Saint Stephen

Proto-Martyr, First Deacon
(died c. 34)

Saint Stephen, the proto-martyr of the Church, holds the unique distinction of being the first person to shed blood for the faith of Christ, dying by stoning at Jerusalem within a few years of the Resurrection. His story is told in the Acts of the Apostles in chapters six and seven, with a vividness and dramatic power that makes it one of the great narratives of the early Church. He was one of the seven men chosen by the Jerusalem community to serve as deacons, to oversee the distribution of food to the widows of the community so that the Apostles could devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word.

He was described as a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and he combined his diaconal service with an active ministry of preaching and miracles. His success in argument with the diaspora Jews of Jerusalem aroused fierce opposition, and false witnesses were brought forward to accuse him of blasphemy against the Temple and the Law of Moses. He was dragged before the Sanhedrin, the supreme Jewish council.

His speech before the Sanhedrin, the longest speech in the Acts of the Apostles, is a sweeping review of salvation history that builds to the accusation that the council has done what Israel's ancestors always did: resisted the Holy Spirit and killed the prophets, culminating in the murder of the Righteous One, Jesus Christ. As he finished speaking he looked up and declared that he saw the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. This was too much for his hearers: they rushed on him, drove him out of the city, and stoned him.

As he died he prayed as Christ had prayed on the Cross: Lord, do not hold this sin against them. Among those present at the stoning, guarding the cloaks of those who threw the stones, was a young man named Saul, who would later become the Apostle Paul. His feast is celebrated on December 26th.