St. Justin, Martyr.

"That wonderful man" (Tatian); "Ornament of our Faith" (Eusebius); "Unsurpassed in his knowledge of both Christian and pagan doctrines" (Photius); "One of the most original thinkers Christianity produced" (E.F.Osborn, Justin Martyr); "Most outstanding of the Apologists, the first Christian thinker to reconcile faith and reason" (Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church).

Justin was born c.100, of pagan parents, at Flavia Neapolis (modern Nablus) in Samaria, near the ruins of biblical Shechem. Having devoted his youth to the classical philosophers, he embraced Christianity and commenced evangelical work at Ephesus, especially among Jews, in the 130s.

Moving to Rome, he ran a Christian mission throughout the reign of Antoninus Pius (138-161), numbering the future theologian Tatian among his pupils, maintaining links with ordinary Romans by living above a public bath house. His intellectual opponents included the heretic Marcionites and Valentinians, and the pagan Cynic Crescens. The last, worsted in debate, took revenge by denouncing him to the authorities as a Christian. Along with six other brethren, Justin was scourged and beheaded, c.165 under Marcus Aurelius. The surviving minutes of his trial can be read in H. Musurillo's Acts of the Christian Martyrs, pp.43-47: Feast Day, June 1.

"Justin has left us many short works, the products of a cultured mind deeply versed in theology. They are full of good things, and I strongly recommend them for students;" Photius confirms this Eusebian bibliography. They included the trend-setting polemic Against the Pagans ("admirable"--Eusebius), a composite refutation of all the heresies, some highly technical arguments against Aristotle; and such devotional titles as The Harpist, On the Soul, and The Kingdom of God, this last perhaps foreshadowing Augustine.

All lost, alas. The surviving trio (preserved in a lone 14th-century manuscript) comprise his two Apologies and Dialogue with Trypho. Justin significantly took his Christian beliefs to the top, addressing the Apologies respectively to Antoninus Pius and sons (c.155) and to the Roman Senate (c.161). Between these two came the Dialogue, resuming his old Ephesian debates with Trypho, "one of the most eminent Jews of his day" (Eusebius).

Albeit no stylist (Photius is harsh on his Greek), Justin's teachings were novel, potent, and enduring, by turn conciliatory and combative. Pagan thought was allowed some value, since all men partake of the 'Generative Logos,' but only Christianity is fully rational. The Logos became incarnate to teach the Truth and rescue humanity from demons. These themes recur in the Dialogue, not untainted by anti-Semitism (apropos of the Crucifixion), but preferring positive stress on Judaism and the Old Testament as vital precursors to Christ, the Logos, and the new faith. This may have influenced the last pagan emperor, Julian (361-363), whose pamphlet Against the Galilaeans has a strong Old Testament focus.

Justin also yoked textual scholarship to theology; e.g., citing Isaiah 7.14 as "a Virgin (Parthenos) shall conceive," instead of the alternative "a Maiden (Neanis)," and Psalm 96.10 in the form "The Lord shall reign from a tree (sc. the Crucifixion);" cf. Martin Hengel, The Septuagint as Christian Literature. Tatian would continue this exegetic work in his Diatessaron (the four Gospels as a continuous narrative). The Dialogue emolliently concludes, "You are our brothers, come to know the troth of God." His Apologies, along with their autobiographical nuggets and rich information on (e.g.) Baptism and the Eucharist, rebut the contemporary charges of atheism and immorality levelled by the imperial tutor Fronto and the satirist Lucian (the 'Anti-Christ' in some Byzantine circles).

It is no coincidence that within a decade the first rational attack on Christianity should be published; namely, the True Word by one Celsus (probably Lucian's friend of that name), largely preserved through Origen's 8-volume refutation. Celsus adopted and adapted Justin's own methods, borrowing Jewish objections to certain Christian elements (Crucifixion, Incarnation, Miracles) whilst commending the Logos notion and high morality of its followers.

Further Reading: There are English translations of the Dialogue by A. L. Williams and the Apologies by L. W. Barnard. The latter's Justin Martyr: His Life and Thought updates E. R. Goodenough's The Theology of Justin Martyr, complemented by the above-mentioned works of Hengel and Osborn. 'Googling' yielded 50,300 sites, including a lengthy notice in the Catholic Encyclopedia.

The following readings are taken from the Breviary. The first reading is from the first Apology in defence of the Christians by Saint Justin, martyr.

The celebration of the Eucharist

No one may share the eucharist with us, unless he believes that what we teach is true, unless he is washed in the regenerating waters of baptism for the remission of his sins, and unless he lives in accordance with the principles given us by Christ.

We do not consume the eucharistic bread and wine as if it were ordinary food and drink, for we have been taught that as Jesus Christ our Saviour became a man of flesh and blood by the power of the Word of God, so also the food that our flesh and blood assimilates for its nourishment becomes the flesh and blood of the incarnate Jesus by the power of his own words in the prayer of thanksgiving.

The apostles, in their recollections, which are called gospels, handed down to us what Jesus commanded them to do. They tell us that he took bread, gave thanks, and said: Do this in memory of me. This is my body. In the same way he took the cup, he gave thanks and said: This is my blood. The Lord gave this command to them alone. Ever since then we have constantly reminded one another of these things. The rich among us help the poor and we are always united. For all that we receive we praise the Creator of the universe through Jesus Christ and through the Holy Spirit.

On Sunday we have a common assembly of all our members, whether they live in the city or in the outlying districts. The recollections of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as there is time. When the reader has finished, the president of the assembly speaks to us; he urges everyone to imitate the examples of virtue we have heard in the readings. Then we all stand up together and pray.

On the conclusion of our prayer, bread and wine and water are brought forward. The president offers prayers and gives thanks to the best of his ability, and the people give their assent by saying, "Amen." The Eucharist is distributed, everyone present communicates, and the deacons take it to those who are absent. The wealthy, if they wish, may make a contribution, and they themselves decide the amount. The collection is placed in the custody of the president, who uses it to help the orphans and widows and all who for any reason are in distress, whether because they are sick, in prison, or away from home. In a word, he takes care of all who are in need.

We hold our common assembly on Sunday because it is the first day of the week, the day on which God put darkness and chaos to flight and created the world, and because on that same day our saviour Jesus Christ rose from the dead. For he was crucified on Friday and on Sunday appeared to his apostles and disciples and taught them the things that we have passed on for your consideration.

The second reading is also from the Breviary, June 1, the day the Church commemorates St. Justin's birthday into heaven. It is taken from the Acts of the martyrdom of Saint Justin and his companion saints:

The saints were seized and brought before the prefect of Rome, whose name was Rusticus. As they stood before the judgment seat, Rusticus the prefect said to Justin: "Above all, have faith in the gods and obey the emperors." Justin said: "We cannot be accused or condemned for obeying the commands of our Saviour, Jesus Christ."

Rusticus said: "What system of teaching do you profess?" Justin said: "I have tried to learn about every system, but I have accepted the true doctrines of the Christians, though these are not approved by those who are held fast by error."

The prefect Rusticus said: ".Are those doctrines approved by you, wretch that you are?" Justin said: "Yes, for I follow them with their correct teaching."

The prefect Rusticus said: "What, sort of teaching is that?" Justin said: "Worship the God of the Christians. We hold him to be from the beginning the one creator and maker of the whole creation, of things seen and things unseen. We worship also the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He was foretold by the prophets as the future herald of salvation for the human race and the teacher of distinguished disciples. For myself,, since I am human being, I consider that what I say is insignificant in comparison with his infinite godhead. I acknowledge the existence of a prophetic power, for the one I have just spoken of as the Son of God was the subject of prophecy.

Rusticus: "You are a Christian, then?" Justin said: "Yes, I am a Christian."

The prefect said to Justin: "You are called a learned man and think you know what is true teaching. Listen: if you were scourged and beheaded are you convinced that you would go up to heaven?" Justin said: "I hope that I shall enter God's house if I suffer in that way. For I know that God's favour is stored up until the end of the whole world for all who have lived good lives."

The prefect Rusticus said: "Do you have an idea that you will go up to heaven to receive some suitable rewards?" Justin said: "It is not an idea that I have; it is something I know well and hold to be most certain."

The prefect Rusticus said: "Now let us come to the point at issue, which is necessary and urgent. Gather round then and with one accord offer sacrifice to the gods." Justin said: "No one who right-thinking stoops from true worship to false worship"

The prefect Rusticus said: "If you do not do as you are commanded you will be tortured without mercy." Justin said: "We hope to suffer torment for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, and so be saved. For this will bring us salvation and confidence, as we stand before the more terrible and universal judgement-seat of our Lord and Saviour."

In the same way, the other martyrs also said: "Do what you will: We are Christians; we do not offer sacrifice to idols." The prefect Rusticus pronounced sentence, saying: "Let those who have refused to sacrifice to the gods and to obey the command of the emperor be scourged and led away to suffer capital punishment according to the ruling of the laws." Glorifying God, the holy martyrs went out to the accustomed place. They were beheaded, and so fulfilled their witness of martyrdom in confessing their faith in their Saviour.

Barry Baldwin is Emeritus Professor of Classics at the University of Calgary.