Justin Martyr

c. 100 – c. 165 · b. Flavia Neapolis, Samaria

apologistmartyrlayman

Greek philosopher converted to Christianity who wrote two Apologies and the Dialogue with Trypho. Taught in Rome and was martyred under Marcus Aurelius c. 165.

Why Justin Martyr matters

Justin is the first Christian who looked at Greek philosophy and said 'this is ours too.' Before him, Christians wrote to other Christians. Justin wrote to the Roman emperor explaining why a man who studied Plato and Stoicism for years became a follower of Jesus. That move — engaging the surrounding intellectual culture rather than just denouncing it — is the founding move of every Christian university, every C.S. Lewis-style apologist, every theologian who takes secular thinkers seriously. He died for the experiment.

Chain to Jesus

Loading…

Common questions

Who was Justin Martyr?: Justin Martyr (100–165) — Greek philosopher converted to Christianity who wrote two Apologies and the Dialogue with Trypho. Taught in Rome and was martyred under Marcus Aurelius c. 165.
Who did Justin Martyr teach?: Tatian the Assyrian.

Works

First and Second Apologyc. 155
Public defenses of Christianity addressed to Antoninus Pius, the earliest sustained Christian apologetics.
Buy on Amazon →
Dialogue with Tryphoc. 160
Long imagined dialogue with a Jewish interlocutor, arguing Christ from the Hebrew scriptures.
Buy on Amazon →

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Sources for biography

Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. 4.16-18 primary
Justin, First Apology primary
Acts of Justin and Companions primary

documented connections(3)

taught by (incoming) Tatian the Assyrian
Tatian was a disciple of Justin in Rome and only fell into heterodoxy after Justin's martyrdom.
Irenaeus, Adv. Haer. 1.28.1 · Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. 4.29
cited (incoming) Irenaeus of Lyons
Irenaeus quotes Justin's lost work Against Marcion by name and follows Justin's anti-heretical scheme.
Irenaeus, Adv. Haer. 4.6.2 · Irenaeus, Adv. Haer. 5.26.2
knew of (incoming) Eusebius of Caesarea
Eusebius devotes substantial space to Justin's life, works, and martyrdom in HE 4.16-18, quoting from his apologies and Dialogue with Trypho.
Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. 4.16-18

tradition connections(1)

knew of (incoming) Athenagoras of Athens
Athenagoras' Legatio shares apologetic strategy with Justin; direct dependence is debated but plausible.
Quasten, Patrology vol. 1, pp. 229-236