, the stranger spoke of the ancient prophets, men who had not reasoned their way to truth, but had been inspired by the Holy Spirit to declare truths about God and His Son, Christ, long before their fulfillment. He spoke of a living, personal God, who revealed Himself not merely through abstract concepts, but through historical events and divine intervention. He urged Justin to turn not to the philosophers, but to these prophets, and to pray for light from God Himself.
This encounter was a revelation. The old man, whose identity remains a mystery to history, planted a seed of divine truth in Justin’s heart. He departed as mysteriously as he had appeared, leaving Justin utterly transformed. The philosopher, who had sought truth in human wisdom, now turned his gaze towards the divine wisdom revealed in the Scriptures. His heart was set aflame with a new understanding and love for Christ. From that day forward, Justin dedicated his formidable intellect not to the pursuit of philosophy for its own sake, but to the defense and explanation of the Christian faith, becoming the unwavering apologist and martyr we venerate today, a testament to the transformative power of divine grace.
c. 155-157 AD
But we, after we have thus washed him who has been convinced and has assented to our teaching, bring him to the place where those who are called brethren are assembled, in order that we may offer hearty prayers in common for ourselves and for the baptized [illuminated] person, and for all others everywhere, that we may be vouchsafed, now that we have learned the truth, to be made also by our works good citizens and keepers of the commandments, so that we may be saved with an everlasting salvation. When prayers are ended, we salute one another with a kiss. There is then brought to the president of the brethren bread and a cup of wine mixed with water; and he taking them, gives praise and glory to the Father of the universe, through the name of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and offers thanks at considerable length for our being counted worthy to receive these things at His hands. And when he has concluded the prayers and thanksgivings, all the people present express their assent by saying Amen. This word Amen answers in the Hebrew language to Gēnoito [so be it]. And when the president has given thanks, and all the people have expressed their assent, those who are called by us deacons give to each of those present to partake of the bread and wine mixed with water, over which the thanksgiving was pronounced, and to those who are absent they carry away a portion.
And this food is called among us Eucharist, of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins, and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ has enjoined. For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Saviour, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh. For the apostles, in the memoirs composed by them, which are called Gospels, have thus delivered unto us what was enjoined upon them: that Jesus took bread, and when He had given thanks, said, 'This do ye in remembrance of Me, this is My body;' and that after the same manner, having taken the cup and given thanks, He said, 'This is My blood;' and commanded them alone to partake of it. Which the wicked devils have imitated in the mysteries of Mithras, commanding the same thing to be done. For that bread and a cup of water are placed with certain incantations in the mystic rites of one who is being initiated, you either know or can learn.
And we afterwards continually remind each other of these things. And the wealthy among us help the needy; and we always keep together; and for all things whatsoever we partake of, we bless the Maker of all through His Son Jesus Christ, and through the Holy Spirit. And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits. Then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and offer prayers. And, as we said before, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons. And they who are well to do, and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president, who succours the orphans and widows, and those who, through sickness or any other cause, are in want, and those who are in bonds, and the strangers sojourning among us, and in a word takes care of all who are in need. Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead. For He was crucified on the day before that of Saturn; and on the day after that of Saturn, which is the day of the Sun, having appeared to His apostles and disciples, He taught them these things, which we have submitted to you also for your consideration.
c. 165 AD
The holy martyrs were seized and brought before Rusticus the prefect. And when they were all standing together before the tribunal, Rusticus the prefect said to Justin: 'Obey the gods at once, and yield to the emperors.' Justin said: 'No one can be blamed or condemned who obeys the commands of our Saviour Jesus Christ.' Rusticus the prefect said: 'What kind of doctrines do you profess?' Justin said: 'I have tried to learn all doctrines; but I have given myself to the true doctrines, those of the Christians, though they are displeasing to those who err.' Rusticus the prefect said: 'Do you then, O wretched man, admire these doctrines?' Justin said: 'Yes, for I follow them with right reason.' Rusticus the prefect said: 'What is this 'right reason'?' Justin said: 'That by which we worship the true God, and confess Him to be the Lord of all, and we believe in His Son, Jesus Christ, who was preached by the prophets as about to come to the human race, and as the herald of salvation and the teacher of good disciples. And I, being a man, can say but little in comparison with His infinite divinity; but I confess that this is the doctrine of salvation.' Rusticus the prefect said: 'Where do you assemble?' Justin said: 'Wherever each one chooses and is able. Do you suppose that we all meet in the same place? Not so; for the God of the Christians is not confined to place, but being invisible, fills heaven and earth, and is everywhere worshipped and glorified by the faithful.' Rusticus the prefect said: 'Tell me, where do you collect your disciples?' Justin said: 'I live above the baths of Timothinus, and if any one wished to come to me, I communicated to him the doctrines of truth.' Rusticus the prefect said: 'Are you not then a Christian?' Justin said: 'Yes, I am a Christian.' Rusticus the prefect said to the other prisoners: 'Tell me, what are you?' Chariton said: 'I am a free man, but a Christian.' Charito said: 'I am a servant of God, and I am a Christian by the grace of God.' Euelpistus said: 'I too am a Christian, and a servant of Christ, and I have learned it from my parents.' Hierax said: 'I too am a Christian.' Peon said: 'I am a Christian.' Liberian said: 'I am a Christian, and I have confessed it to God.' Rusticus the prefect said to Justin: 'Hearken, you who are called learned, and who think that you are wise, do you suppose that if you are scourged and beheaded, you will ascend to heaven?' Justin said: 'I do not suppose it, but I know it, and I am fully persuaded of it.' Rusticus the prefect said: 'Do you suppose that you will receive some reward?' Justin said: 'I shall receive what I deserve, and I know that I shall be saved, if I endure.' Rusticus the prefect said: 'Go then, and be sacrificed to the gods.' Justin said: 'We pray that we may suffer for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, and be saved.' And when he had said this, he and the others were led away to the place of execution, and were beheaded. And some of the faithful took up their bodies, and buried them in a suitable place, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ working with them, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.