June: Day 1: Teaching 2: Holy Martyr Justin the Philosopher

June: Day 1: Teaching 2:
Holy Martyr Justin the Philosopher

(True Enlightenment is Possible Only in Christianity)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Saint Justin, whose memory we now celebrate, one of the most learned philosophers of the second century A.D., was born in the Samaritan city of Shechem; his parents were rich and noble people, and took care of his education. Justin from his earliest years was passionately fond of learning; he attended the best schools, studied with the most famous philosophers, and finally came to the conviction that only in the word of God is truth contained, that only by faith can the soul of man find peace, true enlightenment, and salvation.

Even at the time when the Apostles preached the gospel, the most intelligent and educated pagans had little faith in the gods. Convinced of the falsity of pagan worship, they sought the truth in the teachings of ancient philosophers or sages: Plato, Pythagoras, Zeno, Epicurus and others. Justin searched for the truth for a long time and conscientiously, and stuck to one teaching, then to another, but none satisfied him, because his soul dimly felt the need to recognize a higher and eternal being. More than other teachings, he was attracted by the teaching of Plato, which was distinguished by the loftiness of its aspirations and some concepts about the Deity and the immortality of the soul. Justin passionately devoted himself to the study of Plato's books: he often sought solitude in order to freely think about the subject that so strongly occupied his soul. At one of these moments he happened to hear about the teachings of Christ from an elder who pointed him to the books of Holy Scripture, in which alone the truth could be found.

"I never met this elder again," writes Justin, "but in my soul a fire of love for the prophets and holy men, who are the friends of Christ, was kindled. Having reflected on the words of the elder, I understood that the only true wisdom is that which he spoke to me about. I began to study the books of the Prophets and Apostles, and finally became a true philosopher, that is, a Christian."

Having come to believe with all his heart and having received Holy Baptism, Justin began to zealously preach the word of God. At that time, the Roman emperor was Antoninus, nicknamed "the Pious." He persecuted Christians, not out of hatred for their teaching, but because he believed the slanders that were raised against them. Then Justin wrote an "apology," or reasoned defense of the Christian faith. In this work, which he submitted to the emperor himself, he refuted the false rumors and accusations against Christians, explained the essence of their teaching and described their way of life. His words had a strong effect on the emperor, who ordered an end to the persecution.

Soon after this, Saint Justin left Rome and arrived there during the reign of another Antoninus (Marcus Aurelius Antoninus), known as the "Philosopher." He was one of the best emperors who ever ruled Rome. He adhered to high rules of virtue and fortitude; and meanwhile, he cruelly persecuted Christians, not understanding their faith and considering them enemies of the state. Cruel executions were constantly carried out. People were put to death who, even in the eyes of the pagans, had no other guilt than that of being Christians. Justin wrote a second apology or discourse in defense of Christians. In this apology, he argued how unjust it was to execute people who had committed no crime. But this remained ineffective. The persecution raged with the same force as before, and soon Justin himself suffered the same fate as those whom he so ardently and fearlessly defended (about 166 A.D.).

II. The Holy Martyr Justin the Philosopher, who learned through his own experience the vanity of all earthly knowledge without the light of Christ's teaching, teaches us, brethren, that true enlightenment is possible only in Christianity.

Carried away by a passion for modernity, many think that we owe the desire for improvements in various parts of social life and activity to the natural course of things. “Such is our age, the age of the awakening of ideas, the age of progress, the age of enlightenment,” they say. Such a judgment is very superficial. The desire to improve ourselves is innate in us; it was given by God Himself to man, as the image of God, and is revealed in each of us from childhood. But in order for this desire to be for true perfection, always striving for the best and the better, it is necessary for a path and means to be indicated by a being more perfect, our Creator Himself – God. Such a path has been shown to us by our Lord Jesus Christ in His holy teaching, in our holy faith. “Be perfect, as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48), said the Lord, and gave the means to achieve perfection, both mental and moral. He who does not follow the path of Christ, who does not use His guidance, does not go forward to the better, but retreats to the worse. Is this really so? It is not difficult to verify this through experience. Paying attention to enlightenment, to education, one can easily see that it does little to illuminate our minds, and does not bring good fruits for life, if one does not follow the divine light of Christ, which shines in His Church.

a) Is it necessary to prove that natural enlightenment, which existed before the appearance of Jesus Christ, at the highest stage of its development is too poor and does not clarify the most essential, the most important questions for us? Instead of any proof, we will cite the words of one of the most educated men of his time, Saint Clement of Rome, who beautifully describes the state of the human spirit, seeking enlightenment by his own efforts alone. “From my earliest youth,” he says, “I was perplexed: will I be anything after death? Will nothing then remind me of me, and will endless time lead everything to oblivion? When was this world created? What will happen at the end of the world? In response to such and similar thoughts, I knew nothing, although I constantly thought about it. I turned to philosophical schools in order to find reliable knowledge in them, but I found nothing there except the construction and overthrow of the teachings of various thinkers - I found nothing more for myself than dizziness, and sighed from the depths of my soul. I did not find anything true, I did not even have a firm idea of what goodness and reverence for God are, I did not know whether my spirit was mortal or immortal, I did not know where to find a firm teaching, on what thought to rest." Being in such a state, circling around the truth, Clement heard the news that the Son of God had appeared in Palestine, went there, and there he learned the gospel and found peace for his spirit. From this example, is it not clear that with natural wisdom a person sees the truth as little as one wandering in the darkness of night sees material objects?

b) Yes, but we were brought up in the bosom of Christianity, our reason grew and matured under the guidance of faith, and therefore, having become related to it, many easily forget what we owe to it, and boast of what they have received, as if it were their own ancestral property. This, however, is not so much reprehensible as the presumptuous desire of many to shine their own light in the light of Christianity, and to consider it, if not entirely unnecessary, then an indifferent means to true education. Such is the present-day indifferentism, which, unfortunately, is penetrating us too. How does this unreasonable desire end, what does this frivolous indifferentism lead to? It ends in freethinking, leads to unbelief, and at the same time to ignorance; for only “faith is the eye that illuminates our mind,” as one Holy Father of the Church (Cyril of Jerusalem) expresses it. Freethinking and unbelief among Christians... what a contradiction, what an incongruity! However, there have been and are freethinkers and unbelievers among Christians, and unfortunately, among the educated. This means that there is false education, there is sham enlightenment, there is a teaching that is not light, but darkness; consequently, it leads man not to perfection, but to decline, not forward, but backward. Is this so? Anyone who knows history should know what the anti-Christian direction of education, or the freethinking of the sham sages, led to in France in the eighteenth century. The sciences were not in decline then - philosophy and natural science flourished, and the sophistication of people who were considered enlightened went so far that those who called themselves Christians deified reason, rejected the existence of God, all faith, and then overthrew all religious and civil order. Who among you, respected listeners, will not agree that such a fruit of education is too bitter, poisonous and destructive? And it ripened naturally without the light of Christ, on the soil of hearts stifled by passions.

III. May our holy faith always remain for all of us, brethren, a guiding light in the work of modern education. With its guidance, we will follow the true path to true perfection, both mental and moral. Stand firm, all who are in the holy faith – the Orthodox faith, be courageous against the temptations of freethinking and unbelief, be established in pious, selfless and conscientious activity, and there will be constant, lasting and eternal good for all of us. Amen.

Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.