Main »
2013 » January » 9 » Today's saint
|
- Holy First Martyr and Archdeacon Stephen
- A kinsman of the Apostle Paul, the Holy
Stephen was one of the seven deacons (with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and
Nicolas) first appointed by the Church to minister to the people; and it pleased God to receive
him as the Church's first Martyr for Christ. Read the long, beautiful and edifying account of his
witness in the Acts of the Apostles, chapters 6-8. When Stephen, "full of faith and power, did
great wonders and miracles among the people," (Acts 6:8), some members of a synagogue in
Jerusalem came to dispute with him and, enraged by his proclamation of Christ, stoned him to
death. In his death St Stephen revealed Christ's erasure of the boundary between heaven and
earth, and the new communion between man and God: his face shone with the light of the
Transfiguration, and he was granted a vision of Christ enthroned at the Father's right hand. His
dying words were "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge" (Acts 7:60).
-
According to holy tradition, the martyrdom of St Stephen occurred exactly a year after
the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. His body was taken and secretly buried by Gamaliel,
a member of the Sanhendrin and secretly a Christian.
-
Saint Stephen's relics were discovered by the priest Lucian in 415 following a vision.
They were translated to the church built for them in Jerusalem by the Empress Eudocia, and later
taken to Constantinople.
-
The Saint's missionary speech before his death (like that of the deacon St Philip to the
Ethiopian eunuch) reminds us that those appointed to serve the Church materially are not
barred, or even excused, from proclaiming the glorious Gospel of Christ.
-
source: http://www.abbamoses.com
|
Category: Today's saint |
Views: 882 |
Added by: abat
| Rating: 0.0/0 |