Memorial of Stephen, Deacon and Martyr

Thursday of the First Week of Gracetide

STEPHEN, Deacon and Martyr
Red Vestments

Prayer of the Day
Lord of Glory, we give you thanks for the example of the first martyr Stephen, who looked up to heaven and proclaimed your glorious truth. Grant that we, like Stephen, may serve you faithfully, endure hatred and spite, and pray all who persecute us for the sake of your holy name. We make our prayer through Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting.

First Reading: Acts 7:55 - 8:1
Psalm 3
Gospel Reading: Matthew 23: 34-39

(For Vespers, Acts 6 is suggested for the reading. At Lauds, Acts 7: 1-54 is suggested for the reading.)

Biography: The name Stephen means “crown”; he was the first disciple of Jesus to receive the martyr's crown. Stephen was a deacon in the early Christian Church. The apostles had found that they needed helpers to look after the care of the widows and the poor so they ordained seven deacons. Stephen is the most famous of these deacons.

God worked many miracles through Stephen and he spoke with such wisdom and grace that many of his hearers became followers of Jesus. The enemies of the Church of Jesus were furious to see how successful Stephen's preaching was. At last, they laid a plot for him. They could not answer his wise argument, so they got men to lie about him, saying that he had spoken sinfully against God. Stephen faced that great assembly of enemies without fear. In fact, the Bible says that his face looked like the face of an angel.

Stephen spoke about Jesus, proclaiming that He was the Saviour that God had promised to send. He scolded his enemies for not having believed in Jesus. At that, they rose up in great anger and shouted at him, but Stephen looked up to Heaven and said that he saw the heavens opening and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

His hearers plugged their ears and refused to listen to another word. They drug Stephen outside the city of Jerusalem and stoned him to death. The saint prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” and then he fell to his knees begging God not to punish his enemies for killing him.