Justin Martyr
Church father · died c. 165
A philosopher from Samaria who became a Christian and taught in Rome, where he was beheaded about 165. His First and Second Apologies defend the faith to the emperors, and his Dialogue with Trypho argues with a Jew. He quotes the Gospels freely, as “the memoirs of the apostles,” so his words show what he read rather than how it was spelled.
Quoted For
- Mark 16:9–20 “Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils …”
The church fathers are the early Christian writers. Their quotations show which reading was known, where, and when, often earlier than any manuscript of the passage that survives.
