St. Justin

Justin, philosopher

CURRICULUM VITAE

He studied philosophy in Asia Minor. Seeking wisdom in the teachings of the Stoics, Aristotle, Pythagoras, and Plato, he was consumed by questions: What is my soul? What will happen to me after death? He sought the truth about God. An old man instructed him: ‘Pray fervently to God that he may open the gates of light for you, for understanding these things requires grace from God.’ Justin became acquainted with the Holy Scriptures, and it was through reading them and observing the lives of Christians that he was inspired to receive Holy Baptism. He was consumed by a desire to bring others to Christ, successfully defending the true doctrine. He laid down his life for his beliefs.

CV FOR MEDITATION

 And to successfully defend

While he was meditating and walking along the seashore, an older man approached him and asked why he had come to this inhospitable solitude. Justin confided in him his search and desire to know the highest being. The older man replied with a smile that everything that the wise men teach is uncertain, erroneous, and foolish. And long before the Greek wise men, there were righteous men in the world who predicted things that came to pass. Filled with the Holy Spirit, they announced the truth to their people, proclaiming faith in the one true God, the Creator of all things, and in his Son Jesus Christ, whose coming they had predicted. He urged Justin to pray that God would give him the grace to know and understand these things and defend them.

Justin was moved and very much desired to know the books of the Bible, the contents of which he had learned from the older man. He then read them carefully and sought advice from Christian interpreters of the Scriptures. He observed the holy life of Christians, many of whom suffered martyrdom for their faith. Their love touched him and became one of them because he had found what he was looking for. It was probably between 130 and 137 that he was baptized in Ephesus. Later, in one of his writings, he stated that he had accepted the faith under the influence of Christians’ exemplary lives. He also heard many objections against them, but he realized that the accusations were not based on the truth. After accepting the faith, Justin devoted himself to defending and spreading Christian doctrine among educated Greeks and Romans. In Rome, he founded a philosophical school and wrote several philosophical writings in defense of Christian doctrine. Two works, entitled Apology and Dialogue with Trypho the Jew, have survived.

The pagan philosopher Crescentius, with whom Justin had heated discussions, accused him of preaching Christian doctrine, leading to his arrest and presentation before the Roman prefect Junius Rusticus. The records of the interrogation have been preserved, in which Justin’s words are recorded: “I tried to study all available philosophies, which finally convinced me that only one teaching is true. That which Christians profess, that God is the Creator and Lord of all creation, that Jesus Christ, according to prophecy, came into the world to save man and teach him the whole truth.”

He was flogged with other convicts and then beheaded, allegedly during the reign of Marcus Aurelius. It could have been after the year estimated by the martyrology. Justin significantly contributed to Christianity’s entry into Greco-Roman culture. His remains are kept at St. Lawrence outside the walls.