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Stephen (1st century CE) was a leader of the nascent Christian movement, the head of the Seven Deacons and the first recorded martyr of the Church.

< Events : Birth of Stephen -- Choice of the Seven -- Preaching of Stephen -- Martyrdom of Stephen -- Burial of Stephen -- Relics of Stephen >

< Acts of Apostles -- Paul of Tarsus -- Seven Deacons >

< Fiction : Stephen (art) -- Stephen (cinema) -- Stephen (literature) -- Stephen (music) >

Overview

Stephen was an Hellenistic Jew who joined the early Jesus movement after the death of Jesus.

Stephen is mentioned solely in Christian sources, namely, in the Acts of Apostles. He is introduced as the leader of the Seven Deacons chosen by the Twelve Apostles to serve the Christian "Hellenists" (Hellenistic Jewish members of the Jesus movement) who felt "their widows had been neglected in the daily distribution of food." Nothing is said about the biography of Stephen, except that he was "a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit". See Choice of the Seven.

Stephen was then accused by some other Hellenistic Jews of "speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God" (6:11). They brought him before the Sanhedrin. Before the high priest, Stephen replied to his accusers with a long speech. He enraged them by reproaching them for the death of Jesus. When Stephen claimed to see "the glory of God and Jesus," and called Jesus "the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God... they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him. [58] Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him." Stephen was buried by "devout people" (8:2). Acts claims that a violent persecution followed against the Christian Hellenists (while the Twelve and the Hebrews were not affected) (8:1-3).

Acts claims that Paul of Tarsus was present at the stoning of Stephen and approved it, and was involved in the persecution of the Christian Hellenists that followed the death of Stephen.

Undoubtedly Stephen played an important role in the development of the nascent Christian movement, although the paucity of evidence makes an historical reconstruction of this figure extremely difficult.

Stephen in later Christian tradition

Epiphanius (Haer. xx, 4) numbers Stephen among the seventy disciples.

In 415 CE a certain priest named Lucian claimed to have learned by revelation that the remains of Stephen were in Caphar Gamala, some distance to the north of Jerusalem. The relics were then exhumed and carried first to the church of Mount Sion, then, in 460, to the chapel erected by Eudocia outside the Damascus Gate, on the spot where, according to tradition, the stoning had taken place. The chapel was destroyed during the Persian invasion in 615 and rebuilt in 638, then enlarged by the Crusaders to be eventually destroyed when Saladin conquered Jerusalem in 1187. In 1900 a new edifice was erected by the Dominican Fathers on the old foundations on the Eudocian and Crusader basilica.

In the 13th century, Jacobus de Voragine's Legenda Aurea offered a detailed legendary narrative of the life and martyrdom of Stephen, supplementing the scarce data from the Acts of Apostles.

Stephen, in ancient sources

• Stephen (sources)

Stephen, in the literature & the arts

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  St. Stephen (1325 Giotto), art

• Stephen Crivelli.jpg

  St. Stephen (1??? Crivelli), art

• Stephen Ghirlandaio.jpg

  St. Stephen (1494 Ghirlandaio), art

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  St Stephen (1507 Zenale), art

The Stoning of Stephen was the most popular scene in Christian iconography, depicted by artists such us Lorenzo Lotto, Rembrandt, Peter Paul Rubens, and many others. Other scenes, taken from the Legenda Aurea, such as the Birth of Stephen, the Consecration of Stephen, the Preaching of Stephen and the Burial of Stephen, are more seldom attested. Filippo Lippi and Vittore Carpaccio offer the most conspicuous examples of visual narratives of the life of Stephen.

At the end of the 19th century, Stephen: A Soldier of the Cross (1896 Kingsley), novel offers the first example of modern fictional biography of Stephen and signals a shift of interest from the martyrdom to his life.

• See Stephen (arts)

Stephen in scholarship

• Stephen (research)

Places, Churches & Monuments dedicated to the memory of the Protomartyr Stephen

• NOTE: Many Churches of St. Stephen are not dedicated to Stephen the Protomartyr but to either Pope Stephen I (3rd cent) or King Saint Stephen I of Hungary (10th cent.).

Holy Land (Israel/Palestina)

• The Lions' Gate, one of the gates of the Old City of Jerusalem, is known by Christians as the St. Stephen's Gate because it is believed that the first Christian martyr Stephen was stoned to death outside the wall here. Other traditions locates the site just outside the Damascus Gate.

• St. Stephen's Basilica (Jerusalem, Israel) -- The actual church was built in 1900 on the traditional site of Stephen's martyrdom.

• St. Stephen's Church (Beit Jimal, Israel) -- The Church of St. Stephen is located at Beit Jimal, a Catholic monastery built in 1930 by Salesian monks near Beit Shemesh, Israel. The Christian tradition identifies the site with the Roman- and Byzantine-era Jewish village of Caphargamala (כפר גמלא‎), and believes that a cave there is the tomb of St. Stephen or to have conserved his relics. Inside the church, there are frescoes with stories of the Life of St. Stephen. Just outside the church stands a sculpture commemorating the martyrdom of St. Stephen contributed in 2000 by renowned Israeli artist Yigal Tomarkin.

Russia

• Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius (Sergiyev Posad, Russia) -- According to Christian traditions, the remains of St. Stephen were transported to Constantinople during the reign of Emperor Theodosius the Younger (408-450). The Orthodox Church celebrates the Translation of the Relics of Protomartyr Stephen on August 2. Today, it is claimed that the whole right arm of St. Stephen is preserved at the Russian monastery.

Albania

• St. Stephen's Cathedral, Shkodër, Albania -- Built in 1858-67, the Roman Catholic church is the cathedral of the city of Shkodër (Scutari) in northwestern Albania and one of the city's most important religious buildings.

Australia

• Cathedral of St Stephen, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia -- Construction of the gothic revival building started in 1863. The church serves as cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane and seat of its archbishop in Brisbane,

Austria

• St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna, Austria -- The mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna and the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna is the most important religious building in Vienna and one of the city's most recognizable symbols.

Francia

• Cathédrale Saint-Étienne Bourges, France -- Construction of the Gothic Cathedral began in 1195 and was completed in 1230. The church is the seat of the Archbishop of Bourges and one of most important religious monuments of France.

Italy

• Santo Stefano, Assisi, Italy

• Cathedral of Saint Stephen, Biella, Italy

• Basilica of Santo Stefano, Bologna, Italy

• Santo Stefano, Capri, Italy

• Santo Stefano, Genoa, Italy

• Santo Stefano al Ponte, Florence, Italy

• Santo Stefano Maggiore, Milan, Italy

• Santo Stefano Maggiore, Milan, Italy

• Cathedral of Saint Stephen, Prato, Italy

• Santo Stefano Rotondo, Rome, Italy

• Santo Stefano degli Abissini, Vatican, Rome, Italy

• Santo Stefano, Venice, Italy

United States

• St. Stephen's Episcopal Cathedral, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania -- Construction of the neo-Romanesque building started in 1826. St. Stephen's became the diocesan cathedral on January 27, 1932.

• St. Stephen's Episcopal Pro-Cathedral, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania -- Construction of the neo-Romanesque building was completed in 1897-99. St. Stephen's is the Pro-Cathedral in the Diocese of Bethlehem.

Related categories

• Paul of Tarsus

External links

• Wikipedia