St. Stephen, Deacon and Protomartyr (1st century)
BACKGROUND
We first hear of St. Stephen in the Acts of the Apostles (4:5). Apparently there was dissatisfaction among the early Christians in how the gathered alms were being distributed among the needy, especially the widows. Some of the Christians were Hebraic Jews and others were Hellenic Jews. The Hellenic Jews complained that they were being discriminated against and not receiving a fair share of the alms. The Apostles were too overwhelmed with the sacred tasks of preaching, offering Holy Mass, forgiving confessed sins, administering the Sacraments and performing miracles, to be able to adequately attend to this matter directly. Thus, to respond to this problem, the Apostles – under divine inspiration – decided to ordain seven holy, just and eminently virtuous men as deacons. The Apostles gave these specially selected men the task of taking care of the temporal relief of the poorer members of the community. St. Stephen headed this list of deacons and is the best known. St. Philip is the second, and we learn about him in Acts 8, for example his famous baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch (St. Philip the Deacon is not to be confused with St. Philip the Apostle.) One other deacon of note is “Nicolas, a proselyte of Antioch.” Scholars speculate that he was the “Judas” among the group, for he is listed last as Judas is always listed last in the scriptural lists of the Twelve, and we know of an early group of heretics called the Nicolatians.
The Hebraic Christian Jews were natives of Judea and the surrounding areas, their mother tongue was most likely Aramaic, and they were culturally Jewish through and through. Joseph, Mary, Our Lord, and the Twelve Apostles were all Hebraic Jews. Yet following the destruction of Jerusalem (586 BC) and the exile and dispersion of the Jews, many Jewish communities were founded all over the known civilized world. Ever since the time of Alexander the Great, the Hellenic culture dominated the Mediterranean basin, and many Jews adopted Hellenic ways. Their native tongue would have been Greek and culturally they would have been assimilated into Greek lifestyles, though their race, heritage and religion were Jewish. (Perhaps in our day, we can see a parallel in noting the difference between Mexicans who were born and raised in Mexico and the children or grandchildren of Mexican immigrants who have largely been assimilated into the US culture. There are significant and noticeable differences between Mexicans from Mexico and Mexican-Americans, even though they all may hold the Catholic Faith.)
ORDINATION
St. Stephen’s life prior to his ordination remains almost entirely in the dark. Some sources state he was a pupil of Gamaliel, perhaps the greatest Jewish teacher of the time. Gamaliel also instructed St. Paul (cf. Acts 22:3) and we can read of his “defense” of the Apostolic preaching in Acts 5. This speculation is given because of St. Stephen’s able defense before the Sanhedrin and other Jews. We also do not know when and in what circumstances St. Stephen became a Christian. However, it is very likely that he knew our Lord. St. Peter clearly used knowing our Lord as a criteria for selecting Matthias (the apostolic successor to Judas); that is, one who had been with them since the beginning and was a witness of the Baptism and Resurrection of Jesus (cf. Acts 1:21-22). Thus, it is very likely that the criteria for the deacons was at least similar if not as rigorous. St. Epiphanius numbers Stephen among the seventy disciples and this makes perfect sense. His ministry as deacon was mostly among the Hellenistic converts with whom the Apostles were at first less familiar.
St. Stephen was pre-eminently fitted for this apologetic work, and St. Luke’s emphasis on this gives us our best insight into his particular abilities and character. The Apostles had, by selecting him for a deacon, publicly acknowledged him as a man “of good reputation, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom” (6:3). He was “a man full of faith, and of the Holy Ghost” (6:5), “full of grace and fortitude” (6:8). His uncommon oratorical powers and unimpeachable logic were such that none could resist them, especially since to his arguments, which were filled with Scriptural authority, God added the weight of miracles, “great wonders and signs” (6:8). Yet as great as was the power of “the wisdom and the spirit that spoke” (6:10) in St. Stephen, still it was insufficient to illuminate unwilling minds and soften hardened hearts. Those who freely rejected the grace offered to them by God were to become the fatal enemies of St. Stephen and the first Christians.
DEFENSE OF THE FAITH
However, St. Stephen quickly encountered opposition from non-Christian Hellenistic Jews. Acts lists among these adversaries the “Libertines” (probably the children of Jews taken captive to Rome by Pompey in 63 B. C. and freed hence the name Libertini), the Cyrenians, the Alexandrians, and some that were from Cilicia and Asia. Interestingly, these are all places that would become strongholds of Christianity in decades to come.
The conflict broke out when leaders of the synagogues “of the Libertines, and of the Cyreneans, and of the Alexandrians, and of them that were of Cilicia and Asia” challenged Stephen to a public debate, and were soundly defeated and openly embarrassed (6:9-10). Their pride was so wounded that it inflamed a vile hatred and they even resorted to summoning false witnesses to testify that “they had heard him speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God” (6:11).
No charge could be more apt to rouse the mob; the anger of the leaders and scribes had been already kindled from the first reports of the preaching of the Apostles. Stephen was arrested, not without some violence it seems, and dragged before the Sanhedrin, where he was accused of saying that “Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place [the temple], and shall change the traditions which Moses delivered unto us” (6:12-14). No doubt Stephen had by his language given some grounds for such an accusation; yet his accusers clearly twisted his words into an offensive utterance. For example, St. Stephen would have probably spoken regarding “the most High dwelleth not in houses made by hands” (7:48), that Jesus foretold the destruction of the Temple, that some traditions were working against the true spirit of the Law, that they had crucified the Messiah, and even that most wondrous truth so often repeated by the Apostles themselves that there is no salvation in any other than Christ (cf. 4:12). However the Sanhedrin may have concocted up the accusations against him, St. Stephen remained unperturbed and “all that sat in the council…saw his face as if it had been the face of an angel” (6:15).
Stephen’s answer (Acts 7) was a long recital of the mercies of God towards Israel during its long history and of the ungratefulness by which Israel repaid these mercies. Like the Epistle to the Hebrews, it is a marvelous example of how the early Christians understood and interpreted all of the Old Testament in the light of Christ. However, his discourse contained many things unpleasant to Jewish ears. The concluding indictment by St. Stephen towards the Jews of having betrayed and murdered the Just One whose coming the Prophets had foretold provoked the rage of an audience made up not of judges, but of foes. When Stephen “looking up steadfastly to heaven, saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God”, and said: “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God” (7:55), they ran violently upon him (7:56) and cast him out of the city to stone him to death.
MARTYRDOM
Stephen’s stoning does not appear in the narrative of the Acts as a deed of mob violence. Rather it was calculated and 'by the book' just as the execution of Christ the King. It was surely looked upon by those who took part in it as the proper carrying out of the Mosaic law. According to law (Leviticus 24:14), or at least its usual interpretation, Stephen had to be taken out of the city and then stoned or placed on an elevation from whence with his hands bound he could be thrown down. It was most likely while these preparations were going on that, “falling on his knees, he cried with a loud voice, saying: “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge” (7:59). Meanwhile the witnesses, whose hands must be first on the person condemned by their testimony (Deuteronomy 17:7), were laying down their garments at the feet of Saul, that they might be more ready for their murderous task (7:57). Saul (later to become the great Apostle Paul) was known to be a rigorous Pharisee obeying every jot and tittle of the law. It is unlikely he would have stood by had this murder been an act of mob violence as it is often portrayed.
The praying martyr was thrown down; and while the witnesses were thrusting upon him “a stone as much as two men could carry”, he was heard to utter this supreme prayer: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (7:58). Little did all those casting stones upon him realize that the blood they shed was the first seed of a harvest that was to cover the world. Little did they know that this blood would serve to win the graces for Saul to be converted and become the greatest missionary who ever lived. Thus St. Stephen is called the First Martyr (or Proto-Martyr).
EPILOGUE
The bodies of men stoned to death were to be buried in a place appointed by the Sanhedrin. Whether in this instance the Sanhedrin insisted on its right cannot be affirmed. At any rate, devout Christian men took order for St. Stephen’s funeral and made great mourning over him. For centuries the location of St. Stephen’s tomb was unknown, until a certain priest named Lucian learned by revelation that the sacred body was in Caphar Gamala, some distance to the north of Jerusalem (~415 AD). The relics were then exhumed and carried first to the church of Mount Sion, and then in 460, to the basilica erected by Eudocia outside the Damascus Gate, on the spot where, according to tradition, the stoning had taken place. The site of the Eudocian basilica was identified some twenty years ago, and a new edifice has been erected on the old foundations by the Dominican Fathers.
REFLECTION
As we read through St. Luke’s account of St. Stephen’s martyrdom, the Evangelist leads us to reflect upon how St. Stephen's passion mirrored that of Our Lord. His miracles and preaching were so great they proved it came from God and confounded all opposition. The fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies is clearly demonstrated. Envious enemies try to defeat him in debate and when unable to do so resort to lies and then violence (demonic tactics). They drag him before the Sanhedrin for a mock trial. Then in a burst of false anger against the truth (when very similar statements alluding to the Second Coming are made by both Jesus and Stephen), they dragged Stephen away. They expelled him from the city of Jerusalem, where they then proceed to execute him. Before dying, he asks the Father to forgive his enemies and entrusts his spirit to the Father. His death then precipitates a greater persecution of Christians, which only serves to make the Church grow in faith, in strength, and in size. St. Luke teaches us the truth that the “spirit of Christ” (the Holy Ghost) will dwell within the true disciples of Christ – they will preach with His power, work great miracles, and suffer persecution, ultimately receiving the same fate as their Master.
THE FAITH GROWS
Following the death of St. Stephen, a great persecution arose against the Christians in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1). The Christian leaders were thus dispersed to the countries of Judea, Samaria and beyond. The Apostles however remained in Jerusalem for now that they were filled with the Holy Ghost, they would not abandon Christ as they had after the Agony in the Garden. It is on account of this persecution and subsequent dispersion that the Gospel begins to be preached throughout Judea, Samaria and to all the ends of the world. In these events we see the faithful fulfillment of our Lord’s command at the time of His Ascension: “But you shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
PRAY FOR US...
How interesting to note that this divine commandment only begins to be fulfilled under the shadow of the Cross (persecution!). May we always remember, with great faith and hope, that God permits all the evil which occurs in this world, and that He is so omnipotent and all-good that He brings forth even greater good therefrom. What a Christmas lesson for us to learn from St. Stephen! Thank you, great deacon and proto-martyr! May thou intercede for us before the throne of Almighty God, that great good may come from all that we suffer for the sake of Christ.