St Stephen
| 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 or Stephan (Greek: Στέφανος, Stephanos; meaning wreath or crowned, 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.
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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