Martyr
Martyr Justus of Rome
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Martyr Justus of Rome — a pagan soldier who came to believe after a vision of a crystal Cross, denounced and subjected to cruel torture, then cast into a fire where he surrendered his soul to God without a single hair being singed.
St. Justus was a pagan Roman soldier serving in the numerus of the tribune Claudius. Returning from battle against barbarians, he fell into ecstasy and beheld a crystal Cross, from which a voice instructed him in the mystery of piety; after this vision he believed in Christ and, back in Rome, distributed his possessions to the poor.
When his faith became known, the tribune Claudius urged him to pity his youth and abandon Christ, but Justus stood firm and was handed over to the governor Magnentius. The governor subjected him to severe tortures — flogging with raw hides, a heated iron helmet placed on his head, heated iron balls under his arms, iron gauntlets, and a fiery grill — which the martyr endured bravely, glorifying and thanking God.
He was finally cast into a furnace and gave up his soul to God, yet not even one hair of his was burnt by the flames.
His feast is kept on July 14/27.