Saint Stephen, the first martyr:

Feast day : 26 December

Today the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Stephen, the first martyr of the Church. In the Acts of the Apostles, he is described as “Stephen, full of grace and power”. He was a man filled with the Holy Spirit and the Lord was pleased to work great wonders and signs among the people through him. However, people set up false witnesses against him and he was arrested and brought before the Council. There he made a bold speech proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah and reproached the non-believers in Christ because they were hard-hearted like their ancestors who had killed the prophets who had prophesied the coming of the Savior. For his bold speech he was dragged outside the city and stoned to death. Like his Divine Master, he too forgave all those who persecuted him and cried “Lord do not hold this sin against them”. His death marked the beginning of significant events in the Church.

Scriptures:

Saint Stephen was a Jew and is believed to be one of the seventy two disciples of Our Lord. In the Acts of the Apostles, he is described as “Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people”. In those days, the assembly of believers were of one heart and soul and everything they owned was held in common. When there were complaints of inproper distribution of food among some members who felt neglected, the Apostles gathered the entire community of believers and said “...select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, while we for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word.” (Acts 6:3-4). Saint Stephen was the first to be selected among the seven. He was a man filled with the Holy Spirit and full of faith and wisdom. There were some members of the synagogue of the Freedman who tried to oppose him and argue with him but they could not withstand his wisdom. So they secretly instigated men against him saying “ we have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God. They stirred up the people as well as the elders and the scribes; then they suddenly confronted him, seized him, and brought him before the council. They set up false witnesses who said, “This man never stops saying things against this holy place and the law; for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses handed on to us”. However, when the council members looked at St. Stephen his face had the countenance of an angel. When he was asked to make his defence he gave a bold speech before the council.

He boldly proclaimed that Jesus was Messiah about whom the prophets had prophesied. Though God instructed Moses to make the tabernacle and Solomon built a temple for the Lord, “Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made with human hands...” (Acts 7). He reproached them for being hard-hearted like their ancestors who rejected the prophets who foretold the coming of the Messiah. On hearing his defence, the council members were enraged and ground their teeth. But Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit and gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. He said, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”. This was enough evidence for them to condemn him for blasphemy. They covered their ears and with a loud shout rushed against him. He was dragged outside the city and stoned to death. Whilst they were stoning him, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. Saint Stephen like his Divine Master prayed for his witnesses “ Lord do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he died.

Thus he became the first martyr to have died for faith. His death marked a significant turn of events in the early Church. The Scripture states that “Saul approved of their killing him. That day a severe persecution began against the Church in Jerusalem and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria. Saul was ravaging the church by entering house after house; dragging off both men and women, he committed them to prison” Acts 8:1&3 However these persecutions further strengthened the works of the Holy Spirit. In verse 4 we read that “Now those who were scattered went from place to place, proclaiming the word.” In Chapter 9 we read about the conversion of Saul after he had a direct encounter with Jesus. Jesus chose the one who most persecuted the Church to go and proclaim the Gospel!! “But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before the Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” Acts 9:15-16 After being baptised, we read about Saul in verse 20 “...and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” All who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem among those who invoked this name?” Acts 9:20-21. Thus Saul became known as St. Paul who went on to become a great apostle and a pillar of the Catholic Church, preaching the Good news to the Gentiles and eventually himself attained martyrdom.

Relics & feast day:

In the year 415, a priest named Lucian had a dream in which he saw that the relics of Saint Stephen were located at Beit Jimal. The relics were then taken to the Church of Hagia Sion on 26 December of that same year. From then on the feast of Saint Stephen is celebrated on this day. The relics were later translated to Rome by Pope Pelagius II and kept in the Basilica of San Lorenzo Fuori le Mura alongwith the relics of Saint Lawrence whose tomb is enshrined in the same Basilica. According to legend, the relics of Saint Lawrence miraculously moved to one side to make room for those of St. Stephen.