St. Stephen Protomartyr
| Stephen | |
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Saint Stephen by Carlo Crivelli
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| Deacon and Protomartyr | |
| Died | A.D. 36 Jerusalem, Judaea, Roman Empire |
| Venerated in |
Roman Catholic Church Eastern Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church Oriental Orthodox Church Assyrian Church of the East Armenian Apostolic Church Eastern Catholic Churches Lutheranism Anglican Communion |
| Feast | 26 December (Western) 27 December (Eastern) 9 January (Eastern - Indian Orthodox Churches) 25 December/7 January (Armenian Apostolic and Armenian Catholic Churches) |
| Attributes | stones, dalmatic, censer, miniature church, Gospel Book, martyr's palm frond. In Eastern Christianity he often wears an orarion |
| Patronage | Altar Servers [1];Acoma Indian Pueblo; casket makers; Cetona, Italy; deacons; headaches; horses; Kessel, Belgium; masons; Owensboro, Kentucky; Passau, Germany; Serbia; Republic of Srpska; Prato, Italy [2] |
Stephen /ˈstiːvən/ (Greek: Στέφανος Stéphanos, meaning "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor", often given as a title rather than as a name), traditionally venerated as the Protomartyr or first martyr of Christianity, was according to the Acts of the Apostles a deacon in the early church at Jerusalem who aroused the enmity of members of various synagogues by his teachings. Accused of blasphemy, at his trial he made a long speech denouncing the Jewish authorities who were sitting in judgment on him and was then stoned to death. His martyrdom was witnessed by Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee who would later himself become a follower of Jesus and known as Paul the Apostle.
The only primary source for information about Stephen is the New Testament book of the Acts of the Apostles. Stephen is mentioned in Acts 6 as one of the Greek-speaking Hellenistic Jews selected to participate in a fairer distribution of welfare to the Greek-speaking widows.
The Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox Churches, and the Church of the East venerate Stephen as a saint. Stephen's name in the original Greek of the Acts of the Apostles is given as Stephanos, meaning "crown". Traditionally, Stephen is invested with a crown of martyrdom; artistic representations often depict him with three stones and the martyr's palm frond. Eastern Christian iconography shows him as a young, beardless man with a tonsure, wearing a deacon's vestments, and often holding a miniature church building or a censer.
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