Saint Stephen's Day is celebrated on the third day after Christmas - December 27.
From the time of the Apostle Paul, everyone calls St. Stephen first martyr (first martyr) because he was one of the first victims of the Christian faith. Saint Stephen was the first Christian martyr and the first official (archdeacon) in the emerging Jerusalem municipality - church. It was attended by people from all walks of life, with the rich providing their properties to support the municipality, and St. Stefan indicated the activity and vocation of its individual members. It can be said that this was the first real Christian community, which was so convincingly and justly built that the Jews envied, slandered St. Stefan and stoned him. Legend has it that the Mother of God watched his martyrdom and prayed for him.
After the Ascension of Jesus Christ and after the descent of St. Spirit over the apostles, the word of the Lord quickly spread, and the number of believers grew every day. The Jewish leaders and members of the Sanhedrin saw the success of the new teaching with bitterness and anger. Having delivered Jesus Christ to an ignominious death on the cross, they hoped that his word would perish with him. But now they saw that the humble fishermen fearlessly and loudly preached the name of the risen Christ.
In Jerusalem, the number of believers increased more and more. Even many of the Jewish priests turned to Christ. This greatly disturbed the members of the Sanhedrin. They entered into an argument with Stephen, but could not resist the spiritual power and wisdom with which his words were filled - all the more so because Stephen also performed miracles. Then they resorted to another means: they stirred up the people, the elders and the scribes against him, accusing him before the Sanhedrin of supposedly blaspheming God and the Mosaic law. False witnesses were found who confirmed their words. Stephen was called to the Sanhedrin.
Instead of defending himself, he began to accuse his accusers of being the ones who constantly broke the law, even though they boasted about its implementation. He recalled all the benefits of the Lord to the Jewish people: how he saved them from the heavy Egyptian slavery, wonderfully protected them in the desert, gave them a law, built for them the tabernacle, and then the temple, sent them prophets and preachers who announced to them about Christ; how this chosen people violated God's law, killed the prophets sent by him and finally fulfilled the measure of their crimes by crucifying Christ. "Obstinate and uncircumcised in heart and ears - shouted Stephen, - you always oppose the Holy Spirit, just like your fathers, so do you! They killed those who announced the coming of the Righteous One, Whose traitors and murderers you became!" These words excited the fury of the listeners: they gnashed their teeth and their hearts were torn with malice.
And Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, immediately interrupted his speech, looked at the sky at the divine vision revealed before his eyes and joyfully cried: "Behold, I see the heavens open and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God!" Then they all fell upon him with one accord, and having dragged him out of the city into Joseph's valley, by the Cedar stream, they began to throw stones at him. And he prayed and said: "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice: "Lord, do not impute this sin to them!" – and with these words he died. Of all of them, a young man named Saul, a cruel persecutor of the Church of Christ, was the most bitter - the same one who later, enlightened by the Spirit of God, became the most steadfast and zealous preacher of the true faith and the glorious apostle Paul.
In 415, the relics of the first martyr Stephen were discovered through a miraculous vision that a priest had. They were placed in the Temple of Zion in Jerusalem.
Everyone with the names Stefan and Stefka and their derivatives celebrate on this day: Stefi, Stefko, Stefanka, Stefania, Fanny, Teki, Vencho, Ventsislav, Ventsislava, Stamen, Stan, Stamena, Stancho, Stanimira, Stanislava, Stane, Tsako, Tsanko, Tsano, Tsancho, Tsanka, Stoyu, Stoyan, Stoyana, Stoichko, Sean, Shona. /BGNES
