The Martyr Justus

1. On June 27, the 14th according to the old calendar, that is, according to the calendar of the Holy Fathers, the Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of Saint Justus of Rome.

2. The name Justus comes from the Latin word Justus and means “righteous.” It is not surprising that there were many saints with this name. In the Church calendar, Saint Justus is sometimes mentioned as Saint Justus of Rome or Saint Justus of Constantinople.

3. We know very little about him. He was one of those warrior-martyrs who, while confessing the Christian faith, continued to serve professionally in the Roman army. When his Christian faith became known, he was urged to renounce it. He refused.

4. Tradition says that a heated helmet was placed on his head, and then he was burned on a heated grid.

5. It is remarkable that science reveals to us more and more details about the lives of ordinary people as well as Christians in the Roman Empire. We learn that Christ was greatly loved and, in modern terms, was very popular in the Roman army.

6. It turns out that warriors, professional soldiers, known for incredible courage and often for cruelty, chose as their ideal not some idol, not a monster, animal, dragon, or all-conquering being, but the great Sufferer.

7. This is a remarkable detail. It teaches us that God is truly not in power, but in truth. And the image of our Savior, Who in His earthly life never used force but only did good, possesses a true transforming power and is able to change human hearts.

8. It is also important to remember that Rome and Constantinople — the two capitals of the Empire during the period of its Christianization — competed with each other for the title of the chief Christian city. The life of Saint Justus shows this especially clearly.

9. In Rome, it was believed that Saint Justus was a Roman soldier who suffered martyrdom in Rome. In Constantinople, however, there was a tradition that he was a Constantinopolitan martyr — from a time before this city not only became a Christian capital, but even before its foundation by Emperor Constantine the Great in 330.

10. Unfortunately, the time of Saint Justus’s life and martyrdom has not been preserved for us.