St Stephen's Day

St Stephen's Day

St Stephen's Day

St Stephen was the first Christian to be tried and executed for his beliefs after Jesus; the son of God was crucified. He was a deacon appointed by St Peter and the other disciples (including Matthias who replaced Judas). He was one of seven chosen to look after the needs of the church and overlook the fair allocation of alms to the needy. His eloquence of speech aided by the gifts of the Holy Spirit was unmatched and he was challenged repeatedly by the Old Church which consisted of stalwart theologians who wanted to retain their positions of authority and power. Not being able to best Stephen, they roused the people into a frenzied hatred by making false accusations that Stephen had spoken against the Law, Moses and above all God.

He was brought before the Sanhedrin to be tried and in his testimony he quoted [Acts: 7:2 7:50] recalling the obedience of Joseph and Moses, their efforts, and the consequential action of the people they served. That through jealousy and treachery Joseph was sold into slavery by his own kin, and Moses and God were betrayed with the construction of a Golden Calf that served other deities (Acts 7:39 7:43). Stephen then went on to draw that parallel with those that stood before him [Acts: 7:51 7:53] accusing them of having the same traits as those ancestors. Incensed they set upon him, took him out of the city and stoned him to death. The bible also quotes Stephen of having the face of an angel and seeing the heavens open before him revealing God and Jesus seated on the right hand side of his Father. Whilst Stephen was being stoned he begged God to show mercy to those who sought and brought upon his death.

Today this martyrdom of St Stephen is recognised by patronage of casket makers, stonemasons, headaches, horses and deacons. In Western Europe they commemorate this event on the 26th of December and in Eastern Europe the day after on the 27th. Many artists including Rembrandt's The Stoning of Saint Stephen have tried to depict that fateful day. There are also noticeably a couple of songs that mention St Stephen, Good King Wenceslas and The Wrenthe king of all birds.

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