Praise of Stephen

Let the whole earth keep the festival of Stephen, for he tilled all of it, one region after another, with his words, and filled the inhabited world, every people in it, with holy laws. He sowed the doctrines of piety everywhere and gave all the churches the light of his teaching to glory in. And as the sun, rising from one corner of the sky, has the task of lighting the whole visible creation, so Stephen, the crown of graces, flashing out from Jerusalem, filled whole cities and lands, nations and peoples, tribes and tongues with unquenchable theology.

But we rightly owe him more festivals, since he is a citizen of the Cross, a familiar of Bethlehem, an offspring of the Resurrection, the table-server of Zion, the herald of the Ascension. Among us he pitched his courts and his tents; among us he received the lot of the diaconate and the portion of martyrdom. Here he has the altar of his sacrifice and the sanctuary of his blessing, the field of his teaching and the theatre of his eloquence. From here he was taken up to heaven, and from us he departed to Christ.

That is why we gather so often for his festivals, why we so often crown his bridal chamber, why we keep going up to the winepress with leaps of joy, singing a wedding song and chanting the song of the winepress: “Lord, you have crowned us as with a shield of your good pleasure” (Psalm 5:12). For Stephen’s zeal is a shield to the faithful, and his tongue a sword to the devout; his boldness is a preparation for confession, his daring a spur to courage, his eloquence the material of theology; his teaching is instruction in the law, knowledge of the prophets, understanding of the Gospels; his contemplation is an exposition of the mysteries of heaven, or rather of the mysteries above heaven.

But who is able to tell the praises of Stephen one by one? What shall I call him? Witness to the light, deacon of life, soldier of Christ, lampstand of the Word, pearl of the Spirit, flower of endurance, foundation of philosophy, pattern of freedom from passion, firstfruits of teachers, pillar of the Church, tutor of grace, ladder of virtues, monument of progress, forerunner of the apostles, firstborn of the martyrs, guide to knowledge?

He was a minister to widows, yet, ordaining himself, he became a minister of the churches. Appointed to bring in food, he brought in doctrines instead. He changed the tables into altars; he used the bread that comes from heaven, not the bread that comes from the earth. He turned the mixing bowl of drunkenness into cups of grace: in place of wine he mixed the Spirit, and in place of water the senses perceive he set out the mystical water that the mind perceives.

He was great in word and in deed, teaching and working wonders, refuting the Jews, driving out demons, healing the sicknesses of body and soul alike. He opened his mouth, and caught every ear; he moved his tongue, and death fled, falsehood was bound, love advanced. Though a lamb, he fought the wolves on behalf of the Shepherd; though a dove, he made the serpents subject to the eagle. By his silence he showed his judges the face of an angel (Acts 6:15).

He laughed when he saw the slanderers circling him; and seeing the false witnesses standing by, he said these words to himself from David’s songs to the harp: “Their blows have become children’s arrows” (Psalm 64:7). For whatever the slanderer shoots, the worker of truth is not wounded; whatever arrows the evil one lets fly are set in motion and sent in vain. For he does not pierce the upright, does not strike the guileless, does not bite the innocent.

And what form did the slander take? “This man does not cease to speak words against this holy place and the law” (Acts 6:13). “This man.” Which man? “The man who works signs and wonders beyond human power; who has drawn up the whole spring of wisdom; who has emptied the treasuries of grace into himself; who…