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Stephen (d. c.35), deacon and protomartyr of the Christian Church. All that we know of his life is in the Acts of the Apostles (6–7). He was one of the seven deacons, probably a Hellenistic Jew, appointed by the apostles to look after the distribution of alms to the faithful (especially the widows) and to help in the ministry of preaching. To judge by his famous discourse, even if it is somewhat ‘retouched’, Stephen was learned in the Scriptures and the history of Judaism, besides being eloquent and forceful. The gist of his defence of Christianity was that God does not depend on the Temple, in so far as, like the Mosaic Law, it was a temporary institution and destined to be fulfilled and superseded by Christ, who was the prophet designated by Moses and the Messiah whom the Jewish race had so long awaited. He finally attacked his hearers for resisting the Spirit and for killing the Christ as their fathers had killed the prophets. They then stoned him for blasphemy apparently without a formal trial, while he saw a vision of Christ on God's right hand. The witnesses placed their clothes at the feet of Saul (afterwards Paul), who consented to his death.

At least from the 4th century (or earlier) his feast has been kept in both East and West. But the cult was given further popularity by the discovery of his supposed tomb by the priest Lucian at Kafr Gamala in 415. The translation of the relics, first to Constantinople and then to Rome, with some dismemberment and with the addition of the stones allegedly used at his martyrdom, contributed powerfully to the diffusion of his cult. This, with a short account of local cures, is mentioned by Augustine in the last book of The City of God. From early times he was the patron of deacons, in the later Middle Ages he was invoked against headaches. By this time he was patron of innumerable churches, including several French cathedrals such as Bourges, Sens, and Toulouse. In England forty-six ancient churches are dedicated to him, most of them being built after the Norman Conquest. In art his usual attributes are a book of the Gospels with a stone and sometimes a palm of martyrdom. There are several splendid ancient examples of his representation; perhaps the most attractive one of the early Renaissance is by Jean Fouquet at Berlin. There is a fine cycle by Fra Angelico at the Vatican. Feast: in the West, 26 December: in the East, 27 December; feast of the finding of his relics, formerly on 3 August, was widely celebrated.

Bibliography
Click here for a list of abbreviations used in this bibliography.

  • C.M.H., pp. 10–11
  • M. Simon, St. Stephen and the Hellenists in the Primitive Church (1958)
  • M. H. Scharleman, Stephen: a singular saint (1968)
  • F. M. Abel, ‘Étienne (saint)’, Dict. Bibl., suppl. ii (1934), 1132–46
  • Bibl. SS., xi 1376–92. Augustine, De Civitate Dei, xxii. 8 (tr. H. Bettenson, 1981). H.S.S.C., 2, 136–47 (includes texts of the translation)
 
 

(died c. AD 36, Jerusalem) First Christian martyr. As told in the Acts of the Apostles, he was a foreign-born Jew who lived in Jerusalem and joined the church at an early date. He was one of seven deacons appointed by the Apostles to care for elderly women, widows, and orphans. As a Hellenized Jew, he was strongly opposed to the Temple cult of Judaism. For expressing his opposition, he was brought before the Sanhedrin. His defense of Christianity so outraged his hearers that he was condemned to be stoned to death. One of those who assented to the execution was Saul of Tarsus (St. Paul).

For more information on Saint Stephen, visit Britannica.com.

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: Stephen, Saint,
d. A.D. 36?, first Christian martyr, stoned at Jerusalem. He was one of the seven deacons. Accused of blasphemy, he was brought before the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem. His speech defending his beliefs further enraged his accusers, who were Hellenistic Jews, and he was taken out and stoned to death. His teachings showed the growing differences between Judaism and the Jewish-Christian community in Jerusalem. Acts 6; 7. Feasts: Martyrdom on Dec. 26; Finding of St. Stephen's Body (415) on Aug. 3.
 
Dictionary: Ste·phen  (stē'vən) pronunciation, Saint Died c. A.D. 36.

Christian protomartyr who, according to the New Testament, was stoned to death after his defense of Christianity before the Sanhedrin.


 
Wikipedia: Saint Stephen
Saint Stephen
St-stephen.jpg

Saint Stephen, depicted by Carlo Crivelli in 1476 with three stones and the martyrs' palm.
Deacon and Protomartyr
Born unknown,
Died c.34-35, Jerusalem
Venerated in Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Catholic Churches, Lutheran Church, Anglican Communion
Feast 3 August, 26 December
Attributes stones, dalmatic, censer, miniature church, Bible, martyrs' palm
Patronage Acoma Indian Pueblo; casket makers; Cetona, Italy; deacons; headaches; horses; Kessel, Belgium; masons; Owensboro, Kentucky; Passau, Germany; Prato, Italy [1]
Gloriole.svg Saints Portal

Saint Stephen (Greek: Στέφανος/Stephanos), known as the Protomartyr (Greek: Πρωτομάρτυρας/Protomartyras) (or first martyr) of Christianity, is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, as well as in the Orthodox Church. His name means 'laurel wreath' or 'crown' in Greek.

Christian deacon

According to the Acts of the Apostles, during the early time frame of the Christian church in Jerusalem, Stephen was one of seven men, probably Hellenistic Jews, chosen to attend to the distribution of aid to elderly widows within the church community. (This role came to be known as deacon.) Stephen was also recognized for his gifts as an evangelist, preaching the teachings of Jesus to the people of Jerusalem, including members of the place of the Hellenistic synagogues.

Martyrdom

Acts tells the story of how Stephen was tried by the Sanhedrin for blasphemy against Moses and God (Acts 6:11) and speaking against the Temple and the Law (Acts 6:13-14) (see also Antinomianism) and was then stoned to death (c. A.D. 34-35) by an infuriated mob encouraged by Saul of Tarsus, the future Saint Paul: "And Saul entirely approved of putting him to death" (8:1). [2]. Stephen's final speech is presented as making an accusation against the Jew of continuing to persecute prophets who spoke out against their sins:

'"Which one of the Prophets did your fathers not persecute, and they killed the ones who prophesied the coming of the Just One, of whom now, too, you have become betrayers and murderers." (7:52)
Saint Stephen preaching
Enlarge
Saint Stephen preaching

Saint Stephen's name is simply derived from the Greek Stephanos, meaning "crown", which translated into Aramaic as Kelil. Saint Stephen is traditionally invested with a crown of martyrdom for Christianity and is often depicted in art with three stones and the martyrs' 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 and censer.

Theophany

As he was dying, Saint Stephen experienced a theophany. His theophany was unique in that he saw both the Father and the Son.

"Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God." (Acts 7:56)

St. Stephen's Day

Main article: St. Stephen's Day

December 26, the "feast of Stephen" referred to in the Christmas carol Good King Wenceslas, is called "St. Stephen's Day"; it is a public holiday in Republika Srpska, England and Wales, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Austria, Finland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The holiday is celebrated on December 27 in Romania and other Eastern Orthodox lands. In Catalonia (though not elsewhere in Spain) it is called "Sant Esteve" and is a bank holiday. It is called "Saint Étienne" in France, where it is a bank holiday in the Alsace-Moselle region (but not elsewhere).

December 26 is also a holiday in Ligao City, Philippines, which celebrates fiesta in honor of St. Stephen Protomartyr, its patron saint.

Another feast day, the Invention of St. Stephen, was historically kept on August 3, commemorating the finding of his body during the reign of Emperor Honorius.

Cult of Saint Stephen

Many churches are named in honor of Saint Stephen, but there was no official "Tomb of St. Stephen" until 415. When Christian pilgrims were traveling in large numbers to Jerusalem, a priest named Lucian said he had learned by a vision that the tomb was in Caphar Gamala, some distance to the north of Jerusalem. Gregory of Tours reports that the intercession of Stephen preserved an oratory dedicated to him at Metz, in which his relics were preserved when the Huns burned the entire city, leaving only the oratory standing, Easter eve, 451 (Historia Francorum ii.6).

Commemorative places

References

  • "Stephen, Saint". Encyclopedia Britannica (15th edition) Volume 11. (1974). 250-251. 
  • Latourette, Kenneth Scott (1975). "The Sweep of Christianity Across the Græco-Roman World", A History of Christianity, 1st paperback edition, New York: Harper & Row, 67-68. ISBN 0060649526. 
  • Nixon, R. E. (1962). "Stephen". The New Bible Dictionary. Ed. J. D. Douglas. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans. 1216. ISBN 0-8028-2282-7. 

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Copyrights:

Saints. The Oxford Dictionary of Saints. Copyright © David Hugh Farmer 1978, 1987, 1992, 1997, 2003, 2004. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/  Read more
Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Saint Stephen" Read more

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