June Saints

             Justin
               100-165 A.D.
     Justin was born in 100 AD in Palestine. His family was pagan. He was devoted to rhetoric, poetry, history, and later to philosophy. He became a Christian at the age of thirty-three. after studying the doctrines of Christianity and his understanding of philosophy.

     He wrote many books of which only three exist today. Two are called 'Apologies' and the other one is called 'Dialogue with the Jew Tryhon'. The book 'Apologies' is written to the Emperor telling him the true nature of Christians and seeks to vindicate the Christians from false accusations. In the second book of 'Apologies' he protests against the unfair treatment of Christians.

      Justin was the first Christian to build the bridge between faith and reason. His thinking was not that Christianity became Greek, but that Christianity began to absorb, to transform, and to compliment Greek philosophy. He was also the first to introduce Mary as the second Eve.

      Justin was martyred with six other martyrs. Before his martyrdom, he said," No man in his right mind forsakes truth for falsehood". He died June 1st, 165 a martyr's death.

      Irenaeus of Lyons
                     125-203
     Irenaeus was born in Asia Minor in AD 125. He received an excellent education. In his youth he was aquatinted with Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna. This gave him personal contact with the Apostolic age. Polycarp sent  Irenaeus to Lyons where he became priest and later bishop in 178.

     Irenaeus is one of the most important theologians of all times. He is called 'Father of Catholic Dogmatics'. He left behind two major writings, Against Heretics and Proof of the Apostolic Preaching. The first on was a detailed study and rejection of the teachings of Gnosticism. It is also a key on understanding the early teachings on God, Christ, the Church, and the hierarchy, It consists of five books; the third was the most important because it talks about the fact that the truth can be found  in any church where the tradition can be traced back to the Apostles. The second book gives a completely positive presentation of the faith. His purpose was to demonstrate the truth of the Gospels by means of Old Testament prophecies.

     Irenaeus was thought to have died a martyrs death during the persecution of the Emperor Severus around the year 203. His feast is celebrated on June 28.