Stephen is most probably the first Christian martyr. His death certainly is the first Christian martyrdom recorded.
The first martyr was Saint Stephen. He was stoned to death for his faith.
Saint Stephen is recognized as a saint because he was the first martyr for Christ. His faith in Jesus was so strong and unshakable, that he was prepared to die rather than renounce his faith in Jesus. When someone would rather die than renounce their faith, they are a martyr. Saint Stephen was an example to the early Christians and was made a saint by the shedding of his blood for the faith.
Stephen was preaching the Gospel and this upset the Jews who hated the new Christian religion and the fact that they were held responsible for killing Our Lord.
Stephen was preaching the Gospel and this upset the Jews who hated the new Christian religion and the fact that they were held responsible for killing Our Lord.
The son of God you came to die for our sins that we will be able to live in heaven when we pass over...of chourse you have to accept Christ first to get into heaven....
Constantine was important to the spread of Christianity because he was considered to be the first Christian emperor. He actually made it legal to be a Christian or to be of the Christian faith.
He was beaten and then beheaded in Persia for preaching the gospel.
I learned to them through their faith to God,ready to die for him,and sacrifice for him. Also they renounce their will and follow the will of God through preaching the Good News.
Stephen was stoned to death. It is a very dramatic account of the first follower of Christ to die for his faith. During the stoning Stephen was blessed with a vision of Christ at the right hand of the Father in heaven. Paul, the missionary, was at the stoning. In fact, I believe he supervised the stoning. At the time Paul was called Saul, and he was one of the most ardent persecutors of Jesus' followers. Later Saul was to encounter Christ. He became a follower of Christ and his name was changed to Paul.
Faith is belief in something that is unknowable or unproveable. You can have "faith" that the moon is made out of strawberry yogurt. However, Christian Faith is more specific: you must believe that Jesus was THE Son of God and that he was sent to die for the sins of mankind and that he rose again.
St. Stephen's Day is traditionally celebrated by the Catholic Church and its members on December 26, the day after Christmas. St. Stephen is known as the "protomartyr" as he was the first person to die specifically for their profession of the Christian Faith. The Church decided to place his feast day after Christmas in order to link the redemption of man to the hope death now holds for those who die in Christ's name. St. Stephen's day is typically a national holiday in most Catholic countries, though it could be said that in modern times the 26th is only still retained as a holiday by most nations as a day to recover from the festivities and excesses of Christmas. St. Stephen's Day used to have its own proper festivities . Orthodox communities celebrate St. Stephen's day on December 27th or January 9th, depending on the calendar they follow.
Stephen was stoned during the earliest years of the Church and was the first martyr. He probably died about the year AD34.