The first Christian philosopher

Today, we will talk about St Justin, Philosopher and Martyr, the most important of the second-century apologist Fathers. Justin was born in the Holy Land. He spent a long time seeking the truth, moving through the various schools of the Greek philosophical tradition. Finally, a mysterious figure, an old man he met on the seashore, pointed out to him the ancient prophets as the people to turn to in order to find the way to God and “true philosophy”. In taking his leave, the old man urged him to pray that the gates of light would be opened to him. At the end of a long philosophical journey, a quest for the truth, he arrived at the Christian faith. He founded a school in Rome. —For this reason he was reported and beheaded in about 165 during the reign of Marcus Aurelius, the philosopher-emperor to whom Justin had actually addressed one of his Apologia.