Walking with the Saints l Feast of St. Stephen, Patron Saint of all Deacons l December 26

Walking with the Saints l Feast of St. Stephen, Patron Saint of all Deacons l December 26 If we do not know the story of St. Stephen and we see his statue for the first time, we might be surprised to see why he is carrying stones, or in  other representations, he has a stone on each shoulder and one on the head. St. Stephen was born in 5 B.C. and died in 34 A.D. Since his name “Stephanos” is Greek, it is assumed that he was a Hellenistic (Greek) Jew, who converted to Christianity.  According to the Acts of Apostles, he was one of the seven deacons appointed by the Apostles to distribute food and aid to poorer members of the Christian community. They were chosen due to the dissatisfaction of the Greek speaking Jews, saying that the Hebraics were given preference in the distribution of food and aid. Stephen was the eldest and was called “archdeacon.” Being full of faith and the Holy Spirit he performed miracles among the people and he went around preaching in various synagogues about Jesus Christ. His sermons enraged the Jewish Cyrenian, Alexandrian and Cilician groups who challenged his teachings, but he defeated them in debate. They were humiliated and accused Stephen of preaching blasphemy against Moses and God. His accusers dragged him to the Sanhedrin but Stephen looked unperturbed, and his face shone “like that of an angel.” Before the Sanhedrin, the legal judges of the Jews, Stephen presented his view of the history of Israel and the stories of the patriarchs and mentioned Israel’s disobedience to God. He disproved their disbelief in Jesus Christ and assured them that Jesus came to fulfill the customs of Moses and not to destroy them. Stephen also accused the Jews for being stiff-necked and murderers of the prophets. With this the crowed became more enraged, and began to stone him. But Stephen looked up and cried: “Look, I see heaven open and the son of Man standing on the right hand of God.” More people picked up stones to kill him. They laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul of Tarsus, the Roman citizen, who later converted to Christianity and became St. Paul, the Apostle. Stephen prayed that the Lord would receive his spirit and forgive his killers. He then fell to his knees and died. After his death, his companions fled to Antioch and to other distant places. Speaking about St. Stephen, Acts 8: 2 says: “Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him.” The location for his stoning must have been either on the northern gate or the eastern gate of Jerusalem. Where he was buried was not recorded. In 415 a priest named Lucian proclaimed that he dreamt where the remains of St. Stephen were buried in Beit Jimal, Jerusalem. Later, and  they were brought to the Church of Hagia Sion on December 26, which became his feast day. In 439, the relics were translated to a church north of the Damascus Gate. The relics were finally transferred to Rome by Pope Pelagius II during the construction of the Basilica of San Lorenzo fuori le mure. There, he was interred with the remains of St. Lawrence. Many churches around the world have been built in honor of St. Stephen. In the Roman Catholic Church, December 26 is “St. Stephen’s Day.”  Virtues: piety, humility, innocence, honesty, bravery, fortitude and integrity Prayer: “St. Stephen, pray for those whose faith in God and the Trinity are being attacked by doubts and perverse teachings.” Reflection: Am I ready to face persecution because of my Christian faith?