Saint Stephen, the First Martyr

Saint Stephen holds the place of honour as the first of the martyrs, the Protomartyr, who shed his blood for Christ in the earliest days of the Church. The Church keeps his feast on the twenty-sixth of December, the very day after the Nativity, so that the birth of the Prince of Peace is followed at once by the witness of one who gave his life for him. His story is told at length in the Acts of the Apostles, which makes him the first whose martyrdom the Scriptures themselves record.

Deacon and witness

As the early community in Jerusalem grew, the Apostles chose seven men of good repute, full of the Holy Ghost and of wisdom, to serve at the tables and care for the widows, that the Twelve might give themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word. Stephen was the first named among these seven deacons. The Acts describe him as “full of grace and fortitude,” working great signs among the people, and so filled with the Spirit that his adversaries “were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit that spoke.”

Brought before the council on false charges, Stephen answered with a long and fearless discourse, tracing the history of God’s dealings with his people and bearing witness to Christ. As his accusers raged, he, full of the Holy Ghost, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. For this confession they cast him out of the city and stoned him.

Dying as his Master died

In his death Saint Stephen was conformed to the Lord whose birth the Church had just celebrated. As the stones fell, he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit,” and then, kneeling, he cried with a loud voice, “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge” — echoing the Saviour’s own prayer of forgiveness from the Cross. With these words he fell asleep in the Lord. The Acts note that a young man named Saul stood by, consenting to his death; and the Church has long seen in Stephen’s prayer the first fruit of grace that would one day make of that same Saul the Apostle Paul.

The collect of his feast asks that we may imitate what we venerate, and so learn to love even our enemies, since we keep the heavenly birthday of one who knew how to pray even for his persecutors. In Saint Stephen the Church sets before the faithful, in the joy of Christmas, the cost and the crown of true discipleship, and the charity that returns blessing for harm.

Patronage

He is the patron of deacons, of stonemasons, and of those who suffer for the faith, and is invoked for a charitable and forgiving heart toward one’s enemies.