26th December - St Stephen is comemorated

St Stephen, one of the first deacons of the Christian Church, was the first Christian martyr.

He is believed to have been a Greek Jew who converted to Christianity. As the number of disciples increased, there was confusion over the distribution of alms and the serving of the poor, especially those originally of Greek descent and who believed they were being discriminated against. Stephen was chosen as one of the seven deacons to distribute the alms.

He was an excellent and well trusted orator. His preaching style was very effective causing many Jews in the synagogues to become concerned of his success in converting people to Christianity. Thus the Jews accused him of blasphemy and he was made to stand trial.

At the supreme Jewish law court, the Sanhedrin, Stephen recounted the many mercies that God had given the children of Israel, and the ungrateful way in which they had repaid Him. He made a speech in his defence which takes up most of Acts chapter 7, in which he accused them of murdering Jesus, whose coming, he said, had been foretold by Moses. This angered the crowd and he was dragged out onto the streets where he was stoned to death, an event witnessed by Saul, later of course known as St Paul. It is believed he died around the year 34CE.

He is believed to have been initially buried in a grave north of Jerusalem, but his body was exhumed and moved to a new grave outside the Damascus Gate where the stoning was believed to have taken place.

Stephen is the patron saint of deacons, headaches, horses, coffin makers, and masons. He is often represented carrying a pile of rocks or with rocks on his head.