The story of St. Cyprian of Antioch is unusual, peculiar even.

It's the story of a famous pagan sorcerer in late 3rd century Europe, who eventually became a Catholic saint.

Cyprian, as a young boy, traveled around the world and studied every imaginable form of magic.

Katerina Pajovic is a doctoral candidate in the Department for the Study of Religion at the University of Toronto.

She's writing her dissertation on Cyprian of Antioch.

He learned how to conjure demons on Mount Olympus.

He learned necromancy in Taropolis.

He was initiated into the mysteries of alchemy and magic in Egypt.

But eventually he settles in Antioch in Asia Minor and begins to sell his services as a magician for hire.

Today, Antioch is the city Antakia, in south central Turkey near the Syrian border.

In the early Christian context, performing magic was a sin, because the only true power could

come from God.

But Cyprian was a pagan, like many people in Europe at that time.

So this wasn't a problem for him, and he soon became renowned for his highly successful spellwork.

Now enter the second character in this story, Justina, also of Antioch.

Justina was a beautiful young Christian woman.

She was zealous in her faith and dedicated herself to a life of purity in the name of Christ.

And one day, Justina's beauty attracted his suitor.

There's this man named Aglaetus who falls in love with Justina and tries to marry her.

When she rejects him because she wants to be a virgin for Christ, he takes that very well by attempting to assault her.

And so she manages to not only fend him off, but she beats him.

Thwarted and driven off by a young girl, a Gladis seeks to buy a love spell from a sorcerer

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