Every year on December 26, the day after we celebrate the Nativity of Our Lord, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr. St. Stephen was among the first deacons of the Church. He was “full of faith and power” and “did great wonders among the people.” For this, he was condemned by a council of Jewish leaders and, after preaching publicly to a crowd at the Temple, was stoned to death. The man who presided over his stoning would one day become the most prolific early Christian writer and missionary, Saul of Tarsus, later called St. Paul.
Blessed Stephen, ora pro nobis.
https://livingchurch.org/covenant/2016/12/26/christmas-is-about-martyrdom-the-lesson-of-st-stephen/
Fr. Troy Beecham
