Troparion in Tone 4
O Protomartyr and mighty warrior of Christ our God,
You are victorious in battle and crowned with glory, O holy Stephen!
You confounded the council of your persecutors,
Beholding your Savior enthroned at the right hand of the Father.
Never cease to intercede for the salvation of our souls!
Kontakion in Tone 3
Yesterday the Master assumed our flesh and became our guest;
Today His servant is stoned to death and departs in the flesh,
The glorious Protomartyr Stephen.
The Holy Protomartyr and Archdeacon Stephen was the
eldest of the seven deacons, established by the Apostles themselves, and
therefore he is called "archdeacon." He was the first
Christian martyr, and he suffered for Christ at about age 30.
In the words of Asterias, he was
"the starting point of the martyrs, the
instructor of suffering for Christ, the foundation of righteous
confession, since Stephen was the first to shed his blood for the Gospel."
Filled with the Holy Spirit, St. Stephen preached
Christianity and defeated Jewish teachers of the Law in debate. The Jews
maligned St. Stephen, saying that he had uttered blasphemy against God and
against Moses. St. Stephen came before the Sanhedrin and the High Priest to
answer these charges. He gave a fiery speech, in which he recounted the
history of the Jewish nation, and denounced the Jews for persecuting the
prophets, and also for executing the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ (Acts
Chapter 7).
During his speech, St. Stephen suddenly saw the
heavens opened and Jesus Christ standing at the right hand of God. The Jews
shouted and covered their ears, and rushed at him. They dragged him out of
the city and stoned him, but the holy martyr prayed for his murderers. Far
off on the heights stood the Mother of God with the holy Apostle John the
Theologian, and She prayed fervently for the martyr. Before his death St.
Stephen said, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. O Lord, lay not this sin to
their charge." Then he joyfully gave up his pure soul to Christ.
The body of the holy Protomartyr Stephen, left to be eaten by beasts, was
secretly taken up by the Jewish teacher Gamaliel and his son Habib, who
buried Stephen on his estate. They both believed in Christ, and later
accepted holy Baptism.
-
Readings (-
Acts 6:1-15, 7:51-60 )
At that time, as the number of disciples
continued to grow, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because
their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. So the Twelve
called together the community of the disciples and said, "It is not right
for us to neglect the word of God to serve at table. Brothers, select from
among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we
shall appoint to this task, whereas we shall devote ourselves to prayer and
to the ministry of the word." The proposal was acceptable to the whole
community, so they chose Stephen, a man filled with faith and the holy
Spirit....
Now Stephen, filled with grace and power, was
working great wonders and signs among the people. Certain members of the
so-called Synagogue of Freedmen, Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and people
from Cilicia and Asia, came forward and debated with Stephen, but they could
not withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke. Then they
instigated some men to say, "We have heard him speaking blasphemous words
against Moses and God." They stirred up the people, the elders, and the
scribes, accosted him, seized him, and brought him before the Sanhedrin.
They presented false witnesses who testified,
"This man never stops saying things against (this) holy place and the law.
For we have heard him claim that this Jesus the Nazarene will destroy this
place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us."
All those who sat in the Sanhedrin looked
intently at him and saw that his face was like the face of an angel. Stephen
preaches to the Sanhedrin, concluding: "You stiff-necked people,
uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always oppose the holy Spirit; you are
just like your ancestors. Which of the prophets did your ancestors not
persecute? They put to death those who foretold the coming of the righteous
one, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. You received the law
as transmitted by angels, but you did not observe it."
When they heard this, they were infuriated, and
they ground their teeth at him. But he, filled with the holy Spirit, looked
up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the
right hand of God, and he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened and the
Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."
But they cried out in a loud voice, covered
their ears, and rushed upon him together. They threw him out of the city,
and began to stone him. The witnesses laid down their
cloaks at the
feet of a young man named Saul. As they were stoning Stephen, he called out,
"Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he fell to his knees and cried out in
a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them"; and when he said
this, he fell asleep.
- Acts 6:1-15, 7:51-60
