Saint’s Life Story

His Early Life

Stephen was born around the year 5. His exact birth location is unknown, although it may have been in Jerusalem, Israel. His name is Greek, meaning “crown”, suggesting that he was a Hellenist Jews who had been born in some foreign land and whose native tongue was Greek.

Archdeacon

All we do know about Stephen is from the Acts of the Apostles Chapters 6 and 7. Because the Apostles chose to devote themselves to prayer and the preaching of the Word, they asked the community to select “seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom” (Acts 6:3). The Apostles then appointed them to the task of overseeing the daily distribution of provisions.

The Apostles prayed and laid their hands on these seven men, ordaining them the Church’s first deacons. Stephen is described as “a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit” (Acts 6:5) who is one of the first seven deacons of the Church, ordained into Holy Orders by the very hands of the Apostles to assist them in their priestly ministry. The other six deacons chosen were, “Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas of Antioch, a convert to Judaism” (Acts 6:5).

Some ancient traditions identify Stephen as the eldest and the leader of the others, making him what has become known as “Archdeacon.” Stephen was likely a Greek, so he might have been chosen, in part, to help ensure that the Hellenistic women, especially the widows, received their share of the daily distribution.

Preacher

Stephen was “full of grace and power” and performed “great wonders and signs among the people” (Acts 6:8). Everywhere in Jerusalem, he was proving Jesus of Nazareth to be the Messiah, and working great prodigies to confirm the truths he taught. As a deacon, Stephen also preached the Word of God and performed many miracles. Various Hellenistic Jews even debated him in public, “but they could not withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke” (Acts 6:10).

This so agitated them that they dragged him before the Sanhedrin, just as they had done to Jesus. The Sanhedrin was the highest religious, judicial, and legislative body within the Jewish community. The charges brought against Stephen were that he spoke against the Temple and the Law of Moses. As Stephen stood before the angry Sanhedrin, his face appeared like that of an angel.

Speech to Sanhedrin

Acts 7:1–53 presents a lengthy speech Stephen made before the Sanhedrin. It is one of the longest and most significant speeches in the New Testament. In that speech, Stephen traced the history of Israel from Abraham to Solomon, who built the Temple. He emphasized God’s actions that took place outside of the Temple, as well as Israel’s recurring disobedience. Of the Temple, he said, “the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands” (Acts 7:48).

In other words, the Temple had outlived its purpose. The Most High came to us in the Person of Jesus, and Jesus is the New Temple and the New Priest Who offered Himself as the New and Perpetual Sacrifice. Stephen re-read and reinterpreted the Old Testament in the light of Christ. He was among the first followers of Christ to clearly unite the Old Testament with the unfolding New Testament. He also referred to the members of the Sanhedrin and those accusing him as “stiff-necked people.”

His Martyrdom

When Stephen called them Christ’s “betrayers and murderers,” the Jewish leaders “became enraged and ground their teeth at Stephen” (Acts 7:52–54). His accusers were so infuriated that they immediately dragged him outside the city of Jerusalem (probably the northern gate) and stoned him to death around the year 33. This horrible situation, however, turned truly beautiful and glorious on account of Stephen’s faith.

Before being dragged to the spot of his death, he looked up to Heaven and exclaimed, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:56). Once they dragged him out and began stoning him, he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” and “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:59–60), very similar to when Jesus cried out from the Cross, “Father, forgive them…” (Luke 23:34) and “Father, into Your hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46).

Among those who approved of Stephen’s execution was Saul, who persecuted the Christians, but later became the Apostle of the Gentiles – Saint Paul, through his dramatic conversion.

His Death

The body of the holy Protomartyr Stephen, left to be eaten by beasts, was secretly taken up by the Jewish teacher Gamaliel and his son Habib, who buried Stephen on his estate. He was buried in the town of Beit Jimal, about twenty miles west of Jerusalem.

Legend has it that in 415, a priest named Lucian had a dream in which Saint Stephen’s burial place was revealed to him. The priest brought his remains back to Jerusalem, and some years later Stephen was buried at the site of his martyrdom, in what is today the Church of Saint Étienne (French for Stephen). The relics of the protomartyr were later translated to Rome by Pope Pelagius II during the construction of the basilica of San Lorenzo fuori le Mura. They were interred alongside the relics of Saint Lawrence, whose tomb is enshrined within the church.

Saint Augustine, in the last book of The City of God, speaking of the miracles which followed the discovery says: “Let us so desire to obtain temporal blessings by Saint Stephen’s intercession that we may merit in imitating him those which are eternal.”

Born:                     Around 5 possibly in Jerusalem, Israel

Died:                     Around 33 (Feast Day – Dec 26) near Jerusalem, Israel

Beatified:             Pre-Congregation

Canonized:          Pre-Congregation

Feast Day:           December 26

Patron Saint:      Against Headaches; Archdiocese of Toulouse, France; Archdiocese of Capua, Italy; Bricklayers; Builders; Construction Workers; Deacons; Diocese of Owensboro, Kentucky; Masons; Serbia

Source:

• CatholicSaints.Info » Saint Stephen the Martyr
• Saint Stephen, the First Martyr – Feast – My Catholic Life!
• Saint Stephen The Martyr – Saint for a Minute
• December 26: Saint Stephen, Martyr – Saints and Feasts
• Saint Stephen – Wikipedia

Prayers

Video Link

St. Stephen the Martyr: An Inconvenient Faith – YouTube (Awaken The Saint)