St. Justin Martyr (105-165 AD)

Justin was born circa 105 AD. He was a Palestinian of Greek parentage, beginning his life in present day Nablus, 40 miles north of Jerusalem. In Jesus' time, the area had been a part of Samaria. A well educated young man, Justin tried various schools of thought and experimented with several different philosophies of his day. Eventually, he met one of the early Christians and began a study of the Hebrew and Christian scriptures at Ephesus. At the age of 30, he accepted the gift of faith and was baptized.

Continuing in his chosen vocation as a philosopher, Justin traveled from place to place, thinking, writing, speaking, arguing and defending Christian beliefs. Unfortunately, only fragments of his many writings have survived. Among these are brief descriptions of the Mass and Baptism.

In the custom of his time, Justin, as an established philosopher and teacher, founded a school at Rome. Hew was eventually denounced as a Christian by Crescens, a pagan philosopher whom he had beaten in debate.

Justin and six other Christians (five men and a woman) were put to death in 165 by beheading, after they refused to offer sacrifice to the gods at Rome. His response to the command of Rusticus the Prefect to worship the idols was a simple statement: "No right minded person forsakes the truth for falsehood."

The emblems of St. Justin are a quill pen and an ax or sword, denoting his writer's vocation and his martyr's death. His feast day is June 1st and his proper Scripture is 1 Corinthians 1:18-25. He is revered as the patron saint of lecturers.

His image and emblems appear in the triptych windows behind and directly above the altar in the church sanctuary. The statue pictured above is located in the vestibule of the church.