Homily on the Holy Apostle, Protomartyr and Archdeacon Stephen
By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov
By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!
Today, dear brothers and sisters, on December 27, the Holy Church celebrates the bright memory of the first martyr for Christ – the Holy Apostle and Archdeacon Stephen, mercilessly stoned for his daring preaching to the Jews.
With what laudatory hymns shall we crown Saint Stephen, what wreath of praise shall we weave for him, corresponding to his feat? Human lips are powerless to explain all the valor and glory of the conqueror.
Despite the fact that each of us knows the Divine teaching: "Do not fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul" (Matt. 10:28), attachment to one’s body, fear and trembling before death have led and continue to lead many souls – even the righteous – to contrition and a fall. But the holy youth Stephen, who fell in love with Christ, despised death: he completely rejected timidity and fear, faith and hope in the Lord gave him the strength to struggle gloriously in the feat of martyrdom and defeat the tyrant-devil. The courageous ascetic of Christ, with his victory over the chief of evil, was the first to open the doors of martyrdom and gave joy to people and weeping to demons. His example captivates all ages: both elders and youths, both men and women, and children – to follow the path of suffering and not to fear death for Christ, but to hasten to the feat in order to more easily and conveniently pass from earth to Heaven. Therefore, Saint Stephen can rightfully be called the leader of those struggling for Christ, the foundation of those dying for Him, the leader and teacher of the army of martyrs, the host of passion-bearers.
Saint Stephen was chosen among the seven deacons for the task of serving poor Christians and widows in providing them with the necessary food. Due to his abilities and wisdom, he was appointed first of them and therefore was called Archdeacon.
Diligently helping the Apostles in distributing alms to needy Christians and satisfying their essential needs, Stephen, filled with faith and strength of spirit, performed great signs and wonders among the people. He healed the sick, restored sight to the blind, and made the lame able to walk. The grace of the Holy Spirit also drew him to the gospel of faith in Christ. He burned with love for the confirmation of faith in the faithful, and he denounced his unfaithful compatriots for their unbelief and murder of the Savior. Scripture relates that some from the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, from Cilicia and Asia) entered into a dispute with the Holy Archdeacon, but could not resist the wisdom and Spirit by which he spoke. Then, being put to shame, they resorted to slander: having taught certain contemptible people to say that Stephen did not cease to utter blasphemous words against Moses and God, they stirred up the people and the elders, and, seizing the Saint, dragged him to the Sanhedrin. Passions raged, rage boiled around, but the meek Stephen stood calmly in the midst of this murderous assembly, and his face shone like the face of an angel. And all who saw him were amazed. When, full of faith and power, he proved to the Jews that Christ, whom they had crucified, was the true Messiah, Whom the prophets had foretold, they listened to him with indignation and anger. And when in conclusion he said:
"You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers" (Acts 7:51–52), and at these words they were torn in their hearts and gnashed their teeth at the Saint. But Stephen, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God" (Acts 7:54–56). And they, rushing upon him, led him out of the city, and there, in the valley between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives, they stoned the glorious soldier of Christ, who prayed, saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit" (Acts 7:59). Bleeding and exhausted, he knelt down and cried out, "Lord! Do not charge this sin against them" (Acts 7:60)!
In life we do not always have to meet with sympathy, respect, goodwill of those around us. Often, on the contrary, we have to see enmity, sometimes very malicious, ready to cause us all sorts of offenses and troubles. How this enmity outrages every person, especially undeserved, what indignation it raises in our hearts, what a thirst for revenge often flares up in them! But be afraid, dear brothers and sisters, be afraid to repay evil with evil, to rip out an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. This is forbidden by Christ. He not only forbade revenge on enemies, but commanded to love them and pray for them. He Himself prayed for His crucifiers when they drove sharp nails into His most pure hands and feet. The disciples of Christ fully assimilated this teaching about love for enemies and died in the same way - with prayer for their tormentors. The Protomartyr for Christ, whose memory we now celebrate, left us the first example of such a prayer. Here is a wonderful example of love for enemies, here is a mentor who instructs us in how to respond to the malice of our enemies - not with revenge, God have mercy on us! – and by prayer for them, that the Lord may not hold them sinful for the evil they do to us.
And how holy, how instructive are the examples of prayer for enemies! In the life of one of our Russian ascetics it is told how one of the great men in this world came to a certain spiritual elder for confession. After the usual confessions, in conclusion he said: “I still have something on my heart that I do not wish to get rid of. There are ill-wishers who want to deprive me of the trust of my superiors and those around me, they slander me in every possible way. I hate them from the bottom of my heart, and this hatred will remain in me.” For a long time and in vain the elder tried to persuade him to renounce his malice and finally declared that in such a state of mind he could not allow him to receive Communion. In the end he managed to persuade the confessor to calm down and said the following: “You cannot yet sincerely forgive these people. But force yourself to do so. Ask the prayers of the Church for them, giving prosphora for them. At first it will be very difficult for you, but break yourself. Every particle taken out of the prosphora at the proskomide with the pronunciation of a certain name signifies the soul of this person. When this particle is immersed in the Blood of Christ at the end of the Liturgy, an invisible contact of this soul with the Divinity occurs. At first, an evil soul can become hardened by such a mysterious application to the Divinity, but repetition of this will ultimately have a good effect on it. A year later, this man again stood before the elder and thanked him. He then forced himself to give prosphora for his enemies. At first they seemed to become hardened. But then gradually they began to treat him better and better, abandoned their intrigues, and now he could live in peace with them. All of us Christians should act in this way when some enemy appears among us and begins to revile us, dishonor our good name, slander and spread bad rumors about us. In all these cases, the feeling of indignation, hostility and especially revenge must be overcome by a feeling of love for our enemies - following the example of the Savior and His Holy Protomartyr.
Let us thank the Lord, who clothed His glorious warrior Stephen in full armor, with which he overcame the most severe tortures, accomplished a feat, kept the faith, received a martyr's crown on his head and was deemed worthy of eternal rest. Let us imitate this glorious ascetic; let us strengthen our hearts with courage. Saint Stephen cries out: "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ" (1 Cor. 11:1). "I followed," he seems to say, "my Master in word, life and death. Imitate all this, too, it is possible and useful for those who wish it. I now joyfully rejoice in Heaven, and everyone who has suffered for Christ will see Heaven open and, together with me, will enjoy eternal, incorruptible blessings.” Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
