Saint Stephen – First Christian Martyr
Saint Stephen by Carlo Crivelli – 1476 – National Gallery – London
Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr, is celebrated on the 26th of December in the Catholic Church and the 27th of December in the Greek Orthodox Church.
Saint Stephen, born in AD 5, was stoned to death in AD 34 at the young age of twenty nine, in Jerusalem, Judaea, then part of the Roman Empire.
Stephen (the name in Greek means wreath or crown) who is said to have had great faith and performed miracles, was first mentioned in Acts, the fifth book of the New Testament.
He is thought to have been born an Hellenistic Jew and one of the seven deacons appointed by the Apostles to hand out food and help the poor and needy.
According to the book of Acts, the Synagogue of the Libertines or Synagogue of the Freedmen, a group of Hellenistic Jews, challenged the works, teachings and “miracles” of Saint Stephen accusing him of blasphemy against God and Moses.
Stephen was ordered to appear before the Sanhedrin, a council of elders (rabbis) selected to sit as a tribunal in every city in the ancient Land of Israel.
The Sanhedrin, from an 1883 encyclopedia.
Speech to the Sanhedrin
In a long and heated speech before the Sanhedrin, Stephen aired his views on the history of Israel, the Israelite’s defiance against God and their worship of other gods.
His speech resulted in the Sanhedrin accusing Stephen of declaring that Jesus would destroy the Temple in Jerusalem and that he had distorted the customs of Moses.
Stephen retaliated by calling his accusers close minded men, whose ancestors resisted the Holy Spirit and killed prophets who foresaw the coming of Jesus, whom they had now betrayed and killed.
The Stoning of Stephen
After hearing Stephen’s so-called blasphemous rant, the crowd went wild and as Stephen raised his eyes towards heaven and cried out ‘Look! I see heaven open and the recently executed Son of Man standing on the right hand of God!’, the first stone was cast.
Stoning of Saint Stephen by Paolo Uccello – circa 1435 – Cathedral of Saint Stephen – Prato – Tuscany – Italy
As stones rained down on him, with his last dying breath, Stephen prayed to God,asking Him to receive his spirit and to forgive his murderers.
One man amongst the crowd who agreed with the stoning to death of Stephen was Saul of Tarsus, (later known as the Apostle Paul).
The precise location of Stephen’s stoning is not mentioned in Acts but there are two suggestions claimed by noted French archaeologists, Louis-Hugues Vincent (1872–1960) and Félix-Marie Abel (1878–1953).
One places the event at Jerusalem’s northern gate, while another one locates it at the eastern gate.
Tomb of Saint Stephen
Reputed site of the stoning of Stephen, Greek Orthodox Church of St Stephen, Kidron Valley, Jerusalem – East of the Damascus Gate
In 415 AD, a priest named Lucian, said he saw in a dream that Stephen’s remains were to be found at Beit Jimal, a Catholic monastery near Beit Shemesh, Israel.
Beit Jimal Catholic monastery – Near Beit Shemesh – Israel
These remains were reportedly recovered on 26 December 415 AD (making it the date for the feast of Saint Stephen) and were removed, at the orders of John, Bishop of Jerusalem and taken to the Church of Hagia Sion on Mount Zion; the site of today’s Abbey of the Dormition.
After excavations carried out by Andrzej Strus it is accepted that in Byzantine times this was considered to be the burial site of St Stephen.
Dormition Abbey behind Greek Hagias Zion Convent – Mount Zion – Jerusalem
In 439 the relics were transported to a new church north of the Damascus Gate built by Empress Aelia Eudocia in honour of Saint Stephen, this church was destroyed in the 12th century and a 20th-century French Catholic church, Saint-Étienne, was built in its place.
Saint-Étienne – A 20th-century French Catholic church – Jerusalem – North of the Damascus Gate
The Greek Orthodox Church of St Stephen was built East of the Damascus Gate.
It is said that this is the site of Stephen’s martyrdom and not the location North of the Damascus Gate.
Greek Orthodox Church of St Stephen – Kidron Valley – Israel – East of the Damascus Gate
Saint Stephen’s Gate
The Crusaders originally named the main northern gate of Jerusalem “Saint Stephen’s Gate”.
However, when Christian pilgrims were prohibited from drawing close to the northern city wall, the name “Saint Stephen’s Gate”, also known as “The Lion’s Gate”, was given to the accessible eastern gate, which bears this name until this day.
Saint Stephen’s Gate (The Lions Gate) – Jerusalem
