Commemoration Day of
St. Stephen, Pontiff of Rome,
the Priests, Deacons,
and All the Faithful
St. Stephen, Pontiff of Rome
St. Stephen was born in Rome, became Bishop of Rome in 254, and was martyred in 257.
Historically, the information we have about him primarily concerns his dispute with Bishop Cyprian, who considered baptisms performed by heretics to be invalid, whereas Stephen regarded them as valid.
Our Armenian Synaxarion (Haysmavurk), however, portrays him as a courageous and active pontiff who, during times of persecution, strengthened and encouraged his flock to remain steadfast in their faith.
He converted many pagans to Christianity, including a nobleman named Nemesius and his daughter, who was blind.
When Stephen baptized them, the young woman's eyes were opened, and her sight was restored. As a result of this miracle, the nobleman agreed to be ordained a deacon.
When the emperor learned of his conversion to Christianity, he summoned him and commanded him to offer sacrifices to the idols. When Nemesius refused, the emperor ordered him to be tortured. Seeing that he remained steadfast in his faith, the emperor had both the nobleman and his daughter martyred.
Another nobleman named Olympius was also martyred alongside them.
Following this, the stewards of these two noblemen were likewise martyred. They, too, had converted to Christianity and had sold their masters' possessions, distributing the proceeds among the poor.
The Haysmavurk further adds:
“Then they arrested twelve clergymen, whom they brutally put to death.”
The Haysmavurk also provides their names. The Armenian Church's liturgical calendar commemorates them together with St. Stephen the Pontiff, adding the designation “the Priests, Deacons, and All the Faithful.”
One day, while St. Stephen was celebrating the Divine Liturgy, soldiers surrounded the church and attempted to break down its locked doors.
He had barely finished distributing Holy Communion and partaking of it himself when the soldiers broke through the doors, rushed inside, and killed the holy pontiff on the spot.
His blood mingled with the Blood of Christ in the Holy Eucharist, serving as a testimony and pledge of his participation in Christ's eternal Kingdom.
The faithful reverently buried his body. In the middle of the eighth century, his remains were transferred to a monastery built in his name and honor.
In the Roman Church, St. Stephen the Pontiff is credited with issuing a decree prohibiting the use of vestments worn during the celebration of the Holy Mysteries (Sacraments) for ordinary, everyday purposes.
This decree indicates that, until the middle of the third century, the Divine Liturgy and the other sacraments had been celebrated in ordinary clothing.
SCRIPTURE READINGS
~ Wisdom of Solomon 5:1-8 ~
Then the righteous will stand with great confidence in the presence of those who have oppressed them and those who make light of their labors. When the unrighteous see them, they will be shaken with dreadful fear, and they will be amazed at the unexpected salvation of the righteous. They will speak to one another in repentance, and in distress of spirit they will groan, and say, “This is the one whom we once held in derision and made a byword of reproach—fools that we were! We thought that his life was madness and that his end was without honor. Why has he been numbered among the children of God? And why is his lot among the saints? So it was we who strayed from the way of truth, and the light of righteousness did not shine on us, and the sun did not rise upon us. We took our fill of the paths of lawlessness and destruction, and we traveled through trackless deserts, but the way of the Lord we have not known. What has our arrogance profits us? And what good has our boasted wealth brought us?”
~ Amos 3:12-15 ~
Thus says the Lord: As the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so shall the people of Israel who live in Samaria be rescued, with the corner of a couch and part of a bed. Hear, and testify against the house of Jacob, says the Lord God, the God of hosts: On the day I punish Israel for its transgressions, I will punish the altars of Bethel, and the horns of the altar shall be cut off and fall to the ground. I will tear down the winter house as well as the summer house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall come to an end, says the Lord.
~ Ephesians 3:1-10 ~
This is the reason that I Paul am a prisoner for Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles— for surely you have already heard of the commission of God's grace that was given me for you, and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words, a reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ. In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God's grace that was given me by the working of his power. Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
~ Holy Gospel of St. John 10:11-16 ~
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.