Saint Stephen

There have been several saints called Stephen. The most likely to be of interest to general readers of AWE are:

Saint Stephen Protomartyr

The first Christian martyr - that is, the first Christian to die because of his faith after the death of Jesus - was a deacon, or administrator, of the early church in Jerusalem called Stephen. (His election is recorded in The Acts of the Apostles chapter 6, and his trial, impassioned defence of the faith and death are in chapter 7.) It is noteworthy that at his execution by stoning for blasphemy (against the Jewish religion, and specifically because he said that to worship God needed no Temple'), the coats of the killers were guarded by Saul.

The name 'Stephen' (Στέφανος) is derived, in the original Greek, from στέφανος (stephanos) 'a crown'. We may conjecture that this helps to explain the long-standing association of martyrs with 'gaining a heavenly crown', or 'the crown of martyrdom'. His feast day is celebrated on 26th December, "the Feast of Stephen", better known in the English-speaking world as Boxing Day.

As a 'hellenist', or Greek-speaking, Christian, Stephen may be seen as a Gentile saint.

Saint Stephen of Hungary

Stephen (c.975-1038) was the first king of Hungary. He ruled the Magyars as Prince of Hungary on the seath of his father Géza in 997. He unified the provinces of Pannonia and Dacia which he had inherited, being recognized as the first king of the country of Hungary by the then Pope (Silvester II) in 1001. Stephen introduced Christianity to Hungary.

The feast day of this saint Stephen is 2nd September, or, according to Soanes and Stephenson, 20th August (in Hungary); according to Livingstone 2006, it is now celebrated on 16th August. It appears more likely that it is the feast day of the first Saint Stephen to which the carol "Good King Wenceslas" referred as the day on which "good King Wenceslas looked out".

Pope Stephen I

Pope Stephen I, who ruled from 254 to 257, seems to have been canonized more as a mark of his victory in the power struggles leading to the primacy of Rome over other bishoprics than as a recognition of 'heroic virtue' or piety.