Saint Stephen
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| Saint Stephen | |
|---|---|
 Saint Stephen, depicted by Carlo Crivelli in 1476 with three stones and the martyrs' palm. He is depicted with the clerical tonsure, vested in a dalmatic and holding a Gospel Book in his right hand. |
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| Deacon and Protomartyr | |
| Born | 1st century |
| Died | c. 35, Jerusalem |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Catholic Churches, Lutheran Church, Anglican Communion |
| Feast | December 26; December 27; August 2; August 3 (Finding of the Body of St Stephen) |
| Attributes | stones, dalmatic, censer, miniature church, Gospel Book, martyr's palm. In Eastern Christianity he often wears an orarion |
| Patronage | Acoma Indian Pueblo; casket makers; Cetona, Italy; deacons; headaches; horses; Kessel, Belgium; masons; Owensboro, Kentucky; Passau, Germany; Serbia; Republic of Srpska; Prato, Italy [1] |
 Saints Portal |
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Saint Stephen (Greek: Στέφανος, Stephanos), known as the Protomartyr (Greek: Πρωτομάρτυς, Protomartys) (or first martyr) of Christianity, is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. His name means "wreath" or "crown" in Greek.
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[edit] 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.
[edit] 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 Jews 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'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 a censer.
[edit] Theophany
As he was on trial and being prosecuted, 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)
[edit] St. Stephen's Day
In Western Christianity, December 26, is called "St Stephen's Day", the "feast of Stephen" of the Christmas carol, "Good King Wenceslas"; it is a public holiday in Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Poland, Republika Srpska, England and Wales, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Finland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. 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 a fiesta in honor of St Stephen Protomartyr, its patron saint.
In the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite, his feast day is celebrated on December 27. (This date in the Julian Calendar currently corresponds to January 9 in the Gregorian Calendar.) This day is also called the "Third Day of the Nativity".
The General Roman Calendar included also on 3 August a feast of the Invention of the Relics of St Stephen — "Invention," (Latin: inventio), meaning "finding" or "discovery" — to commemorate the finding of St Stephen's relics during the reign of Emperor Honorius. In the Tridentine Calendar this feast was celebrated as a "Semidouble", a rank that it lost in 1955, when Pope Pius XII reduced it to the rank of "Simple".[1] It was one of the second feasts of a single saint removed from the calendar by Pope John XXIII in 1960,[2] and so is not celebrated by those who, in accordance with Pope Benedict XVI's motu proprio, Summorum Pontificum, observe the 1962 calendar.
The Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates the Translation of the Relics of Protomartyr Stephen on August 2. The feast celebrates the discovery of Stephen's relics in 415, after which they were solemnly transferred to a church built in his honor in Jerusalem. Later, during the reign of Emperor Theodosius the Younger (408-450) they were translated to Constantinople.
[edit] 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).
[edit] In popular culture
The Grateful Dead released the song "Saint Stephen" on the album Aoxomoxoa in 1969. Performed in many concerts over the years, it is not clear how much the lyrics relate to the actual life of the saint.
[edit] Commemorative places
- In Vienna, Austria - Stephansdom, the Cathedral of St. Stephen, founded 1147 and seat of Cardinal Archbishop of Vienna. Symbol of the city of Vienna and of Austria, has tallest spire in all of Austria and is the country's most famous church
- In Rome - Basilica of Saint Lawrence outside the Walls where his remains are interred with those of the eponymous saint under the altar
- In Toronto, Canada - "St. Stephen's Community House"
- In East Jerusalem - St. Stephen's Church
- In the old city of Jerusalem - the "Lions' Gate" is also called St. Stephanus Gate, after the tradition that Stephen's stoning occurred here, though it probably occurred at Damascus Gate [3]
- In the village of Kafarbe, southeast Turkey - Mor Stephanus Church
- In London - St Stephen's Chapel in the Palace of Westminster was originally built in the reign of King Henry III and eventually became the first location of the debating chamber of the House of Commons
- In Dublin - St. Stephen's Green
- In Croghan - St. Stephen's Church
- In Manila, Philippines - St. Stephen's Parish (established by the American Episcopal Mission to the Philippines in 1903) and St. Stephen's High School
- Near St Austell in Cornwall, UK, a village called St Stephen (in Brannel)
[edit] 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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