St. Justin, one of the early Christians whose martyrdom
was documented, and who left valuable writings about the practices and
doctrines of the early followers of Christ, was born in Flavia Neapolis in what
was then Palestine around 100 A.D.
Much of what we know about his life comes from his own
writings. He was born to a pagan family,
who ancestors may have settled in Palestine as Roman officials. He tells us that he received a “Greek
education.” The desire for knowledge and
an understanding of life led Justin to sample many of philosophic schools of
his time (his account recollects teachers who were either incompetent or greedy),
and he eventually adopted a Platonic philosophy – but even this failed to
satisfy him. As one biographer put it, “[the
Platonists] had promised that wisdom would let him see God, and so, where was
God?”
Justin often retreated to an isolated field near the
sea for contemplation. One day, he
encountered an old man, who was ostensibly looking for his family. The old man, a Christian, engaged Justin in a
dialogue about his (Justin’s) love of reason; challenging him to seek the truth. The old man mentioned the Hebrew prophets and
how their writings pointed to the Christ, who had come. The dialogue concluded with the old man
urging Justin to pray that the gates of heaven might be opened to him.
Inflamed by this providential meeting, Justin began an
earnest search of the Scriptures; and, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, became a
Christian (he also speaks eloquently of the influence that the example of
Christians awaiting death for the faith had on him). His conversion has been traditionally
assigned to Ephesus, although it might have occurred anywhere on his journey
from Palestine to Rome.
In Rome, Justin adopted the dress and manner of a
philosopher and opened a school for Christian scholars (Tatian was one of his
pupils). At that time, many Christians
lived and worshipped in secret; in part, to protect themselves from
persecution, and also to preserve the purity of the faith. Justin became the first great Christian
apologist, urging his fellow Christians to proclaim the faith, and answering
the objections of pagan detractors, while explicating the doctrines of baptism
and eucharist.
During the reign of Marcus Aurelius, Justin was drawn
into a public dispute with cynic philosopher Crescens. Unable to refute Justin, Crescens denounced
him to Roman authorities, and he (and six companions) were brought before the
Roman Prefect Junious Rusticus.
A stylized record of his trial before Rusticus has come
down to us. According to the account, Rusticus demanded that they "Obey the gods at once,
and submit to the kings," Justin responded, "To obey the commandments
of our Saviour Jesus Christ is worthy neither of blame nor of
condemnation." When Rusticus asked what doctrines he believed, Justin told
him that he had learned all the doctrines available during his quest but
finally submitted to the true doctrines of the Christians, even though they
didn't please others. When Rusticus
asked each of them if they were a Christian, they all responded the same way:
"Yes, I am a Christian." Rusticus tried to put responsibility for
this on Justin, but they responded that God had
made them Christians. Just before
Rusticus sentenced them he asked Justin, "If you are killed do you suppose
you will go
to heaven?" Justin said, "I do not suppose it, but I know and am
fully persuaded of it." Justin and
his companions were beheaded the same day.
The early Christian martyrs may seem very distant
to us today. Most of us in the West
cannot imagine a society that would circumscribe religious beliefs. Aside from honoring their sacrifice, what do
they have to say to us today?
Perhaps it is this – that while death for
the faith may seem far off, martyrdom takes many forms – loss of employment,
prestige, opportunities, and even friendship can be the cost of witnessing to
the truth. If a man walked up to us
today, put a gun to our head, and asked, “Do you believe in Christ?” – what would
our answer be? Would it be an unequivocal
“Yes”, or would we hesitate – try to calculate what answer would save our
lives? True martyrs experience Christ so
profoundly that hesitation is removed, there is for them no hesitation, no
calculation – only the truth that illumines their soul.
Here’s another example to ponder. Suppose you worked for a large public
institution, where you received good pay and excellent benefits that enabled
your family to live happily and securely.
Now suppose that that institution embraced a concept of marriage that is
different from your Christian belief.
Okay, you don’t support it, but you can keep your head down and keep
your job. Now suppose that institution
(under the guise of equality) required that you not only accept this new
definition, but assent to it – to not
only tolerate it, but to publicly agree with it. What would you do?
V. Pray for us,
St. Justin Martyr
R. That we may be worthy of the
promises of Christ
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