Justin Martyr, St.


Justin Martyr, St.

St. Justin Martyr was born around 120 AD in Palestine into a pagan Gentile family. He studied the wisdom of Plato, Aristotle, and other great Greek thinkers and became a professional philosopher. One day, while reading philosophy by the seashore, he was noticed by an old man who took the time to strike up a conversation about philosophy and religion. The elderly gentleman was a Christian and witnessed to Justin on how Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies in the Jewish holy books. As Justin investigated the matter, his realized that he had found the wisdom that he had been searching for all of his life. Justin then became a Christian teacher and lived for a while in Ephesus, after which he moved to Rome, the Imperial Capital. He wrote and spoke openly about Christ, addressing two “apologies” or defenses of the Christian faith to the emperor himself. Justin became one of the most influential teachers of the 2nd century and has been regarded ever since as one of the Fathers of the Church. Though contemporary writers tell us that he wrote extensively on many topics, only his two apologies and his Dialogue with Trypo, the Jew, survive today. A rival philosopher turned Justin in to the authorities for his Christian faith, and Justin was martyred around the year 165 AD. An eyewitness account of his interrogation and martyrdom at the hands of the Roman authorities has been preserved for us and is read each year in the Church’s office of Readings on June 1, St. Justin’s feast day. For more information on Justin Martyr and his teaching, see When the Church Was Young: Voices of the Early Fathers. Biography by Dr. Italy