Justin Martyr

Life events

1. Born

   Justin was born c. AD 90–100 into a Greek family at Flavia Neapolis (present-day Nablus, in Samaria). His grandfather Bacchius bore a Greek name and his father Priscus a Latin name, suggesting ancestral ties to Roman-era settlers in the region.

2. Educated

   Justin studied in succession under a Stoic, a Peripatetic, a Pythagorean (who required prior mastery of music, astronomy, and geometry), and finally a Platonist; he found each school unable to satisfy his theological and metaphysical questions until he encountered Platonism.

3. Other

   Justin encountered an aged man near the seashore — possibly a Syrian Christian — who argued that the Hebrew prophets were more reliable guides than Greek philosophers. This dialogue prompted Justin to abandon his philosophical allegiances and dedicate himself to Christian teaching; his conversion is commonly placed at Ephesus, though the exact location is uncertain.

4. Other

   During the reign of Antoninus Pius (138–161), Justin arrived in Rome, adopted the dress of a philosopher, and founded his own school; the Syrian Tatian was among his pupils.

5. Wrote — 155

   Justin composed the First Apology (c. 155), addressed to Emperor Antoninus Pius, his sons, and the Roman Senate, arguing for the moral integrity of Christians and presenting Christian doctrine as the fulfillment of Greek philosophy and Hebrew prophecy.

6. Wrote

   Justin composed the Dialogue with Trypho after the First Apology; the text's address to Antoninus Pius and his adopted sons Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus dates it between 147 and 161. Its central contention is that the Hebrew scriptures are the property of Christians, that Christ replaced the Law of Moses, and that the Christian community constitutes the new Israel.

7. Martyred

   After the Cynic philosopher Crescens denounced him to the authorities, Justin was tried by the urban prefect Junius Rusticus alongside six companions — including two slaves, Euelpistus and Hierax, whom he had educated — and was beheaded. The precise year falls within Rusticus's prefecture (162–168).

Relationships

Documented claims

• The 'Martyrdom of Justin' preserves a transcript of his trial before prefect Junius Rusticus, in which Justin refused to sacrifice to the gods and stated that torture was his desire, that it might bring salvation. (likely)
• Justin argued that Socrates and Heraclitus were unknowing Christians because they lived according to the Logos (Word), of which all humans share a seed; he claimed Greek philosophers had derived core truths from the Hebrew Old Testament. (likely)
• The sole surviving manuscript containing Justin's complete authentic works is Parisinus graecus 450, completed on 11 September 1364 within the Byzantine Empire and purchased c. 1540 by Guillaume Pellicier in Venice; it now resides at the Bibliothèque nationale de France. (certain)
• Justin's First Apology (c. 155) contains one of the earliest extant Christian descriptions of the Eucharist, stating that the consecrated bread and cup are not received as common food but as the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ. (likely)
• Pope Leo XIII set Justin's Roman Catholic feast at 14 April in 1882; it was relocated in 1968 to 1 June, the date used in the Byzantine Rite since at least the 9th century. (certain)