SAINT STEPHEN, DEACON AND MARTYR

We give you thanks, O Lord of glory, for the example of the first martyr Stephen, who looked up to heaven and prayed for his persecutors to your Son Jesus Christ, who stands at your right hand; where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

Very probably a Hellenistic Jew, Stephen was one of the “seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom” (Acts 6:3), who were chosen by the apostles to relieve them of the administrative burdenof “serving tables and caring for the widows.” By this appointmentto assist the apostles, Stephen, the first named of those the New Testament calls “The Seven,” became the first to do what the church traditionally considers to be the work and ministry of a deacon.

It is apparent that Stephen’s activities involved more than simply “serving tables,” however, for the Acts of the Apostles speaks of his preaching and performing many miracles. These activities led him into conflict with some of the Jews, who accused him of blasphemy, and brought him before the Sanhedrin. His powerful sermon before the Council is recorded in the seventh chapter of Acts. According to this account, his denunciations of the Sanhedrin so enraged its members that, without a trial, they dragged him out of the city and stoned him to death. Stephen is traditionally regarded as the very first Christian martyr.

Saul, later called Paul, stood by, consenting to Stephen’s death, but Stephen’s example of steadfast faith in Jesus, and of intercession for his persecutors, was to find fruit in the mission and witness of Paul after his conversion. The Christian community in Jerusalem, taking fright at the hostility of the Judean authorities, was scattered, so that for the first time the Gospel of Christ began to spread beyond Jerusalem.