Saint Justin, Martyr
S. Iustini Martyris
Saint Justin was a philosopher who, having sought the truth among the schools of the pagans, found it at last in the Gospel of Christ, and became one of the earliest and greatest defenders of the Faith in writing. He sealed his witness with martyrdom at Rome in the second century.
Saint Justin, often called Justin the Philosopher, was born of Greek parents at Flavia Neapolis in Samaria, the ancient Shechem, early in the second century. From his youth he was filled with a love of wisdom and passed through the various schools of the philosophers — the Stoics, the Peripatetics, the Pythagoreans, and the Platonists — seeking in each the knowledge of God, until he was led by grace to the Scriptures and to the Christian faith, in which alone he found the true and certain philosophy he had long desired. Thereafter, retaining the philosopher’s cloak, he devoted himself to teaching and defending the Faith he had embraced.
The first of the apologists
Saint Justin holds an honoured place as the foremost of the early apologists, those writers who set forth and defended the Christian religion before the rulers and the learned of the pagan world. Two of his Apologies, addressed to the Roman emperors, and his Dialogue with Trypho the Jew have come down to us. In them he pleaded for justice toward the Christians, who were then persecuted on mere suspicion, and bore witness to the holiness of their lives and worship. His description of the Christian assembly on the Lord’s day, with its readings, its prayers, and the offering of the Eucharist, is among the most precious testimonies of the early Church to the celebration of the sacred Mysteries.
The witness of his blood
Saint Justin taught the Faith openly at Rome, and there, with several companions, he was brought before the prefect Rusticus, accused of being a Christian. The genuine account of his trial survives, in which he confessed his faith plainly and, refusing to sacrifice to the gods, was condemned to be scourged and beheaded. So the philosopher who had sought the truth through all his life laid down that life for the Truth he had found. The Church honours him as a martyr and as a master who showed that the wisdom of the world finds its fulfilment in Christ crucified.
The Collect
O God, who through the foolishness of the Cross didst wondrously teach blessed Justin, Thy Martyr, the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ: grant us, through his intercession, that the deceits of error being driven away, we may attain to firmness in the Faith. Through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
Deus, qui per stultítiam crucis eminéntem Iesu Christi sciéntiam beátum Iustínum Mártyrem mirabíliter docuísti: eius nobis intercessióne concéde; ut, errórum circumventióne depúlsa, fídei firmitátem consequámur. Per eúndem Dóminum nostrum Iesum Christum Fílium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte Spíritus Sancti Deus, per ómnia sǽcula sæculórum. Amen.
Patronage
Saint Justin is venerated as a patron of philosophers and apologists, who defend the Faith by reason and the written word.
In the Modern Calendar
In the modern calendar, Saint Justin is observed on 1 June, the day on which he has long been honoured in the Christian East.
Common Questions
When is the feast of Saint Justin Martyr?
In the 1962 Roman Missal his feast is kept on 14 April as a Third-Class feast. In the modern calendar it is observed on 1 June.
Who was Saint Justin?
He was a second-century philosopher who, after seeking truth in the schools of the pagans, embraced the Christian faith and became its earliest great defender in writing. He was martyred at Rome for his profession of the Faith.
What did Saint Justin write?
He left two Apologies in defence of the Christians, addressed to the Roman emperors, and a Dialogue with Trypho the Jew. His account of the Sunday assembly and the offering of the Eucharist is one of the earliest descriptions of Christian worship that survives.
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