St Stephen by Giacomo Cavedone |
Grant, O Lord, that, in all our sufferings here upon earth for the testimony of thy truth, we may stedfastly look up to heaven, and by faith behold the glory that shall be revealed; and, being filled with the Holy Ghost, may learn to love and bless our persecutors by the example of thy first Martyr Saint Stephen, who prayed for his murderers to thee, O blessed Jesus, who standest at the right hand of God to succour all those that suffer for thee, our only Mediator and Advocate. Amen.- Saint Stephen Prayer from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer
INTERNET SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Stephen
Depiction of St. Stephen from The Demidoff Altarpiece by Carlo
Crivelli. The objects around St. Stephen's head and body are depictions of
the rocks, which were used to kill him.
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Deacon
and Protomartyr
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Died
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c. 34
Jerusalem |
Honored in
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26 December (Western)
27 December (Eastern) |
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stones, dalmatic, censer, miniature church, Gospel
Book, martyr's palm. In Eastern Christianity he often wears an orarion
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Acoma Indian Pueblo; casket makers; Cetona, Italy; deacons; headaches; horses; Kessel,
Belgium; masons;
Owensboro, Kentucky; Passau, Germany; Serbia; Republic of Srpska; Prato, Italy
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Stephen (Koine Greek: Στέφανος, Stephanos;
sometimes spelled "Stephan"), the first martyr of Christianity, was,
according to the Acts of the Apostles, a deacon in the early church at
Jerusalem who aroused the enmity of members of various synagogues by his
teachings. Accused of blasphemy, at his trial he made a long speech fiercely
denouncing the Jewish authorities who were sitting in judgement on him and was
stoned to death. His martyrdom was witnessed by Saul of Tarsus (later renamed
Paul), a Pharisee who would later convert to Christianity and become an
apostle.
The only primary source for
information about Stephen is the New Testament book Acts of the Apostles.
Stephen was one of the Greek-speaking Hellenistic Jews selected for a fairer
distribution of welfare to the Greek speaking widows in Acts 6.
Stephen is venerated as a saint in the
Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox Churches.
Stephen's name is derived from the Greek language Stephanos, meaning
"crown". Traditionally, Stephen is invested with a crown of
martyrdom; he is often depicted in art with three stones and the martyr's palm.
In Eastern Christian iconography, he is shown as a young, beardless man with a
tonsure, wearing a deacon's vestments, and often holding a miniature church
building or a censer.
Martyrdom
Background
Stephen is first mentioned in Acts of
the Apostles as one of seven deacons appointed by the Apostles to distribute
food and charitable aid to poorer members of the community in the early church.[Acts
6:5] As another deacon, Nicholas of Antioch, is specifically stated
to have been a convert to Judaism, it may be assumed that Stephen was born
Jewish, but nothing more is known about his previous life. The reason for the
appointment of the deacons is stated to have been dissatisfaction among
Hellenistic, that is Greek influenced and Greek speaking, Jews, that their
widows were being slighted in preference to Hebraic ones in distribution of
alms from the community funds. Since the name "Stephanos" is Greek,
it has been assumed that he was one of these Hellenistic Jews. Stephen is
stated to have been full of faith and the Holy Spirit and to have performed miracles
among the people.[Acts
6:5,8] It seems to be have been among synagogues of Hellenistic Jews
that he performed his teachings and "signs and wonders" since it is said
that he aroused the opposition of the "Synagogue of the Freedmen",
and "of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of them that were of
Cilicia and Asia" [Acts
6:9] Members of these synagogues had challenged Stephen's teachings,
but Stephen, inspired by the Holy Spirit, had bested them in debate. Furious at
this humiliation, they suborned false witnesses to testify that Stephen had
preached blasphemy against Moses and God, and dragged him to appear before the
Sanhedrin, the supreme legal court of Jewish elders, accusing him of preaching
against the Temple and the Mosaic Law.[Acts
6:9-14] Stephen is said to have been unperturbed, his face looking
like "that of an angel".
Stoning of St Stephen, altarpiece of San
Giorgio Maggiore, Venice
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Speech
to Sanhedrin
In a long speech to the Sanhedrin
comprising almost the whole of Acts Chapter 7, Stephen presents his view of the
history of Israel. The God of glory, he says, appeared to Abraham in
Mesopotamia, thus establishing at the beginning of the speech one of its major
themes, that God does not dwell only in one particular building (meaning the
Temple). God was with Joseph, too, in Egypt. Stephen recounts the stories of
the patriarchs in some depth, and goes into even more detail in the case of
Moses. God appeared to Moses in the burning bush[Acts
7:30-32], and inspired Moses to lead his people out of Egypt.
Nevertheless, the Israelites turned to other gods. [Acts
7:39-43] This establishes the second main theme of Stephen's speech,
Israel's disobedience to God. Stephen was accused of declaring that Jesus would
destroy the Temple in Jerusalem and of changing the customs of Moses, but
appealed to the Jewish scriptures to prove how the laws of Moses were not
subverted by Jesus but, instead, were being fulfilled. He denounces his
listeners as "stiff-necked" people who, just as their ancestors had
done, resist the Holy Spirit. "Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did
not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous
One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him."[Acts
7:51-53].
The
Stoning of Stephen
Thus castigated, the account is that
the crowd could contain their anger no longer. However Stephen, seemingly now
oblivious to them, looked up and cried "Look! I see heaven open and the
Son of Man standing on the right hand of God!"[Acts
7:55] To the Sanhedrin, this claim that the recently executed Jesus
was standing by the side of God (not sitting, as he is usually described in New
Testament texts) was such intense blasphemy that they covered their ears so as
not to hear it. [Acts
7:55] They rushed upon Stephen, drove him outside the city to the
place appointed, and stoned him. At this time Jewish law permitted the death
penalty by stoning for blasphemy. The witnesses, whose duty it was to throw the
first stones, laid their coats down so as to be able to do this, at the feet of
a "young man named Saul", later to be known as Paul the Apostle.
Stephen prayed that the Lord would receive his spirit and his killers be forgiven,
sank to his knees, and "fell asleep".[Acts
7:58-60] Saul "approved of their killing him".[Acts
8:1]
Views of Stephen's speech
Of the numerous speeches in Acts of
the Apostles, Stephen's speech to the Sanhedrin is the longest. To the
objection that it seems unlikely that such a long speech could be reproduced in
the text of Acts exactly as it was delivered, some Biblical scholars have
replied that Stephen's speech shows a distinctive personality behind it. It has
often been observed that there are numerous divergences in Stephen's re-telling
of the stories of Israelite history and the scriptures where these stories
originated; for instance, Stephen says that Jacob's tomb was in Shechem [Acts
7:16], but Genesis 50:13 says Jacob's final resting place was a cave in
Machpelah at Hebron.[Acts
8:1] There are at least five of these discrepancies, which some scholars
have seen as errors, others as deliberate, in order to make specific
theological points. Numerous parallels between the accounts of Stephen in Acts
and the Jesus of the Gospels - they both perform miracles, they are both tried
by the Sanhedrin, they both pray for forgiveness for their killers, for
instance - have led to suspicions that the author of Acts has emphasised or
invented some or all of these. The criticism of traditional Jewish belief and
practice in Stephen's speech is very strong - when he says God does not live in
a dwelling "made by human hands", referring to the Temple, he is
using an expression often employed by Biblical texts to describe idols. The
charge of anti-Judaism has been laid against the speech, for instance by the
priest and scholar of comparative religion S. G. F. Brandon, who states "The
anti-Jewish polemic of this speech reflects the attitude of the author of
Acts."
Grotto of the stoning of St. Stephen beneath
the greek-orthodox Church of St.Stephanus at the foot of the Mount of Olives in
Jerusalem
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Reputed Tomb of Stephen
Acts 8:2 says "Godly men buried
Stephen and mourned deeply for him", but the location where he was buried
is not specified. In 415 AD a priest named Lucian purportedly had a dream that
revealed the location of Stephen's remains. The reputed relics of the martyr
are said to be preserved in the Church of St Stephen, Jerusalem.
Saint Stephen by Luis
de Morales
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St. Stephen's Day
Main article: St. Stephen's Day
Public
holidays
In
Western Christianity, 26 December is called
"St. Stephen's Day", the "Feast of
Stephen" mentioned in the English Christmas carol "Good King Wenceslas". It is a public
holiday in many nations that were historically Catholic, Anglican or
Lutheran including Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Luxembourg,
Slovakia, Poland, Italy, Germany, Sweden and Finland. In Australia, New Zealand,
Canada and the United
Kingdom, the day is celebrated as "Boxing Day".
Western
Christianity
In the current norms for the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church, the feast is
celebrated at the Eucharist, but, for the Liturgy of the Hours, is restricted to the
Hours during the day, with Evening Prayer being reserved to the celebration of the Octave of Christmas.
Eastern
Christianity
In the Eastern Orthodox Church and
those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite, Saint
Stephen's feast day is celebrated on December 27. This day is also called the
"Third Day of the Nativity". In the Oriental Orthodox Churches (e.g.
Syrian, Indian) the St. Stephen's Day is observed on January 8.
Archideacon
Stephen, 11 c. Byzantine icon. Hermitage/ Архидьякон Стефан
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Commemorative places
See also: St. Stephen's Cathedral, St. Stephen's Church
Many
churches and other places commemorate Saint Stephen. Among the most notable
are:
- Saint Étienne, France, and numerous other places named Saint Étienne in the French-speaking world
- Vienna, Austria – Stephansdom, the Cathedral of St. Stephen, founded 1147 and seat of the Archbishop of Vienna. Symbol of the city of Vienna and of Austria, has the tallest spire in Austria and is the country's most famous church[citation needed]
- Rome – San Lorenzo fuori le Mura
- Old City of Jerusalem – the "Lions' Gate" is also called St. Stephanus Gate, after the tradition that Stephen's stoning occurred here, though it probably occurred at Damascus Gate[citation needed]
- London – St Stephen's Chapel in the Palace of Westminster was originally built in the reign of Henry III of England; it became the first site of the debating chamber of the British House of Commons. Saint Stephen's Clock Tower was the original name for the tower that housed Big Ben until it was renamed Elizabeth Tower to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 2013.[citation needed]
- St Stephen's House, Oxford – Permanent Private Hall of the University of Oxford and Anglican Theological College.
- St Stephen's Church, Bristol – the first city church built outside the walls c. 1250, rebuilt c. 1430 - 1490.
- St. Stephen's Church, Kombuthurai, built by St. Francis Xavier in India in 1542.
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