He was a Palestinian...

...born in the West Bank town of Nablus. He went to a number of different schools, but remained dissatisfied.

Then one day he found himself walking on the beach and talking with an old man who spoke about God, about prophets, and about the Holy Spirit.

The young man came to accept Christ and to be baptized. He subsequently used his wide-ranging education to defend Christianity forcefully against a skeptical and decadent world, becoming one of the most widely read Christian writers of the century.

His reputation would catch up with him, however. He was arrested, tortured, and executed in Rome around the year 165.

Justin, one of Christianity’s first and greatest apologists, would thus become known as St. Justin Martyr. His memory is celebrated on this day.