Justin, Martyr at Rome, martyred c. 167
Justin was born around 100 ce, meaning maybe two generations after the Resurrection. Paul—and all the original disciples—are already dead. Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 ce. All the NT writings are nearly complete, though there is not yet an official canon. Justin was born in what we know from OT as Shechem in Samaria, though by this time it’s Roman turf and so is named Flavia Neapolis. Born into pagan family, he studied philosophy, which didn’t help his search for truth and peace. He tried the Stoics, a Peripatetic, a Pythagorean (geometry!), and finally Platonism. Justin wrote that he met an old man around 130. “A fire was suddenly kindled in my soul. I fell in love with the prophets and these men who had loved Christ; I reflected on all their words and found that this philosophy alone was true and profitable. That is how and why I became a philosopher. And I wish that everyone felt the same way that I do.” “I fell in love with the prophets and these men who had loved Christ; I reflected on all their words and found that this philosophy alone was true and profitable.” Historian Justo Gonzalez calls Justin perhaps the best Christian scholar of the time. He founded a school in Rome to teach the true philosophy, i.e. Christianity. (Romans had appropriated Greek culture, including love of philosophy and rhetoric>the marketplace is also a place of speechifying. It’s a public sport.) Justin wrote an account of his debate with Trypho. The Dialogue with Trypho teaches three main points: the Old Covenant is passing away to make place for the New; the Logos is the God of the Old Testament; and the Gentiles are the new Israel. Justin’s First Apology [apologia, meaning defense, not a please forgive me], was addressed to Emperor Antoninus Pius. It was published in 155 and attempted to explain the faith. Christianity was not a threat to the state, he asserted, and should be treated as a legal religion. He wrote it “on behalf of men of every nation who are unjustly hated and reviled.” It also includes an account of worship in the 150s, one of the best sources we have. So we know that worship in the second century looks very much like our worship, with readings of Scripture, prayers, Eucharist, a sermon, and an offering. Persecution of Christians resumed under Marcus Aurelius. Justin's Second Apology was written soon after Marcus Aurelius became emperor in 161. In these writings, Justin tried to show that the Christian faith alone was truly rational. He taught that the Logos (Word) became incarnate to teach humanity truth and to redeem people from the power of the demons. Justin may have been informed on by a pagan philosopher whom he beat in a debate. Offered the chance to offer sacrifice to Roman gods and recant, he said, “No one who is rightly minded turns from true belief to false.” Justin was beheaded, along with six of his disciples. He’s a bridge-builder, in two worlds, which is what I admire most about him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_sLBdLqAsM
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Saints Alive!
I have been privileged to offer Noonday Prayer at my church, usually on Thursdays, which doesn’t matter because it’s on Youtube forever. [It’s amazing what can be done with a smartphone and a smart, helpful parish administrator!] The service is brief, with a place for a meditation. We usually look at the Episcopal calendar of saints, who are nearly always honored on their death dates, not their birth dates. Here is a hymn by medieval saint Hildegard of Bingen to set the mood.
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