“You fought the good fight, O First- Martyr and Apostle of Christ…” (Troparion of the Feast)
In the feast of the Nativity of our Lord we admired the infinite love and sacrifice of God for us sinners. On the third day after the feast of the Nativity, holy Church places before us the heroic example of the love of God in the person of the Protomartyr St. Stephen. St. Gregory of Nyssa in his sermon in honor of St. Stephen says: “Behold we go from one feast to another and receive grace upon grace. Yesterday the Lord of the universe filled us with wonder, whereas today the disciple of the Lord fills us with wonder. In what manner the former, and in what manner the latter? The former (i.e., Christ), for our sakes assumed human nature, while the latter (i.e., St. Stephen) for the sake of the Lord rid himself of human nature. The martyr’s death of St. Stephen is truly singular, as is his cult, which is enjoyed in the Church of Christ since apostolic times.
St. Stephen – Apostle, First-Martyr and Archdeacon
The Eastern Church in giving glory to St. Stephen in its church services, gives him a threefold title, calling him an Apostle, the Protomartyr, and an Archdeacon. St. Stephen belonged to the seventy apostles whose memory our Church honors on the 4th of January. For his holiness, fortitude and zeal in spreading the word of God, he deserves the title of apostle in every way. The Acts of the Apostles say that he was “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit…full of grace and fortitude, who did great wonders and signs among the people.” (Acts 6, 5 and 8) St. John Chrysostom numbers St. Stephen among the apostles. “Tell me truthfully,” he says, “what did he lack to be equal to the Apostles? Did he not also work miracles? Did he not also manifest fortitude?” (Sermon 15, Acts of the Apostles)
St. Stephen was not only a zealous apostle, but was also the first martyr. Accused before the Synhedrion – the Jewish Council by false witnesses, he bravely professed the holy faith. For this they led him out of the city and stoned him to death. This occurred in the year 34 or 35 (A.D.) after Christ. Like Christ, he too prayed for his enemies at his death. Saul, a young man who later became the Apostle Paul, took part in his martyrdom. St. Augustine ascribes the conversion of Saul to the martyrdom of St. Stephen. “If Stephen had not prayed,” he says, “the Church would not now have Paul.” St. Stephen was the first to shed his blood and give up his life after the Ascension of our Lord. As a result of this, he received the honorable title of “Protomartyr” (First-Martyr). The holy Fathers highly extol this title in their sermons and it is emphasized, in a special way, in our church services in honor of St. Stephen and in the service commemorating the translation of his holy relics on the 2nd of August.
St. John Chrysostom begins his sermon on St. Stephen the Protomartyr with the words:
“All the Martyrs are given glory, and the heroic deeds of the just are everywhere an object of admiration; but at the mention of the most famous heroic deed of the first-martyr Stephen. even the mute tongue begins to praise him. Whom is Blessed Stephen not able to invite to praise (him)? His very name, which in Greek means “crown”, already indicates his merits. His very name suggests that he received the honor of victory! Here the name of the Martyr already implies struggle, victory, and honor!”
Another sermon on St. Stephen says:
“We crown Stephen with flowers of praise, and we shower upon him roses of laudatory songs. He already crowned himself with victorious prizes… Who among mortals can give worthy praise to the fighter? Who of us is able to weave a wreath fitting his heroic deed? What tongue is able to expound the glory of the victor? What lips shall speak in praise of the heroic deeds of Stephen? What mouth is able to express the fortitude of the first Martyr?”
In her services on the feast of St. Stephen and the translation of his relics on the 2nd of August, the Eastern Church extols his martyrdom with various titles of praise: “The beginning and praise of the martyrs”, “the first-martyr”, “the first among the martyrs”, “the protomartyr (first-martyr)”, “Apostle”, “soldier (warrior) of Christ”, “the glorious leader of the martyrs”, “the praise of the apostles and the glory of the martyrs”, “the protomartyr”, “the door of the martyrs'”, “the wise first-martyr”, “the leader of the assembly of martyrs”. In the stichera of the aposticha in the Vespers service, we praise him:
“You became the first among the martyrs and deacons, O Stephen Apostle, the ornament of martyrs, the fortress of the faithful, glory of the just. Since you stand before the throne of Christ the King, implore Him to cleanse the sins of those who celebrate your memory and to render them worthy of the kingdom of heaven.”
In the kontakion honoring the translation of his relics, holy Church invokes him:
“You were the first to be sown on earth by the heavenly Sower, O all praiseworthy Stephen; you were the first on earth to shed your blood for Christ, O Blessed One; you were the first to be crowned in heaven by Him with the crown of victory, O first fruit of the martyrs, O crown of martyrdom, O first-martyr Stephen.”
Stephen was first among the seven deacons chosen to take care of the poor; hence he is called the Archdeacon.
The Cult of St. Stephen
St. Stephen is the first-martyr and prototype of all martyrs and so his cult is the oldest of all the martyrs. The date of his death is unknown. Holy Church linked his memory with the feast of the Nativity of our Lord, for as the first-martyr of Christ he bore a very close relation with Christ. Originally, both the Eastern and the Western Churches celebrated the feast of St. Stephen on the second day after Christmas. But when the custom of celebrating the Synaxis of the Most Holy Mother of God on the day after Christmas emerged in the Eastern Church, then somewhere in the seventh century, the feast of St. Stephen was transferred to the third day after Christmas. To this day the Western Church celebrates the feast of St. Stephen on the 26th of December. The feast of St. Stephen was already generally known in the fourth century and was celebrated on an equal footing with those of the Apostles. The Apostolic Constitutions of the fourth century say: “Let them celebrate on the day of the first-martyr Stephen.” The holy Fathers of the fourth century, such as St. Gregory the Theologian, St. Gregory of Nyssa, St. John Chrysostom and St. Augustine, preached sermons in honor of St. Stephen. In the fourth and fifth centuries, in the East and in the West, churches were built in his honor. In Constantinople itself, there are as many as three churches in memory of St. Stephen.
A further motive for the cult of St. Stephen was the finding of his relics in 415. It was then that the teacher of the Apostle Paul, who died believing in Christ, appeared three times to a priest of Jerusalem, Lucianus. He told Lucianus that, after the stoning of Stephen, he buried Stephen’s body in his own tomb, where it now rests together with the remains of his son, Avivus, and near them Nicodemus – the secret disciple of Christ. The discovered relics of St. Stephen were transferred to the church on Sion, in Jerusalem. Sometime afterwards they were again transferred to the Church of the Stoning, north of Jerusalem. The wife of Emperor Theodosius the Younger, Eudokia, in the year 460, at the place of the original Church of the Stoning, built a beautiful basilica which was later destroyed. The ruins of this basilica were discovered in 1812, and upon the old foundation the present day church of St. Stephen was erected.
A later tradition has it that the site of St. Stephen’s martyrdom was the valley of the Cedron, east of Jerusalem. Hence, the Eastern gate of the old city is now called the gate of St. Stephen.
In the year 560 part of the relics of St. Stephen were transferred to Constantinople and deposited, first in the church of St. Lawrence, and later in the newly built church of St. Stephen. The Greek Church celebrates the translation of the relics to Constantinople on the 2nd of August. Just as at the finding, so too, at the translation of the relics of St. Stephen, various miracles took place. St. Augustine, the great venerator of St. Stephen speaks of these miracles.
St. Stephen the First-Martyr Our Model
The Christian religion is a religion of heroism. It cultivates and trains heroes and demands heroism. The life of a good Christian is a constant struggle with the devil, the passions and the world, which is the enemy of God. The Christian must always place the love of God above all things: above his “I”, above worldly interests, above all comforts, above father, mother, brother and sister, and even life itself. This is what Jesus Christ Himself taught and demanded:
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14, 26-27)
St. John Chrysostom in a sermon on St. Stephen reminds us of the obligation to struggle for the sake of Christ and the salvation of our soul.
“The present life,” he says, “is the time of struggle. Here we must wage war and struggle. During war no one seeks rest. During war no one thinks of comfort, no one cares for possessions, no one worries about a wife, but worries only about one thing – how to overcome the enemy. We too shall act in the same manner. If we overcome and return with trophies, then God will give us all things.’
Upon us all weighs the obligation of being Christians not only in name, but also in the faithful and courageous profession of our faith in word, deed and our entire life, and, if necessary, even in death by giving up our lives for the faith. St. Stephen, the first-martyr, gives us an inspiring example of a courageous and heroic profession of faith. St. John Chrysostom, setting before us St. Stephen as a model for imitation, says:
“Whoever would go to battle for the sake of Christ has St. Stephen for his teacher. Whoever would go forth to the struggle of martyrdom will imitate Stephen. Stephen is the leader of the fighters for Christ; Stephen is the support of those who die for Him.”
