Jump to content

Saint Stephen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected fromSt. Stephen)
This article is about Deacon Stephen, the first martyred saint. For the first king of Hungary, seeSaint Stephen of Hungary.For other uses, seeSt. Stephen (disambiguation).

Saint

Stephen
Saint StephenbyCarlo Crivelli
Deacon,Archdeacon
Apostle of the Seventy
Protomartyrof the Faith
First Martyr
Bornc. AD 5
Died33–36 (aged 28–32)
Jerusalem,Judaea,Roman Empire
Venerated inRomanCatholic Church
Eastern Catholic Churches
Orthodox Church
Oriental Orthodox Churches
Assyrian Church of the East
Anglican Communion
Lutheranism
CanonizedPre-Congregation
Feast25 December (Armenian Apostolic Church)
26 December (Western)
27 December, 4 January, 2 August, 15 September (Eastern)
Tobi 1 (Coptic Christianity)
AttributesRed Martyr,stones,dalmatic,censer,miniature church,Gospel Book,martyr's palm.InOrthodox and Eastern Christianityhe often wears anorarion
PatronageAltar servers[1];AcomaNative AmericanPueblo;Bricklayers;casketmakers;Cetona, Italy;deacons;headaches;horses;Kessel, Belgium;masons;Owensboro, Kentucky;Passau, Germany;Kigali,Rwanda;Dodoma,Tanzania;Serbia;Ligao;Republic of Srpska;Prato, Italy[1]

Stephen(Greek:Στέφανος,translit.Stéphanos,lit."wreath, crown", and by extension 'reward, honor, renown, fame', often given as a title rather than as a name; c. AD 5 – c. 34) is traditionally venerated as theprotomartyror first martyr ofChristianity.[2]According to theActs of the Apostles,he was adeaconin the early church atJerusalemwho angered members of varioussynagoguesby his teachings. Accused ofblasphemyat his trial, he made a speech denouncing the Jewish authorities who were sitting in judgment on him[3]and was thenstoned to death.Saul of Tarsus, later known asPaul the Apostle,aPhariseeandRoman citizenwho would later become anapostle,participated in Stephen'smartyrdom.[4]

The only source for information about Stephen is theNew Testamentbook of the Acts of the Apostles.[5]Stephen is mentioned inActs 6as one of the Greek-speakingHellenistic Jewsselected to administer the daily charitable distribution of food to the Greek-speaking widows.[6]

TheCatholic,Anglican,Oriental Orthodox,Eastern Orthodox,andLutheranchurches and theChurch of the Eastview Stephen as asaint.[7]Artistic representations often show Stephen with a crown symbolisingmartyrdom,three stones,martyr's palm frond,censer,and often holding a miniature church building. Stephen is often shown as a young, beardless man with atonsure,wearing a deacon'svestments.

Background

[edit]

Stephen is first mentioned in theActs of the Apostlesas one of theSeven Deacons,who were appointed by the Apostles to distribute food and charitable aid to poorer members of the community in the early church. According to Orthodox belief, he was the eldest and is therefore called "archdeacon".[8]As another deacon, Nicholas of Antioch, is specifically stated to have been aconvert to Judaism,it may be assumed that Stephen was born Jewish, but nothing more is known about his previous life.[5]The reason for the appointment of the deacons is stated to have been dissatisfaction among Hellenistic Jews that their widows were being slighted in preference to Hebrew ones in the daily distribution of food. Since the name Stephanos isKoine Greek,it has been assumed that he was one of these Hellenistic Jews. Stephen is stated to have been full of faith and theHoly Spiritand to have performed miracles among the people.[9]

Stoning of Saint Stephen,altarpiece of San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, by Jacopo & DomenicoTintoretto

It seems to have been among synagogues of Hellenistic Jews that he performed his teachings and "signs and wonders" since it is said that he aroused the opposition of theSynagogue of the Libertines,and "of theCyrenians,and of theAlexandrians,and of them that were ofCiliciaand Asia ".[10]Members of these synagogues had challenged Stephen's teachings, but Stephen had bested them in debate. Furious at this humiliation, they suborned false testimony that Stephen had preached blasphemy againstMosesand God. They dragged him to appear before theSanhedrin,the supreme legal court of Jewish elders, accusing him of preaching against theSecond Templeand theTorah.[11]Stephen is said to have been unperturbed, his face looking like "that of an angel".[5]

Speech to Sanhedrin

[edit]

In a long speech to the Sanhedrin comprising almost the whole ofActs 7,Stephen presents his view of the history of theIsraelites.The God of glory, he says, appeared toAbrahaminMesopotamia,thus establishing at the beginning of the speech one of its major themes, that God does not dwell only in one particular building (meaning the Temple).[12]Stephen recounts the stories of thepatriarchsin some depth and goes into even more detail in the case of Moses. God appeared to Moses in the burning bush,[13]and inspired Moses to lead his people out of Egypt. Nevertheless, the Israelites turned to other gods.[14]This establishes the second main theme of Stephen's speech, Israel's disobedience to God.[12]Stephen faced two accusations: that he had declared that Jesus would destroy the Temple in Jerusalem and that he had changed the customs of Moses.Pope Benedict XVIstated in 2012 that Stephen appealed to the Jewish scriptures to prove how the laws of Moses were not subverted by Jesus but were instead being fulfilled.[15]Stephen denounces his listeners[12]as "stiff-necked" people who, just as their ancestors had done, resist the Holy Spirit. "Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which showed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: who have received the law by the disposition of the angels, and have not kept it."[16]

The stoning of Stephen

[edit]
Stoning of Saint StephenbyGiovanni Battista Lucini

Thus castigated, the account is that the crowd could contain their anger no longer.[17]However, Stephen looked up and cried, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and theSon of Manstanding on the right hand of God. "He said that the recently resurrected Jesus was standing by the side of God.[18][19]The people from the crowd, who threw the first stones,[20][18]laid their coats down so as to be able to do this, at the feet of a young man named Saul (later identified asPaul the Apostle). Stephen prayed that the Lord would receive his spirit and his killers be forgiven, sank to his knees, and "fell asleep".[21]Saul "was consenting unto his death."[22]In the aftermath of Stephen's death, the remaining disciples except for the apostles fled to distant lands, many toAntioch.[23][24]

Location of the martyrdom

[edit]

The exact site of Stephen's stoning is not mentioned in Acts; instead there are two different traditions. One, claimed by noted French archaeologistsLouis-Hugues Vincent(1872–1960) andFélix-Marie Abel(1878–1953) to beancient,places the event at Jerusalem's northern gate, while another one, dated by Vincent and Abel to theMiddle Agesand no earlier than the 12th century, locates it at the eastern gate.[25]

Views of Stephen's speech

[edit]
Saint StephenbyLuis de Morales

Of the numerous speeches in Acts of the Apostles, Stephen's speech to the Sanhedrin is the longest.[26]To the objection that it seems unlikely that such a long speech could be reproduced in the text of Acts exactly as it was delivered, some Biblical scholars have replied that Stephen's speech shows a distinctive personality behind it.[12]

There are at least five places where Stephen's re-telling of the stories of Israelite history diverges from the scriptures where these stories originated; for example, Stephen says that Jacob's tomb was inShechem,[27]but Genesis 50:13[28]says Jacob's body was carried and buried in a cave in Machpelah atHebron.[29][12]Some theologians argue that these may not be discrepancies, but rather a condensing of historical events for people who were already familiar with them.[30]That Jacob's body was carried to a final resting place in Shechem is not recorded in Genesis, though it does not exclude the possibility that his bones were transferred to Shechem for a final burial place, as was done with the bones of Jacob's son Joseph, as described inJoshua 24:32Other scholars consider these and other discrepancies as errors. Still others interpret them as deliberate choices making theological points.[26]Another possibility is that the discrepancies come from an ancient Jewish tradition which was not included in the scriptures or may have been popular among people of Jerusalem who were not scribes.[31]

Numerous parallels between the accounts of Stephen in Acts and theJesusof theGospels– they both perform miracles, they are both tried by the Sanhedrin, they both pray for forgiveness for their killers, for instance – have led to suspicions that the author of Acts has emphasised – in order to show the recipient that people become holy when they follow the example of Christ – or invented some (or all) of these.[18]

The criticism of traditional Jewish belief and practice in Stephen's speech is very strong – when he says God does not live in a dwelling "made by human hands", referring to the Temple, he is using an expression often employed by Biblical texts to describe idols.[12]

Some people have laid the charge of anti-Judaism against the speech, for instance the priest and scholar of comparative religionS. G. F. Brandon,who states: "The anti-Jewish polemic of this speech reflects the attitude of the author of Acts."[32]

Commentary

[edit]

Friedrich Justus Knechtlists the similarities of the martyrdom of Stephen to Jesus' death on the cross:

1. Our Blessed Lord was sentenced to death on the charge of blasphemy, because He had affirmed on oath: "I am the Son of the living God, and hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of God". In the same manner Stephen was stoned on the assumption that he was a blasphemer, and because he professed his belief in the Divinity of Jesus, and said: "I see heaven open, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God". 2. Both our Blessed Lord and St. Stephen were treated as outcasts, and put to death outside the city. 3. Both, when dying, prayed for their enemies: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do". – "Lay not this sin to their charge". 4. Both, before dying, commended their souls to God: "Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit". – "Lord Jesus, receive my soul!”[33]

Tomb and relics of Stephen

[edit]
Reputed site of the stoning of Stephen, Greek Orthodox Church of St Stephen,Kidron Valley,Jerusalem

Acts 8:2[34]says "devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him," but the location where he was buried is not specified.

In 415, a priest named Lucian purportedly had a dream that revealed the location of Stephen's remains atBeit Jimal.After that, therelicsof the protomartyr were taken in procession to theChurch of Hagia Sionon 26 December 415, making it the date for the feast of Saint Stephen. The recovery of the relics were described in a letter written byAvitus of Braga,[35]who was involved in a plot to bring some of those relics toBragavia the historian and theologianPaulus Orosius.[36]In 439, the relics were translated to a new church north of the Damascus Gate built by the empressAelia Eudociain honor of Saint Stephen. This church was destroyed in the 12th century. A 20th-century French Catholic church, Saint-Étienne, was built in its place, while another, the Greek Orthodox Church of St Stephen, was built outside the eastern gate of the city,[37]which a second tradition holds to be the site of his martyrdom, rather than the northern location outside Damascus Gate (for the two traditions seehere).

TheCrusadersinitially called the main northern gate of Jerusalem "Saint Stephen's Gate" (in Latin,Porta Sancti Stephani), highlighting its proximity to the site of martyrdom of Saint Stephen, marked by the church and monastery built by Empress Eudocia.[38]A different tradition is documented from the end of the Crusader period, after the disappearance of the Byzantine church: as Christian pilgrims were prohibited from approaching the militarily exposed northern city wall, the name "Saint Stephen's Gate" was transferred to the still accessible eastern gate, which bears this name until this day.[39]

The relics of the protomartyr were later translated to Rome byPope Pelagius IIduring the construction of thebasilicaofSan Lorenzo fuori le Mura.They were interred alongside the relics ofSaint Lawrence,whose tomb is enshrined within the church. According to theGolden Legend,the relics of Lawrence moved miraculously to one side to make room for those of Stephen.[40]

TheImperial Regaliaof theHoly Roman Empireincludes a relic known asSt. Stephen's Pursewhich is an elaborate gold and jewel-encrusted box believed to contain soil soaked with the blood of St. Stephen. The reliquary is likely a 9th-century creation.

In his bookThe City of God,Augustine of Hippodescribes the many miracles that occurred when part of the relics of Saint Stephen were brought to Africa.[41]

The relics of the protomartyr were also in India Kerala brought from Congregation Mount Athos, Greece to St. Stephens Orthodox Cathedral Pilgrim Center, Kudassanad, Kerala, India

Saint Stephen's Day

[edit]
Main article:Saint Stephen's Day

Public holidays

[edit]

InWestern Christianity,26 December is called "Saint Stephen's Day",the" Feast of Stephen "mentioned in the EnglishChristmas carol"Good King Wenceslas".It is apublic holidayin many nations that are of historic Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran traditions, including Austria, Croatia, theCzech Republic,Hungary, Ireland, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Poland, Italy, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Catalonia and the Balearic Isles. In Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom, the day is celebrated as "Bo xing Day".

Western Christianity

[edit]

In the current norms for theliturgyof the RomanCatholic Church,the feast is celebrated at theEucharist,but, for theLiturgy of the Hours,is restricted to the Hours during the day, withEvening Prayerbeing reserved to the celebration of theOctaveofChristmas.Historically, the "Invention of the Relics of Saint Stephen" (i.e., their reputed discovery) was commemorated on 3 August.[42]The feasts of both 26 December and 3 August have been used in dating clauses in historical documents produced in England.[43]Stephen isrememberedin theChurch of Englandwith aFestivalon26 December.[44]

Eastern Christianity

[edit]
Byzantine icon, 11th century

In theEastern Orthodox Church,thoseEastern Catholic Churcheswhich follow theByzantine Rite,and in Oriental Orthodox Churches (e.g., Coptic, Syrian, Malankara) Saint Stephen's feast day is celebrated on 27 December, due to the celebration of theSynaxisof theTheotokoson 26 December. This also has the effect of pushing the Feast of theHoly Innocentsto 29 December. This day is also called the "Third Day of the Nativity" because it is the third day of the Christmas season.

Some Orthodox churches, particularly in the west, follow a modified Julian calendar that places date names identically with the standard Gregorian calendar of widespread civil usage. In those churches, then, the date the feast is observed is generally known as 27 December. However, other Orthodox churches, including the Oriental Orthodox, continue to use the original Julian calendar. Throughout the 21st century, 27 December Julian will continue to fall on 9 January in the Gregorian calendar, and that is the date on which they observe the feast.

Saint Stephen is alsocommemoratedon 4 January (Synaxisof theSeventy Apostles) in theEastern Orthodox Church.

Uncovering of his relics(relics of thesaints:Nicodemus,Gamalieland Abibas son of Gamaliel were also found in Saint Stephen's tomb) took place in 415, Gamaliel appeared topresbyter Lucian[ru]and he told him to go toJerusalemand informBishop Johnaboutrelicsof Saint Stephen.[45]Bishop John IIwith bishops Eusthia (fromSebastia) and Eleutherius (from Jericho) came to the tomb inBeit Jimaland translated relics to Jerusalem, this event is commemorated on 15 September.[46][47][48]

In 428 (whenSaint Theodosius II the YoungerRoman Emperor) relics of saint: Stephen,Nicodemus,Gamalieland Abibas were translated fromJerusalemtoConstantinopleand relics have been placed inSaint Lawrencechurch, and after preparations were made relics were moved to specially prepared Saint Stephen church in Constantinople, this event took place on 2 August.[49][47][48]

Armenian Liturgy

[edit]

In the Armenian Apostolic and Armenian Catholic Churches, Saint Stephen's Day falls on 25 December – the day on which the feast of the Nativity of Jesus (Christmas) falls in all other churches. This is because the Armenian churches maintain the decree of Constantine, which stipulated that the Nativity and Theophany of Jesus were to be celebrated on 6 January. In dioceses of the Armenian Church which use the Julian Calendar, Saint Stephen's Day falls on 7 January and Nativity/Theophany on 19 January (for the remainder of the 21st century Julian).

In the eucharistic celebration on this feast day, it is traditional for all deacons serving at the altar to wear a liturgical crown (Armenian: խոյրkhooyr), which is one of the vestments worn only by priests on all other days of the year, the crown being in this instance a symbol of martyrdom.

Commemorative places

[edit]
TheSaint Stephen Armenian Monasteryof the 9th century near Jolfa, Iran
Saint Stephen holding aGospel Bookin a 1601 painting byGiacomo Cavedone.
See also:St. Stephen's Cathedral,St. Stephen's Church

Many churches and other places commemorate Stephen. Among the most notable are the two sites in Jerusalem held by different traditions to be the place of his martyrdom, theSalesianmonastery ofBeit JimalinIsraelheld to be the place where his remains were miraculously found, and the church ofSan Lorenzo fuori le Murain Rome, where the saint's remains are said to be buried.

Important churches and sites dedicated to Saint Stephen are:

Andorra

[edit]

Armenian Churches

[edit]

Australia

[edit]

Austria

[edit]

Belgium

[edit]

Denmark

[edit]

France

[edit]

Holy Land

[edit]
  • St. Stephen's Basilica, Jerusalem,in FrenchSaint-Étienne,at the traditional place of St Stephen's martyrdom; modern church over ruins of Byzantine 5th-century predecessor
  • St. Stephan's Gate,the Christian name of one of the city gates of theOld CityofJerusalem,also known as the "Lions' Gate".A post-Byzantine tradition holds that Stephen's stoning occurred there, while an older tradition connects the martyrdom to the Damascus Gate, where achurchand large monastic complex dedicated to Saint Stephen was built in the 5th century (seeabove). A modern Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Stephen stands a short distance from Lions' Gate

Hong Kong

[edit]

India

[edit]
St. Stephen's Orthodox Cathedral Pilgrim Centre, Kudassanad, Pandalam, Kerala First Pilgrim Centre in India & Holy Relics of Saint Stephen were situated.

Ireland

[edit]

Italy

[edit]

United Kingdom

[edit]

United States

[edit]
  • St. Stephen the martyr church, Renton, Washington[54]
  • St. Stephen Parish in Portland, Oregon
  • St. Stephen Churchin Cleveland, Ohio
  • St. Stephen Protomartyr Catholic Church and Parish in St. Louis, Missouri[55]
  • St. Stephen's Churchin Boston, Massachusetts
  • St. Stephen Catholic Church in Cincinnati, Ohio
  • St. Stephen Catholic Church, Chattanooga, TN
  • St. Stephen's Church in Providence, RI[56]
  • St. Stephen the Martyr Church, Omaha, Nebraska[57]
  • St. Stephen Lutheran Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin[58]
  • St. Stefanos Greek Orthodox Church in Saint Petersburg, Florida[59]
  • St. Stephen Deacon and Martyr Parish in Tinley Park, Illinois[60]

Other associations

[edit]
  • In the Catholic Church, theGuild of St. Stephenis an international association ofaltar serverswhose aim is to promote "highest standards of serving at the Church's liturgy".[61]
  • Saint Stephen is one of the sculptures on the side of theOrsanmicheleinFlorence.Saint Stephen is the patron saint of thewool guild.
  • In the 14th −16th century, thebishopric of Halberstadtissuedone-sided stamped silver coins.The obverse showed the face of St. Stephen in chief over two large rocks in base and a martyr's palm frond (palmwedel) on the left side. The halo around St. Stephen's head and the two rocks being mistaken for hands made it look like he was lying in state inside of a coffin (sarg). Thus they were nicknamedsargpfennig( "coffin pennies" ).
  • Saint Stephen is featured as the eponymous subject of asongby theGrateful Dead.
  • Stephen Ministry is inspired by St. Stephen. This ministry provides high-quality, one-to-one, Christ-centered care to people in the congregation and the community experiencing life difficulties.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^"Totus2Us".
  2. ^"St. Stephen the Deacon"Archived12 December 2013 at theWayback Machine,St. Stephen Diaconal Community Association, Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester.
  3. ^Acts 7:51–53
  4. ^Acts 22:20
  5. ^abcSouvay, Charles."Saint Stephen".Catholic Encyclopedia,1912.New Advent.Retrieved3 April2013.
  6. ^Mal Couch,A Bible Handbook to the Acts of the Apostles,2003, p. 246. "Stephen is distinguished as" a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit "(Acts 6:5). Stephen and the other men were Hellenistic Jews whose native language was Greek. He had lived with Gentiles in other parts of the Roman Empire."
  7. ^"Article XXI (IX) Of the Invocation of the Saints".
  8. ^"Protomartyr and Archdeacon Stephen".
  9. ^Acts 6:5, 8
  10. ^Acts 6:9
  11. ^Acts 6:9–14
  12. ^abcdefDavid J. Williams (1989),Acts (Understanding the Bible Commentary Series),Baker Books, Chapter 16,ISBN978-0-8010-4805-0.
  13. ^Acts 7:30–32
  14. ^Acts 7:39–43
  15. ^Kerr, David."St. Stephen's death shows importance of Scripture, Pope says",Catholic News Agency, 2 May 2012.
  16. ^Acts 7:51–53
  17. ^"of Saints", John J. Crawley & Co., Inc ".Archived fromthe originalon 4 March 2016.Retrieved21 April2013.
  18. ^abcDavid J. Williams,Acts (Understanding the Bible Commentary Series),Baker Books 1989, chapter 17,ISBN978-0-8010-4805-0
  19. ^Acts 7:54
  20. ^Deuteronomy 13:9andDeuteronomy 17:7
  21. ^Acts 7:58–60
  22. ^Acts 8:1
  23. ^Acts 11:19–20
  24. ^Unger, Merrill F.(2006) [1957]. Harrison, R. K. (ed.).The New Unger's Bible Dictionary.Chicago: Moody Publishers. Antioch Ariana Grande Yuh.ISBN978-0-8024-9066-7.
  25. ^Hannah M. Cotton; Leah Di Segni; Werner Eck; et al., eds. (2012).Jerusalem, Part 2: 705–1120.Corpus Inscriptionum Iudeae/Palaestinae. Vol. 1. De Gruyter. p. 275.ISBN978-3-11-025188-3.Retrieved31 August2016..... St. Stephen's Gate (Lions' gate; Bab Sitti Mariam). The gate owes its name to a tradition according to which Stephen the Deacon, the first martyr, was stoned on this spot. At the beginning of the 20 c. the Greek Orthodox Patriarchy built a church dedicated to the Protomartyr in their property in front of the gate, in an endeavour to pinpoint the tradition of the site, which was falling into oblivion following the construction of the Dominican church and monastery on the site of the Eudocian church of St. Stephen north ofDamascus Gate.The Greek builders went so far as to maintain that, in digging the foundations of the new church, they had found a broken lintel with an engraved invocation to Saint Stephen, but their claim, accepted by Macalister and Vailhé, was promptly disproved by Vincent, who was able to show that the lintel came in fact from Beersheba. Vincent and Abel maintained that the tradition about Stephen's stoning at the eastern gate of Jerusalem was not earlier than the 12 c., while the tradition pointing to the northern gate was ancient..... J. Milik.... suggested that all the tombstones discovered in this area belonged to the cemetery of the Probatica.
  26. ^abRex A. Koivisto (1987)."Stephen's Speech: A Theology of Errors?"(PDF).Grace Theological College. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 12 May 2016.Retrieved3 April2013.
  27. ^Acts 7:16
  28. ^Genesis 50:13
  29. ^Acts 8:1
  30. ^Balge, Richard (2016).The People's Bible: Acts.Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House. p. 77.ISBN978-0-8100-1190-8.
  31. ^Marian Wolniewicz as the translator of the Book of Acts from: The Millennium Holy Bible; Warsaw, 1980
  32. ^Brandon, S. G. F. (1967).Jesus and the Zealots: A Study of the Political Factor in Primitive Christianity.Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 158.ISBN978-0-684-31010-7.
  33. ^Friedrich Justus Knecht(1910)."LXXXVIII. Election and Ordination of Deacons. – Stephen the First Martyr".A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture.B. Herder.
  34. ^Acts 8:2
  35. ^The standard edition of theRevelatio Sancti Stephaniand theEpistula Avitiis that of S. Vanderlinden inRevue des Etudes Byzantines4(1946:178-217).
  36. ^Wace, Henry; Piercy, William Coleman, eds. (2014).A dictionary of early Christian biography: and literature to the end of the sixth century A.D.; with an account of the principal sects and heresies.Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publ. pp. 1263–1264.ISBN978-1-61970-269-1.
  37. ^"St Stephen Church".Ministry of Tourism, Government of Israel.Retrieved3 April2013.
  38. ^Adrian J. Boas (2001).Jerusalem in the time of the crusades: society, landscape, and art in the Holy City under Frankish rule(Illustrated, reprint ed.). Routledge. p. 53.ISBN978-0-415-23000-1.
  39. ^Jerome Murphy-O'Connor (2008).The Holy Land: An Oxford Archaeological Guide from Earliest Times to 1700.Oxford Archaeological Guides. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 21.ISBN978-0-19-923666-4.Retrieved2 March2018.The local guides simply moved to the Kidron valley certain holy places, notably the church of Saint Stephen, which in reality were north of the city, and business went on as before.
  40. ^"Golden Legend – Invention of Saint Stephen, Protomartyr".CatholicSaints.Info.15 November 2014.Retrieved19 February2020.
  41. ^Augustine,City of God, Book XXII, Chapter 8,accessed 3 July 2021
  42. ^Oxford Dictionary of Saints,ed. David Hugh Farmer, corr. ed. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1979), p. 361.ISBN0198691203
  43. ^Handbook of dates for students of British history,ed.C. R. Cheney.New, rev. ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), pp. 59, 85.ISBN0521770955
  44. ^"The Calendar".The Church of England.Retrieved27 March2021.
  45. ^"Finding of the relics of Saint Gamaliel".oca.org.Retrieved15 July2022.
  46. ^"Uncovering of the relics of the Holy Protomartyr and Archdeacon Stephen".oca.org.Retrieved15 July2022.
  47. ^ab"THE TRANSFER FROM JERUSALEM TO CONSTANTINOPLE OF THE RELICS OF THE HOLY FIRSTMARTYR STEPHEN".holytrinityorthodox.Retrieved15 July2022.
  48. ^ab"Orthodox Calendar. HOLY TRINITY RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH, a parish of the Patriarchate of Moscow".holytrinityorthodox.Retrieved15 July2022.
  49. ^"Translation of the relics of the Protomartyr and Archdeacon Stephen from Jerusalem to Constantinople".oca.org.Retrieved15 July2022.
  50. ^"St. Stephen's Cathedral (Stephansdom)".U.S. News & World Report.Retrieved12 January2020.
  51. ^"St. Stephen's Green"(PDF).Phoenix Park.TheOffice of Public Works.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 22 October 2015.Retrieved12 January2020.
  52. ^"Santo Stefano Rotondo – Rome, Italy".
  53. ^"Frequently asked questions: Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower".UK Parliament.
  54. ^St. Stephen's Church, Renton, WA
  55. ^St. Stephen Protomartyr Catholic Church, St. Louis, Missouri
  56. ^St. Stephen's Church, Providence, RI
  57. ^St. Stephen the Martyr Catholic Church, Omaha, NE
  58. ^St. Stephen Lutheran Church, Milwaukee
  59. ^St. Stefanos Greek Orthodox Church in Saint Petersburg, Florida
  60. ^St. Stephen Deacon and Martyr Parish, Tinley Park
  61. ^Guild of St. Stephen,accessed 21 March 2018
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related toSaint Stephen.
Wikiquote has quotations related toStephanus.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Saint_Stephen&oldid=1234677903"