Sts. Peter & Paul

Yesterday, the Church commemorated the Solemnity of Sts. Peter & Paul

Ora pro nobis

The Feast of SS Peter and Paul is an annual celebration in the Christian calendar of the lives and deaths of the two great saints: Peter and Paul. Commemorating the lives of important Christian saints and martyrs, and especially one of the Twelve Apostles or somebody who knew Jesus personally, has been an important aspect of Christian life ever since the first century CE. The joint feast day of SS Peter and Paul is of particular importance because of the enormous influence that these two men had on the development of the early Church.

St Peter, originally called Simon or Simeon, is often viewed as the leader of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to the Gospels, Simon and his brother Andrew were fishermen on the Sea of Galilee before being called by Jesus to be his disciples. Jesus gave Simon the name ‘Cephas’ meaning ‘rock’, which in Greek is ‘Πέτρος’ or ‘Petrus’, hence the English name ‘Peter’. As one of the Twelve Apostles, Peter witnessed many of Jesus’ teachings and actions. He is portrayed in the New Testament as a bold but flawed follower, who, despite promising never to betray Jesus, denies him three times before the crucifixion. After Jesus’ death and resurrection, Peter journeyed far and wide to spread the news of the Gospel and appears to have been considered the leader of the Church. He founded the Church in Rome but was later put to death by the order of the Emperor Nero in about the year 65 CE. According to tradition, he was crucified upside-down because he did not feel worthy to die in the same manner as Christ. In Roman Catholic tradition, Peter is perceived as the first Pope, due to his primacy amongst the other apostles; and his founding of the Church in Rome established it as the centre of the worldwide Church.

St Paul, originally known as Saul, had a very different background to St Peter. Saul was a devout Jew and Pharisee from the city of Tarsus who was a great persecutor of Christians in the first years of the Church. However, he received a dramatic conversion experience on the road to Damascus and was subsequently baptised as a Christian. Saul, thereafter usually known by his Greek name Paul, travelled across the known world preaching to Jews and Gentiles alike about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. His influence on the early Church was incredible, and a significant proportion of the New Testament is composed of his writings (or writings attributed to him). According to tradition, Paul was executed in Rome during the reign of the Emperor Nero, probably in the year 68 CE. As a Roman citizen, he was executed by beheading rather than the more brutal method of crucifixion. Although he never met Jesus Christ physically, Paul’s influence on the evolution of Christianity cannot be overstated.

The Feast Day of SS Peter and Paul commemorates these two giants of the early Church, who shared much of their ministry together in Rome. The reason for the annual date of 29th June is unclear and may refer either to one or both of their martyrdoms, or the translation of their relics. In a sermon by St Augustine of Hippo in the fourth-century CE he states, “both apostles share the same feast day, for these two were one; and even though they suffered on different days, they were as one. Peter went first, and Paul followed. And so, we celebrate this day made holy for us by the apostles’ blood.”

Almighty God, whose blessed apostles Peter and Paul glorified you by their martyrdom: Grant that your Church, instructed by their teaching and example, and knit together in unity by your Spirit, may ever stand firm upon the one foundation, which is Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. 

Amen.

St. Irenaeus

Today, the Church remembers St. Irenaeus (died about AD 202) who was a Greek Christian priest noted for his role in guiding and expanding Christian communities in what is now the south of France and, more widely, for the development of Christian theology by combatting what the Early Church was beginning to define as heresy and defining orthodoxy. Originating from Smyrna, now Izmir in Turkey, he had heard the preaching of Polycarp, who in turn was said to have heard John the Evangelist, an apostle of Jesus.

Chosen as bishop of Lugdunum, now Lyon, his best-known work is "On the Detection and Overthrow of the So-Called Gnosis", often cited as "Adversus Haereses", an attack on gnosticism, in particular that of Valentinus. To counter the doctrines of the gnostic sects claiming secret wisdom, he offered three pillars of orthodoxy: the scriptures, the tradition handed down from the apostles, and the teaching of the apostles' successors. Intrinsic to his writing is that the surest source of Christian guidance is the church of Rome, and he is the earliest surviving witness to recognise all four gospels as essential. Irenaeus is also known as one of the first theologians to use the principle of apostolic succession to refute his opponents. Irenaeus' point when refuting the Gnostics was that all of the Apostolic churches had preserved the same traditions and teachings in many independent streams. It was the unanimous agreement between these many independent streams of transmission that proved the orthodox Faith, current in those churches, to be true.

The central point of Irenaeus' theology is the unity and the goodness of God. Irenaeus conceives of our salvation as essentially coming about through the incarnation of God as a man. He characterizes the penalty for sin as death and corruption. God, however, is immortal and incorruptible, and simply by becoming united to human nature in Christ he conveys those qualities to us: they spread, as it were, like a benign infection. Irenaeus emphasizes that salvation occurs through Christ's Incarnation, which bestows incorruptibility on humanity, rather than emphasizing His Redemptive death in the crucifixion (although the latter event is an integral part of the former).

Blessed Irenaeus, ora pro nobis.

Almighty God, you upheld your servant Irenaeus with strength to maintain the truth against every blast of vain doctrine: Keep us, we pray, steadfast in your true religion, that in constancy and peace we may walk in the way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Nativity of St. John, the Baptizer

Today, the Church commemorates the Nativity of St. John, the Baptizer. 

John was a contemporary and close relative of Jesus Christ who was known for evangelization and his baptizing of Jesus.

John the Baptist was born through the intercession of God to Zachariah and Elizabeth, who was otherwise too old to bear children. According to scriptures, the Angel Gabriel visited Elizabeth and Zachariah to tell them they would have a son and that they should name him John. Zachariah was skeptical and for this he was rendered mute until the time his son was born and named John, in fulfillment of God's will.

When Elizabeth was pregnant with John, she was visited by the Blessed Virgin Mary, her relative, and John leapt in her womb. This revealed to Elizabeth that the child Mary carried was to be the Son of God.

John began public ministry around 30 AD, and was known for attracting large crowds across the province of Judaea and around the Jordan River. When Jesus came to him to be baptized, John recognized him and said, "It is I who need baptism from you."

Jesus told John to baptize Him anyway, which he did, whereupon the heavens opened, and the Spirit of God was seen like a dove. The voice of God spoke, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

John instructed his followers to turn to Jesus, calling Him the "Lamb of God" and these people were among the first Christians, including the Apostles Andrew and his brother Simon Peter.

Following his baptism of Christ, John's popularity grew so much that he alarmed King Herod. Herod ordered him arrested and imprisoned. John spoke with Herod on several occasions and condemned his marriage to his half-brother's wife.

This condemnation would be his downfall as King Herod promised to grant a wish to his daughter. In revenge for John the Baptist's condemnation of her mother's scandalous marriage to Herod, she asked for John's head. King Herod reluctantly obliged. John the Baptist died sometime between 33 and 36 AD.

“John the Baptist gave his life to preparing the way for Jesus. As we remember him today, let’s turn our gaze and prayers towards those precious people we know who – quietly, sacrificially and selflessly – call us to see the reality of God’s love and justice.” - Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury

Almighty God, by whose providence your servant John the Baptist was wonderfully born, and sent to prepare the way of your Son our Savior by preaching repentance: Make us so to follow his teaching and holy life, that we may truly repent according to his preaching; and, following his example, constantly speak the truth, boldly rebuke vice, and patiently suffer for the truth’s sake; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. 

Amen.

St. Alban

Today, the Church remembers St. Alban, the martyr. 

Saint Alban is venerated as the first-recorded British Christian martyr, and he is considered to be the British protomartyr. Along with fellow Saints Julius and Aaron, Alban is one of three named martyrs recorded at an early date from Roman Britain. He is traditionally believed to have been beheaded in the Roman city of Verulamium (modern St Albans) sometime during the 3rd century.

According to the most elaborate version of the tale found in Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Alban lived in Verulamium, sometime during the 3rd, but some authors, on the basis that Gildas says he crosses the Thames before his martyrdom, place his residence and martyrdom in London. He lived in Roman Britain, but little is known about his religious affiliations, socioeconomic status or citizenship. 

Sometime in the 3rd century, Christians began to suffer "cruel persecution." Alban met a Christian priest fleeing from "persecutors" and sheltered him in his house for a number of days. The priest (who later came to be called Amphibalus, meaning "cloak" in Latin) prayed and "kept watch" day and night, and Alban was so impressed with the priest's faith and piety that he found himself emulating the priest and soon converted to Christianity. Eventually it came to the ears of an unnamed "impious prince" that Alban was sheltering the priest. The prince gave orders for Roman soldiers to make a strict search of Alban's house. As they came to seize the priest, Alban put on the priest's cloak and clothing and presented himself to the soldiers in place of his guest.

Alban was brought before the judge, who just then happened to be standing at the altar, offering sacrifices to "devils" (Bede's reference to pagan gods). When the judge heard that Alban had offered himself up in place of the priest, he became enraged that Alban would shelter a person who "despised and blasphemed the gods," and as Alban had given himself up in the Christian's place, Alban was sentenced to endure all the punishments that were to be inflicted upon the priest unless he would comply with the pagan rites of their religion. Alban refused, and declared, "I worship and adore the true and living God who created all things." (The words are still used in prayer at St Alban's Abbey).

The enraged judge ordered Alban scourged, thinking that a whipping would shake the constancy of his heart, but Alban bore these torments patiently and joyfully. When the judge realized that the tortures would not shake his faith, he ordered for Alban to be beheaded.

Blessed Alban, ora pro nobis. 

Almighty God, by whose grace and power your holy martyr Alban triumphed over suffering and was faithful even to death: Grant us, who now remember him in thanksgiving, to be so faithful in our witness to you in this world, that we may receive with him the crown of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Anglican Patrimony

“The Anglican Communion, with its fellowship of Churches, has a special responsibility at this time in the world. We have no doctrine of our own—we only possess the Catholic doctrine of the Catholic Church enshrined in the Catholic creeds, and those creeds we hold without addition or diminution. We stand firm on that rock.”
 
Geoffrey Fisher, Archbishop of Canterbury

Amen! And may it ever remain so, for to stray away in the smallest degree would be an incalculable loss to us, and render us no longer a true Church.

Lord, protect our Episcopal Church, and give wisdom to all the people of our Church: all the faithful baptized, our bishops, priests, and deacons; that we may never depart from you or the Faith of your Church. Amen

St. Barnabas

Today, the Church remembers St. Barnabus the Apostle.

Barnabas, whose name means “son of encouragement” and was said to be a Levite of Cypriot origin, first appears in the Acts of the Apostles (4:36) when he sold a piece of land he owned and brought the money to the apostles for the common purse.

St. Barnabas, upon whom the Holy Church confers the title of Apostle, was born of the tribe of Levi, in the island of Cyprus. His parents, who were very wealthy, sent him to Jerusalem, that he might there be well instructed in the laws, by the celebrated Gamaliel, who had also been the teacher of Saul, afterwards St. Paul.

From his youth he endeavored to lead an honest, quiet life; and avoiding idleness and frivolities, he found time and opportunity to acquire a thorough knowledge of the Mosaic law. As at that time all Jerusalem was full of astonishment at our Lord Jesus Christ, who had manifested so incontestibly His divine mission, it was not difficult for Barnabas to recognize in Him the true Messiah, who had been so frequently promised and predicted. Hence he went to Jesus, attended his sermons assiduously, and left him no more. The rich heritage bequeathed to him by his parents he sold, and gave the money to the poor. One acre of land he retained to meet his own necessities, but this he also sold after the ascension of our Lord, and laid the value received for it at the feet of the 12 Apostles, as is related in the Acts of the Apostles, with the addition that he had formerly been called Joseph, but that the Apostles changed his name to Barnabas, which signifies, “Son of consolation.”

So long as Christ lived, Barnabas was one of the seventy-two disciples who accompanied the Lord everywhere, and listened avidly to His teaching. After the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles appointed him as a zealous co-laborer in preaching the Gospel.

When St. Paul, after his miraculous conversion, came to Jerusalem and desired to join the disciples of our Lord, they refused to trust him, fearing that he was not truly a confessor of Christ, as he had so cruelly persecuted the followers of the Gospel. St. Barnabas, who as said above, had studied the law under the same teacher with Paul, went therefore to him, to learn more of him. Being soon entirely convinced of his conversion, he brought him to the Apostles and acquainted them with the event which had thus changed Paul; whereupon they were greatly rejoiced, and no longer hesitated to give him their confidence. After this, the Apostles sent Barnabas, to Antioch, there to plant the seeds of the Christian faith. He found many who had been converted to Christ. These he exhorted to remain constant to the true Church, while he persuaded others to become followers of the Savior. From Antioch he went to Tarsus to Paul. Accompanied by him he returned to Antioch, where both remained a year preaching the doctrine of Christ with such success, that those who became converted there, were the first who were called Christians, in order to confess openly to what faith they belonged.

As zealous as these new Christians were in confessing the teachings of Christ, so were they charitable to the needy at Jerusalem, to whom they sent liberal contributions by Paul and Barnabas. Both Apostles returned from Jerusalem again to Antioch, and there, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they were sent by the Apostles to convert the Gentiles.

Afterwards they were sent with another disciple of the Lord, named John Mark, to the City of Seleucia, and then to the Island of Cyprus, where, on the Sabbath days, they preached in many cities the word of the Lord. Many became disciples of Jesus; many, however, remained obdurate, and these caused public riots in response to the Apostles, who therefore said to them: “To you we had first to preach the word of God, but as you will not receive it, and deem yourselves not worthy of everlasting life, we shall turn to the heathens.” They kept their word, and wandering through many Gentile cities and places, they preached the Gospel and converted many. They had, however, much to suffer everywhere, including beatings, stoning, and imprisonment.

After some years, both returned to Antioch, and as they found there some disturbance among the Christians on account of the belief which several of them entertained that they ought to keep the old laws, particularly that of circumcision, Paul and Barnabas went to Jerusalem to receive a decisive answer from the Apostles. Returning, they acquainted the Christians with what had been told to them and exhorted, them to live accordingly. It was in this city that St. Barnabas separated from St. Paul, and chose as his travelling companion, Mark, whom St. Paul would not keep longer with him because he had left him and Barnabas in Pamphilia. St. Paul took one of the most zealous disciples, named Silas, and went with him to Syria and Cilicia, while St. Barnabas, accompanied by Mark, left for Cyprus, and then went to Rome. He went also to Milan, where he was the first to preach Christianity. There he remained seven years, and governed the newly-founded Church as its first bishop. After this he consecrated one of his disciples as his successor, and repaired to Bergamo and Brixen, where an altar is still shown, at which he said Holy Mass.

At length he returned to Cyprus and gloriously ended his earthly career, as some with murderous intent had come from Syria, had made a conspiracy to kill him. God revealed to him his approaching death, and the Saint, rejoicing at the tidings, assembled all the Christians, and after having said Mass, he gave them his last instructions, in which he encouraged them to constancy in the Christian faith, and exhorted them to lead an edifying life. After this he went fearlessly into the Synagogue and clearly proved that Christ was the promised Messiah. Not able to refute his words, they attacked him with fearful rage, dragged him out of the Synagogue and stoned him. His holy body was buried by his disciple Mark. At his tomb God wrought at first numberless miracles on the possessed and sick, but as it happened that, on account of the persecutions which the Christians had to endure, it became forgotten and neglected, the Saint himself appeared to a bishop in Antioch, and made known where his remains lay buried. The holy body was then raised, with great solemnity. Upon the breast of the Saint was lying the Gospel of St. Matthew, which he had copied with his own hand. Particularly noteworthy in the life of this Saint is the fact, that during many years, he was the travelling companion of St. Paul, and had a share in all the labors, troubles and dangers which this holy Apostle suffered; also, that in Holy Writ he is called, “a good man, full of the Holy Ghost and of faith ” (Acts ii.).

Little is known of the subsequent career of Barnabas. He was still living and labouring as an Apostle in 56 or 57, when Paul wrote I Cor. (ix, 5, 6). from which we learn that he, too, like Paul, earned his own living, though on an equality with other Apostles. The reference indicates also that the friendship between the two was unimpaired. When Paul was a prisoner in Rome (61-63), John Mark was attached to him as a disciple, which is regarded as an indication that Barnabas was no longer living (Col., iv, 10). This seems probable. With the exception of St. Paul and certain of the Twelve, Barnabas appears to have been the most esteemed man of the first Christian generation. St. Luke, breaking his habit of reserve, speaks of him with affection, “for he was a good man, full of the Holy Ghost and of Faith”. His title to glory comes not only from his kindliness of heart, his personal sanctity, and his missionary labours, but also from his readiness to lay aside his Jewish prejudices, in this anticipating certain of the Twelve; from his large-hearted welcome of the Gentiles, and from his early perception of Paul's worth, to which the Christian Church is indebted, in large part at least, for its great Apostle. His tenderness towards John Mark seems to have had its reward in the valuable services later rendered by him to the Church.

Grant, O God, that we may follow the example of your faithful servant Barnabas, who, seeking not his own renown but the well-being of your Church, gave generously of his life and substance for the relief of the poor and the spread of the Gospel; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

St. Columba

Today, the Church remembers St. Columba, Abbott of Iona.

Saint Columba (Irish: Colm Cille, 'church dove'; Scots: Columbkille - 7 December 521 A.D. – 9 June 597 A.D.) was an Irish abbot and missionary credited with spreading Christianity in what is today Scotland at the start of the Hiberno-Scottish mission, which followed the migration of Northeastern Irish colonists to the west coast of Scotland, which had been going on for hundreds of years. He founded the important abbey on Iona, which became a dominant religious and political institution in the region for centuries. He was highly regarded by both the Gaels of Dál Riata and the Picts, and is remembered today as a Christian saint and one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland. 

Colmcille studied under some of Ireland's most prominent church figures and founded several monasteries in the country. Around 563 A.D. he and his twelve companions crossed to Dunaverty near Southend, Argyll, in Kintyre before settling in Iona in Scotland, then part of the Ulster kingdom of Dál Riata, where they founded a new abbey as a base for spreading Christianity among the northern Pictish kingdoms, who were pagan. He remained active in Irish politics, though he spent most of the remainder of his life in Scotland. Three surviving early medieval Latin hymns may be attributed to him. 

O God, by the preaching of your blessed servant Columba you caused the light of the Gospel to shine in Scotland: Grant, we pray, that, having his life and labors in remembrance, we may show our thankfulness to you by following the example of his zeal and patience; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

No zero sum equations

Thoughtful quote from Fr. Paul Mueller in an article about science and faith (and I suggest about a great many of the false, zero sum, winner/loser, enemy/friend dualities that we accept), especially regarding the book of Genesis:

“...(Q)uestions touching upon science and faith should never be framed as "either-or" as if people should be forced to choose to be "loyal" to just one side.

Loyalty is ultimately to the truth -- and both science and the church are in pursuit of the truth... Human understanding or interpretation of both sources -- the "book" of nature and the Book of Genesis -- "is limited and imperfect...Both 'books' are written by the same 'author,' who is God -- in the end they cannot disagree, since truth cannot contradict truth and God does not contradict God...

So, if it seems to us that whatever is true about the story of the Garden and Adam and Eve is in conflict with whatever is true about the theory of evolution, don't panic. Be patient. Keep studying, keep observing, keep praying. Have faith in the ultimate unity of truth.

It is people who do not have faith in the ultimate unity of truth who end up forcing the likes of Galileo and Teilhard to sign (something) and who end up insisting that science proves there is no God.”

Or forcing people to pick artificial sides or draw lines in the sand and demand you line up or be counted as false or inhuman. I believe that our fractured human grasp of God’s truth cannot be resolved intellectually, or in voting booths, or in taking polls of opinion, or in legislation, but only as we are fully taken up in the love of Jesus. Only the love of Jesus can bring into focus all that we believe divides us, and only in his love will we find Truth and the unity that the human heart so desires. 

https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2018/05/10/inquiry-or-inquisition-another-look-father-teilhard-de-chardin

St. Boniface

Today, the Church remember Saint Boniface (Latin: Bonifatius; c. 675 A.D. – 5 June 754 A.D.), born Winfrid (also spelled Winifred, Wynfrith, Winfrith or Wynfryth) in the kingdom of Wessex in Anglo-Saxon England, was a leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the 8th century. He organized Christianity in many parts of Germania and was made archbishop of Mainz by Pope Gregory III. He was martyred in Frisia in 754, along with 52 others, and his remains were returned to Fulda, where they rest in a sarcophagus which became a site of pilgrimage. Boniface's life and death as well as his work became widely known, there being a wealth of material available—a number of vitae, especially the near-contemporary Vita Bonifatii auctore Willibaldi, legal documents, possibly some sermons, and above all his correspondence. He became the patron saint of Germania, known as the "Apostle of the Germans".

Boniface was "one of the truly outstanding creators of the first Europe, as the apostle of Germania, the reformer of the Frankish church, and the chief fomentor of the alliance between the papacy and the Carolingian family.” Through his efforts to reorganize and regulate the church of the Franks, he helped shape Western Christianity, and many of the dioceses he proposed remain today. After his martyrdom, he was quickly hailed as a saint in Fulda and other areas in Germania and in England. His cult is still notably strong today. Boniface is celebrated as a missionary; he is regarded as a unifier of Europe, and he is seen (mainly by Catholics) as a Germanic national figure.

Boniface first left for the continent in 716. He traveled to Utrecht, where Willibrord, the "Apostle of the Frisians," had been working since the 690s. He spent a year with Willibrord, preaching in the countryside, but their efforts were frustrated by the war then being carried on between Charles Martel and Radbod, King of the Frisians. Willibrord fled to the abbey he had founded in Echternach (in modern-day Luxembourg) while Boniface returned to Nursling.

Boniface returned to the continent the next year and went straight to Rome, where Pope Gregory II renamed him "Boniface", after the (legendary) fourth-century martyr Boniface of Tarsus, and appointed him missionary bishop for Germania—he became a bishop without a diocese for an area that lacked any church organization. He would never return to England, though he remained in correspondence with his countrymen and kinfolk throughout his life.

The support of the Frankish mayors of the palace (maior domos), and later the early Pippinid and Carolingian rulers, was essential for Boniface's work. Boniface had been under the protection of Charles Martel from 723 on. In 732, Boniface traveled again to Rome to report, and Pope Gregory III conferred upon him the pallium as archbishop with jurisdiction over Germany. Boniface again set out for what is now Germany, continued his mission, and used his authority to resolve the problems of many other Christians who had fallen out of contact with the regular hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. During his third visit to Rome in 737–38, he was made papal legate for Germany.

After Boniface's third trip to Rome, Charles Martel erected four dioceses in Bavaria (Salzburg, Regensburg, Freising, and Passau) and gave them to Boniface as archbishop and metropolitan over all Germany east of the Rhine. In 745, he was granted Mainz as metropolitan see.

Boniface had never relinquished his hope of converting the Frisians, and in 754 he set out with a retinue for Frisia. He baptized a great number and summoned a general meeting for confirmation at a place not far from Dokkum, between Franeker and Groningen. Instead of his converts, however, a group of armed robbers appeared who slew the aged archbishop. The vitae mention that Boniface persuaded his (armed) comrades to lay down their arms: "Cease fighting. Lay down your arms, for we are told in Scripture not to render evil for good but to overcome evil by good."

Almighty God, you called your faithful servant Boniface to be a witness and martyr in Germany, and by his labor and suffering you raised up a people for your own possession: Pour out your Holy Spirit upon your Church in every land, that by the service and sacrifice of many your holy Name may be glorified and your kingdom enlarged; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Martyrs of Lyons

Today, the Church remembers the martyrs of Lyons. 

At Lyons and Vienne, in Gaul, there were missionary centers which had drawn many Christians from Asia and Greece. Persecution by the Roman Empire began in 177 A.D. 

At first, Christians were excluded from the public baths, the market place, and from social and public life. They were subject to attack when they appeared in public, and many Christian homes were vandalized. 

They were attacked by a pagan mob and then tried as Christians in the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius in Lugdunum, Gaul. Writers from Lyons and Vienne provided very graphic descriptions of the terible torments endured by these martyrs.

As the Imperial the government became involved, local authorities began to take Christians into custody for questioning. Some slaves from Christian households were tortured to obtain confessions, and were induced to say that Christians practiced cannibalism and incest. 

These charges were used to arouse the whole city against the Christians, particularly against Pothinus, the aged bishop of Lyons; Sanctus, a deacon; Attalus; Maturus, a recent convert; and Blandina, a slave. Pothinus was beaten and then released, to die of his wounds a few days later. Sanctus was tormented with red-hot irons. Blandina, tortured all day long, would say nothing except, "I am a Christian, and nothing vile is done among us." Finally, the survivors were put to death in the public arena.

Grant, O Lord, that we who keep the feast of the holy martyrs Blandina and her companions may be rooted and grounded in love of you, and may endure the sufferings of this life for the glory that shall be revealed in us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Saint Justin Martyr, (born c. 100 A.D. in Flavia Neapolis, and died c. 165 A.D., in Rome, was one of the most important of the Greek philosopher-Apologists in the early Christian church. His writings represent the first positive encounter of Christian revelation with Greek philosophy and laid the basis for a theology of history.

His grandfather, Bacchius, had a Greek name, while his father, Priscus, bore a Latin name, which has led to speculations that his ancestors may have settled in Neapolis soon after its establishment or that they were descended from a Roman "diplomatic" community that had been sent there.

A pagan reared in a Jewish environment, Justin studied Stoic, Platonic, and other pagan philosophies and then became a Christian in 132, possibly at Ephesus. Soon after 135 he began wandering from place to place proclaiming his newfound Christian philosophy in the hope of converting educated pagans to it. He spent a considerable time in Rome. Some years later, after debating with the cynic Crescens, Justin was denounced to the Roman prefect as subversive and condemned to death. Authentic records of his martyrdom survive.

Of the works bearing Justin’s authorship and still deemed genuine are two Apologies and the Dialogue with Trypho. The first, or “Major Apology,” was addressed about 150 to the Roman emperors Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. In the first part of the First Apology, Justin defends his fellow Christians against the charges of atheism and hostility to the Roman state. He then goes on to express the core of his Christian philosophy: the highest aspiration: an intellectual articulation of the Christian faith which would demonstrate its harmony with reason. Such a convergence is rooted in the relationship between human reason and the divine mind, both identified by the same term, logos (Greek: “intellect,” “word”), which enables man to understand basic truths regarding the world, time, creation, freedom, the human soul’s affinity with the divine spirit, and the recognition of good and evil.

Justin asserts that Jesus Christ is the incarnation of the entire divine logos and thus of these basic truths, whereas only traces of truth were found in the great works of the pagan philosophers. The purpose of Christ’s coming into the world was to teach men the truth and save them from the power of demons. In the third part of the First Apology, Justin vividly describes the early Christians’ method of celebrating the Eucharist and of administering Baptism.

In his brief Second Apology Justin argues that the Christians are being unjustly persecuted by Rome.

Justin’s distinctive contribution to Christian theology is his conception of a divine plan in history, a process of salvation structured by God, wherein the various historical epochs have been integrated into an organic unity directed toward a supernatural end; the Old Testament and Greek philosophy met to form the single stream of Christianity.

Justin’s concrete description of the sacramental celebrations of Baptism and the Eucharist remain a principal source for the history of the primitive church. 

Justin serves, moreover, as a crucial witness to the status of the 2nd-century New Testament corpus, mentioning the first three Gospels and quoting and paraphrasing the letters of Paul and 1 Peter; he was the first known writer to quote from the Acts of the Apostles.

Though the precise year of his death is uncertain, it can reasonably be dated by the prefectoral term of Rusticus (who governed from 162 and 168). The martyrdom of Justin preserves the court record of the trial: 

“The Prefect Rusticus says: Approach and sacrifice, all of you, to the gods. Justin says: No one in his right mind gives up piety for impiety. The Prefect Rusticus says: If you do not obey, you will be tortured without mercy. Justin replies: That is our desire, to be tortured for Our Lord, Jesus Christ, and so to be saved, for that will give us salvation and firm confidence at the more terrible universal tribunal of Our Lord and Saviour. And all the martyrs said: Do as you wish; for we are Christians, and we do not sacrifice to idols. The Prefect Rusticus read the sentence: Those who do not wish to sacrifice to the gods and to obey the emperor will be scourged and beheaded according to the laws. The holy martyrs glorifying God betook themselves to the customary place, where they were beheaded and consummated their martyrdom confessing their Saviour.”

Almighty and everlasting God, you found your martyr Justin wandering from teacher to teacher, seeking the true God, and you revealed to him the sublime wisdom of your eternal Word: Grant that all who seek you, or a deeper knowledge of you, may find and be found by you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.